1959 Fiat Abarth 750S Allemano Spyder - A $95,000.00 Fiat

I'm not going to write much about this car, it's not the usual JaCG type of car and the seller has hit all the points I would have hit anyway, but I had to at least do a little post about it.

This car was recently scheduled for auction by Bonhams & Butterfields, but for reasons unknown it was withdrawn from the auction. (Bonhams estimated the value of this car to be between $55,000.00 and $75,000.00, a far cry from the $95,000.00 now being asked for it. I wonder if that had something to do with it being withdrawn?)

This is one of those cars that is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Unless you're at the right high-end car show at the right time, your chances of seeing one of these is pretty slim. Even if you don't have $95,000.00 to spend on a car, the eBay listing, with a ton of clear pictures, is well worth checking out.

Located in Weston, FL, click here to see the eBay listing.

(Just a thought... You could probably buy 4,000 decent Fiat 124 sedans, coupes and Spiders for $95,000.00! - I wonder if there are 4,000 decent 124s left in the world?)

1984 Lada 2101

I've written about my fascination with Eastern European cars in the past. I won't bore you with it again.

This is a very nice Lada 2101. It's located in Hungary.

Lately there have been quite a few old Russian cars listed on eBay. Most, like this one, are still in Eastern Europe. Most of those are being offered for sale by one of the citizens of those countries. There's nothing wrong with that, they're most likely honest people, but there can be the problems of language and both parties not being familiar with export / import procedures. You won't encounter any of those problems with this car. The seller is a former "classic car dealer in Utah" who now lives in Hungary. He claims to have already exported 5 Ladas (among other cars) to the US.

This is a very, very nice Lada. It has less than 50K miles on it.

The asking price for this car is $5000.00. With shipping and small fees, this car will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $7500.00 in total. While that's not cheap,and you can certainly find many, many nice cars already in this country for that kind of money, you won't find many cars with the exclusivity and uniqueness of a Lada.

Located in Eger, Hungary, click here to see the eBay listing for this car (which includes a lot of good clear pictures).

JaCG reader, Andre, runs a great website called Lada USA. If you're thinking of bringing a Lada into the US or are just curious about the cars, it's well worth checking out. You can find it here.

1982 Daimler Sovereign - Maybe, Maybe Not

This is an interesting car.

The Daimler Sovereign is nothing more than a Jaguar XJ6 with a different grill, trim and badging. Cool enough, as the XJ6, especially the Series III, were very nice cars.

I've seen a couple of Daimler's at car shows over the years (and, 5 or 6 years ago, one very rusty one sitting at a low-end used car lot a few miles from where I live. I inquired about it and the seller went into this spiel about how rare it is and how the Queen drives one - really? - and that it was a "bargain" at $14,000.00. I still wonder what kind of mushrooms were in the salad he was eating), but they've all been right-hand-drive. This car is left-hand-drive. It's the first one I've seen in the US, but then again, it might not be...

This car was originally brown, but was repainted red. From the pictures, it appears to have been done well, as the inner fenders, underside of the trunk, etc., are red. The interior, according to the build plate (more on that in a bit), was at one time "Biscuit" in color. The current red and black interior goes better with the exterior color, but it's a little over the top for a Daimler. I'd dye it all black or maybe black and gray.

This car is not perfect. It has some rust and the dashboard veneer is cracking. If I bought it, I'd take a utility knife to the black "cloth" roof ASAP.

Ah, but it's the build plate that worries me... The VIN number of this car is SAJAV1345DC353754. That's not a Daimler VIN. The first 3 letters (SAJ) indicate that the car, or at least the plate, is from a Jaguar. Daimler's VINs start with SAD. After seeing that, I punched the VIN number into Carfax and it came up belonging to a brown 1983 Jaguar XJ6.

So what is this car? The speedometer reads in MPH, so at first I thought it was a North American spec Jaguar XJ6 with all the Daimler stuff in place. BUT, take a look at the side marker lights. They are not the Lucas side marker lights that came on the XJ6. They're some sort of aftermarket light, possibly used to get the car DOT certified (or they could be replacements for the original broken or missing Lucas lights). The front and rear bumpers are Euro-spec bumpers.

