Archive for Theme Week
Porsche 964 Scavenger Hunt – Take 2
Yesterday I mentioned the challenge in being inflexible when it comes to finding the “right” car. There are so many variables that come into play with a used auto in terms of condition and care that being rigid on color, equipment and other factors can make for a very lengthy search. With that in mind I already posted what I thought was a good representation of what our buyer was looking for in a used Porsche 964.
Now, if it were me and I had to play by the same criteria I would have to give this car a long look.
Low Mile 1991 Porsche 964 For Sale:
From the seller -
“Only 63k ,3 previous owners ,Full service history,triptronic.Rare Midnight Blue. I have all of the previous receipts and MOT’s this car has been genuinely cherised always garaged hence the outstanding bodywork no flat spots or rust .This head turning 964 has never missed a beat and sounds amazing .Unfortunatly having to sell due to 2nd baby.
Also Service history by H.R.Owen Official Porsche Service Centre up to 44k. Electric windows ,electric sunroof , electric mirrors,electric adjustable seats, electric rear spoiler,6 disc cd boot changer,digital speedo,digital mpg, digital fuel gauge. Wheels are genuine RUF Speedline alloys with continental sport tyres. Still have original Porsche spanner set( unused) and Porsche compressor kit. Just been serviced and mot.
No canvassers or tyre lickers.”
Aaron’s First Porsche 964 Scavenger Hunt Find
I love a good challenge and this week’s 964 scavenger hunt provided plenty of them. As a reminder the rules were as follows:
- The prospective buyer is UK based and looking for a low mileage, black/grey/dark blue on black, left hand drive Porsche 964.
- The car needs to be straight, honest, have no accident damage, rust, and has been cherished.
- The buyer is looking to do an RS conversion so Cabrios and Targas are out of play.
When putting together a list of wants in a used car you need to be willing to sacrifice some things to gain others. Otherwise you can be in for a long haul in finding the car of your dreams. That is fine if you have that kind of time but if your need is a little more pressing you need to be willing to make concessions. In this case the buyer was willing to give a little on mileage and left/right hand drive preference for the right car. With these things in mind I present the 964 I found that most closely matched what our buyer is looking for.
1991 LHD Porsche 911 CARRERA 2 For Sale:
From the seller -
“Metallic Blue. J reg, metallic Minerva Blue Coachwork, full black leather interior, 5 speed manual, air conditioning, alloys, electric sunroof, remote central locking, Porsche alarm/immobiliser, 104000 Miles, Full service history, last owner 5 years, electric windows, electric side mirrors, power steering, ORIGINAL UMOLESTED STUNNING CONDITION THROUGHOUT FOR THE YEAR, DRIVES SUPERB.”
This car seems to meet all the criteria our buyer is looking for with the exception of the miles being a little on the high side. Even at 104k this car has only been driven an average of 5.5k miles per year. The pictures and description depict a car that has been loved and does not show any signs of premature wear. At nearly $16k British, or roughly $25k on our shores the price seems a bit high but the best cars always fetch a premium so I am willing to give the seller the benefit of the doubt. If this car is as advertised it would be a solid candidate for our buyer’s RS conversion.
~Aaron.
1992 Porsche 911 Turbo in the 964 Hunt
I struggled with the 964 scavenger hunt to be honest, but this in turn taught me an invaluable lesson on the challenge of finding that just right Porsche. Perhaps owing to its longevity and continuous shape, the 911 is pretty much the ubiquitous sports car, and even for the relatively-educated model years and changes can blend together. I love Porsches, but being more of a BMW/VW guy, I’ll bashfully admit that sometimes I’ve lumped them together as “another 911.”
Late-model, black on black RWD 964s are apparently not just “another 911.” So this became an exciting scavenger hunt for me. The closest example I could find was a Turbo, which probably puts it in the “too much money” category, but it’s still worth a good look because this is a beautiful car. Low-mileage and pure early-90s Zuffenhausen sex, this is one of the best of the breed.
1992 Porsche 911 Turbo for sale on SF Craigslist
If Evan’s Lightweight 3.3 Turbo can go for ~$64k American, $48,800 for this immaculate 911 Turbo seems fairly reasonable. The interior is impeccable and the exterior looks flawless, a black-on-black beauty. It’s no bargain, but it’s not just another 911 either.
-NR
Budget Week Bargain: 986 Porsche Boxster
While the original Boxster design is aging well, they are not holding their value. These cars that sold for close to $50k new can easily be had for less than $10k. Buying used Boxsters in this price range is not for the faint of heart, repairs on these cars can easily exceed the value and a new engine can run a cool $12k. That being said, they are surprisingly easy to work on and there is a plethora of parts available from dismantlers and wreckers from coast to coast. A keen eye on what to look for and you could have a reliable and exotic daily driver for less than $10k.
1998 Porsche Boxster for Sale:
From the seller’s ad -
“1998 Porsche Boxter Convertible – Beautiful Burgundy Exterior with Gray Leather Interior. Fully equipped w/power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, tinted glass, AM/FM CD Stereo, Alloy wheels, anti-lock brakes and more. THIS CAR IS EXTRA CLEAN!”
