For $3,500, Don’t Be Lone insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,500, Don’t Be Lone

S

Last Summer’s Lone Ranger movie may have been box office bowel antics, but that doesn’t mean today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Ford Ranger needs to be. It’s rocking a Turbo Pinto mill, but will the Ranger's price have you shouting hi-ho silver?

You weren’t horsing around when 63% of you gave yesterday’s home-brew ’88 Jetta Syncro a pass. That car was the result of a decade long effort on the part of its seller, and at seven grand, apparently the time was not right.

Do you think there’s a home for heartless Mustangs? I mean, other than the wreaking yard. It seems like the Mustang’s hottest motors are plucked from their bosoms like some sort of automotive Sophie’s Choice, and they are left with gapping holes both under their hoods and in their souls.

Maybe the 2.3-litre turbo Lima four in today’s Ford Ranger didn’t come from a ‘Stang, as after all Ford did drop this little engine that could into the T-bird, Cougar, and Capri for good measure. Or maybe this is one of the multitude of Pinto fours that has been turbo’d after the fact.

Either way, the 2.302-cc SOHC mill takes to a turbo like a duck takes to orange sauce. And you know this one must be good because its ad is IN ALL CAPS, AND THAT MEANS IT’S IMPORTANT.

S

The shouting ad claims 20 psi for the Garrett turbo and a fuel system to keep up. There’s also an intercooler out of a Volvo and a big VAM (360cfm) which demands a Big VAM ECU out of a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, so hopefully one has found its way here.

Behind the blown motor sits a 5-speed manual topped with a Hurst short shifter on a long rod. Disc brakes all the way around add stopping power and the rear end has been beefed up to an 8.8” pumpkin rocking 3:73 gearing.

On the outside, the truck looks remarkably mundane. While no year is given this body style of Ranger rain from ’93 through ’97 and was the most effete appearing of range. There are a set of Mustang (of course) Bullet wheels to spice things up, and overall it looks perfectly serviceable despite the claim of rust at the corners.

S

Inside things are significantly more leathery, with a pair of thrones from something else (T-bird?) in place of the mouse fur-encased Ranger units. The rest is as plastic as you wanna’ be, albeit seemingly intact and un-cracked.

The seller shouts about the motor having 35K on it, but goes silent about the miles on the rest of the rig. He does say that he’s not interested in the barter system or as he puts it, NO!!!!!!!!!! TRADES…………………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is willing to take cold, hard cash for the boosted truck, in the requested amount of $3,500. Let’s help out some prospective buyers and determine if that seems a good price or not. What do you think, is this turbo-four equipped Ranger a deal at $3,500? Or, is that just as shout as the ad?

You decide!

Grand Rapids Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to the Phalanx for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

For $3,500, Don’t Be Lone

For $3,800, Your Squire Awaits insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,800, Your Squire Awaits

One way to be a Country Squire is to be a member of the landed gentry, way out in the boonies that is. The other way is to be a beloved Ford longroof, and for today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe, we've got one of the last of those.

Patina is not just the name of a mysterious gypsy girl from an old movie, it's also a sometimes desirable appearance worn on certain automobiles and trucks. If you were to park yesterday's 1979 Dodge D100 in your living room, its patina would inspire Martha Stewart magazine to describe your style as 'shabby chic,' and with its 66% Nice price win, you all felt that the truck's price was none too shabby as well.

The SUV and Minivan supplanted the traditional station wagon from its vaunted spot as the de facto standard accouterment of suburban driveways decades ago, and while wagons still exist today, its no lie to say that the current crop lacks the presence and majesty of their predecessors.

S

Today's 1990 Country Squire on the other hand is large and in charge. Based on the last automotive body-on-frame car platform built in America - the last Crown Vics and Lincoln Town Cars having gone extinct just last year - these family fun cars are as uniquely American as apple pie and reality TV about fat people.

