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insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,700, Hi Ho Silver!

The present Government shutdown may have idled a ton of park rangers, but owing to its 5.0 you wouldn't want to do the same with today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Ranger. Will its price however prove to be a threatening fiscal cliff?

Considering that over 200,000 people have signed up for a trip to Mars - a one-way trip - it’s no wonder that yesterday’s roll of the death dice for a bargain basement salvage title Viper came away with an amazing 70% Nice Price win.

Neil Young proclaims that it’s far better to burn out, than to fade away - that is of course when he isn’t building marvelously ridiculous electric cars. Going out in a blaze of glory is how many people envision their demise, although most of us will probably go out more quietly than a kitten's fart. Before that happens wouldn’t it be better to burn out in this 5.0-powered Ranger than to let it fade away?

The Lone Ranger rose a white horse, but in this day and age if you really want a ragin’ Ranger you just have to mount a Mustang. Originally named for the plane not the horse, the Ford Mustang has always been known for offering at least one corral full of ponies, and one of the most reliably poweriffic of those is the long-serving 302 V8.

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In this red Ranger that engine comes from a 1995 GT and it brought its 4-speed automatic along with it just for kicks - sorry stick shifters. The ad claims 300 horsepower, but doesn’t go into explaining just what makes the extra ones. Stock, the ’95 302 (last year for that engine in the ‘Stang, BTW) pumped out 215-bhp and 285 lb-ft of twist.

Bolting a 5-litre V8 into a Ranger’s engine bay isn’t all that big a deal. In fact, using the wiring harness, ECU, and ancillary bits from a V8 Explorer, it’s almost plug and play. That doesn’t mean that this particular one hasn't been mucked up, but seeing how easy it is to five-point-oh your Ford Ranger, how bad could it be?

If the interior is any indication then the answer is not too bad. It's pretty much stock which in the case of an '89-'92 model (the ad doesn't give a specific year) that means a plasticky but reasonably laid out dash, and seats with all the long term comfort and appeal of a crack house mattress. The center armrest does appear to be inhabited by mice so prospective owners might want to bring some cheese as a peace offering.

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Externally. . . well, it's a Ranger. It looks to be in reasonable shape and the fact that it's a standard cab is nice as that seems to be a rarity in today's minitruck marketplace. The fish emblem on the gate is a touch that may either seal the deal should you swing that way, or potentially call out the Westboro Nosy Nates to picket the truck wherever it goes.

Of course the 5.0 should make quick getaways a breeze, and the fact that it has a clean AZ title will make traveling across state lines (except that of California) equally easy. But what about its price? 


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Well sir, the seller is asking $2,700, and that not only gets you an ass hauler but one that'll also haul a quarter ton of your shit. Considering what deviltry you could do with such a beast as this, what do you think about that price? Is this a Ranger that should not be lone? Or, does that price mean Ranger danger in your book?

You decide!

OC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to BlueGremlin for the hookup!

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For $13,500, Snakes Alive!

For many cars being branded with a salvage title can mean the kiss of death to its potential to sell. You’ll need to determine if that’s the case… Read…

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For $2,700, Hi Ho Silver!

For $2,500, Wake Up Rip Van Volvo insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,500, Wake Up Rip Van Volvo

What’s the longest you’ve ever slept? Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Volvo has that beat, as it’s been inactive for two decades. Will that fact make its price a rude awakening?

Have you ever had a really big poop, one that’s so gargantuan and peppered with seemingly indestructible corn that you wanted to share its remarkable existence with others? Have you likewise noticed that, upon announcing your feat, no one else really - how should I put this - gives a shit?

That was kind of the reaction that yesterday’s custom V8-powered VW Squareback received as while nobody truly thought the car was all that shitty, fully 73% of you considered its price to be.

Imagine the dump you’d have to take after having nodded off for over 20 years. That’d be one hell of a food coma, and most likely someone would have taken you for dead and buried you long before you woke up.

Luckily for today’s 1968 Volvo 144 no one decided to plant it at any time during its two-decades of down time. At present it may only be half awake, and it’s obviously in need of some help to get to regain full consciousness, but it’s an old Volvo, so how hard could that be?

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Considering its '80s role as the ride of choice for everything from annoying hipster to tweedy-coated college professor, it’s surprising to remember that the 140-series debuted all the way back in the summer of 1966. Back then the base cars were powered by Volvo’s rock solid B18. That OHV 1,778-cc four provided 75-bhp when fitted with a single carb, and when rocking twin SU sidedraughts like on this S model, it turned up the wick to 100 ponies.

