I can pretty much echo the comments regarding the value in restoring versus maintaining oddball vehicles like the Haflinger. Restoration is definitely a huge labor of love. The restoration cost will easily be double what the market is willing to bear. Extremely good Haflingers in North America can fetch prices in the $12k-$14k range but I certainly would not accept that price for my restored '69 Canadian Hafi. I had very personal reasons for restoring my Haflinger to the quality level it is now. I would expect few others to have similar conviction.
The thing is that the cost of a full canvas Haflinger in Canada in 1969 was $3595.00. At that time a large family sedan or a V8 powered Mustang was about the same price. Thus this made the Haflinger seem to be a very expensive "toy" in the day. By comparison today, a new decent sized family sedan or V8 Mustang costs $35k to $40k so a restored Haflinger is grossly undervalued at the prices we are seeing. If you consider the comparative rarity and the technological importance of the Haflinger in the automotive world then more insult is added to the equation.
For lots of reasons I truly love Haflingers and feel they are a great treasure to be admired and respected for what they are. I sincerely hope that they will be around for many generations to see even if only at a museum. I'm all in favour of others who drive and enjoy their Haflingers to their intended purpose and applaud those that faithfully maintain them. I have a considerably different opinion of those who abuse, modify or try to radically "improve" on the performance aspects of the Haflinger in an attempt to make the vehicle be something it was never intended to be. After all you don't see radical mods done to a Gullwing Mercedes or early Porsche 911 because this severely devalues these cars even though by today's standard these cars are honestly a piece of s#!t to drive.
I admit it, I'm a purest when it comes to the Haflinger even if it drives my buddy Sandy MacMillan nuts
. But I really shouldn't complain as the fewer original Haflingers that exist, the more valuable they should become...I'm definitely OK with that as they truly deserve it.
Cheers,
Steve