1967 Live Axle Triumph TR4A

This car is interesting for a couple of reasons. First of all, it has a live rear axle. Secondly, it's drop dead gorgeous.

The TR4A was introduced in 1965. It was an update of the TR4, which had been around since 1961. The biggest change was the chassis, which had a new independent rear suspension.

British car fans (of which I am one) are an odd lot. They tend to hate change. When the TR4 was introduced in 1961, Triumph dealers were afraid that their customers wouldn't like it and convinced Triumph to continue building the TR3, too. The two sold side by side for a couple of years.

When Triumph introduced the TR4A, the dealers were afraid that their customers would not like the new independent rear suspension. They convinced Triumph to offer the TR4A with an optional live rear axle, very similar to the one found on the old TR4. Triumph obliged. By most accounts 25% of the TR4As were ordered with the live axle.

This live axle TR4A is in beautiful condition. It has had a frame off restoration.
The only glaring flaw I can find in this car is the satellite radio unit sticking out of the dash. What's up with that? This is a 1967 Triumph... The only sounds you should be listening to are the sounds of the engine and the sound of air coming over the top of the windshield and past your ears.

I guess if you decide to take this car on a cross country trip (how cool would that be?) and want to find out what the weather is like 200 miles ahead, a satellite radio could be useful. Or, you could just rip the thing out and take your chances, just like everyone did back when this car was new. That's what I'd do.

Located in Marietta, GA, click here to see the eBay listing.

1959 Vauxhall Victor Super

There are very few of these left in the US. For a time you could buy a Vauxhall at your local Pontiac dealer.

Vauxhall is the British subsidiary of General Motors. Even though it's small (by North American standards) it has the look of a large 1950s American sedan. There's a lot of chrome, little fins and a wrap-around windshield. If it were larger it could easily be mistaken for a Chevy.

Despite the fair number of Pontiac dealers carrying the Vauxhall line, it never sold very well in the US. They were very rust prone and few survive.

This car has spent its life in the "California high desert" and is relatively rust free. The seller says it was "drivable when parked 37 years ago", which is - unintentionally - a pretty amusing statement.

This car needs a lot of work, but it's not hopeless. The desert climate has kept it free of serious rust. The body has dents, they look like they could be popped out and filled. The most serious issue would be the dented roof. The desert climate that kept the body in decent shape took its toll on the interior, which will need to be completely redone. The engine is in unknown condition.

The starting bid for this car is $200.00, but there is a reserve. If the reserve is reasonable and you can get this for a realistic price, this could be a cool long term project. I've been to hundreds of car shows in my life and I have never seen a Vauxhall at any of them.

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

Hyundai Debuts iPad Ad During The Oscars



It's an interesting sell for a $60k plus luxury car - feature the owner's manual. Manuals are something so mundane and expected, but what wasn't expected from a car manufacturer is an electronic version included in the glove-box on an Apple iPad.

But does it matter? Does the owner manual matter in a luxury sedan? Of course no one is going to buy a $60k car because they get a $500 tablet computer. The Hyundai Equus ad has nothing to do with attracting luxury car buyers, it's really about the brand showing they are being innovative and hopefully some of that innovation will rub-off on other shoppers who may consider another Hyundai vehicle, sans iPad.

Is the Equus iPad app really that innovative? There have been other versions of owner manuals including the cassette tape I received when I bought a 1997 BMW 318i. Sure it was no iPad, but it was better than flipping through the paper copy in the glove-box.

Some found the debut of Hyundai's Equus iPad Owner Manual ad during tonight's Oscars a "Brilliant" idea. It is a solid idea and a great way for owners to get to know their car better, especially with all the technology in today's cars. It is an excellent way to explain the complexity of today's vehicles. Fortunately, my former 1997 BMW didn't have today's electronics and could be expressed on a tape deck.

Of course you don't need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to experience the Equus iPad Owner Manual; instead, you just need an iPad and an iTunes store account. Click here to download the Owner Manual app.


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Weekend Quickies - Sunday, February 27, 2011

1985 Renault Alliance Convertible - This car has 340 miles on it. That's not a typo... Three hundred and forty miles.

The seller, who has owned it for all of its 26 years, does not explain why it has just 340 miles. Did he forget that he bought it? Did he misplace it? ("Honey, did you see where I left the Renault?") Did he grow bored with it after a week?