Backing up that B18B here is Volvo’s M40 4-speed. Disc brakes take on clamping duties at all four corners, and this cool Swede came equipped with A/C. Winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah!

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Well, there is that whole bit about the 107,000 mile car having sat unused for the past 20 years. That means that all the rubber bits, as well as all the fluids and gasses and greases, are all as hard as the ribbon candy in that bowl your grandma’s, and just as unappetizing.

But hey, it’s a Volvo, and you can’t kill those, just ask a Moose. It’s descibed as being totally rust free and while it’s dirtier than a Miley Cyrus dance, you know how to wash a car right? Fixing the underhood bits that have gone fallow in there twenty years of stasis shouldn’t really raise a sweat either, unless you’re ill equipped to tackle changing belts and hoses and making sure the carbs are still sync’d. You have a short length of garden hose for that, don’t you?

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This old Volvo - with the exception of its bargain basement plastic hubcaps from another era - looks to be a solid citizen and you’ll love the little toggle outside door latches these early cars came with.

The question is, while it will probably outlast us all, it does need something more than just a cup of coffee and a slap in the face to shake off its epic slumber. That will take some effort and cash, and might affect the consideration of its present asking price, which is $2,500.

What’s your take on that price for this presently half-awake 144? Is that a good deal for a solid start? Or, does that price have you nodding off?

You decide!

Sarasota Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to jtfarabeefor the hookup!

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For $14,500, Hide In Plain Sight

It’s not often you come across a three for one deal. Two for one sure, but three for one? Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe candidate is three cars in … Read…

For $2,500, Wake Up Rip Van Volvo

For $2,500, Hum A New Tune insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,500, Hum A New Tune

With its multi-position chapeau, the second (FC) generation of Mazda’s RX-7 is the only one of the breed to ever go officially topless. The top on today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe ’88 can get down with its bad self, but is its price also bargain basement?

Just like Miley Cyrus’ recent bent to ‘will twerk for food,’ and the current state of American political discourse, yesterday’s custom-bodied 1973 Porsche Speedster was seen by many of you as an appalling indication of the biblical End of Days. Even aware of the fact that judgement day will make your bank account null and void, fully 91% of you still felt it was priced just too damn high.

As a sorbet perhaps, sort of an automotive palette cleanser, today we have a car that’s not only completely stock, but will also let you feel the wind in your hair in the traditional sense and not just as a errant fart rustling through your butt pubes.

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With its ‘RATED RX’ license plate and sinfully red paint, today’s 1988 Mazda RX-7 is also ready to play mistress to your every automotive fantasy. Or is it? This 13B-powered beaut’ is claimed in its ad to have been garaged for the last 10 years, and today to be in need of some detail work.

Now, I’m not sure if the garaging was done to keep the car safe and clean in between regular bouts of exercise and proper maintenance, or if it just sat out that decade wondering if everyone had just forgotten about it. If it’s the latter, then we and the owner have much to discuss.

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And then there’s that detail work. That sounds like what they say in an action movie, going over the plan of attack, leaving for the end the minor point that they are going to be facing half a million ravenous zombies with frickin’ lasers in their eyeballs. Details...

What we do know is that this RX-7 is a droptop, and these are quite clever featuring a hard center section and fabric back with a real glass rear light. The top is power operated, and the ad claims that it works just fine. The body below that also looks to be in good shape, the paint showing some decent shine and there being no apparent flaws or freakouts.

The interior looks like a nice place to be too, and if you haven't ever driven one of these you might find the fighter jet-like way the windscreen and fixed door vents cosset you to be a bit claustrophobia inducing. You might also want to duct tape that driver's seat while you're in there.

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On the downside, this 121,000 miler isn’t a turbo, so it gets by with just 146-bhp. A year newer and it would have had 160. So close! At least there’s a 5-speed stick to make the most of the twin rotors’ power and utter lack of low down torque.

The MX-5 kind of made the drop top version of the RX-7 an answer to a question nobody asked, but there’s still a lot to like about the Miata’s bigger and more rotary brother, especially when they haven’t been mucked up. This FC is asking $2,500 to be liked, and that’s damn-near close to that two-grand might-as-well threshold.

What’s your take on this detail work-needing RX-7 for $2,500, does it have you humming like its motor? Or, does that price seem off-key?

You decide!

