Auction Action: 2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police-spec

Want a Pontiac G8 but can’t find a decent one? Can’t wait for the new Holden Commodore to get here? If you live close to Connecticut and you have a dealer license, I have some great news.

Sort of.

Southern Auto Action is a rather large independent dealer auction house. It receives cars from all over the tri-state area as well as  from New England and as far south as Philly. Cars are sold by manufacturers, rental companies, dealers, and similar, but only to other registered dealers.

Different sellers arrive on different weeks, whenever they have a certain amount of cars to they need to move. This week, General Motors will be auctioning off a handful of its cars, and that’s where I found the gem seen above. Auctions are held on Wednesdays and sales are posted before the end of the week. This got me thinking…

[Source: SAA.com - account req'd]

… Continue Reading

Tweet

V.I.S.I.T: The Shared Platform Edition

So, while this olelongrooffan was out and about gathering up those doors for the “Charles Barrett Special” I happened to spot a couple cool old classics. Ironically the first comment on the Hooniverse Asks post about platform sharing was by the that dude with seemingly endless automotive knowledge, tonyola, and it was about this platform.

… Continue Reading

Tweet

The Price Is Right: “Monty, I’ll Take Doors Number Two Please”

So, a whiles back I did a post about thejeepjunkie and this olelongrooffan doing a little long distance shopping for a windshield frame for his CJ2A. At the end of that post, I posted that if any of my fellow Hoons happened to stumble across a door for a 1973 Jeepster Commando, the “Charles Barrett Special”, to let me know about it. Well, early on Saturday morning my massive communications system in my Taj Mahal wakes me up.

… Continue Reading

Tweet

Ohio Craigslist: 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

Much like the 930 Cabrio Glucker found last Friday, this car did not start life as a convertible chassis.  Porsche did not release the cabriolet until the 1983 model year, and this particular car came 4 years before.  Unlike Friday’s find, however, this car also did not start life as a turbo.  A bog standard 1979 911SC Targa 3.0 liter when it left the factory, granted, any 911 is special in its own right.  

Chopping the targa top off and installing a soft one in it’s place seems to be a bit of a common occurance in the Porsche world, and this one also received later 964 style smoothed bumpers, however, these are of fiberglass construction.  The major change, however, appears in the engine bay.

Not content with the 3 liter’s approximate 180 horses, one of the car’s past owners fitted it with some form of aftermarket low pressure turbo system.  Assuming you don’t throw a rod through the case on your drive home, this could be the bargain of a lifetime at a super low asking price of 7500 dollars.  Hell, if the 915 gearbox is in decent shape (a long shot), it could fetch between 1 and 3 thousand dollars on your own craigslist post.

Keep reading for more details and additional pictures.

[Source: Craigslist]

… Continue Reading

Tweet

Hooniverse Neo-Classical Weekend – The Cars of Bob’s Classics, Inc.

Welcome to the Sunday Edition of the Hooniverse Neo-classical Weekend (which is very late because I had to deal with Project House Hell!). There is one dealer in the country that specifically sells these types of cars, and that would be Bob’s Classics in Clearwater, FL. According to the dealer:

Bob’s Classics, Inc., established in 1991, is owned and operated by Bob Simpson and his wife, Marcelle. Bob’s Classics, Inc. has cars for anyone who has ever fantasized about being a movie star or Wall Street Tycoon in the 1930s. These are dream cars that people can afford. The fun of owning one of Bob’s cars of yesteryear can be had for less than the price of a new or used cookie-cutter car from Detroit or Tokyo. The cars you will see on the following pages aren’t antiques; they’re low-mileage, pre-owned, full-scale replicas of cars originally costing as much as a million dollars. The replicas have no-rust fiberglass bodies for low maintenance, amenities such as air conditioning and power steering, and can be driven daily. Parts and service are no problem because most of them have drive trains made by one of Detroit’s Big Three.

We are going to show some of his current inventory, and I will conduct a poll as to which of these vehicles you would like to own when you get to be my age, which is currently hovering around 258 years…

… Continue Reading

Tweet

Hooniverse Neo-Classical Weekend – The Journey of the Excalibur; From Sporty to Cartoonish.

