Articles

  • Bargain Corner#1: '95 Citroen Xantia

    /

    /

    comments

    With everybody being urged to eat healthily to kerb an obesity crisis, cars are currently selling markedly better than hotcakes in the UK. With credit being so readily available the dealership order-books are bulging and suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand. This is great news for the economy. It’s great news for the…

    Read More

  • Retard vers la futur: DMC-ized Citroën BX for sale

    /

    /

    comments

    There’s a few good possibilities for a DMC replica build, if you’re extremely fond of that Giugiaro folded paper design but lack the wherewithal to get an actual, legit, crowd-pulling DeLorean DMC-12 just in time (groan) for October 2015. You could start by dressing up a Volkswagen Scirocco, or if you’re into the more obscure,…

    Read More

  • Weekend Edition: The Lure of the 800 Euro Car

    /

    /

    comments

    I’ve decided I won’t be buying another beater this fall. It’s an easy decision to make, since I still have four cars under my ownership: the Miata, the 205, the Sierra and the Polo. The Volkswagen is going to be reassembled by someone else, as it’s painfully apparent I won’t be fixing the engine together…

    Read More

  • Project Regretmobile Dodge Magnum, Part 1: An elegy for sensibility

    /

    /

    comments

    I am not a smart man. We must get that out of the way here because it will make understanding the rest of this story so much easier. This is going to be a long build story about me, Eric Rood—a complete idiot whose mushy brain is filled almost entirely with Bad Ideas—and my struggles…

    Read More

  • Someone Rescue this SAAB 96 from an Oakland Tow Yard

    /

    /

    comments

    Who among you failed this quirky brown machine? I’d argue there can’t be more than three degrees of separation between myself and the person who owned this ’68 96, allowed it to be towed, and then failed to claim it. Quirky and ambitious Oakland resident, I AM DISAPPOINT.   Anyway, let someone else’s screw up be your gain:…

    Read More

  • Who Needs an Early Celica for Cheap-as-Free?

    /

    /

    comments

    Not long after Ford (or, arguably, Plymouth) pioneered the “sporty car on a mundane sedan chassis” pony car formula, even Toyota got in on that action with the 1970 Celica. They based the Celica on the Carina chassis, but with bigger engines and cooler styling. I’ve no hands-on experience with 70s Celicas, but I see…

    Read More

  • This 1971 240Z is Pre-Lightened for LeMons Domination!

    /

    /

    comments

    For those of us looking to broaden our automotive skill set, the biggest fear is attempting some a first-time job on a car we care about and screwing it up. Some hippy named Janis said “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”, but let’s apply the converse and claim this car’s truly free as…

    Read More

  • Tiny Car Tuesday: Metropolitan Deserves a Fate Better than The Crusher's Appetizer

    /

    /

    comments

    While Suburbans, Travelalls, Wagoneers and malaise-era wagons doom themselves with high scrap values from their size, this Metropolitan ought to do the opposite with its diminutiveness. Still, today’s craigslist find has the feeling of a last-chance sale, so don’t think it won’t go to the yard. We’ve got the craigslist staples: “Ran when parked”, “selling for…

    Read More

  • White LeMon: Datsun 280ZX by Nissan

    /

    /

    comments

    Few cars epitomize the late-70s and early-80s like the Datsun 280ZX “by Nissan”. We’ve got Japanese cars coming into their own as high-end machines, but still incapable of a cohesive branding scheme. (See also: Toyota’s Tercel Corolla.) This unit’s L28 has Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection with turbocharging right around the corner. I’ll confess that most…

    Read More

  • Weekend Edition – Misfit Toys (Legends of the 24 Hours of LeMons) is selling off its toys…

    /

    /

    comments

    Well, this is sad news, but I can relate to their predicament. Misfit Toys, the team that campaigned a 1958 Wartburg 311 in several 24-Hours-of-LeMons events (as well as other racing venues) is calling it quits, and they are now selling off their collection of toys, including that glorious Wartburg. What do you think about…

    Read More