Archive for May, 2014

Paradoxical – 1981 Mazda RX-7 Race Car

May 16, 2014

There are plenty of paradoxes in the world of cars – descriptions like “one lady owner” (okay, that’s maybe an ambiguity meant to imply gentle driving), “gas saver” as applied to 4-cylinder sports cars (more on that later), and “cheap race car”. But wait – before the crowd-sourced intelligence of the internet weighs in, how about if the acquisition cost of the race car is so low that even if some work is needed, you couldn’t build it that cheaply yourself? Check out this 1981 Mazda RX-7 race car for sale for $2500 in Fremont, CA.

1981 Mazda RX-7 race car left rear

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Blow Me – Shorrock Supercharger and 1967 Austin Healey Sprite

May 9, 2014

From time to time, you can stumble on some cool old car parts in online listings. In the heady days of the post-war sports car movement, there were all kinds of parts available to help extract more power from your small-displacement, European-type sports car. Suppliers like EMPI, JC Whitney, and even the Donald Healey Motor Company competed for enthusiasts’ attention, selling bigger carburetors, mag wheels, and superchargers. That’s how we have parts such as this Shorrock C75B supercharger for sale for $3000 in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

1967 Austin Healey Sprite Shorrock C75B

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7 and 7 – 1980 Triumph TR7 duo

May 9, 2014

When it debuted in 1975, the Triumph TR7 was marketed as “the shape of things to come”, which, incidentally, is also the title of an H. G. Wells book establishing a world state as the solution to humanity’s problems. Both were a pretty dramatic change from the past – in the case of the British sports car, it was going from a traditional roadster with its roots in the 1960s to a modern car that often fails to get attention nowadays because it was indeed what its tagline predicted. Much more successful, common cars like the Mazda RX-7, any front-engine Porsche sportscar, and the eighties Nissan Z-cars were all wedges, which makes the TR7 seem less radical these days. Despite being panned among car enthusiasts (partly well-deserved due to the build quality of the early cars), they sold quite well and are very usable as a modern classic. There were several variations of the wedge body, and we have two for today. Check out this 1980 Triumph TR7 for sale for $3000 in San Rafael, CA.

1980 Triumph TR7 red right front

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