The 3rd generation S5 (1967-1971) Toyota Crown isn’t a car you see often on the streets in North America — probably because it wasn’t sold here in large quantities and many were lost to rust. You can’t blame poor parts supply because Toyota has always been good about supporting their used models unlike other auto […]
The Pao was part of Nissan’s Pike (don’t ask me why they were called Pike) car series that included the Pao, S-Cargo, Figaro, Be-1, and K10-Micra. Goofy names aside, the Pike cars were retro-styled econoboxes from the late ’80s and early ’90s that combined simple Nissan mechanical front-drive parts with funky styling and cool interiors. Today’s example is the common Pao and it looks like the perfect car for the alter-ego of a superhero to drive everyday. Find this 1990 Nissan Pao offered for $9,200 in New Hampshire via craigslist. Tip from TeleArrow.
A Series III Jaguar XJ (1979-1992) is a seriously wicked automobile and it deserves the respect of the automotive community. This includes respect for the splendid inline-6 (or V12) engine that was originally installed in the stately saloon chassis. But there comes a time when maintaining that cantankerous DOHC beast becomes prohibitively expensive and yearly maintenance starts to cost more than the value of the vehicle. This is the time when you pull out the measuring tape and realize that a small block from the General will fit inside…and since you’ve got a GM 3-speed auto as factory transmission…well…it is just a matter of time before your overhead cams are exchanged for pushrod actuated valves inside of a Chevrolet LT1 V8. I figure it this way — until Britain has paid off the debt of two World Wars were we saved their bacon, they’ll have to put up with American hillbillies shoving V8s into their fancy Jags. Sounds fair to me, but I’m not sure if Jeremy Clarkson would agree. Find this 1986 Jaguar XJ6 offered for $5,500 in Irvine, CA via craigslist.
Most of the modified/custom cars out on the street are poorly built piles of Pep Boys junk, but this next car is an example of when a car enthusiast takes the original OEM design and improves it with a few subtle alterations taken from other models from the same OEM. I call this OEM+. A manual gearbox wasn’t available in the USDM E38 7-series, the last 7 with a stick was the E32 735i. The central element of this custom is the 6-speed manual from an M5 mated to a limited slip diff, but the builder focused on the interior with a slick M5 gauge cluster install and an OEM style radio nav system. It is shockingly well done. Find this 2001 BMW 740iL 6-Speed offered for $7,995 in Wareham, MA via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
There is a cricket living in my home office right now. Okay, it is not a home office, it is the garage, and I assume it is a cricket, but it is certainly some hemimetabolous insect that is part of the suborder caelifera (aka the grasshopper). He is quiet during the day, but in the evening when I’m enjoying a libation and drafting some witty words for DT, that little stridulating bastard starts rubbing his legs together to find a mate. It is loud. Screeching. I’m ready to leave my garage office and do business from the inside of a Toyota Prius…no…even better, I would live inside this next car if it would guarantee me a few moments of silence from the 65-75 decibels of Previa-esq supercharger scream that has been pounding my ears for the past week. Find this 1993 Porsche 968 offered for $14,500 in New Jersey via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
I’m not a huge fan of recommending that people buy cars to squirrel away in barns waiting for some crazy speculative price bidding at all of the over-hyped auction sites around the web. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I recommend that you buy cars that are cheap today so you can enjoy them by driving around and putting (GASP!) miles on the odometer and letting the wind flow through your permed mullet. So buy this next car, drive it, enjoy, and maybe sell for about what you paid for it in a few year. Find this 1989 Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible offered for $5,000 in Boca Raton, FL via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
This next car is quite something else. It starts with a normal looking Chevrolet Caprice Classic (not an Impala…) and then continues to have another Caprice that was shortened to puffer fish proportions and turned into a trailer. With the available 8 seats (3+3+2) in the Caprice and then the final 5 in the trailer (3+2) you get a total seating for 13 in a vehicle that might not technically be legal to have people in the back, but I think the only reason a cop would pull you over would be to tell you how awesome it looked. Find this 1993 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Plus Trailer offered for $12,500 in Hoquiam, WA via craigslist. Tip from JB1025.
The other week we had a nice Hurst/Olds equipped with Lightning Rods that got me excited because those shifters are the big thumbed-nose to all the people at NHTSA who spend their days trying to figure out how to force people to drive hideous self driving airbag infused bubble pods. I am American, and if I want to barrel down the highway at 100 mph, eating a greasy burger in a styrofoam container, drinking cancer causing diet Coke, while mashing the loud pedal in a V8 powered wagon with a set of Lightning Rod shifters that would perforate a crash test dummy’s rectum in a roll-over quicker than you could say “European headlamps,” — then that is my God given right enshrined in the 9th Amendment to the Constitution of these United States of Murica. Freedom! Find this 1983 Chevrolet Malibu Wagon offered for $10,900 in Rosyln Heights, New York via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
Another day, another Fiero based kit car on the cover of Daily Turismo magazine. Whoa…we’ve got a magazine? No, shut up, I’m just trying to make it seem more impressive…lemme get back to this car. Anyway, this next Fiero is no ordinary Fiero — it has a 4.9 liter V8 from a Cadillac breathing through a Jaguar (?!) exhaust and is covered in a kit body that looks 2 parts Ferrari 308 and 1 part Acura NSX. It is simultaneously like peculiar and snazzy. Find this 1987 Pontiac Fiero Fierriadillac offered for $7,900 buy-it-now in Pueblo, CO via eBay.
Color me geezerfied, but I’m starting to think that I need a 12th (twelfth!) generation E-Body Cadillac Eldorado in my life. I’m even going to say that anyone looking for a late model Audi A5, BMW 6-series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe or Lexus Whatevertheycallthemnow Coupe should consider a used Eldorado for a few reasons. First, this car was designed in the pre-Nurburgring lap time times when comfort was more important than braking performance on a track. People who buy Corvettes don’t even take them to the track, so you think your SLS AMG is gonna see anything other than bumper-to-bumper traffic on Rodeo Drive…I don’t think so. Second, the Eldorado was the pinnacle of GM/Cadillac’s expertise in front-wheel-drive engineering and is equipped with legendary Northstar V8. And lastly, because this thing is devoid of the gimmicky infotainment systems that’ll be immediately out-dated by whatever neural-link cell-brain-computer Elon-Zucker-Gates mandates we wear 24-7 in a few years (it is for your own safety kids!!) gets put in the latest cars. This comes from a time when cars could be fixed (and still can) by any local mechanic or a good set of tools. Find this 1998 Cadillac Eldorado bidding for $3401 reserve-not-met located in Pompano Beach, FL with 3 days to go.