With 171,000 miles on its clock this LX model has seen some updates over the years. The ad notes that the headliner and visors have been recovered, while outside that beloved bastion of many of our's youth, the woodgrain side panels, have been hand painted to look both funky and fresh.

The rest of the body appears to be in pretty good shape, and what a shape that is. Cars today are all so uniformly cat turd shaped that it's hard to tell them apart, and even harder not to knock your head on the ceiling in the back seat of many of them.

S

This big Ford on the other hand is so square and boxy that it's like something you might drive in Minecraft. That means there's acres of room inside, and in fact the fold up seats in the back 40 give this big beast true 9-passenger seating (2+3+2/2). When those seats go down its provides space that Lawrence of Arabia might find daunting to cross.

The rest is pure American comfort food, including puffy tufted leather seats, a skinny-ass steering wheel that's rumored to be connected to the front wheels but you couldn't prove it by turning the thing, and more lean in the corners than a political pundit

S

Moving the whole thing is a 150-horse fuel injected 302 and Ford's 4-speed AOX transmission, pretty standard stuff. The ad notes the replacement of the alternator, starter and battery, as well as its podium placement on its most recent smog test.

There's not a lot to go wrong on these cars and when something does under the hood you can probably fix it yourself and not have to worry about getting rained on while doing so the lid is so damn big.

S

The rest of the car - paint, chrome, brightwork, etc, is said to be fair to middling, but overall what do you want from an almost quarter of a century old family car?

I can tell you what the seller wants of it and that's $3,800, and it's now time to ask yourself if that's a deal for this woody wagon, or if that price squashes this Squire.

You decide!

Los Angeles Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Related

For $3,000, Have A Dodge Ball

In much of the U.S. fall means a riot of earthy colors as the trees party down one final time before winter's cold embrace. Today’s Nice Price… Read…

For $3,800, Your Squire Awaits

For $3,000, Have A Dodge Ball insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,000, Have A Dodge Ball

In much of the U.S. fall means a riot of earthy colors as the trees party down one final time before winter's cold embrace. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe old-school D100 fits with its autumn color scheme, but is its price set to see it fall?

Do you remember when you were a kid and you stuck a paperclip into one of the wall sockets in your house? Whoo-doggies, that burning hair smell never goes away, now does it? Well, with its 90% Crack Pipe loss, yesterday’s torpid Tesla of an Alfa Romeo 164 proved seemingly an equally bad bit of judgement, and just as shockingly so.

Today we’re switching gears, literally as our contender Dodge D100 comes with our favorite toy, a four-speed tranny. It also has a 318 that, thanks to lightly loaded rear end, should be pretty good at converting dead dinosaurs into tire smoke and macho posturing.

When it comes to America, we loves us some pickup trucks. And when it comes to pickup trucks, we loves us some Ford F150s, as that model is the reigning king of sales, and has been since back when MTV was cool. But that doesn’t mean that the competition hasn’t been trying, all these years, to knock Ford off the podium.

Today’s 1979 Dodge D100, while used and wearing a patina that looks more comfortable than footsie pajamas in front of a roaring fire, might make you reconsider whether you need all that fancy pants stuff a new truck provides. And it'll certainly take your mind off of Fords.

Back in the ‘70s, Dodge came out with a series of special edition pickups that threw both ostentation and performance at an audience that didn’t know they needed such things. The L’il Red Truck, Midnight Express, and Warlock were all marketed by the brand as ‘adult toys,’ and for a short time, the Dodge hauler was the fastest thing built in America.

Being an adult toy may be a little too salacious these days (thanks Internet!), and because of that it’s perhaps good to know that this short wheelbase (115-inch) step side is just a Custom, and not so much a toy. That’s not to say that its drivetrain, including the aforementioned 318 and 4 on the floor wouldn’t be entertaining.

S

For ’79 the 318 came in both 2bbl and 4bbl versions. The two-throat offered a meager 135-bhp while the big carb’d edition managed a little more respectable 155. Of course the LA has been a Mopar mainstay for decades and there’s plenty of go-faster bits that can be added.

