POOR dress sense and a lack of planning may help identify the gunman who attempted to ambush underworld survivor Desmond "Tuppence" Moran outside his Ascot Vale home.

Moran, whose brother Lewis and nephews Mark and Jason were all killed in Melbourne's underworld war, was sitting in his Mercedes-Benz in the driveway of his Langs Road house when a masked gunman ran to the car about 8.50pm on Tuesday.

Mr Moran, 60, was sitting in the passenger seat when the gunman fired one shot through the windscreen. The driver, Mick Linsdell, was lucky to survive as the bullet hit the steering wheel.

The head of the Purana Taskforce, Detective Inspector Bernie Edwards, said: "He's an extremely lucky fellow because other than the steering wheel, I reckon he would be dead.