Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category

Best Documented – 1981 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce

April 5, 2010

Update: Price is now up to $1900 – he must be getting more calls than expected. Even at this new price, the car is a pretty decent deal.

Here at RustyButTrusty, I try to totally favor Italian cars show an even selection of cars. That said, I realized I hadn’t featured an Alfa Romeo in a while.. and it’s easy to find plenty of expensive Alfas, project Alfas, and listings with a phone number and not much else, there is the occasional thorough, well-written listing for a reasonably priced driver that has plenty of summers’ worth of fun in it, and can legitimately qualify as a classic (later spiders and 164s don’t really fall into that category just yet, although they’re getting close).

This is a pretty rare example of a well-written ad for a very reasonably-priced car. The seller has thoroughly photographed the car with a good selection of decent-sized pictures, and a clear description of the car’s good & bad points, as well as recent work. You can find it in Springfield, PA (near Philadelphia) for just $1300… incidentally, the same price I paid for my spider in 1991, and it was not nearly as nice.

1981 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce left

(more…)

Tasteful Upgrades – 1984 Bertone X1/9

April 3, 2010

Every time I see one of these, I think about how much fun it would be to drive one. Owning one, maybe a bit more challenging (comments?). But I also think about how the scaffolding-style bumpers they added in 1975, and the battering-ram style ones they went to in about 1979, would be way nicer if they made like a tree. Ideally, it would have a bit more power, and be smog test exempt, while we’re dreaming. At any rate, with even a base model, you could try your hand at auto-crossing, have a blast on country roads without coming near breaking the law, and telling MR2 drivers what’s what.

Anyway, as far as our dreaming was concerned, this car hits two out of three on the wishlist. In a smart two-tone silver and grey, it’s been upgraded with the more minimalist 1974-style bumpers, and has the more powerful 1500 engine. At $3000, it’s listed in Columbia, TN (near Nashville).

1984 Bertone X1/9 right

(more…)

Orphan American – 1972 Chevrolet Vega Kammback

March 29, 2010

So you’re probably thinking, oh, RustyButTrusty is wandering towards the mainstream again with this choice of car. To answer that, I have two responses. One, when’s the last time you saw a Vega on the road? Two, what car enthusiast wouldn’t be interested in a car with coil springs all around, front disc brakes, and an aluminum-block overhead cam 80-90hp four-cylinder, in a stylish 2-door package influenced by cars such as the Fiat 124 coupe? Let’s not dismiss the poor reputation Vegas had back when they were new , but 40 years on, any survivors must have been exempt from those issues, or have had them resolved by resourceful owners.

Going any further into the history of the Vega would just be duplicating the truly interesting Wikipedia page about this car, but the innovations in this car stretched beyond simply the car itself, into things such as the transportation. Cars were transported via rail stood up on their noses, vertically, yet were delivered in a ready-to-drive state. This particular car seems to have survived that and any number of other threats to its existence, and is available in Oklahoma City, OK for $2300.

1972 Chevrolet Vega Kammback right

(more…)