Indianapolis Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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For $2,500, Hum A New Tune

For $2,700, I-Marks The Spot insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,700, I-Marks The Spot

They say opposites attract, and while Lotus and Isuzu are pretty opposite, their odd ‘80s love affair begat both an Isuzu-powered Lotus, and a Lotus-suspended Isuzu. It’s the latter of those two that is the subject of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe, and it’s up to you to say if its price is an attraction.

The reaction to yesterday’s custom Pontiac Fiero was so visceral that it comes at no surprise it dropped in a decisive 93% Crack Pipe loss. The ad’s creator may have been offering the car for a friend, but with friends like that, I’d say who needs enemas?

Once upon a time, Lotus was friends with Isuzu. I mean like friends with benefits. This was back when GM owned a stake in both vampires companies, and played matchmaker between the two. Lotus, being famous for their cars as well as their journeyman engineering services - have slide rule, will travel - helped the Japanese company with suspension tuning and lent them some cred by allowing the resulting magically drivelicious cars carry a Suspension by Lotus badge.

In a rightbackatcha, the Brits got a bunch of Isuzu twin-cam fours and five-speed gearboxes for use in what would become the first - and to date last - front wheel drive car the company has offered, and thus besmirching the venerated Elan name.

One of the Isuzu rides with which Lotus got jiggy was the Gemini, a car which carried the unfortunate I-Mark moniker here in the States. For 1989 that little Isuzu also gained the very same 4XE1 DOHC four that the company was providing to Lotus for the M100 Elan. In the I Mark RS that 1,588-cc sidewinder pumped out 125-bhp.

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This generation of I Mark shares another connection with the folks on the other side of the planet, which is that the styling was originally handled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The new cars bore a family resemblance to Isuzu’s existing halo coupe, which Italdesign had done as part of their Ace (Asso) series back in the ‘70s. Not wanting to be considered an Asso, Isuzu dropped the Ace of Clubs name of the concept for Piazza globally, and Impulse in the U.S..

You can still see that bloodline in the shape, notably in the hatch and rear window of this I-Mark RS. Featuring a factory monochromatic paint scheme in goes with everything white, this little Lotus-imbued three-door is also hunkered down on its somewhat lackluster looking stock alloys. That’s probably damning the car with faint praise as its completely stock appearance is one of the great things going on with this RS.

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In addition to the twin cam mill and fancy pants suspension bits, the RS also received real Recaro seats on the inside. These are the sexy kind with the mesh headrests, and they seem pretty serviceable overall. It does look like McGruff has taken a bite out of crime on the driver’s off-side bolster however, but if you’re handy with a needle and thread then than shouldn’t be too big a problem.

The ad notes that the car has an amazingly low 98,000 miles on the clock, as well as a set of tires that have far fewer. If you consider that Isuzu never sold that many cars here in the states, and of the ones they did, the RS edition of the I-Mark is one of the rarest, then this tidy car represents an uncommon opportunity to own something that’s both unique and not obvious as such for 99% of the population who probably will think it's some kind of Honda.

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But, what do they know! You however, know that these are not just rare, but also pretty cool, representing one of the last times that Lotus allowed their name to appear on something other than a Lotus. The fact that all that coolness is wrapped up in a car that’s about as ‘80s Japanese generic as you can get is beside the point.

The point of all this of course is to determine if this ’89 I-Mark is worth the $2,700 the seller is asking. What do you say, is that a good deal to get an Isuzu that has assumed the Lotus position? Or, does that price miss the I-Mark?

You decide!

Colorado Springs Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Andy for the hookup!

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For $2,700, I-Marks The Spot

For $2,500, Go On Patrol insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,500, Go On Patrol

The Nissan Patrol holds the distinction of being the first vehicle to successfully cross Australia’s brutal Simpson Desert. Similarly, buying today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe ’69 might just cross your mind, that is of course if its price doesn’t make you go d’oh!

So it seems yesterday’s V8-packing ’97 Suzuki X90 was a return visitor to these hallowed grounds. Luckily for me it was offered at a different price, and unluckily for its current seller that price fell in a 60% Crack Pipe loss, the car’s second in a row here.

They say three strikes and you’re out, so expect to see that red ski boot pop up again a couple of years down the road as apparently my memory isn’t what it used to be. At least I don’t think it is.

One vehicle that I’m pretty sure hasn’t ever rolled the NPOCP dice is today’s 1969 Nissan Patrol. As a matter of fact, if you’re a resident of the U.S. of A. you may not have ever even seen a Patrol before as, unlike Toyota’s competing Land Cruiser, Nissan’s burly 4x4 never had much of an impact over here.

