Weekend Quickies - Saturday, April 23, 2011

1981 Ferrari 308 GTBi - There seem to be just two types of Ferrari 308s in the world... First there are the gorgeous, impeccably maintained 308s. These, rightly, sell for top dollar when they come up for sale. Then there are the beat up, neglected 308s. These are usually owned by someone who had no business owning a Ferrari in the first place. The seller asks top dollar ("It's a Ferrari!!!"), but usually gets considerably less, if he sells it at all. These are not bargains, as it costs way more than the car is worth to make it right. (If it can be made right at all.)

This car is rare, as it falls somewhere in between. The seller says this is a "good running Ferrari", but not "concourse". He calls it a "perfect example of a 20 foot car".

If it runs as well as the seller says and you're not looking for a show car, but rather a Ferrari you can take to a restaurant and not worry about where it's parked, this car may be worth looking into. The asking price is not cheap, but realistic at $19,000.00.

Located in Rimrock, AZ, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

1981 Frank Sinatra Edition Chrysler Imperial - Frank Sinatra Edition? It makes sense, I guess. Both Sinatra and the Imperial were once great, but both were way past their prime by 1981.

All fs (Chrysler used the lower case) Imperials were painted "Glacier Blue". They had a plaque on the dash stating "Frank Sinatra Signature Edition". They came with 16 Frank Sinatra cassettes in a special Mark Cross case. (I'm not kidding.) Not too surprisingly, just 271 of these cars were built.

This car has just 74,000 miles on it. The seller says it's stock (Who would customize it?) and it looks to be in very nice condition. There's no mention of whether the cassettes are still with the car.

Located in East Valley, AZ, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

1957 Vauxhall Victor - Vauxhall is the British subsidiary of General Motors. That was extremely evident in the original styling of the "F Series" Victor. It looks like a shrunken mid-fifties Chevy. For awhile these were sold in the US through Pontiac dealers.

The Vauxhall was nowhere near as fast as a Chevy... While the Victor's 55 HP engine had a reputation for being tough and reliable, it wasn't powerful. 60 MPH came in 28 seconds and its top speed was around 75 MPH.

The seller calls this car "original". By "original" I assume he means that it's not modified. I can't see any way that the paint job on this car is original. It just shines too nicely. (Not to mention that the Victor rusted badly and almost all survivors have had some rust repair done to them.)

This is not an old car you'd want to drive everyday, but it would be very cool to bring to British cars shows.

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