By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Fiat 1
Fiat 2 did I make fun of this already?
Fiat 3 $$$$
Fiat 4
Survivor
I am not sure that "brave" is the right descriptor there......
Now a rough XKE---THAT'S "bravery" of the first order.
I don't dream about Volares, but I gotta confess that I came close to owning one once. Back in late 1996, when my '68 Dart was pushing the 330,000 mile mark and really starting to show its age, I began a quest for something newer/lower mileage. I found a '76 Newport 4-door hardtop with a 440 for sale at a local park and sell that looked good at a quick glance. But upon closer inspection, it was pretty scary. Especially once it started spraying fuel! So I passed.
Well, I found out my grandmother's cousin had decided to sell her '79 Volare wagon. It was a 2-tone black-over-silver with a red vinyl interior, and was actually pretty sharp looking. It was rust-free, and the paint looked great. The only things notable wrong with it were that the passenger side front door wouldn't open, and the pegboard headliner was falling in. But hey, for $300 it seemed like a steal. Unfortunately, some distant relation from down in the Appalachians beat me to it.
Back in 1979, when my Mom was thinking about a new car, she was tempted by the Volare. Back when Grandma's cousin bought that thing new, my Mom took a liking to it. I think she really liked the idea of a wagon that small, which at the time was still a bit of a novelty in the domestic scene. The Volare pretty much re-introduced the compact wagon, which, unless you count the Hornet (which didn't have a full rear opening, just a window hatch) was a bodystyle that hadn't been seen since perhaps the '66 Dart/Valiant or the '67 Chevy II wagons. The Falcon wagon was actually a re-skinned Fairlane from '66 on, and was generally considered a midsize.
Anyway, Mom ended up with a 1980 Malibu coupe, which ended up being my first car. I guess if she had gone for the Volare, it would've ended up being my first car. Which would've sucked, because it would've ended up being an '80, with the square headlights and the wussy 85 hp slant six. I actually kinda like the round headlight styles, but the 1980 models make me think too much of a Fairmont. Which isn't surprising, because former Ford stylists were doing them by that time.
My parents had a 89 Chevy Caprice wagon with rear facing seats. I twas actually fun riding in the back, but I wouldn't want to think what would happen in a big rear end collision.
I think manufacturers should reintroduce rear facing seats, but install airbags in the hatch to give those riders some protection :P
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Apparently I was wrong, but it still looked like a very unsafe place to be seated... though fun!
How much room do you think there is between the back seat and the gate on a minivan or 3 row SUV? Chrysler got in trouble for some issue with the rear latch and having the third having kids fall out the back and get squished in rear end collisions.
A rearward facing seat is actually good for wiplash protection.
When I was in a 5-member carpool in the mid-80s in the DC area, one driver had a 1984 Pontiac Parisienne wagon and another a 1984 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon. I'd sometimes ride in the rear-facing third seat for more room, although looking at headlights in the evening wasn't the most fun thing! These were the nicer cars of my carpooling days.
Hard to believe it, but when I first joined a carpool, I actually had 5 people in my '80 Volvo 240 2-door sedan when it was my turn to drive! That was roomy though compared to sitting in the middle rear seat of a Horizon (I'm serious -- and it was downright painful). And that also reminds me of the AMC Matador 2-door with drooping headliner secured by huge safety pins! That broke down on the side of I-66. :sick:
I got me a Chrysler, it's as big as a whale
That's 6 skilled men working 9 to 5 for over two months straight.
If professionally done in my part of the US, that restoration would cost $234,000 in labor alone. Very expensive Datsun!
I guess if you included the time to smelt the iron ore, and bring the chrome to Japan from South Africa....well, then....okay.
Is that 37,000 or 137,000
Another car with supposedly low mileage that looks like hell
With 4 pics, you've got to show us the hit
If you always liked these back then you could do worse than this 85 Riv
TAKE THE AS IS IT RUN GREAT NUW BELST CAMS ECT NEWER TRANS BUT MISSING A LOT OF PARTS BUT IS A PARTS CAR I DROVE IT TILL IT GOT ROBED SO F IT What the heck is this guy talking about?
