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Month: December 2015

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1985 BMW 323i Baur TC

1985 BMW 323i Baur TC

Published December 20, 2015 by Carter

There was a period in the mid 1970s where it appeared that safety nannies like Ralph Nader were going to bring about the death of the convertible. Consider, for a moment, that in 1965 Americans bought nearly 500,000 4-seat convertibles – but by the late 1970s, Detriot had completely abandoned what had been a very successful market. Today, it’s German firms that are the leaders in convertibles sold in the U.S. – no surprise, really, when you consider the number that are available. From the Eos and Beetle to BMW’s 3,6 and Z series, along with plenty of Mercedes-Benz models and Audi’s TT, A3, A5 and R8, there’s no shortage currently of options with air above. Go back to the early 1980s, though, and there were really only two. You could pay a lot of money for a Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet, or you could pay a ridiculous amount of money for a Porsche 911 Cabriolet. In response, many aftermarket tuners offered to take the top off just about everything from the S-Class Mercedes to the Porsche 928. Baur was one such firm, offering a drop-top version of the 3-series before BMW did. Rare to find, there’s one that’s popped up for sale today:

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1988 Volkswagen Fox GL Wagon

1988 Volkswagen Fox GL Wagon

Published December 20, 2015 by Carter

The Volkswagen Fox is a model which is almost entirely overlooked by us. It’s not because we don’t like the concept of the entry-level Volkswagen brought to the U.S. from Brazil, but the budget pricing coupled with legendary 1980s Volkswagen reliability and build quality (cough cough) hasn’t exactly left a plethora of examples of these small VWs left to contemplate. The Fox was offered in three configurations – two door coupe, four door sedan and two door wagon. Without a doubt, it was the wagon which gets the most enthusiast attention these days. In profile, it looks a bit like a B2 Audi if they had made a wagon, and indeed pop the hood and you’ll see the same longitudinal configuration. Some parts are even interchangeable with the B2 Audis, like the steering rack. But more of this car was shared with the Golf than any Audi product, and though the Fox resurrected the Audi B1 nameplate here the two shared only a passing resemblance. Infrequently seen, these little wagons are neat cars that march to the beat of slightly different Brazilian drummers:

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Feature Listing: 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Wide Body

Feature Listing: 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Wide Body

Published December 19, 2015 by Rob

Sometimes writing about a standard 964 almost seems boring. Porsche produced so many rare variants of the model over its short 5-year run that to focus on the base cars almost seems a waste (it isn’t a waste, but you know what I’m saying). Naturally, then, I’ll continue with one of those rare variants, even if this model somewhat blurs the line between rare and standard. After all, the 964 debuted as a Carrera 4, a bold move by Porsche, so there is a way in which the Carrera 4 stands as the predominant model in the range. However, during the final model year Porsche chose to up the ante on the Carrera 4 by releasing a Wide Body version – the rest of the world already had the 30th Anniversary Edition Carrera 4 Turbo-look in 1993, but these were unavailable in the US market. Due to cost considerations the 964 Turbo-look is just that, a Turbo look. Unlike the M491 package for the 3.2 Carrera, the 964 lacked the suspension and braking of the Turbo and simply made due with the wider body. For some, that’s probably sufficient as the wider rear on the 911 has long been enjoyed by many and on the 964 it certainly makes a pronounced statement. Still it’d have been great if had the Turbo suspension as well as the speculated 3.8 liter engine. Alas. There weren’t a ton of these produced for the US market in 1994, and only a little over 1,300 total from ’93-’94 worldwide, making them pretty rare as 911s go. The example we see here is a pretty low-mileage Black on Black 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Wide Body with 39,300 miles on it.

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1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro

1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro

Published December 19, 2015 by Nate

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As I fantasized the other week about rocking a Golf Country into the mountains, I didn’t really account for the limiting factors of a lifted hatchback. Yes, it can probably get you and a couple of friends over and through just about anything, but what about your stuff? Or your other friends? Hatchbacks are certainly known for utility, but when you start talking sleds, camp stoves, extra clothes, and maybe more than 4 people, you’re either going to have the biggest roof rack known to man or have to look at a bigger automobile.

Back, then, to most popular Syncro, the Vanagon! This isn’t a Westy, just a tintop, of which we’ve seen some decent examples before. An all-wheel drive tin box that can carry 7 comfortably, and this one has a burly cargo rack on top that can gather any and all snow toys you need. It’s not as fancy as some nor does it have the pop-top, but that cuts the price by over half. It’s not as immaculate as the Golf Country, with some general interior wear and a rebuilt engine and transmission a few years ago, but it looks pretty nice for 220k miles and sports some quality upgrades like Emu shocks and disc brakes. There’s plenty to do to make it cleaner and personalized, but it’s a great start on a van that could take winter adventures to the next level.

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1986 Audi Coupe GT

1986 Audi Coupe GT

Published December 19, 2015 by Carter

I know what you’re going to say the moment you see this post. “Alright Carter, enough with the Audi Coupe GTs already!” you’re furiously typing, “We want more quattros!” The Porsche 924 of the Audi lineup, the reality is that more low mileage, pristine Coupe GTs come to market than just about any other 1980s Audi. But in my mind, they’re far from the least desirable in the line up, as they offered a stylish package with a high fun-to-drive quotient coupled with some serious longevity. And they’ve really begun to appreciate over the past few years; prime examples are now at least asking close to $10,000, a seemingly staggering amount considering you could get a very nice one a few years ago for no more than $3,000. But as with all of the mid-range and cheapish 1980s cars, the pool of excellent candidates is quite small and few come to the market quite as good as this 1986 example, primed for Christmas in a Tornado Red suit:

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