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Add some Aussie to your Ford for Under a Grand
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Australia’s identity as a bizarro North America extends beyond its geography and fauna to include the automotive population. Sure, the Big Three did battle down under, but straight sixes were the weapons of choice in many cases. We’ve covered the Chrysler Hemi Six before, but today we’re taking a moment to appreciate a screaming deal…
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1973 Pinto Wagon Makes a Most Optimal LeMons Car
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Internet Car Experts® love to gripe about how it’s impossible to find a remotely competent car for LeMons-legal pricing. To this we reply: Competence is significantly overrated and you just need to look harder. We’re not saying it’s easy; heck, even Hitler had a hard time searching (here’s some context on that)), but every once and…
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Diesel Dodge Ram VW Camper Mash-Up: Way More Awesome, Less Terrible Than You'd Expect
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Never has a vehicle so deftly straddled the line between awesome expedition rig and sketchy homeless guy shelter on wheels. The base of this vehicle is a 1991 Dodge Ram D250 Powered by a turbo Cummins 12V Six. Atop the bed and back of the cab has been grafted the carapace of a VW camper…
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US EPA Wants to End Emissions Exemption for Street Cars Turned Racecar
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In a recent regulatory update, the US EPA has stated that it intends to eliminate emissions exemptions for street cars turned into competition vehicles. We really really really really really hate writing about politics here, but we’re making an exception this once for two reasons: this is really really right up our collective alley and there’s…
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LeMons Ranchero Update: One Week to Go, All Fired Up and Surprisingly Few Things Left
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Next weekend we’ll return to Sonoma Raceway with a somewhat improved (but still genuinely terrible) Ranchero in search of two full days or racing. I don’t remember what we did/didn’t have done the weekend before our last race, but two weeks out we’d started it for the first time in months. As of this past weekend:…
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This Must be the Cleanest Renault Alliance GTA Convertible on the Planet
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In today’s edition of Rare Does Not Equal Valuable, we’ll be examining a Renault GTA in 7.5/10 condition. The GTA was a special version of the Renault-built-in-Kenosha Alliance that had the first $1,500 worth of mods anyone would do to sport-up car: body kit, seats, exhaust, motor mounts, lower gearing, sway bars, alloys, etc. According…
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This Must be the Cleanest Diesel Luv on the Planet
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Quick, think of the Chevy LUV. Is your mental image that of a faded yellow or brown model with an oxidized-to-chalk camper shell on the bed? Dinky tires that cost $15 each when new 18 years ago? Right. Such is the LUV in its natural habitat. But then we have this thing: with 82,000 miles on…
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Hooniverse to Ruin Race Another '62 Ranchero in LeMons
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After our ’62 Ranchero became an object lesson for my dad’s physics class, a number of people approached us at the track offering to sell us Falcons or Rancheros. Most attractive among them was LeMons sometimes-staffer and generally awesome car guy Dick McClure‘s Ranchero (note the LeMons sticker on his Quail-attending car). The car inspected, a…
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4 Cylinder, 4 Speed, IRS-equipped 1963 Pontiac Tempest Could Make a Surprisingly Modern Cruiser
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If I were a Leno-grade car collector, I’d be sure to add every example of the early Y-body GM compacts to my stable. They featured unique and impressive technology for the day that was seemingly “lost” until embarrassingly recent years. Most ironically, it was the Tempest LeMans GTO that kicked off the “sell the same…
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Hayabusa Powered Locost would Make a Fine Daily Driver
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Lotus 7 clones, be they the more legit Caterham or much more DIY-y versions tend to max out the performance-per-dollar scales. They typically tip the scales between 1200 and 1500lbs, so it doesn’t take much in the way of horsepower to make an incredibly quick ride. Luckily, today’s example does’t have to make excuses for…