Not counting the GTA, the Alliance convertible is the only Alliance worth owning. They looked pretty good with the top down and - for reasons I don't know - seemed to be put together better than the sedans. I have a friend who has owned one for 15 years and says it's more fun to drive than his (many) sports cars.

If you missed your chance to buy a new Alliance convertible back in 1985, here's your second chance. I can say with 99.99% certainty that you will never have this chance again.

Located in Portage, PA, click here to see the eBay listing.

Check out this real (and really cheesy) Alliance promo spot posted on Tamerlane's Thoughts. I know it was the eighties, but what were they thinking?

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Álvaro, for sending me the link to this car!

1976 Lancia Beta Coupe - This Beta Coupe is in amazing condition.

This is a 1 owner, 23,000 mile, all original car.

How many Lancia Beta Coupes can there be like this in the world?

Located in Federal Way, WA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

The seller includes a link to a Flickr page with more pictures of this car. Find it here.

1965 Toyota Stout - This is really cool. When it came to designing vehicles, the Japanese, up until the 1980s or so, were the champs when it came to bizarre styling touches. (Or at least co-champs with Citroen.)

Take a walk around a Stout and it looks pretty normal, almost bland, until you get to the front end. The turn signals are mounted at the end of tunnels (for lack of a better word) that run down the tops of the fenders. There's no really good reason for this, they would have worked just as well if they were mounted in the grille or bumper, Toyota just did it to be different. It looks pretty cool.

Except for the body, the Stout is pretty traditional. It has a 4 cylinder engine, a 4 speed transmission with a column mounted shifter and drum brakes all around.

The seller says that just 500 Stouts made their way to the US and I have no reason to doubt that figure. I suspect that very, very few have survived as these vehicles were very prone to rust.

This pick up truck would attract attention anywhere you drive it.

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

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Russ, for sending me the link to this truck!

1973 Fiat 850 - The above Lancia and Toyota were notorious for their ability to rust. They were pretty sturdy though, compared to this car. The Fiat 850 was damn near water soluble.

It's really too bad that so few of these cars survive. They're great looking, a blast to drive, and a cool rear-engine alternative to an MG Midget or Triumph Spitfire.

This car has either been restored or somehow escaped the dreaded tin-worm. It's a very nice looking car. The seller says it has new brakes, clutch, water pump, and has been recently serviced. It has a new top and the seats were redone "a few years ago".

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

The Medallion Finds A Home

Remember the Renault Medallion I posted earlier in the week? It was a bargain at $650.00.

Not too surprisingly, it found a home pretty quickly. The buyer, Angel, posted his experience in the "comments" section. I don't know how many people read the comments section of older posts, so I decided to post part of it here for everyone to see...

Hey guys...I'm the new owner of grandma's Medallion. I found it in the Central Jersy Craigslist. Ive recently been in the market for a cheap and fuel efficient commuter. This one seemed to fit the bill. After talking to the seller by phone, I took a 25 minute ride over to check it out...After a few jokes, I agreed that it fit the bill, so I bought it from the autoshop owner who was selling it for the old lady. Just took it for a test ride. It needed a battery which I've already installed and seems to have an issue with either the brake booster or vacuum to the booster. Car is surprisingly clean for it being 23 years old. Gonna need some tires and a good vacuuming, but considering I'm getting at best 15 mpg on my Tahoe, it should pay itself off within a few months (so long as it stays together). With 51000 on the clock, I'm hopeful.

It's cool to see that the car found a new home. It's also cool to see that the Craigslist ad was accurate and the sellers were honest, stand up guys.

Nice buy, Angel. Good luck with it and keep us posted!

2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera Pictures









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Weekend Quickies - Saturday, Febraury 26, 2011

1979 Ford Pinto Pony - A few weeks ago I posted a 4000 mile Chevy Vega. I guess I need to post this car, too.

The Pinto had a lot going for it. The engine, a 2.3 liter 4, was far more reliable than the Vega's aluminum engine. In fact, the Pinto engine was a very good engine that was used in a number of Ford cars and stayed in production until the late 1990s. Probably its best use was in the Mustang SVO and the Merkur XR4Ti. In both those cars it was turbocharged.

