It’s interesting to find that, as recently as the mid-1960s, there were cars that are not considered freeway capable. One of these was the Datsun 320 pickup. While only having 60hp should not prevent you from maintaining freeway speeds (various compact foreign cars of the time did), the low gearing to support a 1-ton load capacity would. That said, for an around town runner – or, in a larger city, an alternative to a scooter or one of those metermaid cars – this truck would work just fine, and would allow you to occasionally move car parts, furniture, and livestock. Which brings us to our feature truck, a 1965 Datsun 320 in Spanish Springs, NV, near Reno, for $1800.
Archive for October, 2013
Four Brothers Ranch – 1965 Datsun 320
October 23, 2013Cheap Cossie – 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16
October 22, 2013Cosworth-powered cars are fairly rare on North American soil. Compared to what was available in Europe, we only received the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, which was a great concept that fell down in the execution, and the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, which was a great car that has lived in the shadow of the contemporary BMW M3. Mercedes had originally asked Cosworth to develop an engine for a rally version of their new 190E, but when Audi came out with the all-conquering Quattro, Mercedes side-stepped and took its car to touring races. This required homologation sales, so the road-going 190E 2.3-16 was developed for sale. Adding a twin cam 16-valve head, lightened pistons and upgraded rings yielded 49hp over the regular 2.3’s 136hp, though the engine was detuned to 167hp for the North American market. You can find your own Anglo-Teutonic screamer in this 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, available for $3500 in Berkeley, CA.
Yellow Fish – 1974 Opel Manta
October 22, 2013For such an attractive, reasonably powerful sports coupe, competitive with a Ford Capri or Fiat 124 coupe, the Opel Manta receives a lot of scorn in its home country. The original car could be considered a Camaro equivalent for Europeans, and that could begin to shed some light on the scorn. If you ignore all the baggage Camaros carry, they’re actually a decent-looking, competent sports car, within the context of their time and what was going on at GM. And it’s the same for Mantas – while many were poorly customized in the 1970s and 1980s, they’re a neat little sports coupe whose design has held up very well over the decades. You can find this 1974 Opel Manta with bidding currently at $810, reserve unmet, and 15 hours left to go.


