170 hp from 400 cubes....that's like 6.5 litres I think. Huge engine mileage with small engine power. This makes me happy about technology and how things have advanced. My car has 50% more power with a third less displacement, and certainly better mileage.
Well if they can sell "brand new" ripped jeans why not junked out new model cars?
Some people find old decaying cars rather romantic but generally I have a more adverse reaction---if it was a nice and valuable car, I'm thinking that some dummy just let it rot out of laziness or greed, and if it's a worthless old car I wonder why they don't clean up their front yard.
....is actually a pretty good deal. '70s wagons are pretty hard to find, what with most of them having gone to the crusher twenty years or so ago and many of the 'survivors' going to the derbies; hopefully this one won't end up there, but at $500, I wouldn't be surprised.
This, on the other hand, is definitely not a 'good deal'.
'Runs but needs head gaskets'? And if that's replaced, we'll hope for a good rain and about six strong people to push it out of the foot or so of earth in which it's buried! That would be a $900 car if it didn't need the head gasket and were on solid ground. The interior looks nice, anyway.
No kidding, and I hope they rebuilt it. M3 motors don't last all that long, they seem to fatigue quickly. Maybe because people thrash them or perhaps because they are somewhat stressed.
I don't think it would be too hard to get proper tires on that 2002/M3, but what it really needs is wayyyyy better brakes before anything else is done to it.
It would be fun though even if you scared yourself a lot. :P
Given the size of the engine (physical), maybe they just went with the early 4 cyl. version? That wouldn't be too powerful for the chassis, certainly not too torquey!
I think it looked neat. Probably a lot of fun, and no more scary than a FrankenPorsche.
Well, just based on the problems I can see from the crappy pictures, it is ready for the bone yard. Not possible to save unless ou want to be so far underwater you will need a periscope to see daylight.
These cars in sweet shape command 5 or 6 grand. Unless you completely just want to tinker and maybe have a nicely built small block sitting in your garage looking for a home, there no point taking this thing off this guy's hands at any price.
I just think it's funny when you see ads that state "don't go by the pics, the car is filthy and looks awful". Well, duh... clean it up.
When the early M3s were new, I remember reading articles stating that a 325is was almost just as fun to drive and it was a far better car overall. It seems like the M3 would be far more expensive to buy and keep running, but some people have bestowed them with some sort of legendary status. Kinda like the Hemi v. Wedgie thing with Mopars.
tempted? really? 180K miles, cheap cover on the driver's seat, cracked dash, etc, etc ... and a $4k reserve! We definitely have different ideas of what a good buy is for $4k!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I love these cars, but wouldn't touch that one. Not that I could even register it in NJ with a gutted out cat converter.
A nice one probably isn't that much more, but if you live where there aren't any emissions test (Bama, right?), and you go in with your eyes open, you really aren't risking a lot of money for potentially a lot of fun. Just make sure you can afford to lose the investment, and try not to make it a daily driver you depend on.
That is the thing. I am not going to buy a 2-door sedan with an automatic as a fun car. I am also not going to buy an old BMW with 180,000 miles as a daily driver. That might be why the guy is having trouble selling it.
By the way, before people call me an idiot about 2-door sedans:
Main Entry: se·dan Pronunciation: si-'dan Function: noun a 2- or 4-door automobile seating 4 or more persons and usually having a permanent top
My rule of thumb is if you can't tell if it is a 2 or 4 door from a silouhette, it is a sedan.
If you are going to pimp it out that much, how about a little more power. A new cam isn't going to compensate for all of the extra weight of the electronics, bigger wheels, etc. I assume the thing was no "bahn burner" in stock form.
I know the car is Italian, but I just like saying "bahn burner." In the '80s, that term appeared at least twice in every issue of Motor Trend, Car & Driver, and R&T. Kinda like now, nothing is old technology; it is "antediluvian," and cars don't have wheels and/or tires; they have "rolling stock." Is there some kind of car magazine thesaurus that every writer is forced to use?
Known by whom? That's a pretty fanciful statement. Case in point, go to a Bimmer wrecking yard and read the odometers. You won't see any with 300K I'll wager.
