[zenith]

You can go down the Mercedes route and may get a good one, but if it goes wrong, it'll really cost!
MGB / Midget / Spitfire are cheap to buy and you can get all the spares you'll need at reasonable prices as well as technical advice. The cars are pretty reliable,too. I've retired 6 months ago and bought an MGB GT for daily transport. Cost £1500 and I'm doing a 'rolling restoration' as well as driving it daily.