Some Assembly Required Archives

February 9 2021

Thorsday or Towsday? 1996 Saab 9000 CSE

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 9000, 9000 CSE, Fiat, Lancia, Saab, Some Assembly Required, Thema, Thorsday, turbo 2

The Saab 9000 was built on a shared Saab/Fiat platform that was also used in the 1984-1998 Lancia Thema, Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, and Alfa Romeo 164. This next example of the Saab/Fiat Type 4 platform features an unbeatable combo for a sub $1k car — executive class luxury, front drive safety, and Giorgetto Giugiaro styling. Tow it home, fix it stock, or start pushing up power with the easy to modify Saab B-series 4-cylinder. Find this 1996 Saab 9000 CSE offered for $600 in Castle Rock, OR via craigslist. Tip from Zach.

January 8 2021

Half Restored or Half Baked: 1972 MG Midget

DailyTurismo Classic British, MG, Midget, Project, Some Assembly Required 3

This next car isn’t a museum piece or a rusty barn find…no, it is neither — it lives somewhere in the seedy underworld of automotive purgatory. This half-fixed classic needs someone to expunge its past sins and prepare it for automotive Valhalla or sell it for scrap. But for $1500, you could go either way and break even. Find this 1972 MG Midget offered for $1500 in Cuero, TX via craigslist.

December 15 2020

Serious Assembly Required: 1971 Lotus Seven S4

DailyTurismo Classic British, Fiberglass, Lotus, Seven, Some Assembly Required 3

I’ve never owned one, but have had the opportunity to go for a ride and drive a Lotus Caterham Seven (this was a late model kit car with a 300 horsepower turbo 4-cylinder modern engine) and it was exhilarating to say the least. No, it was terrifying, as a passenger or as a driver. But that was a kit car, and I prefer my cars to come with some history, some patina, some sweat equity needed, like this 1971 Lotus Seven S4 offered for $10,500 in Southeastern Arizona via craigslist.

November 17 2020

Rest In Pieces: 1973 Land Rover Series III

DailyTurismo Classic British, Land Rover, Parts, Series III, Some Assembly Required 1

I love a good challenge as much as the next guy…and I do enjoy assembling an occasional jigsaw puzzle with my kids…but this “Land Rover” is the jigsaw puzzle equivalent of taking 16 different 1000 piece-puzzles, mixing the pieces together, throw half of the pieces away, and stuff the remaining pieces inside of a raw turkey before baking to a crispy 165 degree internal temperature and then attempt to assembled the puzzle on a windy Thanksgiving afternoon wearing a blindfold and being pestered by a chimpanzee driving a skid-steer. However, I can’t think of a better way to spend 5 grand. I think I could rent a chimp and a skid-steer for that much. Find this 1973 Land Rover Series III offered for $5000 in Los Angeles, CA via craigslist.

April 20 2020

Needs Mohr Cylinders: 1951 Jaguar XK120 Kit Car

DailyTurismo Uncategorized British, Jaguar, Kit Car, Some Assembly Required, XK120 9

When somebody says “kit car” I instantly think of Cobras, 550 Spyders, 356 Speedsters, Lotus things, and Kustom Fieros made to look like Ferraris…but I have never really thought about Jags. Particularly XK120 looking Jags from the 1950s that just need an injection of V8 to get going. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re […]

May 3 2019

Ain’t Easy Being Green: 1967 Toyota Corona 1900 Deluxe

DailyTurismo Uncategorized Corona, deluxe, Japanese, Slow, Some Assembly Required, Toyota 1

I’d always rather buy a nicely restored or original condition survivor than a car that has had a cheap respray or is a pile of parts…but this next car appears to be a running/driving example of an unusual classic that just needs a paint job and some TLC. How bad could it be? Find this 1967 […]

April 6 2019

Mid Engine Project: 1970 Lotus Europa S2

DailyTurismo Uncategorized British, Europa, Lotus, Project, S2, Series 2, Some Assembly Required 11

The Lotus Europa has always been a favorite car over around these here parts — we DT writers love its lightweight composite chassis, mid engine high revving powerplant and cheap entry price. Time has driven the nicer examples to higher prices, but you can still get nice cheap Europa for the price of a 911 […]

April 3 2019

Relatively Complete: 1966 Lotus Elan S2

DailyTurismo Uncategorized British, Elan, Lotus, Project, S2, Series 2, Some Assembly Required 2

Most of the automobiles features on these pages are inexpensive classics or late model maniac machines…with an emphasis on cars you can drive and enjoy on the cheap for years on end. However…there are sometimes cars that cross our path that offer a combination of exclusivity and cool factor at an economy car entry price…BUT […]

March 4 2019

Phone Dials: 1986 Porsche 944

DailyTurismo Uncategorized 944, Bottom of the Barrel, German, Porsche, Some Assembly Required 3

I know, I know. I hate to be a pessimist. I hate to be yet another voice on the internet that laments how all the cheap fun cars have been purchased by stamp collectors who’ve inflated their values to the detriment of everyone but the wealthy elite who can afford them. And the collector car […]

January 24 2019

Cheapest M3 For Sale: 2002 BMW E46 M3

DailyTurismo Uncategorized BMW, Busted, E46, Fast, German, M3, Some Assembly Required 8

People claim that something is -est all the time. The fastest. The meanest. The leanest. The beastiest. The cheesiest. The frostiest. The greenest. The chipotlest. The cleanest. The best. The sportiest. The raciest. But they are usually wrong — sometimes on purpose, sometimes through hyperbole, but I’m going to drop an EST on y’all that’ll be […]

Matt C: The rusty steel wheels behind…
Mountainwoodie: Thats a four grand flame on t…
peakay: This is a true sleeper and lo…
Hugh Crawford: The VDO odometer used in Porsc…
SkidRow: It has appeal but with added …
Rocco B.: Needs carburetor adjustment, …
Chris Miller: My preferred fix would be to …
Matt C: Or you could just start with …
Mega Vonza: This one lacks the room necess…
Chris Miller: Moving the rear wheel back ab…