This car is nothing special, per se. There are more than a dozen 986 Boxsters available for less than $10k at any given time. In fact, if given the choice I would rather have a 2000 with the larger 2.7 engine. What this car does have is high miles, Boxsters with this kind of mileage have been well maintained and driven. Given the 986′s propensity for engine failure in the 30-60k mile range due to IMS issues I would sleep a little easier knowing this car may be in the clear. In fact there are several Boxster owners with well over 200k on their cars and still going strong.
I would offer the seller $6,500 cash and run knowing I had a car I could play with and wrench on the weekends. That, my friends, is what budget week is all about.
~Aaron.
Ultra Rare 1976 VW Swallowtail Found
Back in the day, when I was a VW-newb the guys with more street cred (which was basically everyone) would go on about their swallowtails and just how rare they were. They would find these things in barns, car ports, or grandma’s backyard and stuff a 16v motor in them and be the star of the local VW meet. Since then I have looked in many a dingy location with the hopes of finding one to no avail. Through the magic of the interwebs a yellow 1976 has surfaced on the Vortex.
1976 VW Rabbit Swallowtail for Sale:
From the seller’s ad -
“I got the car with from the po in great shape. Floors are great runs and drives fine. I was going to rip the motor and drop a 16v. But I got no place to keep it while I get everything together. The po kept it garage and I do as well.
4 door 76 swallowtail
4 speed carbed
ultra low h&r coils, euro bumpers
bbs ra’s new tire
gt steering wheel new spark plug wires
Borla catback$3500 with everything $3000 without wheels $2500 without wheels and bumpers 2000 without coils bumpers and wheels.”
The only thing more rare than a swallowtail is finding someone who knows what that means, which is often why sellers often do not know what they have. The term refers to 1975-76 model year VW Rabbits with unique shaping between the tail lights. What is a subtle styling queue also means the car is very rare as few were made. Other swallowtail centric design quirks include the early Rabbit hoods, headrests, a different grill, among other things. Over time what remains of these cars has been either crashed, altered, or forgotten.
This car, at $3k ‘ish is a nice value and is as good of shape as you would find for a daily. With some attention this could really be a very nice car. A new interior, some BBS RM’s, and a good freshening of the paint and this could even be show worthy.
~Aaron.
Sharp 1990 VW Jetta Coupe for Sale
Once the forgotten stepchild among Jettas, the two door coupe has grown in popularity over the years. At the time there were not many made and when a buyer wanted a two door option they would opt for the more amusing Scirocco or GTI. Oddly enough, the shape of the coupe has aged gracefully and the ever inventive VW community has been swapping all kinds of snappy powerplants into these cars.
Over on the Vortex a very nice 1990 coupe has surfaced with a 16v transplant. This coupe is heavily modified yet very tasteful in both appearance and performance. In the spirit of budget week this car is a very respectable option for much less than the $10k limit.
1990 VW Jetta Coupe for Sale:
From the seller’s ad -
“1990 Jetta Coupe 16V
EXTERIOR:
• Alpine White (original paint)
• 128,000 miles on body
• 15” widened 12-hole steelies (widened with 15X8” chrome barrels with stepped lips)
• 195/50/15 Falken tires with good tread
• Rolled fenders
• Westy front end conversion
• New chrome stripe front Euro bumper
• New 16v lip
• Lower valance grill replaced
• New smoked turn signals
• New smoked banana lights
• New half smoked tail lights
• New windshield
• New windshield wipers
• 85 non-3rd brake light rear glass
• FOHA rear wing
• MKIII style door handles
• Rear bumper replaced and New chrome stripes
• Small bumper trunk trim
• New Coupe rear emblem
• New 16v rear emblemINTERIOR:
• Original grey carpet and parcel tray
• Red stripe 16v dash (no cracks)
• Red stripe GTI Recaro door panels
• Lighted 16v key
• Power gray Recaros with working motors from GLI
• Gray Recaro rear seat from GLI
• Jetta Carat ski bag
• Black A, B, & C pillars
• New radio delete panel
• Westy non-A/C heater control panel
• ABT style pedals
• Euro driver under dash tray
• Euro passenger non-A/C deep under dash tray
• Euro console delete panel
• Euro center vent ashtray insert
• Euro small shift console
• Euro parking brake set up
• Leather shift boot
• New Grant GT steering wheel and new hub
• New heater coreSUSPENSION/BRAKES:
• Patec Holeshot coilovers
• Rear Poly bushings
• Front & rear disk brake conversion from 92 16V GTI
• Slotted front and rear rotors
• Ceramic pads front and rear
• Stainless Steel brake lines front and rearENGINE:
• 9A 16v swap from 92 GTI
• 129,000 miles
• Deleted power steering (manual steering rack installed)
• Deleted A/C (non-A/C heater/fan box installed)
• Neuspeed spark plug wires
• ITG air filter
• Battery replaced
• New aluminum core radiator
• New fan switch
• New thermostat
• New heater hoses
• Missing Linkz short shift kit
• MKIII shift weight
• New clutch cable
• Wired for battery relocation in trunk
• Hard plastic rain tray
• Hard plastic ECU cover
• Oil and filter just replaced
• New external fuel pump
• New fuel filter
• Catalytic converter replaced”
There is a ton of value here at $4,600, this car is a headliner, some PDR (not to be confused with PBR), and a good detail away from being a very very nice coupe. The 16v transplant looks well done and it not as intrusive as the VR6 swaps I have seen. Besides, I would rather drive a well balanced 16v car any day.