The body was pleasant enough to look at and didn't rust nearly as quickly as the Vega did.

The Pinto did have one infamous flaw, though... In a rear end collision, you would be cooked alive in it. When the Pinto was hit in the rear (at speeds as low as 30 MPH) there was a chance of the gas tank exploding. To make matters worse, the car would often crumple in a way that made it impossible to open the doors, making it virtually impossible to get out of the burning car. Ford, who knew about the design flaw, didn't think it was worth spending the $11.00 per car it would have cost to correct the problem. One of the tools that Ford used to justify this was a "cost-benefit analysis" of altering the fuel tanks. According to Ford's estimates, the unsafe tanks would cause 180 burn deaths, 180 serious burn injuries, and 2,100 burned vehicles each year. It calculated that it would have to pay $200,000 per death, $67,000 per injury, and $700 per vehicle, for a total of $49.5 million. However, the cost of saving lives and injuries ran even higher: alterations would cost $11 per car or truck, which added up to $137 million per year. (Source: Engineering.com)

This Pinto has just 5,583 miles on it. Why? According to the seller, "The lady that bought the car new became worried about driving the car after hearing that the car could catch fire if hit in the rear.... So she did the unthinkable and parked the car in the garage and would only drive it up and down the street..."

Ironically, this is a "safe" Pinto. In 1978 Ford recalled the Pinto and retrofitted a safety kit. Subsequent Pintos (like this one) came with the kit and are as safe as any small car built in the 1970s is.

Located in Shawsville, VA, click here to see the eBay listing.

1973 Jensen Healey - This appears to be a really nice Jensen Healey. It's all original and the seller says it has no rot.

The Jensen Healey uses the Lotus 907 engine. In fact, it was the first car to use the Lotus 907 engine. This engine had some problems, but most were addressed by Lotus later on and the fixes can be retrofitted to the Jensen Healey.

There are very few of these cars left. Rust was a huge issue and many just rotted away.

If this car is everything the seller says it is, the Buy It Now price of $5,850.00 is reasonable.

Located in Wind Gap, PA, click here to see the eBay listing.

1963 Volga 21 - So you have $120,000.00 in your pocket and you want a new car. You fire up the computer and head over to eBay to find one...

For $80,000.00 you can buy this very nice 2001 Ferrari 360 Modena and have enough money leftover to buy this 2008 Audi Q7 to use in bad weather.

Or, you could buy this incredible 2010 Aston Martin V8 Vantage and still have enough money to fill the tank a dozen times.

Or, you could fill your garage and yard with this 1984 Renault R5 Turbo2 ($40K), this low mileage 2007 BMW M Coupe ($30K), this very nice 1993 Alfa Spider ($8K) and this 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo ($42K)

Or... You can buy this Volga.

If you've been reading JaCG for awhile, you know that I'm fascinated by, and am a fan of, many Eastern European and Russian cars. This one sure is in nice condition (I'd say it's the nicest one I've ever seen, but I've never actually seen one), but is it really worth $120,000.00??

If it is, and you're looking for one, here's your chance... Located in either Armenia or Studio City, CA, click here to see the eBay listing.

PS - Me? If I had $120K burning a hole in my pocket, I'd go for the third group of cars listed above.

1987 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD

It's hard to believe this car is 24 years old. It seems like it was only a few years ago that I saw one for the first time.

The concept of "not quite a station wagon / not quite an SUV" is pretty common now. Back in 1983, when this car was introduced, it was almost unheard of.

The Tercel SR5 4WD is a true 4WD vehicle. You shift it in and out of 4WD with a lever between the seats. It can only be used in 4WD on loose or slippery surfaces. In 2WD you had 5 forward gears. When 4WD was engaged you could use an extra gear (extra low) that effectively made the transmission a 6 speed.

