Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Last week I checked out a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL in Hellgrün which is a lovely, as well as much cheaper, alternative to the big brother 300SL. Well, today we have the big brother and believe it or not, it also is a 1957 in Hellgrün. Just to top it all off, it was owned by “The King of Hollywood” Clark Gable and has just 1,368 miles. But, as you might have guessed, this 300SL comes with a much higher price tag than the 190SL. Much, much higher.
Alright, let’s move away from green, but we’ll still keep things vibrant. This one also will be much more reasonably priced. Here we have a Guards Red 1982 Porsche 911SC Targa, located in Oregon, with 133,700 miles on it. If we want to see the relationship between the 911SC and yesterday’s 930, they both utilize a variant of Porsche’s 3.0 liter flat-six. Porsche took some of the lessons learned from development of the Turbo and applied it to this naturally aspirated 3.0 liter and through that was able to excavate itself from the issues that plagued the 2.7-liter engine that preceded it. The 3.0 liter is a stout and reliable engine when shown proper care and we’ve seen plenty with mileage exceeding 200K. Granted, some of those have been rebuilt, but it’s still a fine engine and a sound base for a sports coupe. Those looking at a 911SC now should feel secure knowing that these are very good engines.
Edit: After selling last year on Bring A Trailer for $5,050 after we featured it in April, the current owner of the 1985 Audi 4000S quattro with some nice modifications has decided it’s too nice for a winter beater. It’s back up on eBay with a $5,000 opening bid and reserve auction format with few changes since we saw it last year, but it’s still one of the better ones out there for sale.
If you like yesterday’s Audi 4000S quattro, finding a later example is likely to be more fruitful for you. About of the roughly 16,500 4000 quattros imported into the United States, roughly three quarters of them – about 12,000 – were the updated 1985-1987 model years. Changes to the package were mostly visual. Outside refreshed bumper covers with integrated turn signals and reflectors smoothed out the look far before BMW caught on to the idea in the 3-series. Aerodynamic headlights replaced the sealed-beam quad-headlight arrangement and a sloped grill eased the transition. In the rear the trunklid dove down to the trim line and held an entirely revised set of lights. Rocker panel covers made the 4000 appear a bit lower than the ’84 model had, though the ride height was unchanged. And a rolling change to flush fitting covers on the Ronal R8 wheels subtly changed the look to more aerodynamic. Inside, electric rear windows replaced the manual roll-up variety, and new door cards with pulls now matched the revamped dashboard. The gauges also changed, as did the locking differential panel. But mechanically under it all, few changes were seen to the workhorse. While numerically speaking you’re more likely to find a later car than the ’84 only style, if one car we cover better epitomizes the axiom “ridden hard and put away wet”, I’m not sure what it could be. Finding any reasonably clean 4000 quattro is a cause for celebration among B2 Audi enthusiasts, and this one sure looks great:
Continuing on the theme of adding diverse tones to your life, BMW’s M3 has been traditionally one of the most colorful pallets in the Bavarian lineup. We saw the late shade of Fern Green on the late-model Convertible the other day. But fans of the E36 lust much more after the favorite “M3/4/5” model – the limited 1997-1998 3.2 sedan in manual form. It offered practicality and reportedly slightly lighter weight than the Coupe. And just like the Coupe and Convertible, it was available in all sorts of eye-catching shades. Today I have two of the most conspicuous: Techno Violet Metallic and the very limited Byzanz Metallic. Which is your favorite?
We’ve shown a couple of interesting green coupes so far this week and I’d like to add another to the mix. Strictly on color this Emerald Green Metallic 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera looks similar to the Mercedes-AMG GT R Andrew posted yesterday. The similarities mostly stop there, though there is a certain spiritual kinship between the 930 and most any AMG machine. The performance of either can be brutal – in the most positive sense of the term! – with dynamics that require your full attention any time you want to accelerate or brake hard. The technology helping direct the power of course differs markedly as do the levels of refinement. But if you want something you’ve got to grab by the scruff of the neck and then hold on for dear life I’d imagine either one of these could provide those thrills. So if this sort of green is your color, then here’s another option. And it’ll probably even be cheaper! It’s not often I get to say that about any 930, let alone a ’76.