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Despite that, the Patrol remains one of Nissan’s most long-lived brands, the name having been appended to the 4W60 4x4 around 1955. The second generation - and first to fully embrace its Patrol-ness - was introduced in 1959. That model’s styling aped that of Great Britain’s Land Rover, and its initial advertising spokesperson was the popular American singing cowboy, Roy Rogers. It is a small world after all.

The 60-series Patrol managed an amazing 21 year lifespan, finally being replaced in 1980 by the far more modern 160 model. This ’69 however, is about as rustic as it gets. The engine is a 3,956-cc OHV inline six, and that’s backed up by a 4-speed manual gearbox and 2-speed transfer case. That all sends power though a part time system to all four wheels. Live axles support both ends, and those are attached to the frame by semi-elliptic leaf springs. 


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Sporting both the short wheelbase two-door body and steel multi-piece roof, this white over green ditch dueler looks like the world’s most bad-ass postal Jeep. It’s bigger than a DJ of course, and the steering wheel’s on the right side - I mean the left side, er, correct side. Oh piss, you know what I mean.

It's that driver's side that my cause you to pause as it looks to be suffering from a good bit of raggedy ass on the door bottom. How far that road rot reaches is a mystery, but could be accounted as a potential reason for the seller's description of the truck as needing some TLC.

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Now, I love TLC just as much as the next guy, and in fact Waterfalls is one of my favorite slow-dance songs. But I don't know what the remaining members (R.I.P. Left Eye) would be able to do with regard to the rust on this Patrol's bucket list.

The ad also notes that this Patrol needs to go to a good home, so you might want to straighten up before making a offer. With a claimed 40K on the clock, it's said to be both running and driving, both positive attributes in my book.

Should you want to bring it home, you'll need to come up with $2,500 as that's the seller's asking price. What do you think about that, does $2,500 seem a reasonable deal for a classic Nissan? Or, is this one Patrol for which you would not want to take point?

You decide!

Denver Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Bigblockbear for the hookup!

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For $2,500, Go On Patrol

For $2,000, Is This Allanté A Hot Commodity? insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,000, Is This Allanté A Hot Commodity?

Cadillac’s Allanté is famous for having the world’s longest production line, figuratively stretching from Italy to Detroit. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Caddy needs some work, but will that make its price a stretch as well?

When it came to yesterday’s mildly custom 1991 Acura NSX the only line of consequence was its bottom line, which 57% of you awarded a Nice Price win. The only other line might be the one out the door of people wanting to drive that red rocket.

Okay, admission time. Have you ever bought something that was advertised as “some assembly required?” Have you possibly ever dated a rebel, with the expectation that you could change their less socially redeeming qualities?” Lastly, have you ever bought something at a bargain price, offered as such because it possessed what you viewed as inconsequential or rectifiable flaws?

If you answered yes to all three of those questions, you are hopeless romantic who is also a cheapskate, and that’s a tough combo my friend. Still, these probably the very traits that the seller of today’s 1993 Cadillac Allanté is seeking in a buyer.

Here’s something that’s quite remarkable, today’s Allanté is two years newer than yesterday’s Acura, and yet it seems so much more a thing tied to the past while the NSX still feels vital and contemporary. Here’s something else that might just set your brain to twerking- the ’93 Allante, with its last model year Northstar V8 provided 25-more horses than the NSX, 295 to the Acura’s factory 270.

That infusion of Northstariness dropped the Allanté’s zero to sixty time from a leisurely nine seconds to a more heart pumping 6.3. That’s a second off the Acura but still not bad considering the Cadillac weighs in at nearly a ton more.

As typically the case with GM, once they finally got the Allanté right with the ’93 model, they up an cancelled it. Nope, can’t have that! Other changes that year included making the aluminum hardtop and digital dash optional extras, the removal of the fixed vent wings on the doors, and a new rear suspension that brought handling competence up a notch.

Even with the revised springy bits there was never any illusion that the Allanté would run with the likes of the NSX, but it was at the time the best handling car Cadillac had ever produced.

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Today’s candidate will probably let you sample that sweet Caddy handling, for a short while at least. That's because the ad - while claiming that the car "runs and drives great" - also notes that it overheats like a nympho at an orgy. Other problems include door glass that doesn't want to move and the fact that, much like the global economy, the car hasn't been doing anything the past five years.

Still, it looks good, at least on the outside where the metallic run, forest, run paint seems to still hold a shine. The top and interior are mysteries, as no pictures or description are provided for either.