The rest of the truck is about as sweet as you could want, featuring a topographical map of colors and contours but looking like it’s all there. The autumn-hued DODGE side stripes and hood detail ensure the truck’s participation in your town’s harvest festival parade very year.

S

The ad is a little cryptic in its description, although you do get the impression that the lumber in the box bed has been replaced, and that it has many of the functional accoutrements of the era, including power steering and brakes, as well as A/C. You can glean that, but the general lack of punctuation and random emoji makes getting any more info a challenge.

At least the seller managed to use pictures from a recent outing for his ad, and now I am curious as to what happened to the truck’s front bumper in the Luray Caverns.

Bumper or no, this truck does look like it would make you ten points cooler just by driving it and after all who us couldn’t use the help? Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Of course the more important question is whether it’s worth three grand to do so.

What do you think, is this too cool for old-school D100 worth $3,000? Or, is that price as dodgy as the ad?

You decide!

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

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

For $3,000, Have A Dodge Ball

For $3,900, Become a Baur-Y Boy insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,900, Become a Baur-Y Boy

You probably can’t be like Jack Bauer and save the world in 24 hours, but you can buy today’s kind of scruffy Nice Price or Crack Pipe BMW 323i Baur convertible and pretend. That is of course if you think its price isn't make believe.

When it comes to recreational vehicles do you have a goldilocks moment, finding the luxury motor coaches too big and the passenger seat of a Miata too small? Well then, perhaps yesterday’s kitschy custom 1961 International Harvester Camper would mama bear you right up? Of course with 53% of you not feeling its price, it’s unlikely anybody is going to A-OK taking this to the KOA anytime soon.

If you happen to enjoy camping where there might be bears present, then today’s 1981 BMW 323i would likely also not be an appropriate choice as its top has been Baur’d making getting bear’d way to easy.

You might remember the E21 as the first-ever 3-series, having replaced the 2002 ‘Neue Klasse’ in 1975. Alternatively you might not remember these at all as the 320i that was sent to the U.S. was a bit of a snoozer, owing to its 1.8-litre M10 four.

S

That’s not the case with the 2.3-litre six cylinder edition denied to red-blooded Americans out of spite over our great nation’s emissions and fuel economy regulations. This 1981 E21 is that Euro spec 323i, featuring that model’s sweet as a sun dappled kiss M20 engine and thin, elegant bumpers that scoff at your car insurance deductible.

Not only that, but this one has been modded - with BMW’s blessing - by Karosserie Baur GmbH, giving the car a multi-position targa/convertible top. That’s comprised of a hard section on one side and a soft section on the other - much like a Twix - both kept inline by a solid roof structure that features Alfa Montreal-esque slots in the B-pillar and maintains the Hofmeister Kink in the smaller rear sidelights.

The ad for this silver over black Baur notes that top is theoretically configurable into 4 positions, but I think that includes one window up and one window down. Regardless, it's actually locked into configurations having the soft back section down all the time as the ad notes that part is in need of replacement.

Other problems include a body that while seemingly clean does have what is described as a 'pateena' which I think is also the name of a hip new Asian fusion restaurant in Milwaukee. The seller says he has been using the car as a daily driver, which makes you wonder just how many miles are under its belt since he also says the odo broke at 110,000, but doesn't detail when that happened. Was it last year? Nineteen ninety seven?

This car's condition isn't all titty twisters and atomic wedgies however, as the ad does note a litany of replaced parts, some of which are either expensive or critical elements. The daily driver status also means that registration of this grey market car shouldn't be too big a hassle. The fact that it has had side marker lights added implies that the work to make it legal may already have been totally done. Lastly, the gearbox behind the silky six is as five-speed as you want it to be.

Baur E21s are pretty rare here in the U.S., but not onerously so. 323i editions however are pretty much equatable to lady chicken pearly whites so this car's appearance shoud raise an eyebrow of interest. The question of course is whether its price will cause all interest to be lost.

