Hi Rick
Now we really have hijacked this topic and got back on the MkIV bandwagon.
Re the colors that some of the MkIVs were painted - one guy who was related to a friend of mine ordered his car circa 1983 and thought it would look good in blue but he had a fondness for red interiors. It was just that the two shades he chose were not even a remotely close match!! Its was a disaster. I would pay money NOT to own a car like that. I'm afraid that Brian Angliss has some explaining to do regarding some of the color schemes he allowed to escape.
On page 162 of my book (The Real Thing) I photographed a row of MkIVs, one of which was painted an odd shade of light brown (destined for Japan) which sounds awful but really looked quite good in reality. He also knocked out quite a few in various shades of brilliant yellow.....still, as long as the punter handed over the folding!!
So thats sorted then - if in doubt buy a MkIV and yours troubles will be over. There are a few for sale in the UK at present. There is a 1995 model for £43,995 on
www.redlinepe.co.uk or another with Duncan Hamilton (
www.duncanhamilton.com) For those who crave the ultimate, a 427 MkIII side-oiler, one of the last of the AC Autokraft cars, is a available at Nostalgia (0 - 100 in 9.8 seconds) and in left-hand drive!! No idea on the price, but I would make sure I was sitting down before asking. Just to keep the angry phone calls at bay, the latter car is not a MkIV in any way.