180K?? Car could be very tired----but if it tests out all right, might be worth $3,500 but really more like $2,500. The automatic 6s are kind of dogs and they suck a lot of gas but in spite of his hyperbole he is right, they are nice cruising cars. I don't know where he got the impression that they were fast however---well, compared to what I guess.
Missing catalytic is a big minus, that'll screw you in many states. At least you'll have to buy a spare one to keep in the garage so that you can sell the damn car if you don't like it.
Might be an okay car if you can get the price down more. It's not nice enough for $4K, not at all.
is a relative term I guess. I have an old 1985 Consumer Guide car book, and they tested a 6-series coupe. I think it had 182 hp, and I know the one they tested was a stick. It was one of the fastest cars from 0-60 in that book. I can't remember the time, though. For the most part, that book tested ordinary family cars, economy cars, and stuff like that, and by and large the most exotic you'd see in that book was a Mustang GT, Mark VII LSC, or a Camaro IROC. They did have a Jag XJ-S in it, though.
How bad would the automatic hurt performance, versus the stick?
I had the station wagon version of that 1968 Buick Skylark in that same color with a white roof. The interior of that car is also similar to my old car.
It's probably an 8 second car, 0-60 and maybe 9 seconds with an automatic. For its size, fairly spritely but most modern Japanese 4-door sedans would easily keep up.
The one you want is the M88 Euro motor with 4 valves and 288 HP.
Also driving those big Bimmer coupes with a stick shift is a real chore. It's a GT car, not a sports car.
junkyard...it's just a Honda, so if you want one just go buy a new or used one anytime, anywhere. Why do things the hard way when the easy way is so easy?
for seat comfort? I know German cars tend to have seats that are firmer, but more supportive and contoured so that in a quick sit they might not feel comfortable, but on a long trip you'd appreciate it. However, the seats in that 320 look like backbreakers to me! The bottom cushion looks like they just stretched some vinyl over a board or something.
As far as I could tell older Saabs and Volvos had the most comfortable front seats I ever sat in. I think they matched the comfort of the much larger Cadillacs as well.
C43...and it's actually quite good. At first I didn't like the seats, they were very tight and conforming compared to the 126, they hold you in. In the 126, it was like I had several inches of extra room like on the sides of my legs and hips. You could really move around in the seat. But now I am used to it, and find the support comfortable. They also have air-filled lumbar support, which can make them even tighter.
The ride itself is a lot harsher than the 126 in town, but is fine on the highway. Funny thing...when I had the fintail and the 126, the 126 was so smooth and relaxed, and the fintail loud and rough. Now the fintail is smooth and floaty, and the C43 much more taut.
I'd consider this bright green beast It actually doesn't look THAT bad, either. The rear quarters are pretty bad around the rear wheels, and the rear bumper has had it, but the rest doesn't look too bad. I really have to wonder though, what the seller is smoking to make him think a '76 Delta is going to get 18-25 mpg! :surprise: If I were to take a wild guess, I'd venture to say you might get 16 on the highway IF you kept your foot out of it!
This isn't the first time I've seen some kind of ridiculous mileage claim for an old car, though. Just surfing through eBay I also found a '76 Chrysler Cordoba with a 360-4bbl that supposedly gets 19-24 mpg! Yeah, right.
Darn, I'd buy that Datsun pickup if it was closer.
Old Japanese cars---somebody needs to tell these people that 99% of old Japanese cars aren't worth anything. They are all priced 100% over what they are worth it seems (or more). Well, let eBay teach 'em then.
I didn't even really notice as they aren't sporty cars, but I can only imagine that automatics would make these cars miserable to drive. I remember clearly that the GLC was plenty slow even with a manual.
Comments
Some people find old decaying cars rather romantic but generally I have a more adverse reaction---if it was a nice and valuable car, I'm thinking that some dummy just let it rot out of laziness or greed, and if it's a worthless old car I wonder why they don't clean up their front yard.
This, on the other hand, is definitely not a 'good deal'.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/car/107520252.html
'Runs but needs head gaskets'? And if that's replaced, we'll hope for a good rain and about six strong people to push it out of the foot or so of earth in which it's buried! That would be a $900 car if it didn't need the head gasket and were on solid ground. The interior looks nice, anyway.