The seller is asking $3,900 for the car, and while this is the second kind of ratty silver Bimmer we've had here this week, this one stands a far better chance of leaving at least some of your wallet intact over the course of its ownership, while that 850Ci would have drained your bank account and then gone after the kids' college fund.

With all that in mind, what do you think about that price - $3,900 - for this rough but ready 323i Baur? Would that be a fair trade for such a rare and desirable car? Or, is that price un-Baur-able?

You decide!

Kansas City Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to the ever reliable Civardi for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

For $3,900, Become a Baur-Y Boy

For $3,500, We Have Nothing To Fiero But Fiero Itself insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,500, We Have Nothing To Fiero But Fiero Itself

Sadly, in its stock incarnation Pontiac’s Fiero just doesn’t seem to get any respect. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe custom is a prime example of that fact, but will you find its price to be respectable?

Speaking of being decent and well thought-of, it seems that 74% of you felt that paying the fifty-five hundred asking price for yesterday’s short story about a Toyota Corolla would sully one’s reputation.

Are-Eee-Ess-Pee-Eee-Cee-Tee, baby what that means to me. What today’s open top Fiero means to you will have a lot to do with how you feel about America’s only series production mid-engine car and the necessity for keeping it in its stock form. Should you however see it as a canvas for your own imagination - or someone else’s, should you be intransigently shiftless - then this white-on-rice one-off might be your cup of tea.

Why would you want an existing custom should you desire to make the car an expression of your own personal taste and vision? Well, like any great work of art, this one's not necessarily finished, and as George Lucas monkeying with the classic Star Wars films has taught us, it's never too late to mess with success.

S

To that end, the seller of this Fiero - who is doing so "for a friend" - has offered a handy Photoshop of what the car would look like without its freakishly tall bi-wing spoiler. Hacking that off would make the car able to fit though a standard mail slot, or under your typical 18-wheeler trailer, but I think it lends too much personality to warrant amputation.

What has been removed is the Fiero's roof and flying buttress-surrounded rear window, leaving the car an unfortunate choice for escape should Hitchcock's The Birds ever become reality. Remember, they go for the eyes!

The friend in deed says that the frame has been reinforced, as have the axles to account for the added torque from the "stock" motor. That mill seems to the the six and not the iron Puke, so the car has that going for it. In the minus column, it looks like from the video provided that this one's an automatic and strapping a three-speed slusher to a Fiero will sap the fun faster than having your mom walk in on you while you are pleasuring yourself to a Smurfs video.

There are 108,000 miles on the car and it is claimed to have been in storage for some time so as not to scare children. The ad claims that it runs well and sounds cool owing to its non-stock mufflering, and as you saw in the video, the driver's seat is Darth Vader.

What's left unspoken are the car's year, who did the work, or just how serious an inquiry needs to be considering the presentation of the car. Also, why is it sticking out its tongue?

S

It seems like owning a Fiero demands an obsession with body modification on the level of Heidi Montag's husband. Plus, the car's plastic screwed-on bodywork would have only needed to come with a zipper to be easier to remove so it's not all that shocking to see one in this custom state.

The question however is which direction that customization moves the needle in regards to the car's value. At present, the seller - or his friend at least - has set the price at $3,500. What do you think, is that a deal for this fabricated Fiero? Or, is this a custom with a cuss-worthy price?

You decide!

Indianapolis Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Cesavice for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Related

For $5,500, Get Shorty

When it comes to automotive excitement, Toyota usually comes up short. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Corolla wagon however is long on being… Read…

For $3,500, We Have Nothing To Fiero But Fiero Itself

For $3,500, Shala Stay or Shala Go? insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,500, Shala Stay or Shala Go?

A Shallow Vet is an animal doc that you’re really not sure you want anywhere near fido. In contrast, today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Shala Vette is a custom fiberglass buggy by the famous designer Dick Dean, and you need to decide if its price makes it a dog.