The biggest flaw in this vehicle is the engine. It's a 1.5 liter 4. It took over 18 seconds for this car to reach 60 MPH. It's actually a good engine and was used in many other Toyota cars, but in the Tercel 4WD it was prone to overheating and head gasket failure. I suspect that had more to do with the owners revving the daylights out of the engine to get the car moving at a reasonable pace than any inherent flaw in the engine itself.

The body had a different look to it than most anything else on the market. The bottom of the rear side windows didn't line up with the rest of the glass. The tailgate, with the offset license plate frame / handle, sort of reminds me of the doors on the first refrigerators with ice dispensers. While I've grown more accustomed to it over the years, I still don't know if I like the overall styling of this car.

This car has had quite a bit of work done to it, including an engine rebuild. The body is in respectable condition for a 24 year old car. It wouldn't take much to make it perfect.

Tonight, on a 20 minute drive from a friend's house, I encountered rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow and hail. (Gotta love New England!) While I wouldn't want to drive a Tercel 4WD every day, tonight, at least for those 20 minutes, I would have traded my BMW for this car in a heartbeat.

28 years after its introduction, this car is still unique. It would be a very cool winter beater.

Located in Sparks, NV, click here to see the eBay listing.

A big thanks to Jon for sending me the link to this car!

2 Rare, But Rough, British Sedans

1959 Wolseley 6/99 - The 6/99 is a somewhat significant Wolseley. It was the last large Wolseley sedan.

The 6/99 body was designed by Pininfarina. It came with a 2.9 liter 6. (Said to be the same engine used in the Austin Healey 3000.) For a large 1950's British sedan, it was fairly quick. 60 MPH came in 14 seconds and it had a top speed of 100 MPH.

Sold for only 2 years (an updated version, the 6/110, lived on for another 7 years) just 13,000 were built. I suspect that most were RHD, making this LHD model rare.

This, sadly, is most likely nothing more than a parts car. It has front end damage, rust and the interior is shot. Anything is restorable, I guess, but, even a guy like me, who wants to see everything back on the road, has to admit that the best use for this car is most likely keeping another Wolseley alive.

Located in Little Rock, AK, click here to see the eBay listing.

1959 Humber Super Snipe - This is not as bad as it looks. It is - if you have the time, money and inclination - very restorable.

Humber was part of the Rootes Group. It was officially sold in the US, but never heavily promoted by Rootes, who was having a fair amount of success here with their Hillman and Sunbeam brands.

I always found it odd that Rootes didn't push this car more than they did. It was large, came with a 6 cylinder engine and was well appointed. It seems like a car we would have taken to here in the US.

This car is interesting. Someone loved it once. It has a "Humber 1" vanity plate and a Post Vintage Humber Car Club badge on it. The seller says that much of the trim has been re-chromed and is still in wrapping.

The seller provides a link to a photo album of this car. Based on those picture, the body looks to be in pretty good shape. The interior is very rough and, although it apparently "ran when parked" 15 years ago, the engine is now seized. (The seller dumped some Marvel Mystery Oil in the engine in an attempt to free it up. Believe it or not, that sometimes works. I did it to a 1967 Sunbeam Alpine that I pulled out of a junkyard. It freed the engine and I drove the car for two years before selling it. It's a "mystery" to me how and why it worked, but it did.)

This guy had another Humber for sale a few months ago. As I wrote in a post about that car, Humbers are not worth a lot of money, so anyone taking on this car would be doing it as a labor of love.

This is a great old British sedan and one that is virtually unknown in the US. I hope someone takes this project on.

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

1988 Renault Medallion (21) - Bargain Euro Sedan

When was the last time you saw one of these?

The Medallion was meant to replace the underachieving Renault 18i and the antiquated AMC Concord in the Renault / AMC lineup.

The Medallion never sold well. By the time Renault introduced it in the US their sales were free falling. Chrysler took over AMC within a few months of the Medallion's introduction. They had little interest in selling it. It was re-badged as an Eagle Medallion, but within 2 years it was dropped from the lineup.

Based on the European Renault 21, it featured a 2.2 liter 4 cylinder engine. For all around drivability, this was the best 4 cylinder engine Renault ever sent to the US.

Like most of the Renaults we received in the US, it was very well designed and engineered, but not very well put together. It would most likely never leave you stranded, but you'd be forever replacing small items.