I have no idea what this car is.

As I said in the beginning of this post, the Series III XJ6 is a very, very nice car. If you can get this one cheap (it's a no reserve auction), it could be a nice winter restoration project. Having the Daimler pieces on it will make it a conversation starter at any car show.

Located in Silver Spring, MD, click here to see the eBay listing.

1985 BMW E30 Baur TC

I'm a little confused by this listing. The listing's title states 1985 BMW M3 Baur TC. That caught my eye. I've never seen an M3 Baur convertible.

I'm fairly certain that I still haven't seen one, as this doesn't look like an M3. (I'd say I'm "100% certain", but it seems like any time I say that I turn out to be wrong. I've learned to "hedge".)

Not that it matters, the E30 Baur convertible is an interesting car in its own right. It's not a common car in general, and here in the US, it's extremely uncommon.

All Baur BMWs in the US came in via the gray market.

Baur's relationship with BMW started in the 1930s. In the 1960s they started building BMW 1600 convertibles. This led to the 2002 TC (Top Cabrio), the first BMW with the targa style roof. Baur continued the TC tradition with the E21. Even after BMW started building its own E30 convertible (which Baur designed for BMW), Baur continued to build theirs.

The Baur convertible is very different from any of BMW's own convertibles. Baur kept a portion of the roof structure, which gave the car a roll bar of sorts. You could just open the area above the passengers, just the area above the back seat, both, or leave the roof closed. It looks a bit awkward, but it's a great setup. (Jaguar had a similar setup with the Jaguar XJS Cabriolet. Another car I need to own at some point in my life.)

This Baur convertible is a 3 owner car. It was imported in 1991. The seller does not give a lot of info (maybe this car has some M3 parts in it, but it's not mentioned), but includes a bunch of very clear pictures. He also includes a phone number to call with any questions.

Located somewhere in Westchester County, NY, click here to see the eBay listing.

Weekend Quickies, September 26, 2010

1986 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible - The early 1980s weren't kind to the Corvette. (They really weren't kind to any car, for that matter) Things started to get better as the decade went on, however.

After eliminating the Corvette convertible 11 years earlier, Chevy re-introduced it in '86. 1986 was the first model to come with standard ABS. It also got aluminum heads, which upped the horsepower from 230 to 235. The 1986 Corvette could hit 60MPH in 5.7 seconds.

The 1986 Corvette wasn't perfect; build quality and materials still left a lot to be desired and the digital dash was a joke.

This 1986 Corvette is a 60,000 mile, adult owned convertible. It has been well taken care of.

Mid-eighties Corvettes are not valuable and this car, even as nice as it is, is being offered at just $8,495.00. There aren't many (any) V8 sports cars available for such little money.

Located in Manorville, NY, click here to see the eBay listing.

1987.5 Audi "Special Build" Coupe GT - Audi only sent a handful of these over to the United States in mid-1987. The big difference between the pre-1987.5 coupes and the "Special Build" coupe is the engine. The SB had a 2.3 liter engine 5 cylinder engine. Earlier cars came with a 2.2 liter engine. The car is quicker and more refined than the earlier coupes.

With just over 800 having been produced, these cars will some day be a minor collectible (at least among Audi fans).

Based on the one picture included in the ad, this car appears to be in nice shape. It comes with a bunch of spare parts. The asking price of $1800.00 seems very low and if the car is all the seller says it is, it's a bargain.

Located in Cincinnati, OH, click here to see the Craigslist ad.


1973 Toyota Celica - Some cars just make you say "wow". This is one of those cars.

Everything about this car was done right. Check out the seller's text and pictures.

Located in North Hollywood, CA, click here to see the eBay listing.

Weekend Quickies, September 25, 2010

1988 Alfa Romeo Verde - As I've written in the past, it doesn't take much to get me to write about an Alfa Romeo Milano (75).

This is a Milano Verde. It came with the amazing 3.0 liter engine, all the options Alfa had to offer, Recaro seats, an orange backlit dash and more.

This is a well maintained car, in very good condition. The asking price, $5000.00, seems very reasonable.