You know why we don’t do motorcycles here very often? It’s because you guys freak out over them. Once the furor died down a bit, yesterday’s 1970 Kawasaki A1SS did manage to roll away with a 60% Nice Price win. Good times indeed.

Do you lay in bead night after night, pooled in sweat, staring at the ceiling and unable to sleep because of your lamentation of a world bereft of a vehicle that is a mashup of a C3 Corvette and Disneyland Autopia car? Well, change those sheets and stop counting sheep, because today’s 1969 Shala Vette is here to put your mind to rest.

S

Dick Dean was born Richard Dean Sawitskas, but was dubbed Dick Dean by a syllabically challenged Autorama announcer, and the shorter version stuck. A graduate of Pasadena’s prestigious Art Center, College of Design, where he studied under none other than Strother MacMinn, Dean opened a customizing business in Michigan after a short and unhappy stint at a steel mill.

It wasn’t until hooking up with George Barris in 1959 that Dean’s fortunes took a turn for the fortunate, and he started to make a name for himself. After moving to California, Dean worked his way up to running Barris’ Kustom City shop where he oversaw the creation of a number of custom creations for which Barris of course took all the credit.

S

One of Dean’s interests was Dune Buggies, having built a number of Meyers Manx cars, and eventually designing his own Beetle in disguise, the gull wing’d Shalako. That car led to Malcolm Bricklin commissioning Dean to develop the former Subaru importer’s namesake folly. Before that however, it led to the object of our attention today, the Shala Vette.

What the heck is a Shala Vette? Well, it’s a dune buggy that looks like a kiddy car version of the C3 Corvette. As such, it’s a fiberglass body on a shortened VW platform powered by a VW flat four... out in the back.

Only about 10 of the Shala Vette bodies were ever made, and while they turn up for sale from time to time rarely do you find them in as nice a shape as this one. Yeah, that’s pretty subjective as this Shala does evidence its age as the gel coat appears dull and there is wear on some of the hard edges.

The interior is a plastic tub on the VW's waffled floor and into that have been placed a pair of vinyl and fabric seats, probably donated from a van. The ad claims the pan underneath all that is free of rust and it appears that the car has disc brakes up front, which is a plus.

S

The seller also says that the car runs and drives despite having been in storage for the past ten years. If its owner hasn’t maintained its non-op status then the cool gold-on-blue California plates may not be presently usable. ’69 was the first year those were made available.

Dean oversaw a lot of custom cars for TV shows and the movies, and you might remember the Shala Vette from the 1975 trashploitation flick, Death Race 2000 where a heavily modified one was piloted by the star and mortifyingly embarrassing death experiencer David Carradine.

S

While it’s cartoonish in the extreme, the Shala Vette has a provenance, and seeing as this one’s apparently in drivable shape - albeit with what looks to be a grab bar instead of a windscreen - that begs the question, what is it worth?

The seller of this Shala is asking $3,500 to take it off his hands. You now need to vote on whether than’s a deal or not. What do you think, is this Dick Dean custom worth that kind of cash? Or, is this Shala’s price a shall not?

You decide!

City of Angels Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Related

For $3,500, Are Two Wheels Good?

Kawasaki’s motto used to be that they would let the good times roll. Motorcycles are pretty rare here on Nice Price or Crack Pipe, but then this A1SS … Read…

For $3,500, Shala Stay or Shala Go?

For $3,500, Are Two Wheels Good? insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,500, Are Two Wheels Good?

Kawaski’s motto used to be that they would let the good times roll. Motorcycles are pretty rare here on Nice Price or Crack Pipe, but then this A1SS is even more so. Uncommon or not, you’ll still need to determine if its price makes for a rollin' good time.

I have to say up front that I am not allowed to ride motorcycles. That wasn’t always the case, and in fact throughout much of High School I tooled around on a little Honda 125. It was d’ bomb.

