Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Here we have a single cab Transporter that looks to be in great condition but is lacking some info after spending 15 years sleeping in a shop. The braking system is new and the cooling system has been gone over, which address two of the big worries when a car sits. The interior has a few worn out spots but the exterior looks very straight. Mellow beige and unpainted steelies help this SinKa look ready to get to work for decades to come.
Time for our newest installment of “plain car, perfect condition.” The eta-engined BMWs are known for modestly improved efficiency and low-end torque, with their 2.7-liter inline sixes giving up almost 50hp to their shorter-stroked brethren while gaining over 20 lb-ft. They also came with a redline of 4800rpm, closer to that of a diesel truck than what we think of for a car with any sporting pretense. The increased torque provides an interesting driving experience and, combined with the E30’s inherently balanced chassis, the 325e can still provide plenty of smiles.
Engineered for commuting, etas typically rack up hundreds of thousands of miles, but this one has yet to break 12k. The outstanding condition paired with the rare Gazelle Beige, a creamy and subtle off-white, makes for an enticing E30. No, it may not have “is” at the end of it and the interior may be cloth, but it’s always fun to see like-new examples of basic models. The seller is right, prices for nice E30s are heading north faster than geese in spring, so even the humble 325e can command big money when in this truly exceptional condition.
Last week I featured a couple of very high-priced Carreras and today we’ll look at another, though this time one that should be pushing demand more significantly than the other two standard cars, we’ll have to see whether it actually does. Here we have a Guards Red 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, located in California, with about 20K miles on it. Of import to us here: it has the M491 option package on it, typically known as the Turbo look. While garnered the Turbo-look due to its use of the wider rear of the 930, along with the whale tail, the M491 package wasn’t just for looks. It also included the braking and suspension of the Turbo to go with that wider rear. These were a 930 with a naturally aspirated 3.2 liter flat-six. For some the package still seemed a bit of a fake intended for those who simply wanted to look the part. Others, however, viewed it as a performance improvement, even if power remained unchanged, but with the lower stress and lower running costs of the reliable 3.2 liter engine. Regardless of which camp you might find yourself, the M491-equipped Carreras remain popular; for some their desirability has even increased as the more reliable nature of the engine stands out even more now that we’re 30 years down the road. With popularity comes higher prices and if the prices of last week’s Carreras are any indication an M491 model should stretch pretty high. The difficulty will come when those prices being to eclipse those for a 930. In such cases you probably wouldn’t be dealing with a similar level of car, but it would still bring about plenty of questions over which car one might prefer.
The time has once again come that you can not purchase a new Mercedes-Benz in the United States with a manual gearbox. The SLK250 was the last to be equipped as such. Even on a stroll around Frankfurt, Germany last week, I spotted few new Mercedes-Benzes with a proper gearshift on the console. As time passes on, they are only going to become more rare. So we might as well look back to more vintage models to satisfy our dynamic driving needs. We’ll take a look at two very different 190E models today, both equipped with 5-speed manual gearboxes. We’ll start first with this European spec 1985 190E 2.3-16 for sale in Florida.
Last month, I had the pleasure of stopping by the 19th annual 928 Frenzy in Sterling, Virginia. In all the years of being a car enthusiast, rarely have I come across a more tight knit and dedicated group of enthusiasts devoted towards one model of vehicle. I’ve learned a lot about these V8 GT cars through fellow enthusiasts over at flüssig magazine and from Jim Doerr at 928 Classics. If you are a fan or owner of the 928 and haven’t checked out either of these sites, you would be well advised to do so. These are people who are helping keep the dream alive when it comes to Porsche’s beloved V8 coupe.
The 928 is a special car and really stands apart from both its contemporaries and modern sports cars of today. While some of the 911 set deride it, the 928 was the first clean sheet design from Porsche. So good was this design, it would last almost 20 years, still looking strikingly current at the end of its production run in 928GTS form. Taking a cue from Carter’s 924 Roundup earlier in the week, let’s take a moment to pay homage to this great GT car and take a look at the different variants throughout the years, staring off with this 1978 928 for sale in Italy.
