1980-2000
What do you do after you are done going offroading in your convertible Firebird? Why jet skiing, of course…or at least the seller of this next vehicle is willing to trade it for a jet ski, and I’m pretty sure this would drive like a jet ski, off or on road. Find this 1999 Pontiac Firebird offered for $3,500 in South Florida via craigslist. Tip from James.
This next car comes as a tip from BarbPaddles who writes: Dealers are no doubt hungry in this ‘pandemic economy’ for such unique stuff. 5000+ pounds of American family cruising that anyone can service/maintain. Strangely during this coronacrisis dealers have seen used car prices increase, but that shouldn’t stop you from buying something like an undisputedly wood covered Buick wagon. Find this 1990 Buick Estate Wagon offered for $12,900 in Traverse City, MI via Hemmings.
My advice for selecting a mid-engine kit car to buy is the same advice I give for people considering a mohawk for their hairstyle. Always go bigger, flashier, spikier, and bluer. And never go half way in, with some kind of stupid fauxhawk, you need to commit to the full experience and rock that Chevy V8 powered Manta symbol of your inner 6 year old and make it loud and proud. Find this 1983 Manta Montage offered for $14,500 in Seattle, WA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The seller of this next vehicle describes it as “museum condition” which might be a bit of a stretch, because I doubt any museum would want an 80s Toyota Wagon…but now that I think about it, there was a Toyota museum next to the North American Torrance, CA headquarters that was filled with all manner of original Toyotas before they moved it to Texas and the Toyota Museum in Japan is filled with all sorts of strange stuff, so perhaps this does belong in a museum, but I’d like to use it to haul my kids around for a few hundred thousand miles first. Find this 1989 Toyota Corolla All-Trac Wagon offered for $8,500 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist.
In the world of strange car names, this next feature is a doozy. It is a Honda (that looks like a Toyota to my eyes) that is inexplicably called the “Today Humming.” I don’t know what to say. Today Humming, tomorrow Life Dunk…that would be my ideal car stable. Throw in a King Midget for good measure and I’ll be driving my Mazda Proceed Marvie home now. Anyway, today’s Honda Today Humming is equipped with all-wheel-drive and a 660cc 3-cylinder engine and all the JDM right-hand-drive Kei-hatch style you need. Find this 1995 Honda Today Humming offered for $7,400 in Dallas, TX via craigslist. Tip from Brad.
I saw this next car and thought to myself; another 3-row, 8-passenger, wood paneled Buick station wagon from the mid 90s, must be a Roadmaster…except that it didn’t have the space ship styling or the longitudinally mounted V8 engine. Could it be possible that Buick thought the market for 8 passenger station wagons was so great in 1994 that they needed to offer multiple levels of wagonness. This wasn’t 1965…what were they thinking? I’m not sure, but what am I sure of is that I love the idea of an A-body with transverse mounted Buick V6 that was designed in the 1970s (this generation lasted from 1982-1996) was still available for sale in 1994 with wood sides and a set of rear facing jump seats. Find this 1994 Buick Century Wagon offered for $2,850 in Somers, CT via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
This next car comes as a seller submission from TC who describes his Porsche 951 as a “very nice car”. Wait, what is a 951? The 951 is the Porsche internal designation for the turbocharged version of the 944. Porsche took the front-engine transaxle equipped successor to the 924 and boosted it to 220 horsepower…but that doesn’t matter for todays 951, because it has a Chevrolet LS1 V8 borrowed from a Pontiac GTO squeezed into the engine bay. Find this 1987 Porsche 944 offered for $22,000 in Tampa, FL on Pro-Touring.com.
The GT350 name was originally used on the Fastback Mustang from the first generation and it was put to pasture after the 1970 model year. However, for the 20th Anniversary of the Mustang, the product planners at Ford pulled out the GT350 name an put it on a 35 day production run (5261 cars). This new GT350 had no affiliation with Shelby, but it was only available in Oxford White and included 10 more horsepower from the carburetor fed 5.0 V8 (only the automatic transmission equipped version got fuel injection for whatever reason) and it included the TRX handling package. The original TRX metric sized 390mm wheels (I hope Ford fired whoever decided that was a good idea) and white paint are gone…and this thing is covered in a shade of fungus-infected-toenail beige ™. Despite the paint…and salvage title…I like it. Find this 1984 Ford Mustang GT350 5-Speed offered for $13,500 in Oakland, CA via craigslist.
This next car coms as a tip from Rock On who called it a “bundle of snakes”…which surprised me because I hadn’t put the Taurus SHO in the same snake-in-the-box paradigm as something like a ’70s Italian sportscar or an ’80s Jag. Did Ford pickup were Jaguar left off — did they have a factory of careless workers assembling something that was so needlessly complicated that failure is only a turn of the key away at any given time? I’m not sure, but I have heard reports of transmission issues and consistently leaking oil pan…what can the ex-SHOwners in the audience tell us? Find this 1993 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $5500 in Portland, OR via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
This next car comes as a tip from Cosimo who writes: I was scrolling Facebook in my area and came across this listing for a 1983 Datsun 280zx Turbo 2+2 in the marketplace. It’s incorrectly listed as a Nissan 240sx, probably because FB doesn’t have the correct model in their dropdown box. Seller says they’re open to offers. Might make an interesting tip for someone in California. It is a little scruffy for my taste…ehh..who am I kidding, I’ll drive anything with wheels! Find this 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo offered for $6000 in Monrovia, CA via fakebook wreckingplace.