Located in Sacramento, CA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

1974 Renault R12 - Now this is cool. When was the last time you saw one of these?

The R12 was extremely popular in every part of the world except for North America. It never sold well here.

The seller calls this car a "probable 1 owner has been stored forever". He claims the body "is straight and no rust issues".

Parts are not easy to find in the US (but not impossible, either), but very easy to acquire from Europe.

This would be a great restoration project for someone looking for an unusual car to bring to shows, drive on the weekends, etc.

Located in Duluth, MN, with an asking price of just $350.00, you can see the Craigslist listing here.

1976 Buick Opel by Isuzu

A little odd piece of automotive history...

GM stopped importing the "real", German, Opel at the end of 1975. GM, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the American public didn't want sporty German coupes. Especially ones that cost more than the average Japanese "economy" car. (Apparently no one at GM was taking notice of the ever increasing sales of the BMW 2002.)

GM replaced the "real" Opel, with this, the Buick Opel by Isuzu. That's quite possibly the worst name ever given to a car. There wasn't even a model name, it was just Buick Opel by Isuzu. The reason this was done was pretty simple; cost. There were hundreds, if not thousands of Buick dealers in the US at the time. They all had big, lighted "Buick / Opel" signs out front. The cost of changing all those signs would have been a lot for the dealers to absorb.

The Buick Opel by Isuzu was an Isuzu Gemini. It was built on GM's T-car platform, the same platform as the Chevy Chevette. It didn't come close to being as fun to drive or as well built as the Opel Manta it replaced. GM dropped the line in 1980.

The car didn't disappear, though. In 1981 Isuzu reintroduced it through their own dealers it as the Isuzu I-Mark. (A name that might not have been quite as stupid Buick Opel by Isuzu, but it was close.) Isuzu's early marketing emphasis was on diesel versions. The 51hp four-cylinder was technically advanced for its time, but, as Hemmings recently wrote, "the I-Mark rode and drove like a ten-year-old car...a very slow ten-year-old car". The I-Mark never sold well in the US.

Few Buick Opel by Isuzus still exist. This one appears to be in very nice condition. An exciting car, it is not. An interesting piece of history, it is. For that reason alone, it's nice to see one in this condition.

Located in Pleasant Ridge, MI, click here to see the Craigslist ad

The Kitten Meme's Influence on Automotive Marketing

The Dodge Caravan "Kittens" commercial is strange. What else can you say about it? It's an odd jump to the concluding line of copy: "It has everything. So you can do anything."

After watching the Dodge ad I had to wonder if they were inspired by another recent, fairly viral kitten ad. A year ago Toyota Australia did a commercial with their Ninja Kittens that is far more entertaining with a better soundtrack, energy and storyline.


All of this makes me wonder if kitten memes, laser cats, and general fascination lately with being a 'cat person' is showing it's impact on automotive advertising. Should we expect more? Will it always be human- kittens or will this develop into something more emotional and gentle like Ikea's brilliant ad that recently featured cats getting comfortable in a store after closing? (ps - don't forget to checkout the Ikea behind the scenes video.)

1975 Dodge Colt GT

This is another one of those cars that was extremely popular in its day, but few still exist now. Dodge sold 125,000 Colts in 1975 alone.

Introduced in 1971, the Colt was Dodge's answer to the Pinto and the Vega. (Plymouth got the Cricket - a rebadged Hillman Avenger. In a typical Chrysler "let's confuse the hell out of everyone" move, Chrysler marketed the Colt as a Plymouth Cricket in Canada after they stopped importing the Avenger. In the US, after Chrysler pulled the plug on the British built Cricket, Plymouth didn't get a "small car" until 1976 when they go the Mitsubishi built Arrow.) In hindsight, it was a much better car than both the Pinto, Vega and many other small cars for sale in the US in the early 1970s. Like the Pinto and Vega, it was rear-wheel drive.

The Colt GT got special exterior striping, a fancier interior (with a center console) and special wheels. But it was more than just an appearance package. The 1975 Colt GT received a bigger engine, the 2.0 liter "Astron" engine with its "Jet Valve" technology. The Jet Valve was a third valve that induced swirl in the intake charge, enabling the use of leaner fuel/air mixtures for lower emissions.

