Two brothers with their budget-friendly BMW

• 
• 

When you were a youngster with a job and didn’t spend all of your earnings in the pub or nightclub, you might have been able - maybe, with some serious saving - to buy a small car in 1963. At around £500 in Britain or 5000 guilders in The Netherlands you could indulge yourself on a brand new Mini, Ford Anglia or Hillman Imp, but second-hand vehicles were, of course, quite a lot more attractive. With pre-war cars being outdated and old-fashioned, they could be found at the very bottom of the market.

These two young Dutch chaps are the Polet brothers, but that’s all we know. They certainly seem to have fallen in love with their BMW, even if it was an elderly machine from the 1930s rather than something shiny and new. We think it’s a 315 roadster. which may not be quite the thoroughbred which the 328 is, but it’s still a great little motor with its straight-six and competition breeding, and when you buy it with your brother you only have to pay half the price… That chequered pattern on the grille gives it a lovely 1960s touch, too.

We couldn’t resist having a quick look in our old Motor Sport issues to see what a car like this would have set you back in 1963. In one of that year’s issues we found a genuine 328 with the note ‘requires attention’, but then the price was only £140. Another advertisement for a similar model built under licence by Frazer Nash read ‘Complete restored example, 1937, available with a vast quantity of spares, £400 or near offer… Also Delahaye Type 135M, partially restored but time has run out. £35 for quick sale.’ What great times.

The good news is that you can still find a 315 if you like (there’s one here and another here), but they have long since climbed up from the bottom of the market.

Words: Jeroen Booij; pictures: Noord-Hollands Archief
 

Kommentar abgeben...