If it ever gets nice out, this could be nice to have for $3,500
Where are the pics I'd like to see this
I like the Mustang conv. That generation of Mustangs have always been a favourite of mine. Wouldn't mind having one. Price seems decent.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
what's the datsun worth, anyway?
'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
Austin Healey BJ8-- price is about double fair market, yes. Seller hoping to find a dope.
Here's a guy with an X1-9 who thinks that a Sportster is "too small"?
I'm also having trouble imagining anybody with a Mustang or a Harley who would be interested in trading it for the world's
tiniestsecond tiniest Fiat. :confuse:yearsdecades. Only the (promised) expense of divorce proceedings prevents me from having one.As for 1800 hrs - restoring one would definitely take me that long as my wife has a jealousy of inanimate objects that I find hard to comprehend.
Whenever I'd work on my bikes, she'd be out to the garage every 20 minutes asking, "aren't you done yet?" So it would be "pick up a wrench, turn it once, leave, come back, pick up a wrench...."
1800 HOURS -- oh, I was just trying to be cute. But advertising that # of hours can suggest incompetence as much as TLC if you think about it.
I knew a guy who was obsessive like that about his work. Interestingly, he got into so many mind games with all that noodling, that he often did work that looked great but didn't work worth a damn. He constantly outsmarted himself because he had too much time to think about everything. So he not only restored, but "improved" and "experimented".
How obsessive? He painted the INSIDE of his engine block.
I'm also wondering about the way the hood lines up with the header panel. They built them sloppy back then, but I'd hope not THAT sloppy!
In today's cars, I wonder if you could even stop the car with one. I'm sure that my 325i has a "Parking Brake" and NOT an "Emergency Brake".
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/314108848.html
james
"Car Collectors Here is what your looking for"
This is probably fun, too
I dunno, that Chieftain is looking very attractive. Such a survivor... such a price! :sick:
As for rust, most of that actually just looks like surface scale to me. Basically, what you'd get on your rake or shovel if you left it out in the rain long enough. It's the kind of stuff that forms once the paint and primer thin down and expose the metal. Now, if left long enough, it'll eat all the way through, but I'd imagine that most of that would just sand off. It's the type of stuff that forms from the outside first, not like the more serious, cancerous rust that forms from inside and has a chance to get really bad before it bubbles up to the top.
Now, around the hood ornament, that spot on the lower left fender right behind the wheel, and along some of that trim, and the rockers, I'd imagine there's some more serious rust. Also looks like it might've been patched around the headlight.
Hell, if I had a major '54 Pontiac fetish, I might give the guy $300 for it. I think it's definitely salvageable. If you can find a '54 Pontiac fetishist that loves it enough! :P
The rear end looks remarkably similar to a '64 full-size Pontiac. So does the side profile for that matter. Is that rust I see peaking through the small opening in the trunk mat next to the spare tire?
I never really thought of it before, but yeah, it does look kinda like a '64 Pontiac in profile and at the rear. And yup, that does look like rust under the trunk mat. Somehow I get the feeling this car is just a tad overpriced.
That Merc is SO ugly!
At least they could remove those hokey fender skirts and white mud flaps!
All it needs now is a continental kit!
Why anyone would buy mud flaps from Pep Boys that don't have that curvy chrome lady on them is beyond me :P
*** I kid, I kid ***
I was unable to download the pic for this Merc, but a vinyl roof would be a cool complement to the woodgrain, the continental kit, and the mud flaps. Might as well go the whole nine yards.
Cars like that '54 are best left as parts cars. Restoring something like this makes one a three-time loser. First you end up buried in the car financially; second the thing is ugly; and third, no one will even look at it for more than 10 seconds. I'm not sure what payoff that leaves for the poor soul who puts all that blood sweat and treasure into such an enterprise. One can't even justify it historically.
The shovel analogy is a good one---maybe it's like restoring an old farm tool---and we all know how exciting that is!