But then my then girlfriend/now wife witnessed a horrific motorcycle accident involving the full checklist of terrible things that could happen when a bike hits a truck at speed. Following that she told me that didn’t want me ending up with my head one place and my now much shorter body elsewhere.

*sigh* Yes dear.

That however doesn’t mean that I haven’t stopped jonesing for a cool bike, nor occasionally taking advantage of the offer to ride, say an old Triumph Trident, around the block. Just don’t tell my wife. Seriously do't tell her, it wouldn’t end well for either of us.

That pining is what led me to find this fully restored Kawasaki A1SS in the local Craigslists. I thought, well damn let’s run that up the old NPOCP flag pole and see if anybody salutes it. I’ll bet you weren’t even aware that we even had a flag pole.

S

Like many Japanese companies, Kawasaki started out making everything but motorcycles. In fact, they didn’t start letting the good times roll on two wheels until merging with Meguro Manufacturing in 1963, creating the Kawasaki Motorcycle Company. Along with Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda, the company began exporting bikes to the U.S. to help fill the rabid demand for small motorcycles that had arisen in the sixties.

The A1 (also called the Samurai) was first introduced in 1967 as a street bike as well as a high-pipe scrambler denoted as the SS. It’s a very good thing that they slipped that numeral one into the name as I don’t know how many bikes they would have sold had it been called the Kawasaki ASS.

This '70 model is claimed in the ad to have been fully restored, including powder coating the frame, new paint on the tank, and chrome so shiny it’ll blind on-coming traffic, which might not be such a good thing.

The ad doesn’t say if any work has gone into the 247-cc 31-horse twin, but seeing as the rest of the bike looks to be tits, it’s unlikely that the rev-happy two stroke isn’t as well.

That engine features rotary valves and pair of Mikuni VM22SCs to feed its air-cooled cylinders. It’s mated to a standard 5-speed gearbox that gives you overdrive in the top two gears. With maximum power developed at 8,000 rpm you can bet that the sounds this bike makes are like a bee hive’s angry dance in any of those cogs.

Knobby tires on traditional spoked wheels match the side pipes in giving this A1 a nice traditional Scrambler-style vibe, and the whole thing should be good for just over 100 mph at its top end.

I know we don’t do bikes here very often, but this one just struck me as worthy of our interest and judgement, and as such, it’s now time for you to say whether or not this cool old Kawasaki should let some new buy roll for its $3,500 price tag. What do you think, is that a good price for this restored A1SS? Or, does that price make this a bike you no like?

You decide!

Los Angeles Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

For $3,500, Are Two Wheels Good?

For $3,900, Nothing But Pirate! insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,900, Nothing But Pirate!

Are you ready kids? Aye-aye, Captain! I can’t hear you! AYE-AYE CAPTAIN! Oohhh, who has a turquoise-painted pirate themed van? Nice Price or Crack Pipe! But will its price fit in your plans? Nice Price or Crack Pipe! Nice Price-Crack Pipe, Nice Price-Crack Pipe, Nice Price. . . Crack Pipe!

An interesting pairing, the British and the Japanese. They used to say that the sun never sets on the British Empire, and of course Japan’s flag features a rising sun, so there’s that. There was also the Rover/Honda partnership in the ‘80s which showed how the two nations - or at least their auto makers - could collaborate.

The U.S. hates to be left out of other nation’s business, so of course yesterday we got to weigh in on that partnership, in the form of a tidy - and Stateside - 1993 Rover 216 SR. That of course is a British-born Civic with all the plusses and minuses which that entails. One plus that can now be added to its multi-national bona fides is a Nice Price win, because that’s just what an RCH-narrow 51% of you voted it.

Back in 1973, balladeer Sammy Johns had a hit with the song Chevy Van which was about a dude getting busy with a hitchhiking hippie girl who, post ugly-bumping, does the right thing in Johns’ mind- making like a banana and splitting. Man, what a groovy scene.