It is cars like this that scream “buy me”, which is then followed by lost hours searching eBay.de in search of obscure VW parts. But that is my issue and I am in touch with it. Anyway, I think a well kept coupe with a peppy transplant is a nice fit for budget week
~Aaron.
Budget Buy Low Mile 1971 Opel Ascona A 1900 Wagon
Looking for a different, yet practical, daily driver? One that will get you a few looks at the local weekend car show, but also return respectable MPG? One that you can register as a classic car, but still take down to the home improvement store for a load of supplies? Top it all off with extremely low mileage. This may be your car.
This well looked after Opel station wagon has covered a mere 34,000 miles. It has hardly been broken in. The seller states that the car was put into storage after the first owner died. Once it was resurrected the next owner kept a notebook detailing every time the car was driven.
The car is all original with only minor wear. Opel kept things pretty standard for all their cars so Asconas came fitted with the popular 1.9 liter inline 4, which sends 90 horsepower through the optional automatic transmission. That may not seem like much, but the car doesn’t weigh much over 2000lbs. You sometimes see these called the Opel 1900.
This quite a great, clean, example and there is something cool about two door wagons. The pie plate hub caps, roof rack and chrome back fog lights add to the charm. The long time GM-Opel partnership showed it was a great way to get these smaller cars into the U.S. compared to the giant yachts that were being built here. It is up to the new owner to decide which bumper sticker to remove first, the Mcain-Palin one or the St. Louis Cardinals one.
This could be a much easier purchase to justify than say a far less practical two seat sports car. Buy-it-Now is $8750.
~Evan
Budget Buy Theme Week Kick Off
I’m kicking off another theme week for us here at GCFSB. Look out for a week of budget buys. We are going to keep all these finds to under $10,000 so you won’t have to break the sparschwein.
These could be just the thing to get you ready as summer nears. Some of these finds may need minor work, think family bonding while you work on them over the summer. Others may just need a new enthusiastic owner. We’ll keep these to real runners, daily drivers, and show and shine weekend cruisers. We will try to let sleeping dogs lay and find you real honest to goodness affordable deals, no problem children.
Sure we like the high end, the pristine, the uber rare, but there are plenty of fine, enjoyable, cars out there that don’t take a second mortgage to buy and a third to cover maintenance upkeep for the two weekends a year you dare drive the exotic.
So, what the heck your 401k is probably tanked so why not invest in some tangible assets that you can have fun with.
~Evan
SUV Theme Week Closes
The SUV theme week added a bit of interesting flavor to the blog. I think we’ll continue to keep an eye out for the occasional German born beast to compliment the svelte roadsters we post. As always if there is a theme you would like to see us try shoot us an e-mail, dan@motoringblogs.com.
While we didn’t find any of the following for sale, I thought we just couldn’t leave an ultimate German SUV discussion without posting these.
If you are a Benz fan and want the highest form of expression of the G55 you actually have a pair of options.
You could go with the killer 600 horsepower Hamann Typhoon with 6 sidepipe exhaust:
or the even more crazy 700 horsepower, 800+ lb ft torque Brabus G V12 S Biturbo. Can you imagine a heavy truck with shape and weight of a small house that can hit 60 MPH in 4.3 seconds? The price tag is near $400,000.
Not to leave you BMW folks out, here is one of my favorite clips of Hans Joachim Stuck motoring an X5 LeMans arround a track. The car features the same V12 engine from the BMW LMR racer. Just listen to the engine howl on that thing. 700+ horsepower and it was faster around Nurburgring, 7:49, then a Gallardo a Ferrari 360 and even the M3 CSL. Not exactly what the typical American SUV buyer has in mind.
~Evan
Theme Week: Winter Olympics of SUVs
-->
Since our first theme week was such a success and fun. We are doing another round. This week we are thinking about the Winter Olympics. Heavy snow, cold temperatures, rugged terrain, all things you would associate with the Winter Olympics. Lastly, of course, you have your highly tuned, trained, athletes at the top of their game, ready to tackle tough conditions.
We think that this can be a pretty easy comparison to the top dogs (St. Bernards perhaps?) of the luxury, performance SUV, category.
So be on the lookout this week for Teutonic trucks.
To start things off here is a silly video of a pair of Mercedes G55s pulling a C63 through some snow. Something is slightly off with this video, be it lack of snow tires, lack of driving skill, lack of something.
~Evan
-
Subscribe Via Email
Receive new updates!