Posts Tagged ‘german’

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

(more…)

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

(more…)

Final Year – 1992 BMW 325iC

July 11, 2014

Let’s face it – while the E30 is recognized by some as the last real BMW, or (take your pick) cult classic, future classic, or “modern” 2002, it’s still a fairly common used car, at least in the drier states. Finding one requires sifting through piles of beaters, and once you get through that you might also want to eliminate the automatic transmission cars from consideration, as well as the iX models with the needlessly complex all-wheel-drive, and the early 318i with its gutless four-cylinder. That really doesn’t leave very many cars, so it’s nice to find a clean, affordable car with a manual transmission and a top that goes down. Kind of. You can find this 1992 BMW 325iC for sale for $3595 in Berkeley, CA.

1992 BMW 325ic left front

(more…)