Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
After failing to sell in 2014, the Euro-spec manual 280SE with some AMG bits that appeared here twice last year is back up for sale with a lower price but from the same seller. This car appears to be really unique and well presented and would certainly turn heads at any show. I especially love the over the top AMG-spec wheels and Euro-goodies that slim down and beef up the S-Class just a bit. At $9,999, this seems like a good deal for a great vintage Benz:
Being an Audi fan, I’m aware of what a bad reputation can do to cars. In the 1970s, Audi gained a reputation for unreliability and poor electronics; perhaps justified, considering the many stories that people have about early Audi 100 ownership. However, it’s a haunting reputation that amazingly nearly 40 years on they’re still trying to shake. It looked as if by the early 2000s they had done so, but now a generation on, the cars from that generation have their own problems and have bred more discontent generally from enthusiasts on the outside looking in. The result is that it’s damn near impossible to find a nice condition Audi from the 1970s, and in just a few years we’ll see the same thing with 1990s Audis, too.
Where am I going with this, considering this is a listing for a BMW? Well, the early E12s had their own problems, but notably that was an issue in the U.S.. That’s because to meet U.S. market regulations, the E12 was made slower and more ugly. Large 5 m.p.h. bumpers were fitted, and compression on the M30 was dropped to meet lower fuel standards. Additionally, to burn off hydrocarbons to meet emissions regulations, the 530i was fitted with thermal reactor manifolds. They did as their name suggested, though the reaction unfortunately many times was with the internals of the engine – warping heads and frying valves. It was a debacle which spelled the death of the 530i, reborn as the 528i in 1979. Coupled with rust issues that this generation BMW had, it’s now quite hard to find an original U.S. spec 530i:
Porsche has produced quite a few special 911 variants that never made it to US shores (at least without being imported later) and perhaps no group of them should be as missed as the 911 Carrera produced from 1974-1977. The Carrera finally would return to the US in 1984 when Porsche revived the name after a five-year hiatus and gave the world the 3.2 Carrera, but the Carreras produced in the mid-70s were a distinct animal from the emissions-restricted cars the North American market received and it’s always a treat to see one come up for sale. These Carreras began as a 2.7 liter model that was mechanically quite similar to the ’73 Carrera RS Touring. Then in 1976 Porsche released the Carrera 3.0, utilizing the 3.0 liter flat-six engine from the 930, but without the turbocharger. Performance remained on par with its earlier Carrera counterparts and while it shared the same displacement as the 911SC that would be its successor the Carrera combines more power and lighter weight to be a much better performer. As they were never for sale in the US, we do not come across these very often, but here we have one: a Blue Minerva 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0. located in New Jersey. The seller has not stated the mileage on the car, but the overall condition looks quite good inside and out.
Just because you want to partake in Coupe Week doesn’t mean that you have to have the deepest pockets. For a modest investment, you can get top-notch designer styling mated to a reliable and economical engine that’s still fun to drive. That’s certainly what Volkswagen sought to achieve with the introduction of its Giugiaro-styled Scirocco. While based upon the pedestrian mechanicals of the sibling Golf/Rabbit, the Scirocco capitalized on a sportier look but was backed up by a substantial racing program undertaken by Volkswagen to promote the car. Despite good looks and a devoted following though, the Scirocco unfortunately has fallen a victim to time, the tin worm and low residual value, meaning few remain in pristine shape unlike the more expensive coupes from Stuttgart and Munich. So it was a special treat when two of our readers sent in dueling 1978 and 1977 Sciroccos this week; one original and one rebuilt. Which is the winner?
Yesterday, Nate wrote up a clean and well modified 1976 Scirocco; with some great BBS wheels, the right Euro touches and a 2.0 16V motor, it was one great looking package. Amazingly, as rare as the first generation Scirocco is to see, there was another that popped up at the same time. However, this one takes a very different path to the modifications; instead of clean and OEM it looks straight out of a tuning magazine from 1983 replete with lightning bolts in blue and pink down the sides. I fully expect to hear Duran Duran blasting from the radio when a car like this pulls up. Can it pull off the ’80s stereotypical look and still be a winner?
