Along with the Samara and the Peugeot 404, the local auto club has a third donated car they want to offload. This was left on the auction/show venue’s parking lot on Sunday as a decorative element of sorts, and no-one really wants it too much. So, since I’m probably one of five club members born after 1980 and thus computer savvy enough, the job of putting it up for sale came to me.

It’s a 1960s Skoda Octavia Combi, and it used to be red. It’s spent years and years in a forest, so it’s a little bit earthy to say the least. It’s not worth too much, but it’ll make a fine parts car for someone with a classic Skoda Octavia wagon. Even if it’s extremely rusty and very, very mossy, it’s all there, and all original. All the chromework is present, if not necessarily attached.

My grandfather used to have an Octavia saloon, some 50 years ago. Let’s say it was enough to keep my dad buying one of the recent Skodas, even if they barely share the badge these days.

The 1221cc four-cylinder engine in these produced some 45-55 horsepower when operational. I don’t vouch for the one in this.

The tires are quite dry-rotted like on the Peugeot, but they seem to hold air better.

Every slam of the tailgate makes a little bit of Czech steel fall off. From the rear, the car kind of looks Saab-like and Volkswagen-ish. The plates are so old and the car’s been taken off the road so long ago, I couldn’t secure any information with them.

The interior’s filled with spare parts and stuff that’s fallen off, but looks fairly compete.

The Skoda’s situated on the west coast of Finland, in Kokkola. The club entertains offers higher than scrap value (read: should be three-digit), since they’d rather help preserve the car or have it give up useable parts, than to just haul it to the skip outright. It’s not really their style to scrap cars.

Oh, what about the Peugeot 404 and the Samara? The Peugeot sold for 120 euros, and went to a Peugeot guy – just like it was supposed to do. The Samara was a tougher sell, as the first bid ended up being from within the club. “100 euros.” That almost sealed the deal. “But I don’t… I don’t really want it”, the bidder horrified. The club chairman offered 150 after a tense while and got the Lada. It’s still not inspected, but it should be difficult to get it running. I want to drive it, if not own it.

[Images: 2013 Antti Kautonen]