Hi James, welcome to the club, and good luck in your search!

You're right, there are very few cars for sale at any one time, and that's due to several factors including the general world of classic car types who these days take replicas far more seriously than they once did - for one thing, they're cheaper than originals, and for another, they can actually be better! So they don't hang about very long, although the Brexit situation has thrown a temporary spanner in the works. That's all reflected in current values, but you still have to be wary of what you're buying....and don't believe talk of £170K if it was LHD. If that was true, why wouldn't you have the work done??? And would you pay that much?? ....no, thought not
Still, the asking price of this one is now back down to what it was originally, i.e, just under £70K. I've been assured by a previous owner that it was, at the time of his ownership, a really good car, but that was some time ago! You also have to take into account that this is fitted with a 12-valve motor rather than a 24-valve. That makes a difference to some. And heed well Guy's words of wisdom above - he knows his onions when it comes to Hawks!

As one of those who've bantered about this one, I think that at the current price, and with "offers invited", you could well be able to strike a deal. You obviously have to factor in the cost of a LHD conversion if it's a deal-breaker to stay RHD, so it could end up being very pricey - have you contacted anyone regarding doing the work?
Your other alternative, if it HAS to be pre-2006, is to simply hang on till another car comes to market. You won't find an LB in that case. as they only came into being in 2010. However, LBs can be converted between LHD and RHD fairly easily - the floorpan's the same either side and all chassis already have the mountings and brackets for both configs.

As always, it's your decision, although I think it's vastly complicated by you being about 6000 miles away! But as I said, Good Luck!