Pinch of Alpine, Cup of SP250 – 1970 MGB Special

July 16, 2014

There are many different ways to sell a car that has been personalized to fit the seller’s expectations. One of these is to go into lavish detail about all the changes, so lovingly designed and executed by someone with a vision of what their car could be. Another is to give a short list of the highlights and offer further information for a follow-up conversation. Or, you can take the reverse psychology approach and pretend as if your car is as ordinary as an unmodified version of the model. That is the approach the seller of today’s car has chosen – check out this 1970 MGB Special, for sale for $3200 in Palo Alto, CA.

1970 MGB Special right front

Read the rest of this entry »

Rusty But Trusty on the Street – Chevrolet, Triumph, Ford, VW

July 15, 2014

Time to revisit RustyButTrusty on the Street, after a long-ish hiatus, where we look at cars found on the streets on the west coast and beyond. First up is a Chevrolet 3100 van, from about 1953. When you get depressed about the throngs of Priuses and Accords on the highways, doesn’t it make you smile to think someone is daily driving this old thing? The truck looks great in person, and makes you wonder what’s in the back… vintage motorcycles? Woodworking tools? Something ultra-modern like, say, computer and printer repair supplies?

20140514_101540

Read the rest of this entry »

Sleeper Box – 1983 VW Jetta 16V

July 15, 2014

After the BMW 2002, the baton for sporty-box seems to have passed over to VW. However, their sporty box was a hatchback, and in certain markets, that carried a down-market stigma. To address some of that concern, VW transferred all the GTI goodies to their Jetta in 1984, creating the Jetta GLI. Performance was still not totally on the order of the 2002tii, so we have to wait for hobbyist geniuses to start dropping the 1980s 16-valve engine from second-generation GLIs, GTIs, and Sciroccos into the Mk1 Jetta. With roughly 134hp and 2000 lb., and the great suspension set-up from a GTI, you should have a fun little rocket nobody will expect – sound familiar? Check out this 1983 VW Jetta Mk1 16V for sale for $2250 in Gresham, OR.

1983 VW Jetta 16V right front

Read the rest of this entry »