This next car comes from tipper Jeff who writes: The words "restored" and "Acura Legend" aren't typically used together, but a clean/low miles ride nonetheless. Couldn't have said it better myself! Find this 1990 Acura Legend offered for $5950 in Jacksonville, FL via craigslist.
People sometimes ask me if there is a car that is too weird, too eclectic, or too crappy to be featured on the front page of Daily Turismo. "NO", I scream with a foaming rage, "THERE IS NOTHING TOO NUTTY OR ODD TO BE POSTED ON THIS SITE." And then the men in the white coats come and ask me to stop harassing the other inmates. But if only they would take a spin in this sweet manual transmission equipped rag top, they would understand. Find this 1982 Honda Prelude offered for $4500 in Tucker, GA via craigslist. Tip from Matt C.
Life is just too short to spend your time driving something boring like a new Honda Civic or the bus. We spend too much time focusing on convenience and reliability -- and the concept of adventure is just tossed out the window like the smoldering end of a freshly smoked gauloise. Buck the trends, beat the crowds, and get yourself something interesting for your commute, like this 1986 Renault 4 offered for $6900 in Glens Falls, NY via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
We listed a Porsche 914 the other day and it generated to some discussion around these being a decent drive for the asking price...but the 1.7 liter engine isn't the favorite and most would prefer an upgrade to the 2.0. Naturally, we were thrilled when tipper Rod sent us in this next car, which does have a salvage title, but seems more car for the asking price. Find this 1973 Porsche 914 2.0 offered for $7,495 here on eBay buy-it-now located in Torrance, CA.
Driving a classic Opel GT will have the vast majority of people scratching their heads, and a few Opel (and Buick!) enthusiasts rapt with glee. The little GT doesn't just put a smile on the faces of the lunatic fringe, but it also proves to people out there that a classic German car doesn't need to you don't need a V8 to have a good time. Find this 1972 Opel GT offered for $6,500 in Maplewood, MN via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The name of a vehicle is surprisingly important to its future success. The Mustang was a great name...Pinto...not so much. The Mustang is this wild free-roaming stallion while the Pinto isn't even a real horse breed -- it is a coloring pattern with big splotches of light and dark that can be found on a variety of ponies. And don't get me started on the Hyundai Pony...but I'm not here to talk about things of an equine nature, instead I'm going to ask if this should be the Cartmaro or the Cartvette. The Cartmaro (or Cartmero) name has a better hillbilly twang to it...but the car(t) is equipped with an IRS from a Vette...and is supposed to be based on a C4...so maybe it should be a C4rt? Find this 1984 Chevrolet Corvette offered for $5000 in Chandler, AZ via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
If you want the most technologically advanced Corvette ever built you shouldn't head to your local Chevy dealer. And don't wait for the mid-engine abomination that is coming out for the next model year. Nope. Those new cars might be available with something called an LT5, but they use push rods (gasp!) and a single cam running down the middle of a V8...but if you want 4 cams and 32 valves in your Corvette, you'll need to look to the past. Find this 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 offered for $17500 in Ocean City, MD. Tip from Rock On!
The Porsche 914 was originally conceived as a dual purpose range topping Volkswagen and low-end Porsche, to replace the Karmann-Ghia and 912, respectively. The initial plan of marketing the 6-cylinder version as Porsche and the 4-cylinder as Volkswagen was eventually canned and lowly 4-banger version got a Porsche crest too -- and today, the easiest way to get in a fight with a 914 enthusiast is to call his car a Volkswagen. Instead of picking fights with people who like driving slow cars, why not join them by picking up this 1972 Porsche 914 1.7 offered for $7500 in Mesa, AZ via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The Triumph Spitfire was a tiny, lightweight, two-seat sports car assembled in Coventry, UK from 1962-1980. A competitor of the Austin-Healey Sprite & MG Midget, the Spitfire was only available with a small inline four cylinder engine and didn't get the bigger inline sixes available to the GT6 or TR6 -- but it is a sweet looking classic ride offered for the cost of a set of factory lug nuts for a similar vintage Porsche. The price IS extremely low, so this is either (A) great deal, (B) gone, or (C) a scammer. Let's hope for A or B. Find this 1964 Triumph Spitfire offered for $2000 in Deerfield Township, OH via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The original Austin Mini had a long life (from 1959 through 2000) will mostly engineered changes to the chassis/powertrain/suspension with little to notice on the outside. The configurations of the Mini were varied and interesting, but it seems they never fitted one with a compression ignited diesel engine from the factory, which is odd given the Europeans thirst for the stuff in recent years, but somebody decided to fix this issue and make a green, but not so green, Mini. Find this 1980 Austin Mini Diesel offered for $14500 in Portland, OR via craigslist. Tip from JB1025.