That Caddy is a $90 parts car.
I am sure the T market is deflating
Now here's a 2002
I don't think it would be too hard to get proper tires on that 2002/M3, but what it really needs is wayyyyy better brakes before anything else is done to it.
It would be fun though even if you scared yourself a lot. :P
I think it looked neat. Probably a lot of fun, and no more scary than a FrankenPorsche.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
1987 Olds 442
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I just think it's funny when you see ads that state "don't go by the pics, the car is filthy and looks awful". Well, duh... clean it up.
That motor is probably the least civilized of the M3 family though since those cars were the closes M3 to a pure race car sold for street driving.
Nice little old Plymouth.
Pimped out Fiat - what an odd phrase.
The Fiat owner has a sense of humor nobody else will pay for
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
A nice one probably isn't that much more, but if you live where there aren't any emissions test (Bama, right?), and you go in with your eyes open, you really aren't risking a lot of money for potentially a lot of fun. Just make sure you can afford to lose the investment, and try not to make it a daily driver you depend on.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
By the way, before people call me an idiot about 2-door sedans:
Main Entry: se·dan
Pronunciation: si-'dan
Function: noun
a 2- or 4-door automobile seating 4 or more persons and usually having a permanent top
My rule of thumb is if you can't tell if it is a 2 or 4 door from a silouhette, it is a sedan.
I know the car is Italian, but I just like saying "bahn burner." In the '80s, that term appeared at least twice in every issue of Motor Trend, Car & Driver, and R&T. Kinda like now, nothing is old technology; it is "antediluvian," and cars don't have wheels and/or tires; they have "rolling stock." Is there some kind of car magazine thesaurus that every writer is forced to use?
Known by whom? That's a pretty fanciful statement. Case in point, go to a Bimmer wrecking yard and read the odometers. You won't see any with 300K I'll wager.
180K?? Car could be very tired----but if it tests out all right, might be worth $3,500 but really more like $2,500. The automatic 6s are kind of dogs and they suck a lot of gas but in spite of his hyperbole he is right, they are nice cruising cars. I don't know where he got the impression that they were fast however---well, compared to what I guess.
Missing catalytic is a big minus, that'll screw you in many states. At least you'll have to buy a spare one to keep in the garage so that you can sell the damn car if you don't like it.
Might be an okay car if you can get the price down more. It's not nice enough for $4K, not at all.
How bad would the automatic hurt performance, versus the stick?
The one you want is the M88 Euro motor with 4 valves and 288 HP.
Also driving those big Bimmer coupes with a stick shift is a real chore. It's a GT car, not a sports car.
I don't think there is any way to come out ahead on a late model salvage car unless you are dishonest or value your labor at zero.
Nice color though
Crumple zones work
Wonder if the S2000 engine is OK? Hard to tell with all the stuff stripped off. Nice 2X6 though holding up the hood (wonder if it is included?)
Not even sure if that engine can be used in any other application, unlike trading the FWD engines between cars.
Nice car though. My BIL has a first year model in silver/red. He loves it.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Makes a dandy donor drivetrain for a Lotus 7.....
Fintail seats
certainly not worth $10k to buy a donor car, though.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
The ride itself is a lot harsher than the 126 in town, but is fine on the highway. Funny thing...when I had the fintail and the 126, the 126 was so smooth and relaxed, and the fintail loud and rough. Now the fintail is smooth and floaty, and the C43 much more taut.
This isn't the first time I've seen some kind of ridiculous mileage claim for an old car, though. Just surfing through eBay I also found a '76 Chrysler Cordoba with a 360-4bbl that supposedly gets 19-24 mpg! Yeah, right.
It was a long road from this to the Titan.
How many times a day do people tell him that he misspelled rotary?
My Mom had one of these GLCs, but it was the Sport model.
Time warp Civic.
Old Japanese cars---somebody needs to tell these people that 99% of old Japanese cars aren't worth anything. They are all priced 100% over what they are worth it seems (or more). Well, let eBay teach 'em then.
Eckually I am in fact very fond of a few old Japanese imports, like the Datsun 510 coupe, and the RX-4 wagon (of ALL things Shifty!)