This auction gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “put out to pasture.” With my Impala rebuild well underway I can’t help but feel for this poor car left sitting out to rust. Come on, basket-case rescue anyone?

More pictures after the jump and check out the eBay auction here.

Continue reading "On eBay: ‘66 Impala, Cattle Not Included" »

As some of you might know by now, I have a hard time passing up a good deal. So when this extremely ugly beige 4-cylinder Mustang coupe showed up for 400 bucks on Craigslist in a town where I have friends, I couldn’t resist. I called the owner and talked to him, and was told the carb needed rebuilt and the rear shocks needed replaced, but the car came with both the shocks and the carb kit. So, naturally, I called up my friend and had him take a look at it.  The car was just as ugly as expected, but ran and drove and didn’t seem to make any bad noises. Despite the owner’s $400 asking price, when I called him, he talked himself down to $350. I told him I’d be there to pick it up just as soon as possible.

Continue reading "Basketcase Rescue: The Craigslist Special That Kept Getting Cheaper" »

This basketcase rescue actually involves a whole bunch of cars that otherwise would likely have been junked. Robert started with a 300-dollar Civic that had been run into a fire hydrant. Then he picked up a VTEC and 5-speed for $200 from a friend who’d wrecked his own Honda. Then to fix the mangled front clip, he got forward sheetmetal off yet another Civic that a guy was parting out. Then he picked up a junk Integra for 200 bucks, changed his mind about the Civic’s nose, and is in the midst of swapping over the Integra’s front clip. When Robert’s ride is done, it’s going to be a great example of built-not-bought. Cool project! Don’t forget to check out his page.

Yesterday, Chris asked if you had misgivings about cars you’d sold. It seems like a lot of people do, which is part of the reason I can never let go of any of my rides. But what about the flip-side of this equation: what car do you rue the day you ever laid eyes on? Typically, the car you regret will be a major basketcase–that mother of all projects, the car that will always have you broke and stumped–the ride that, demonically, develops another catastrophic problem each time you fix the one that’s currently disabling it. And yet, you can’t let it go.

My ultimate basketcase is my ‘84 diesel Escort. Sure, it’s been fun learning how to work on diesels, and I haven’t stopped working on this car since the day I bought it. It’s got a Mazda motor–the parts for it are incredibly rare and obsolete, and anything I do to it costs me about five times more than the equivalent repair on my Ford-powered Escort, which generally runs like a top. The diesel has demanded major overhauls, presented me with massive parts failures, and generated huge bills. It’s left me stranded and once even caused me to wreck. In short, the diesel Escort is the bane of my existence, and it’s a car that needs to be gotten rid of. But I can’t–and I regret it more with each successive drama.

How about you? Ever had a car you wished would just be destroyed by an act of God? Do you still have it?

While this isn’t the first 2nd-gen Camaro we’ve had on Basketcase Rescue, it’s probably the one with the greatest potential for a gorgeous resto. CarDomain member Manuel picked it up this weekend for 500 bucks. The car’s got no engine, no windshield, a caved-in rear quarter and a mashed roof. Fortunately, Manuel’s got a spare 350 lying around, and has brought Camaros back from the dead plenty of times before. Sounds like it’s in the right hands! Check back on Manuel’s ride page to follow the build.

Whenever I start to worry that my junk car habit is getting out of control, all I have to do is ask my ex in NY what he’s working on. Some of the cars he drags home–they can make a pile of dinosaur bones look roadworthy. This weekend he sent me some pics of his latest acquisition: a Ford Model A doodlebug that was thrown in free with a bunch of Model A parts he bought off Craigslist. He’s super stoked about it–he tells me a doodlebug refers to a Model A or similar car that’s been cut at the cowl and shortened. Apparently a lot of folks modded their cars this way during the Depression to serve as home-built tractors. Well, it’ll be pretty sweet if this one ever gets to the point where it can plow a field. I have faith! More pics below the jump.

Continue reading "Doodlebugging" »

My friend, Jason, happens to be an air-cooled VW nut. So he was the first person who came to mind when I received a text message last Friday from a friend saying that his co-worker had a VW Baja Bug and a split-window van that he was trying to get rid of.  He said the guy wanted $200 for the pair, so I got his phone number and then called him immediately to tell him I’d take the VWs. Right after that, I called my friend Jason and let him know that he’d just bought a splitty van and a baja bug for $200. He didn’t seem very interested in the bug, as he likes his Beetles to be original. I had gathered over the phone with the seller that the VW sale was kind a package deal–so, being the good friend I am, I split the cost of the pair and took the Beetle off his hands. We went for the 65-mile drive North to Ronan, Montana, to look at the cars on Saturday. The van was pretty rough and the bug was ok–at best. More…

Continue reading "Basketcase Rescue 2-for-1: 200 Bucks Takes Both" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Well, this Nomad isn’t going to be winning awards at car shows any time soon, and this shot sure isn’t going to win any photography awards, but what can I say—nothing melts my heart like a basketcase rescue. So I figured that the owner of this rest-in-pieces Nomad, entry # 1467 in our Amoco Ultimate Your Car Is Worth It contest, deserved a special shout-out. Here’s what he says about it:

My two lifelong dreams have been to own a 1957 Nomad and to do a complete frame off restoration. Yes, it’s a basket case now; but a future dream come true deserves only the best.