Like most cars of the early 1970s, Colts rusted badly.

The seller of this Colt says the paint "getting a little thin", but it appears to have little, if any rust on it. The drivers seat needs to be redone. It's also said to run and drive "great".

While the later Colt Turbo is more exciting, this 2.0 Colt is less trouble prone. If you're looking for a classic Japanese coupe, one that's dependable and not often seen these days, this might be a car worth looking at.

Located in Santa Clara, CA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

V

1967 Maserati Mistral 4.0

I'm blown away every time I see a Mistral. (Those of you who know the origin of the Mistral name will get the pun.) They are absolutely beautiful and represent everything that was good about Italian cars in the 1960s.

The body was designed by Pietro Frua. It's a masterpiece. The DOHC, twin-spark straight six engine came from the Maserati 250F Grand Prix car. The interior was typical Italian sport / luxury... Lots of leather , gauges and switches. Perfect.

This one has an interesting history. It was displayed at the New York Auto Show in 1967. It was recently (2007) featured in Autoweek Magazine (Find the article here.)

This car is a is a 3 owner unmolested original car. Even the Lucas fuel-injection is in place.

There's not a whole lot not to like about this car. If I were to nitpick I would say that I don't like the optional air conditioning vents in the center of the dash, but that's about it.

The seller says this to potential buyers: "This car should continue to be kept mechanically sound, but not cosmetically restored." I couldn't agree more.

Click here to see the eBay listing.

Maserati Gran Turismo 2008

Hi there cool automotive fans, today we would like to present you the 2008 Maserati Gran Turismo. This two seat coup sport car has a curvy design on the body it’s gives the simple modern looks to the exterior, with dual xenon lights this cool car also providing a maximum visibility to the surrounding specially in the middle of bad weather. The High-low control beam unit gives a quick speed information and control to the driver.

The interior has a longitudinal interior, a horizontal V shape dashboard and amazing interior detail such as chrome switch at the dashboard and steering wheel. A trident logo also decorated the seat to reflect the sporty looks and to show how magnificent Maserati is.

1976 Land Rover Forward Control 101 (FC 101)

Want to have the baddest 4x4 on your block? Here ya go...

The Land Rover FC101 was built to satisfy a British Army requirement for an air-transportable heavy duty four wheel drive vehicle. There is nothing civilian (or civilized) about it.

The FC101 originally came with Rover's 3.5 liter V8. It has a 4-speed transmission, 2-speed transfer case and full-time four wheel drive. A 24 volt charging system was standard. (Probably made by Lucas - Which most likely means that you get twice the sparks and smoke than you get with a standard Lucas 12 volt set-up.)

Quite a few of these, including this one, were built with LHD, as they spent a lot of time on the European continent as part of NATO.

This one has had its V8 removed, with an (unknown brand) diesel taking its place. Apparently, that's a pretty common swap.

Located in Youngsville, NC, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

Arrrggghhh...

All sorts of computer issues this week. Posts will be a little later than usual and maybe a bit briefer.

Sorry.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (2006)

1979 Volvo 242GT - A Tradional Volvo With A Bit Of Flair

You don't see many of these around anymore.

The Volvo 240-series cars were well engineered, extremely durable, incredibly practical cars. Sporty, they were not. The 242GT was Volvo's attempt at changing that.

The 242GT was still well engineered, extremely durable and incredibly practical, but it had a bit of sportiness about it, too.

Volvo basically took the stock 242 (200 series, 4 cylinder, 2 door), dressed it up and called it the GT.

All 242GTs were painted silver and had orange and black stripes. The front end got a little spoiler. The grill had a pair of well integrated driving lights. The wheels were a 14 x 5 1/2-inch alloys.

Inside, All 242GTs came with black corduroy seats with an orange vinyl stripe. It also had an orange stripe running the length of the dashboard. That doesn't sound real good on paper, but it actually looks really cool, in a retro kind of way. The GT also got tach, a smaller diameter steering wheel and a shorter shifter.

To give it a little crisper handling, Volvo tweaked the suspension, replacing the standard 17mm front sway bar with a 23mm bar. The springs were stiffened and the shocks were revalved.