Nothing says "you've made it" like living in a yurt and driving a rusty old Volvo...wait a minute...that's not right. Nothing says "you've made it two more days without officially being declared homeless" like living in a yurt and driving a rusty Volvo, but I really like this next car and I could imagine living in a yurt if given the chance. Find this 1972 Volvo P1800ES offered for $4900 in Pescadero, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
In the late 1980s Nissan released a series of retro-styled vehicles into the Japanese market built on what is known in common parlance as the Pike platform. The funky retro-designs were penned by a guy named Naoki Sakai who was noted for bringing retro styling to Olympus brand cameras. The limited production retro-minis included Be-1, K10-Micra, Pao, Figaro and snail styled S-Cargo. Regrettably, Nissan did not export any of these little oddballs into the USA, but you can find examples that have migrated here over the years. Find this 1987 Nissan Be-1 offered for $8500 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The RX-8 was Mazda's replacement for the out of production RX-7, introduced as a last chance attempt at saving the rotary engine. The RX-8 was built starting in 2003 and ending in 2011 when the lights went out on production of Felix Wankel's spinning machine...for now. Anyway, the RX-8 rapidly gained the a similar reputation to the RX-7 -- specifically that it was a great car to drive, but the engine blew up faster than a Miley Cirus relationship -- which was around 62 minutes after the first spark. So if you want to drive an RX-8 without worrying about your apex seals, you should swap in a Ford inline-6 from an F150. Right? Find this 2004 Mazda RX-8 with Ford inline-6 offered for $1400 in Minneapolis, MN via facebash marketplace.
The classic SJ generation Jeep Wagoneer was produced from 1962 through 1991 by and holds the unique title of being the world's first luxury 4X4 sport utility vehicle and the choice of wealthy Hamptons' housewives. The Grand prefix didn't appear until 1984, but the last vehicles to come from the Toledo assembly plant are arguably the best and are priced accordingly. Find this 1988 Jeep Grand Wagoneer offered for $11250 in Oklahoma City, OK via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
There are times when a ride in a home built rat rod doesn't make sense -- let's say you are trying to impress the parents of your new girlfriend. And there are times when a rat rod does make sense -- when you are trying to terrify your daughter's new potential boyfriend. However, in either one of those cases the most important rule to remember is that you shouldn't spend a bunch of your money on the hulk, but you could let the previous owner spend his time and money building it for you. Find this 1970 Volkswagen Dune Buggy offered for $8575 in Farmington Hills, MI via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The fourth generation Chevrolet Caprice was sold from 1991 to 1996 as the last hurrah for the Caprice name launched in 1964 (until the Caprice name was brought back for fleet use in 2011). The Caprice Wagon shares most of its parts with the Buick Roadmaster Wagon but it lacks the faux wood sides, which ain't a bad thing at all. This next example is offered as a "1A2" package cop version and by 1995 it was powered by the mean LT1 V8, so this unicorn gets a two horns up from DT. Find this 1995 Chevrolet Caprice Wagon here on eBay bidding for $3702 reserve-not-met with 3 days to go. Tip from Lou.
Few cars elicit that "wow, you never see these on the road anymore" like an 80s Oldsmobile, particularly something that wasn't commonplace when new, like an Toronado Trofeo. The fourth and final generation Toronado was introduced in 1986 on a smaller unibody E-body platform shared with the Buick Riviera and Cadillac Eldorado. The switch to transverse engine layout without any available V8 did not go unnoticed by the old guys in the room...but the fact that you'd be the only one in your car club with one of these makes it sorta interesting. Find this 1988 Oldsmobile Toronado Troféo offered for $3000 in Milwaukee, WI via craigslist. Seller submission from Jesse.