There are still more chances to win, so if you haven’t already thrown your hat into the ring, make sure to enter the Amoco Ultimate Your Car Is Worth It Photo Contest!

As rust goes, this is just about the worst possible scenario: vinyl-top car sits out in the rain under trees. Top retains water, and rots out the metal beneath. Once the roof’s perforated, the water runs in and rusts out the rest. I’m just glad that someone has decided to save it—Marc has spent months tackling the rust, and has blasted the whole body just about clean. He’s primed it over in rust neutralizer and is hoping that’ll keep the cancer at bay. I’m almost inclined to think that the car would’ve been a better candidate for the dip tank, but then Marc might have gotten nothing back but a flimsy piece of Swiss cheese. Best of luck, man! Check out the Challenger’s ride page to see the whole transformation.

Baca got his 1980 Malibu wagon "practically for free," and after tearing down the roasted V6, realized he had nothing but potential on his hands. He’s built a substantially modded 355—check out all the engine parts he’s got in it—and is currently test-fitting the twin turbo setup he’s building. The turbos will come back off to be ground down and polished to a shine, and I haven’t even gotten into the gorgeous suspension yet. Check out the ride page for this interesting project—Baca’s got a ton of great build pics and detail shots.

Some guys have all the luck. Mike, for example, didn’t pay a penny for his awesome Charger. There are some pretty hilarious pics on his ride page of him winching this sweet find out of the woods, along with some nice shots of what he hopes it’ll look like when he’s done with it. Best of luck to you, man!

How about the rest of you—ever gotten a car for free?

Hey, I’m always in favor of unredeemable hulks being rescued from the crusher and lovingly restored to better than new. But I have to admit that some rides are a bit of a stretch, even for me. Like this Muntz Jet, whose auction ended recently on eBay. I realize it’s one of only 49 known to exist, and that’s a really neat flathead under all that rust, but seriously: nine THOUSAND dollars? Look at it: it’s a sad, rotted mess. There’s rust-through everywhere, and the driver’s side panels don’t even fit together anymore. Sure, there’s some gnarly crash damage in the rear quarter on that side, but I’m more concerned by the subtly ominous body sag that suggests that the frame has rusted in two. The seller assures that it’s "PRIMED TO BE RESTORED AS A MUSEUM SHOW PIECE." Really? I wonder how long it took them to get it "primed" for that. It looks more like it’s primed to be resotred as a boat anchor.

I guess if it was one of the remaining Tuckers, I’d almost understand, but I still wouldn’t bid. And I am in favor of this Muntz being saved—I just can’t believe the amount of money people are competing against each other to pay for it. How about you? Is there any car for which you’d shell out this kind of coin, in this condition?

Looking at this amazing CRX, it’s hard to believe it was bought out of a junkyard. Saved from the very jaws of the crusher—now that’s what I like to see! And no matter how you happen to feel about custom bodywork, it’s clear that Luis has put a ton of hard labor into this project to get this deserving car exactly the way he wants it. Way to go on a very well-executed job! See more on Luis’s CRX ride page. Oh, and his Integra is pretty cool too!

This truck first entered Myron’s life as a pile of rusted dinosaur bones on a car hauler, and wow, he’s done some amazing stuff with it since. So far he’s cut out and replaced a ton of rotten metal—like, all of it—and converted it to a Mopar and then a Mustang II independent front suspension. The custom fabrication he’s done on the panels is really well-documented, and I can’t wait to see how it looks with its paint on. The motor’s going to be a GM 5.3L from a Tahoe, and everything’s all ready to go back together. I’m sure this truck is going to be beautiful. Check it out!

Dwaine got a junk ‘76 Cordoba for free, then let it sit for a period of several years. But when the time came to transform this promising project, he worked fast, gutting the interior and fixing the rust, installing a cage and a built 400 big block. He’s building it for open-road racing, and although he didn’t get the engine installed in time for this year’s Pony Express 130, he towed it down to Nevada anyway for tech inspection. The car won People’s Choice and passed tech, and later this month it’s going to be doing its first Bonneville 100, a hundred-mile race through the desert on closed highways. Stay tuned!