The windows are a pain in the neck to fix, but probably not all that hard, as where the source of the Northstar's menopausal problem may be harder - and much more expensive - a gremlin to locate and make right.

But that's why this Allanté is only $2,000. These remain iconic and interesting cars, and you are unlikely to find a good one for anywhere near so low a price that doesn't have an ex-husband in the trunk and a seller stipulating that you need to drop her off at the airport post-purchase.

The question for you is whether this two-seat Caddy's 99 problems include its price being one. What do you think, is this hobbled Allanté worth a two-grand gamble? Or, does that price for this overheating car leave you cold?

You decide!

Dallas Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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For $2,000, Is This Allanté A Hot Commodity?

For $2,000, Find Out How Soon insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,000, Find Out How Soon

In my mind, the best Van Halen is the David Lee Roth Van Halen. Similarly, I like my second biggest Japanese car producer to be called Datsun, not Nissan. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe BRE-homage 210 fits that bill, but will its price make you think the seller must be inhalin’?

Japanese economy cars of the early eighties ran the gamut from grody to great. That was a transition era when the major Japanese makers finally started to whole-hog it to front wheel drive for their small cars. The Reagan era proved the last days of the RWD Corolla, arguably the last interesting edition of that model, as well as of its across-the-aisle competitor, the Datsun 210.

Called the Sunny in other markets, and previously the B-210 here, the 210, was available in full line of body styles. That's something else that has changed since the eighties, most small Japanese cars today are being made available in just one or two forms - hatch, or maybe sedan - instead of the past's cornucopia of various body styles that spilled forth.

Screw choice I guess.

One of the Datsun 210’s sportiest body styles was a 6-light hatchback that preceded the Ford Sierra's take on the trope by more than half a decade. Today’s BRE-painted 1980 edition of that hatch represents plenty of lasts for the marque. This is the last RWD edition of the Sunny/210, as well as the last to be branded as either a Datsun or a 210. Two years after this car was built, the company shunned tradition and brand equity with the introduction of the FWD Nissan Sentra.

Screw us, I guess.

One of the reasons that I dig the Datsun name is because I own a '71 240Z. Another reason is I like the slightly racist joke about how the name came about. Yeah, of course I’m going to relate it, after all I'm your bud, right?

It seems that Nissan's Marketing Manager was tasked with coming up with a brand name before American sales could start. When he asked how soon the name was needed - and received the response that it was the next day - he exclaimed “Dat Soon?!”

Screw political correctness, I guess.

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Maybe it’s that name that makes this 103,000-mile hatch so appealing to me, or maybe it’s the Pete Brock (nicest guy in the world, BTW) inspired Brock Racing Enterprises paint job. That over blue faux center two-piece alloys gives this little econobox a personality upgrade that moves it from possibly great to potentially awesome.

That is of course, if it’s not a total turd. The description in the ad leads to the impression that it is not so, noting that it has been a reliable daily driver - as a delivery vehicle - for years, and has seen regular maintenance. Obviously I could try and sell a ball-chomping dog by omitting that aspect of its behavior and boasting how it’s never bit anyone in the face.

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Still, I doubt this Datsun would go for the nards, and with its meek but reputationally reliable A-series matched to a five-speed stick it should keep its next owner away from the pumps admirably.

Screw OPEC, I guess.

As you would imagine not everything is sunny with this Sunny, as there is a Grant steering wheel inside, which is a icon of Pep Boys sourced shlock. There’s also no tach in the dash and, in what might be a deal killer for some, the car comes with a reconstructed title.

Screw hope, I guess.

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The current seller says that the tainted title came with the car when he bought is and was due to some fender damage. He avows that the frame is straighter than Jim Bob Dugger, but then again Frankenstein’s monster also came with a reconstructed title, and look how that turned out.

If that doesn’t have you firing up the torches and sharpening your pitchforks then you might want to also consider the car’s $2,000 price tag, as, after all, that’s why we’re here. What do you think about that price for this - one of the last of the Datsuns? Is that a deal that makes buying this Sunny a bright idea? Or, does aksing that much for this salvage 210 make you want to say screw that, I guess?

You decide!

Portland Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Civardi for the hookup.

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For $2,000, Find Out How Soon

For $2,000, Bajallelujah insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,000, Bajallelujah

Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe VW is nicknamed the Thunderbug. That’s due to its turbo T-bird motor, and not because of any sort of bowel reaction it induces. At two grand do you think it will sell as fast as lightning?