Continuing on with the Hooniverse Neo-Classical Weekend, and I want to take time to discuss one of the oldest Neo-Classics, the Excalibur. This car was designed by Industrial Designer Brooks Stevens, and was styled after the 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK. So let’s see how the Excalibur went from becoming a true performance car to one that was the design inspiration of all other Neo-Classic Barcaloungers.

… Continue Reading

Tweet

Hooniverse Neo-Classical Weekend – The Godfather Roadster and Sedan

Welcome to the Hooniverse Neo-Classical Weekend, where we can collectively hurl at some of the most crass-worthy vehicles that were ever conceived. I decided to take it up just a notch to see if the fans of Hooniverse can actually defend any of these rolling horrors. First off, we have three “Godfathers”; A roadster made from a Lexus SC430, another roadster made from a Cadillac XLR, and finally a sedan using a Lincoln Town Car as the base for the creation.

… Continue Reading

Tweet

California Craigslist: The “… just frame damage nothing big” BMW M Coupe

A BMW M Coupe remains very high on my “must own” list. I recently took to Craigslist to get an idea of what they might be going for behind the Orange Curtain. My eyes were instantly drawn to a link with the words “1999 Bmw M Coupe – $10,000″.

That seems like a great deal for a clownshoe in solid shape. The seller states that the car is in fact in great shape, and runs “like brand new.” So why is the owner only asking for $10k when all the “maintains” has been done, including the “breaks”?

The car has a salvage title. “It was just the frame nothing big”

Ugh. Check out the ad for yourself, here.

Tweet

California Craigslist: “Slant nose” Porsche 930

I didn’t even enter anything into the search bar in the automotive section of my local Craigslist. Still, one of the first results was this 1975 Porsche 930 Cabriolet. Not just any 930 mind you, this one has the ultra rare Slant Nose or “Flachbau” option. Wait… didn’t the seller say this is a 1975? Porsche didn’t offer the slant nose option until 1981.

Regardless of the flacid bow, the seller states that this particular Porsche features the upgraded 3.3-liter drivetrain from a 1985 911. That would be a nice jump in go-energy over the 1975 3.0-liter motor. However, the seller claims that the car is smog exempt because the chassis is from 1975, yet the engine is from 1985. That might cause a bit of a no-no from the California DMV.

So what’s the asking price for this confused cabriolet? Just $12,900, which seems like a good deal for a fun looking Porsche. The car has a salvage title, which is apparently the result of theft recovery. I’m not one to judge about that since Project Civic Si(gh) has the same title situation (Crap, I need to get that to a smog station too…).

Here’s the full ad for those interested:

1975 Porsche Slope Nose Cabriolet with 1985 Rebuilt Engine Trans VIN 9115211018 This is a real steel slope not fiberglass Since it is a 1975 Chassis it is smog exempt It has had upgrade of a 1985 Drivetrain. One of the best most bullet proof engines Porsche ever made. The car is quick but also very reliable with this drivetrain New clutch New Top The conversion was done on a salvage title car (theft recovery) however the car drives and stops straight and true. The car has been reinspected and re-certified by DMV Porsche Cup Wheels in great shape Proper Paint Job Rear tires are new Great Driving and Looking car that gets noticed Call (831) 241-4144 Car is in Costa Mesa $12,900 Lots of photos here: http://s1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb405/rhart66/Slope%20Nose%20Porsch/?start=40 See video here http://youtu.be/nBdiyxoH150 See another video here:http://youtu.be/nBdiyxoH150 Will consider trades

Click here for more photos and the actual ad.

[Source: Craigslist]

Tweet

California Craigslist: 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV

If you think I’m sexy, and you like my body, come on baby let me know!

Well, I do think this 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV is quite a looker. I was browsing the best damn Craigslist in the Union (California), and I stumble across this fine piece of Italian motoring history. The seller states that with 119,000 miles on the odometer, things are still running molto buona.

Here’s the full ad:

this beautiful 1974 alfa GTV has 119k miles,new tires,original interior,originally cal car with blue plate,
all gauges,lights are in good working condition, great body, original color ,new paint,she looks,runs great,please stop by or call us for more info. 

Good look making that phone call though… as there’s no number provided. Question for you all, is this worth the $12,995 asking price?

Check out the ad for yourself here. 

[Source: Craigslist]

Tweet