You are unlikely to get lucky - even if you stay up all night - in today’s 1967 Chevy Van. That’s because its pirate theme is not likely to stir any libidinous thoughts in any but the most eff-d up of Jack Sparrow fetishists.

S

Chevrolet’s first entrant into the ‘60s minivan wars was the Corvair Greenbrier, which were amazing back then and are still today. Not too amazing apparently because the Greenbrier didn’t make the cut in the Corvair’s mid-sixties refresh. Instead, Chevy introduced the G-series compact vans which were based on the conventional Chevy II platform and fell more in line with the Ford Econoline and Dodge A100 competition.

This 1967 Chevy Van is only a semi-creeper van as it sits half-way between people carrier and commercial van owing to the windows in its doors and none in the rest of the back panels.

Chevy debuted a redesign for the G-Van in 1967, and that featured an enlarged doghouse that allowed room and cooling capacity for the company’s small V8 engine. Most however were powered by one version or another of the company’s stout but unremarkable OHV straight six.

S

The ad doesn’t say what engine resides between this one’s seats, and that’s because its far too focused on the pirate theme that has been applied. Why a pirate theme you might ask? Arr, why not?

The exterior is described as teal - a non-obvious pirate hue - but in fact looks a lot more like turquoise to me, at least in the pictures. Regardless, it looks like this long wheelbase (108-inch) van seems in decent shape on the outside.

S

On the inside the purple paint and salty dog den of debauchery accouterments make it look like a perfect place to get your yo-ho-ho on. Of course, if you do car pool duty for a bunch of fourth graders, rolling up in this doubloony bin will make you an instant hero.

Heroism doesn’t come cheap however - well, maybe it does as this van is only $3,900 according to the ad. What do you think about this pirate ship van for that kind of booty? Does that price shiver your timbers? Or, does it walk the plank?

You decide!

San Francisco Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to consistently inconsistent for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Related

For $4,995, Let Rover Take Over

Eve got Adam to sample the original forbidden fruit and as a result their landlord sent them packing. Similarly, today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe… Read…

For $3,900, Nothing But Pirate!

For $3,750, Um, Well, Yeah insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,750, Um, Well, Yeah

When you were a kid, did people ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up? Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Tercel - yeah, that’s a Tercel - knows what it wants to be, but does its price match its lofty aspirations?

It goes without say ing that the value of buying a low-milage car deceases if you should happen to -you know - add miles to it. Despite that fact, yesterday’s 1990 Rip Van Winkle Miata with only 240 miles on the clock took home a surprising 56% Nice Price win for its nine grand asking. This leads to the question, is there anything a Miata can’t do?

Short of buying one with a blown motor there’s really no way to get the look of BMW’s venerated M3 without also the stigma attached to its excellent performance. That is of course until now. This 1998 Toyota Tercel rolls Bavarian style and at first glance totally pulls off the disguise.

S

However, much like a home-fitted toupee, man-made double Ds, or Justin Bieber, the veneer of illusion is actually paper thin. This faux M3 may require a double take to discern its true origin, but it doesn’t take long to discover the folly of its being. Or perhaps that should be considered its genius.

I mean, starting with a fifth generation Tercel two-door you’ve already got a hint of Hofmeister kinking it up in the back window. Now add to that the twin kidneys, roundy headlights under glass, sill extenders, and a shopping trolley spoiler in the back and yeah, this bad boy’s got some hot Bimmer going one.

S

Underneath all that it appears to be stock Toyota Tercel and that means a 93-horse DOHC four displacing 1,497-ccs. Bolted next to that and driving the front wheels is a five speed stick geared for economy. In fact, if your numero uno performance statistic is gas mileage then this Tercel will blow any and every real M3 out of the water with its claimed 33 mpg around town.