As most of you have figured out, I'm a fan of Renaults. I test drove one of these shortly after they were introduced. I remember it being quicker than any other Renault sedan I had driven or owned and extremely comfortable. All-in-all, I'd describe it as "pleasant". And that's the problem...

A company like Renault needed something better than "pleasant" in the US. It needed something exciting, it needed something quirky, it needed something, anything, to make it stand out from the crowd. The Medallion didn't possess any of those qualities. It was just one of a great number of pleasant sedans being offered in the US. It, rightly, got lost in the crowd.

This car is pretty amazing. It is a 1 owner car. That one owner was a 91 year old woman who put just 52,000 miles on it. (Normally, I would be skeptical of the 91-year-old-woman-owner story, but that's the type of person who often wound up with these cars. They'd go into the dealership where the bought their Hornet 10 years before and their Rambler 10 years before that, looking for a new, comfortable, car. "Joe", the salesperson they'd been dealing with since the 1960s, would put them in a Medallion. He didn't have much else to sell them.) It needs some minor work (of course), but is being offered for the absurdly reasonable price of $650.00.

Located in Raritan Township, NJ, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Blair, for sending me the link to this car.

1989 Jaguar XJ6 Shooting Brake

As I mentioned a few days ago, I recently discovered the site Autoshite.com. It has taken up way too much of my free time lately.

Despite the name, not everything posted on that site is "shite". I stumbled on this last night.

This Jaguar XJ6(XJ40) station wagon (or "shooting brake", as they say in England) is believed to be 1 of only 3 built by a company called Humberstone.

It's kind of a tease to post this, because even if you could deal with the steering wheel being on the right, it's a 1989 car, which means it can't be legally imported for another 3 years. (Hmmm... I wonder if the seller has a 3 year layaway plan?)

I just thought I'd point it out, as it's a really nice looking, unusual, car.

Located in Oxfordshire, UK, click here to see the Car And Classic ad.

1957 AC Aceca - Rare And In Need Of A Lot Of Work...

This is not going to be cheap to buy or cheap to repair. But, it's so rare and so cool I had to post it.

The Aceca was produced from 1954 - 1963. It is one of the earliest examples of a hatchback. It's based on the AC Ace, which went on to become the AC / Shelby Cobra.

Three engines were available in the Aceca; a 90 HP AC engine, which was designed in 1919, a 125 HP Bristol engine and, towards the end of its run, a Ford 2553cc engine. All were straight sixes. 151 were built with the AC engine, 169 with the Bristol engine and 8 were built with the Ford engine.

I'd be lying of I told you that I know a lot about the Aceca engines, but from what little info I can gather, this car has the AC engine in it. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.)

This car has been off the road since 1966, and it's pretty obvious why. The seller says the damage stops before the radiator and the suspension is undamaged. He also says the engine turns, but the brakes are "sticky". (Which I find kind of amusing. I mean, after redoing the body, the interior and probably the engine, would you really not do the brakes, whether they were "sticky" or not? It seems like such a minor thing to mention about a car that needs as much works as this one does.)

The great thing about this car is that it will be restored. Someone with the money, time and / or talent will take it on. A car that hasn't moved on its own in 45 years will be at shows for all of us to see.

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

Vintage Grand Prix - Springfield, MA, July 22 -24, 2011

The Vintage Sports Car Club of America has selected the Springfield, MA, as the site of its annual Vintage Grand Prix.

It's happening July 22 to 24.

Springfield is just a few miles south of where I live. I'll be there.

Click here to see the news article.

Find more info here.

Curbside Classic

I love finding out about new, well done, car blogs....

Paul Niedermeyer, formerly from The Truth About Cars, has his own site now. It's called Curbside Classic

If you liked TTAC Curbside Classic, check it out!

1973 Citroen SM

The seller leaves very little information about this car in his ad, but he does say that it has been in storage - indoors - since 1983.

If the car was properly stored - incredibly important on a car as complex as an SM - this could - depending on the price - be a nice find. The body looks to be in good condition and the car appears to be fairly complete.

Located in "Central Florida", click here to see the Craigslist ad.

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Robert, for sending me the link to this car!
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