Driving a Baja Bug on the street is sort of like wearing short pants to a wedding, you kind of stick out- not for what’s there, but for what isn’t. The original is generally credited to have been created by Gary Emory - later of of the venerated Parts Obsolete Porsche palace - who had wanted to build a Meyers Manx dune buggy but couldn't scrape together enough cash to buy the kit.

What he instead did was to trade an old Suzuki motorbike for a down on its luck ’57 Type 1, and then proceeded to gut and cut the car until it was as light as possible, and able to roll on as big-assed tires as would fit.

That first Baja Bug inspired a generation of followers, that admiration even continues today. If you’d like to join them then you might just be interested in this 1966 Baja’d Bug, which interestingly packs something a little meatier out back than its original flat VW four.

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Sitting out in the open between the truncated fiberglass fenders is a Ford 2.3 out of a 1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Now you may heard of these engines called by the city of their origin - Lima Ohio - but most also know it as the Pinto four.

Doing T-bird duty the turbocharged and intercooled edition of the 2,302-cc motor pumped out a healthy 190-bhp. That helped move a 3,000-plus pound T-bird move pretty well, so you can imagine what it must do here in an already lighter car that has had a lot of its extremities pared off.

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Back in the seventies VW buff books were rife with ads for the pinto power conversion kits known as “Pinto Beans” so this isn’t all that weird or untoward a mashup. The radiator and fan on this one reside where the back seat once lived, as does the ECU and related mad woman’s hairdo of a wiring loom, so don't plan on this Baja for carpool duty.

It doesn’t look like that engine cooling arrangement offers much privacy to the driver and passenger, and one would imagine this isn’t a car for those with sensitive ears. But for those of you who are more than hardcore, this bad-ass Beetle has a pretty good Mad Max vibe going on. It also has a claimed 75K on the car, and 80K on the engine.

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On the downside, the alternator is said to have crapped out, as has the 2^nd gear synchro. The seller says he just jumps it from first to third and calls it a day. There are a bunch of new parts installed, including a battery, ignition parts, fuel pump and the aforementioned ECU.

Baja Bugs aren’t as popular today as they once were, perhaps owing to the much higher values assigned to stock Type 1s these days. They still have their fans, and if you think that this one - with its turbo Ford mill - would appeal to those fans, you now have to consider its $2,000 price tag.

What do you think about that price for this Pinto-powered Baja? Does that give this Thunderbug a thumbs up? Or, does that make you say Baja-humbug?

You decide!

Seattle Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Ascrewball for the hookup!

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For $2,000, Bajallelujah

For $2,000, Take One For The Team insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,000, Take One For The Team

If you’re a fan of the Cleveland Browns, today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Cadillac won’t just show your team spirit, it’ll carry off its corpse of your hopes as well. That’s only of course if its price doesn't send it into sudden death overtime.

While Subaru has built a respected name for the WRX, and Mitsubishi is probably known best for the EVO line, Mazda’s little 323 GTX, which kind of started it all, is almost so gone that it’s forgotten. That wasn’t the case yesterday, and in fact 63% of you thought that 1988 323 GTX with its modded mill had an unforgettable price as well.

Oh the ignominy of being Cleveland Ohio. It’s hard to live down history and having had both its mayor and river catch fire on separate occasions - the latter event having been immortalized in song by Randy Newman - you start to wonder what other shame could possibly befall this once downtrodden rust belt metropolis.

Well, there’s the Browns.

For those of you outside of the U.S. who are unfamiliar - first off, hi there - we have this game here called football which is nothing like the game you call football. Over here, what you know as football we call boring.

Anyway, real football is a brutal game of land conquest and engenders manic support for the various city-based teams by their fans - a word that is derivative of fanatic. One of the things fans like to do - especially in northern cities like Cleveland where mid season's biting winter cold can send testicles scrambling upward and create nipples that could put an eye out - is to engage in a pre-game soiree known as a tailgater.

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The name - tailgating - derives from the use of a pickup truck’s dropped tailgate which is used as a buffet for all means of potato chip dip, goopy chicken wings, sliders, meatball subs, pizza pies, and of course fine social lubricants like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller High Life, and Colt 45 malt liquor- which interestingly enough was named after former Baltimore Colt Jerry Hill (#45) and not after the hand gun.

If you want to get an idea of how rabid football fans get, especially those stoic - or insane - enough to brave the weather and get liquored up before a game by partying in a freaking parking lot, watch Big Fan.