With an exterior so extravagantly modified I’m sure you’d be disappointed if the interior were not likewise imbued with M3 style. Well, turn that frown upside down my friend because it’s a Roundel round up in here as well. Two tone seat covers on all four thrones let everyone know what this car's aspirations are, while a “MoMo” steering wheel and crazy textured pedal covers offer a tactile impression of what the real M3 must be. Also, there’s enough stereo in there to make slipping into it like getting slapped square in the face with a Crutchfield catalog.

S

While the seller claims to be open to trades of unique/interesting/cool vehicles, that’s not how we roll, preferring to deal in cold, hard - and imaginary - cash. As such, it’s the car’s $3,750 price tag that interests us here today.

What’s your take on this crazy mixed up Tercel wearing big boy M3 clothes and rocking a $3,750 price tag? Is that a deal to play let’s pretend? Or, is that price as wrong as the car?

You decide!

Pittsburgh Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

For $3,750, Um, Well, Yeah

For $3,000, Be a Sol Brother insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com

insuranceinstantonline.blogspot.com ® For $3,000, Be a Sol Brother

Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Honda is named for the Sun. This one’s supposed to be pretty hot too, owing to its B18b swap, but you have to determine if that makes its price a bright idea.

Honda’s first generation CRX was a pretty big hit. Basic, efficient, and well engineered it was one of those rare cars that was entertaining to drive slow. The follow up was a far more advanced design, bigger, more ambitious, and not quite as endearing. The marque’s entire blueprint was wadded up and tossed in the wastebasket with the introduction of the replacement del Sol, as was its legacy of cheap and easy performance.

The del Sol takes its name from the Latin word for Sun a nod to the fact that its entire roof is removable allowing our nearest star to ride along with you wherever you go - during the day at least. The thing of it is, once you remove such an integral part of an automobile’s body structure, you need to beef up the remaining portions to make up for the loss, lest the car fold faster than Superman on laundry day.

That means that the del Sol - on average - tipped the scales at around 250-lbs more than a comparable second-gen CRX, and that affects the giddy-up, the whoa, and the going around the corners. Today’s 1993 del Sol seeks to compensate for that weight disadvantage with a B18b swap and complimentary B16 5-speed gearbox.

S

Stock, the hottest del Sol motor that we Americans could buy was the 160-horse B16A, and that wasn’t until the 1996 model year. This ’93 would have topped out at 102-bhp for the S and 125 if it had been the hot Si. It now rocks a B18b out of an Integra LS, and that 1,834-cc DOHC four was factory rated at a splitting the difference 142-bhp.

You should note that the B18b is not a VTEC mill, so you can stop waiting for it to kick in, yo. That will give you the opportunity to give this Captiva blue a once over. The first thing that you might notice is that it’s been dropped like the bass on Skunk 2 coilovers, and that it rolls on black steelies with purple anodized extended lugs. It also has yellow fogs cut into the front valance and a number of minor war wounds here and there.

S

One thing is for certain, the del SOl better have a damn-nice personality as they never were particularly good looking cars, and in fact their rear three-quarter view demonstrates its suitability for twerking it in a Sir Mix-A-Lot video.

Popping inside, the car is equally tidy, featuring the stock seats with their handy penis positioner fabric design. Not stock are the shift lever and steering wheel, but neither looks out of place or excessively embarrassing so that’s no big deal. Based on the odo in the IP pic, the car has 218,297 miles under its low-slung belt, but there’s no mention of how many of those were made with the current mill, or what went on in its life prior to doing del Sol duty.

S

Also possibly giving you a sad are the effed-up glovebox door handle and A/C that seems to have gone out on disability. Aside from that the ad claims that the Texas title is clear, and the underhood appearance is in line with the rest of the car, looking okay and without any evidence of the engine swap having been done by monkeys or something.

The seller originally was asking $3,800 for his del Sol, but has reduced that to three grand, possibly seeking to expedite the sale. What do you think about that price to see this SOl rise in your drive? Is that a deal, or do you see this del Sol as one black hole?

You decide!

Houston Imports, or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

For $3,000, Be a Sol Brother