Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category

Reporting Live From the Scene – 1967 Opel Kadett Rallye

February 1, 2012

Well, after a long dry spell here’s a car I actually checked out. I’ve written about other Kadetts in the past, but I don’t believe there’s been a Rallye featured. The interesting thing about this specific car is that while I was growing up in Los Altos, CA, I used to see this parked out front of Reitmeir’s Werkstatt while I was delivering papers in town. Even then, I thought it was pretty cool with the rally-style striping, foglights, and sporty phone-dial style steel wheels.

This car’s been on the market for at least a month now – the seller is obviously not trying urgently to get rid of it, which is unfortunate since it’s sitting outside on the street. From the decay on this one, you can see why they didn’t last any longer than your average European car in more stressful climates. It’s for sale in the hills of Burlingame, CA for an asking price of $3000.

1967 Opel Kadett Rallye left

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1971 Fiat 850 Sedan Special

August 11, 2011

Sometimes, you see a weirdo car that just says Buy Me, ‘Cause There Aren’t Many Like Me Out There. This is one of those cars – a lightly warmed over 850 sedan. When’s the last time you saw one of these that wasn’t either rusted out, sun-parched, or both? This is a long-time (maybe original) California car with an interior that doesn’t look like it spent its life in the sun. With the same powerplant and underpinnings as the 850 spider, this should have the same fun quotient, feeling like it’s going faster than it ever is while allowing you to bring along more friends than the spider. It’s listed with bidding currently at $2550 and 1 day to go in Highland, CA (just near Sacramento).

1971 Fiat 850 sedan front

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Back in Black – Pair of Renault 17 Gordinis

August 9, 2011

While taking something of an unintentional hiatus from writing here, I stumbled across a pair of Renault 17s for sale. Knowing the significant amount of interest this car is still generating, I couldn’t let the listing pass without doing a quick writeup. Since it’s a black car and the pictures are tiny, it’s hard to judge much of anything, but the fact it exists and was driven as recently as a few weeks ago does say something about its condition. And worst case, you have a mangy, spider-infested parts car to show you how things should look… when a car is mangy and spider-infested. You can find them listed for only $850 – how could you go wrong?? – in Scottdale, PA.

1979 Renault 17 Gordini plus parts car

Kudos to the seller for having the balls to open up the hood – I was uncomfortable enough finding dead black widows and their sticky webs (hint: they don’t stick to blue surgeon’s gloves) under the hood in my former Lancia Beta. If he’s like me, he wore thick leather gardening gloves when he did it.

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