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If however you are intrigued by the concept of drunken mayhem, and are always looking for ways to support the underdog, then you might just be interested in this 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse, which has been painted up in the colors of the Cleveland Browns.

Now, the Browns have such a pitiful record - 5 and 11 last year - that their fans resort to bemoaning their terribleness even in death. You could help that guy out!

Remarkably the Browns primary color is burnt orange and not tighty whitie skidmark brown. This massive coffin carrier has been thusly hued in the color in search of a rhyme, as well as the secondary brown for the padded vinyl roof and the rear door racing stripe.

Racing stripe? You know, I think the last thing a hearse needs is a freaking racing stripe. What this Brownswagon does need is a new set of rubber as at least one has been as flat as Cleveland's offense for some time. Additionally it has a busted off-side rearview, a victim of some pre-game hooliganism. Oh, and I should probably mention that it hasn't run in a couple of years, a fact which the seller so humorously compares to the Browns too.

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The ad says that the hearse has a little over 94,000 miles on the clock, however its not the rolling but the parking that makes this thing interesting. Also, while it doesn't actually have a tailgate - it's a right-hand swinging door - the floor is set up with casket rollers so your cases of beer will be easy to access.

So, break out the white shoes and belt, it's time to go full-Cleveland. You need to decide if this Cleveland Browns war wagon is worth $2,000 and the time it would take to get it back on field. Do you think that at price, and with god as your witness, you could make this turkey-team mascot fly? Or, is that too much to be down with the brown?

You decide!

Cleveland Rocks Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Deadspin Tim, Chaptal, and Chris Zimmer for the Hookup!

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For $2,000, Take One For The Team

For $2,300, Is This Alfa A Furgone Conclusion? insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,300, Is This Alfa A Furgone Conclusion?

Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Alfa is a Furgone F12. It’s rare but also pretty rusty, so it’ll be up to you to say if it’s too damn far gone for its price.

Dat Ass. You know, as far as Alfa’s go it seems the older the better, possibly on the basis of if it’s lasted this long it won’t fold on me faster than Superman on laundry day. Yesterday’s Alfetta Sport Sedan was pretty old, being a ’79 and all. And it looked to be pretty appealing too, like a comfortable pair of old shoes. That is, until you got to the back end. Then the whole feet smell thing came up.

Junk in the trunk didn’t matter with this Alfa, it was the weird custom rear end that gave most of you pause, and probably quelled a bit the car’s 58% Nice Price win.

Still, a win is a win, and that makes it a thumbs up threepete this week. Because of that we’re going to just let it ride and have a gander at yet another 1979 Alfa Romeo today. Wait, what?! Another creaky old Italian from a beloved but frustratingly insouciant auto maker? What ever happened to variety? Isn't it the spice of life?

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Well, considering that today’s candidate is a freaking 1979 Alfa Romeo Furgone F12, and said to be one of only two of that model currently residing in the U.S. I’d say it’s worth having the second verse be the same as the first. And if you want spice in your life, how about a dash or two of Ferrous Oxide?

This Furgone (Italian for Van) is being offered up on the AlfaBB and if you can’t peddle a triangle shield grille there, you’re pretty much SOL. Several of the BB responses note familiarity with the blue van, including one who has actually ridden it it. He said the experience was memorable for the shower of rust particles that rained down on him for its duration.

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Yes, that's right, this Italian van is Swiss cheese. Okay people, pick your jaws up off the floor, it's not really that surprising, after all Italian iron is 60% oxide to begin with. Being a holey roller is the most likely reason this van hasn't yet sold, as it's been up the AlfaBB for a month or so now, and even made an appearance on Bring a Trailer back in June.

You'd think that Alfa owners wouldn't bat an eye over a little (okay, a lot) of rust, but so far no one has felt up to the challenge, or perhaps found a way to cart home the required 55-gallon drums of Bondo.

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Aside from the cancer, it's a wicked cool van for those of us typically denied such pleasures. Plus its windowless body style would make for a super eclectic creeper van - Hey-a little bambino, you-a want-a some candy? It's-a goooood. You wanna' help-a me find my lost-a puppy? He's-a so cute and so lost, you climb-a in and help-a me, no?

Yeah, don't take rides from strangers kids. Especially ones in even stranger vans.

Mechanically, this Alfa isn't so much strange as awesome. Powering it - and it is claimed to run and drive - is a 1,760-cc Perkins diesel four, a 52-horse engine also commonly found - ahoy matey - in boats. That's backed up by a ZF 4-speed manual, albeit not from a boat.

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The seller says that the engine was rebuilt in 2002, and the the van itself was privately imported a number of years ago. It's titled in Illinois as a 1971, so it should be clear to register pretty much everywhere. After all, what DMV drone could deny its charms.

By now you are probably enrapt by it as well and so it's now time to throw down the cards and see what you think about this cool but corroded Italian van's $2,300 asking price. Is that low enough to overcome the unwanted air conditioning? Or, is this one too far gone Furgone?

You decide!

AlfaBB, or go here if the ad disappears.

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For $2,300, Is This Alfa A Furgone Conclusion?

For $2,000, To Infiniti And Be-Owned! insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $2,000, To Infiniti And Be-Owned!

Charlie Palmer was the poet who famously penned the inspirational verse Try Try Again. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe 300ZX is the epitome of that advice, but will its price and condition make it poetry in no-motion?

Nature loves equilibrium, whether it be osmotic pressure or the perfect number of squirrels down your pants, it all eventually balances out. And that seems to have extended to the votes so far this week. Monday’s manic Corvette fell in one of the most egregiously lopsided votes ever, so much so that the Earth probably tipped on its axis a little, spilling some poor schmuck’s drink down in Louisiana. Bringing balance back to the universe once again, yesterday’s beater but much sweeter 1998 Volvo S90 earned a 97% Nice Price win. Now we can all breathe a little bit easier.

You know, yesterday was kind of a gimme. After all, eight hundred bucks for a seemingly decent running Volvo that isn't covered in human feces or people wanting to talk to you about politics is pretty righteously easy like Sunday morning. Today however, you have a much more difficult task at hand.

If someone told you that today’s 1995 Nissan 300ZX was only $2,000 your first question would be: wait a minute, what the hell’s wrong with it? Well, I’m glad you asked.

This 300ZX - which is one of the good looking 300ZXs, and not that earlier I wanna’ look like an S30 but I’m just so fat ones - is in most ways pretty stock and of the non-T-roofied variety. It also sports a 5-speed stick between its multi-adjustable leather-wrapped thrones, and aside from missing its air-bagged steering wheel, glovebox door, and driver’s side door card, it looks to be in decent shape. Some of those kibbles and bits apparently come with the car, just hankering to be reinstalled.

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On the outside there’s a scratch in the paint behind the door, some light surface rust on the wheel arches, and the stock alloy wheels which for some reason I’m surprised to see on this particular car. Oh, and Lambo Diablo headlights!

But I can’t be bothered with those aspects of the car because I’m like a dog watching the bacon wagon go by staring at the freak show that is the Infiniti VH45DE that has been wedged under this 300ZX’s hood. Well, under is a bit of a misnomer as the 4.5-litre V8 is actually too tall to clear the sloping hood which was originally intended to house a more compact V6.

Now, most people would switch out the hood with one that has a riser, or some other form of clearance enhancement. But not this car’s builder. Oh semolina pilchard no! Instead, this car has had its stock hood contour cut for each and every engine part that would otherwise impair closing. That includes the VH45’s weird intake plenum that makes the engine look like it’s transverse when it’s really oriented the other way, and, mind your neckties, the fan.

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The nibbler-crazy engine install isn’t even the car's most important ad feature either. The seller also states that following all the work that went into the engine conversion, including a custom mating plate, pretty fly-wheel, and clutch, AND all the hoodwinking that went on to make the nose lid close, the Infiniti mill went south. He says that the car had run for over a year and 20K in its current hole-ier than thou condition until an aggressive freeway exit caused it to quit on him. The culprit is claimed to be coolant-loss induced seizure, which probably indicates that at the very least the water temp gauge had not been hooked up or converted or whatever.

So now it needs a new engine. Try, Try, Again. And speaking of trying, I don’t know about the seller’s described eBay auction, as I can’t find the car there. I figure if the Craigslist ad is still up, he’s still got the car.

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And he’s still asking two grand for it You now need to figure out if that price makes this Nissan - now on its second engine - worthy of Palmers inspiring words: Tis a lesson you should heed, If at first you don't succeed, Try, try again, Mofo.

I put that last bit in, I think it really punches it up, don’t you? And, do you think this Infinissan 300ZX is worth $2,000 in its current condition? Or, does the cut up hood make you wonder what corners were cut, making that two grand just the start?

You decide!

Washington DC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to charles5448 for the hookup!

For $2,000, To Infiniti And Be-Owned!