The engine, sadly, remained the same. It put out just over 100 HP, which meant that this car was no rocket. Volvo was aiming this car towards a person who liked European cars that were sportier than Volvo's standard offerings. With the relatively weak engine, I can't imagine many people chose the 242GT over an Alfa, BMW, Audi or Saab Turbo. The 242 GT most likely sold to traditional Volvo buyers who were attracted to the body add-ons and the interior. (In 1981 Volvo introduced the GLT Turbo which, with its 127 HP turbocharged engine, was competitive with Alfa, Audi BMW and Saab.)

I remember seeing a few of these cars back in the day, but I haven't seen one for a very long time. I doubt that many still exist.

This car has 126,553 miles on it. That's low mileage for an old Volvo. The seller says that most of the car is original.

The Buy It Now price of $9,850.00 is steep, but if you're looking for a unique old Volvo, one that is loaded with all the things that made Volvos great 30 years ago along with a few sporty touches, this car may be for you. Just don't expect to win many races.

Located in Portland, Maine, click here to see the eBay listing.

Ford GT

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$400.00 Fiat 128 Project

This car is rough, but the seller says it has "no structural rust"

It has a 1300cc motor in it that "dropped a valve". The seller is including a 1600cc DOHC engine in the deal.

This car is being offered for just $400.00.

Heck, you could rebuild the 1300cc head and sell the 1600cc engine to cover most of the cost of the car.

Located in Redding, CA, click here to see the Craigslist ad for this 1975 Fiat 128.

The seller has a slide show of the car posted on YouTube. Find it here.

1976 Jensen GT "Project Car"

Although not called a Jenson-Healey, this was the last of the Jensen-Healey cars and, really, the last gasp for Jensen.

The Jensen GT was the last version of the Jensen-Healey, which started out as a roadster in 1972. To create the original roadster, four great names in British car history, Donald Healey, Jensen Motors, Lotus and Kjell Qvale, came together. Qvale bought Jensen, installed Healey as chairman and the car had a Lotus engine.

The roadster was initially a problem prone car, but by 1974 most of the bugs had been worked out of it and it had become a very nice traditional British sports car.

Donald Healey left the company in 1974. The popular notion is that he left because of dissatisfaction with the Jensen-Healey car. More than likely, he left for financial reasons. When Qvale bought Jensen in 1970, he offered shares of the company to Healey, assuring him that the company would eventually go public and that he would become wealthy. That was part of the deal that brought Healey to Jensen. That never happened and Healey, unhappy about that and with Qvale in general, left the company. That's why this car is known as the Jensen GT and not the Jensen-Healey GT.

The Jensen GT used most of the roadsters body panels, but had a hatchback style roof. Its interior was far more luxurious than the roadster, with a dashboard trimmed in burled wood, power windows and optional leather seats. It also had a tiny back seat that was unsuitable for anything other than a very small child or a dog. A sunroof was optional. The Jensen GT was more of a pint-sized Interceptor than a true sports car. In my eyes, it's a great looking car.

The Jensen GT was not a bad car by any means. What killed it was the price. A Jensen GT cost just under $10,000.00 in 1975. The roadster had sold for under $5,000.00. Not helping things was the added weight of the roof, which made the GT slower than the roadster. More money, extra weight and reduced acceleration is not a recipe for automotive success.

Jensen was in very big financial trouble by the time this car was introduced. They were only able to build around 500 before shutting the doors. This is a rare car.

This car is being offered for $3200.00. There isn't much of a description of the car in the ad, but it seems like the seller is saying that it's "80%" restored, but still needs work. He says it has just 34,000 miles on it. The seller leaves his phone number and says that a full description and more photos are available "upon request".

Depending on just what it needs done to it (and it looks like it needs at least paint and bodywork), this could be a nice winter restoration project. Out of the original 500 or so, how many can be left? It would be a hit at any British car show.

Located in Simi Valley, CA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

Footnote: After Jensen closed and Qvale walked away, Donald Healey tried to restart the company. He approached the British government for financial backing, but was rejected. It was the same government which, ironically, went on to lend 50 times as much money to John DeLorean to set up the DMC-12 facility in Northern Ireland. I suspect they might have done better by investing in Healey.