Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Here’s a good standard-bearer for all of those Vanagons I post. It’s a clean, non-Syncro pop-top with just 117k miles; about all you could ask for in a clean Westy. The omission of 4WD keeps it about 50-75% cheaper, but it’s still pretty steep for a 27 year-old van and speaks to the desirability of what many see as the ultimate vacation (or living, in many cases) vehicle.
Like the Porsche 928 we featured yesterday, this 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL for sale in New York brought up memories from my childhood. I remember coming back from an auto show and scanning the pages of the latest Mercedes brochure to come across a picture of a similar black on black 560SEL. The flagship of arguably one of the most revered luxury brands, this was a car with few equals. With a rear seat that measured almost five feet across, this was a conveyance for dignitaries and celebrities. While it started to seem a little bit dated towards the end of the production run in 1991, people still clamored to buy these über sedans and many are still pressed into service today. With only 50,000 miles on the odometer, this is one W126 that has lots of life left to give.
During my childhood, I remember seeing an advertisement for a Porsche 928 that said “it’s about as fast as you can go without having to eat airline food.” If you were a businessman in Germany in the 1980s, there were few better options in a country with no federally mandated speed limit than this car. Even today, the 928’s capability seems almost modern, especially when it comes to the S4 version with the 5.0 liter V8. This 928S4 for sale in California is a lightly used example, having covered less than 40,000 miles in 27 years.
Back in December, I wrote up a 944 LS1 swap. I was disappointed that the S2 motor was gone and the car had some questionable wheels and graphics, but overall the smile per dollar ratio was pretty high. Today, I have another LS1 swapped 944; this time, it was a Turbo, and now it’s a track monster. With near perfect 50/50 weight distribution for that sub-3,000 pounds, instant torque and a stiff racing setup, this car is ready to beat just about anything you show up in:
You’re not seeing things, it’s a Porsche 959. And, it’s got no roof. While you search for a towel to clean up that coffee you just spit all over the screen, and furiously Google search if this thing actually exists in one tab while commenting below “it’s not a real 959”, let me save you some time. It’s the real deal – originally sold to Jurgen Lassig, a factory race driver for Porsche, this 959 was involved in an accident that required a great deal of bodywork, ultimately resulting in a one-off cabriolet/speedster by Becker that was then displayed at the IAA in Frankfurt. I was able to find an image of the car on display originally (it’s linked later), but here pictures of the 959 accident when it originally happened. What do you do with a crashed 959? Rebuild it, of course, but this time with no top. The car has been featured since in many articles and is the topic of conversation on many fora and websites; but ultimately, it’s still for sale today: