By Robert Emslie
Welcome to Craigslist Crapshoot, our weekly search for the most bizarre, awesome, and/or terrible vehicles that the online classifieds has to offer.
Hey it’s Corvette Summer! Well, at least it was last week when we went looking for the best values in Chevy’s plastic fantastic sports car. There are deals to be had, as long as you’re willing to buy in middle of the upside-down bell curve that defines Corvette desirability and pricing. We’ll have a look at those in a sec, but first this week’s soirée into the online classifieds.
There’s a fun phrase that goes “no matter where you go, there you are” which implies that there’s really no place where you can be out of place. When it comes to cars and trucks however, there’s plenty opportunity to be a fish out of water, or say, a Humvee in congested downtown Rome. That’s what were seeking this week, cars and trucks offered up in places they probably shouldn’t be. Whether it be because of a lack of parts availability, space limitations, or general WTH-ness, we want to see those fish before somebody throws them back in the water.
As always, we want your finds to go down in infamy and not in the site’s spam filter. Since we’ve changed commenting systems, you may need to update your commenter account. Make sure you have a Disqus account – they’re free and easy to get – and then comment away.
So, I’m just going to go on record and say that there are a ton of bargain basement Vettes out there, and those cars are going to be worth something some day. This is probably a good time to refi that house, or start robbing 7-11s to scrape together the cash to buy any one of the cars you brought to the table last week. Of course that’s playing the long game and I would expect it’s going to take 5 to 10 years before you’d see a significant return on a car like – oh say the 1990 BRG convertible found by Jeepster, or that crocodile-rockin’ one found by neight428.
The one that I found most interesting however – and you might already know this if you follow NPOCP – was the 1978 4-speed car also found by Jeepster. That’s a car with enough wrong with it to be cheap, but not enough to be expensive, you know what I mean? Perhaps I’m wrong because while the car seemed a deal at $5,700, it has seen a $200 price drop in just the past week. Maybe it comes with a gypsy curse?
Congrats to Jeepster, and thanks for all the ‘Vette love from you all. Now let’s go looking for love in all the wrong places!
Jeff Glucker
http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/5121895175.html
1977 Leyland Mini Clubman – $6500 (Somerset)
http://images.craigslist.org/00m0m_3Z3hEjPg3J8_600x450.jpg
The car is a good driver that I wouldn’t hesitate to drive anywhere with the character you would expect of a 38 year old car.
The car is mechanically sound and has minor upgrades, such as engine, exhaust (Minisport performance kit) and seats. The car has the patina you would expect of a car of this vintage and that’s what made me want to purchase it. It’s not a show car that you have to worry about every time you drive, so you can get in and go whenever you would like. The bodywork is not too far gone, so you could easily repair the bodywork to make it perfect and turn it into a show car if that’s what you like.
Clubman are rarely for sale in the US and others have been recently sold for well over my asking price.
I have several pictures of the car and will be happy to answer any questions about it.
Please do not offer me a trade unless your car is worth as much or more than mine or you’re prepared to add cash on top. I do not need to sell the car, so please do not waste my time. Trades considered for German cars or European motorcycles, but they must be in running and driving condition. Similar vintage Porsche would put you at the top of the list for consideration. I’ll consider partial trades for wrecked VWs or Audi.
Since many have asked, the primary reasons for selling are that I’m trying to reduce the total cars I own and the other projects I have need to be completed. I have two daughters under two who can’t ride in this due to no rear Seatbelts to mount their car seats and I haven’t had the time to weld in something to make that work. I took this car as far as I could and had a lot of fun with it, but I don’t have the time to do the bodywork. Once that’s done, I’m confident this car will be worth over double what I’m asking.
Also known as classic mini, vintage mini, mini cooper, antique, historic, import, RHD, or micro car.
RHD Leyland Mini… I’d say that’s plenty out of place.
You would be surprised how many Mini’s in the US are right hand drive. I’d say 40 to 60% are right hand drive examples that have been imported from the UK or Japan.
There’s nothing surprising on my local C’Lists, so I’ll just leave this here for all to gaze in awe
http://images.craigslist.org/01616_hnVftnG06Hc_600x450.jpg
http://fargo.craigslist.org/cto/5127858774.html
Mad Max would look twice at this listing.
One would think washing off the $1200 price off the window would help it sell for the $1450 asking price.
4 door FJ40 in the ritzy part of norther Atlanta suburbs.
http://images.craigslist.org/00q0q_lMOtlwEHexp_600x450.jpg
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/5108903869.html
Since Renault has a kind of crappy reputation in the US, I found a Septic Tank truck with a Renault engine!
http://images.craigslist.org/01414_4k6cSYffq55_600x450.jpg
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ctd/5104798913.html
Very interesting! I didn’t know that Volvo brought its European designs to the US…with Renault engines. They bought Mack about three decades ago.
An American Austin in the north Georgia mountains. Not sure how the 747cc engine will do on the mountain roads.
http://images.craigslist.org/00f0f_cjUvWT68iT7_600x450.jpg
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/5104767450.html
A Jensen Interceptor in LA (Lower Alabama)
http://images.craigslist.org/00e0e_cpo8KQ50hPm_600x450.jpg
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/5097143724.html
Good presentation intercepted by a tarp and a cell camera.
cool Swamp Airboat, in Chattanooga ? http://lexington.craigslist.org/boa/5093315862.html and listed in Lexington, KY
Need a snow blower in Georgia, in July! The high today is 93F.
http://images.craigslist.org/00606_aWfssVIoCIe_600x450.jpg
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/for/5118659424.html
At $20 I should get it and part it out on ebay $20 might be close to scrap metal value.
That’s a very tall snow blower for a place that can use a leaf blower to clear a walkway. I doubt it even works on the dustings.
I’m guessing a Yankee transplant brought it with them from up north.
Put that engine in an old minibike gocart frame .. twenty bucks !
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/for/5115250372.html
First you have to get it to run.
Look how clean it is, 10to1 It had ethanol gas in it for some time. Some seafoam, new filter, run it. ( unless the crap gas has eatin the float/needle, bowl, etc )
That was my guess too. New carb and fuel lines and off to the races.
Movers are charging around $4/pound for moves that far. Stupid way to lose money, 1 on moving it, and 2 on selling it in an area that has no need for it.
He’d be $150 ahead if he had given it to his neighbor in Wisconsin for free.
U-Haul doesn’t charge by the pound.
Thank God because their customers can be girthy.
I resemble that remark.
We use the same plan here in North Texas. Although part of me seriously considered buying a snow shovel, back in February.
Nope. You have a weed burner stick in the shed, right? Just use that and get rid of snow and last year’s Rhino grill bottle….
HomeDepot had a sale on snow shovels here in San Diego last year… in September…http://cdn.sandiegouniontrib.com/img/photos/2014/09/17/Snow_shovel_sale_at_Home_Depot_on_hottest_day_r900x493.JPG?122770e84b36f1c039d5c4c2ca15c2d8bc4ecd52
Turns out they shipped a whole bunch of them to the wrong store:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2014/sep/17/hot-heat-wave-home-depot-snow-monroe-photo-lemmon/
At least the shovels could work on mud, sand, or other stuff.
The good news is that it’s a ’58 Ford retractable with a clear Washington title. The bad news is that it’s not only in terrible condition but is sitting “8 miles north of the border” in British Columbia for that extra bit of hassle in retrieving what’s essentially a $2500 parts car.
http://images.craigslist.org/00I0I_dtWLPydv6Hr_600x450.jpg
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/5126974453.html
A few weeks ago when you won the Crap shoot by purchasing your own find, that was fair game.
Posting your own eternal project on Craigslist in order to “find” it reeks of poor sportsmanship. Probably of rodent urine, too.
Ahem. My soul-devouring eternal project Skyliner is a ’59, not a ’58, thank you.
I will nonetheless admit that my first thought was along the lines of selling off enough parts to get this one below a certain $500 limit….
A person Crapable enough to have won Concours d’ Lemons with one car, and IOE with another certainly is skilled in the fine art of cheating. Faking some 58 vs. 59 differences and towing it to the maple leaf side of the border must be child’s play to you.
On the extremely remote chance that the ad is legitimate, if you forward me $2500 plus my handling fee, I will buy the car, provided you pick it up and store it at your estate. I will likely not be able to pay your storage rates, and will not be able to attend any storage lien proceedings, so you may get stuck with the car to dispose of.
Actually I’ve now won a Cd’L trophy and an IOE with the same car, a distinction I share with, as far as I know, only the illustrious Pete Peterson and his Killer ZomBee:
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4015/4424467567_26d7f2d823_z.jpg
http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LWA15/687-UG-_MG_9015.jpg
The flaw in your reasoning, however, lies in assuming that I can tow something as large as a late-’50s full-sized Ford.
What is that King Richard Petty suv behind you ? That is sweet !
( sorry I have a true heart for the aerocars – all of them )
That was one of two vehicles entered by long-time LeMons racers Petty Cash Racing:
Their Jeep did okay. Their VW, less so….
http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LWA15/925-UG-_MG_9307.jpg
Nice metro! Did you import it?
Thanks! It was a rather nice Metro until a guy in an SUV ran a red light and smashed into it while I was in the middle of making a protected left turn. That’s ultimately what prompted me to turn it over it to Mike “Spank” Spangler, with the understanding that he would cage it and otherwise prep it for racing. The car has been his for several months now.
I didn’t import it, though. I bought it from the guy who did:
For Norway, I’d go for this rusty ’64 Imperial – less than 600 413cu cars were build.
http://finncdn.no/mmo/2015/7/vertical-3/22/0/619/663/50_1375589181.jpg
Apart from this relatively rare American being sold in a country with maybe the world’s most expensive gas, wild taxation of displacement, a strong tradition for not sticking your head out and generally tiny garages, a little reminder how a rather typical Norwegian road looks like:
http://www.trollstigen.no/Userfiles/Sites/images/trollstigen2.jpg
The 64 Imperial is a beautiful car though… Elwood Engel, of 1961 Lincoln Continental fame, designed it and it shows.
No doubt about that, even though I’d prefer an earlier Imperial (“daddy Amazon”) or the original similar vintage Continental myself.
I can confirm the small garage issue… A friend who was a used car dealer for a while told me that it happened once or twice a month that somebody said “here are the dimensions, which car will fit?” Usually they had room for an original beetle with reduced height due to ski boxes dangling from the ceiling…
Our garage was tailored to a 60s Kadett. I can do oil shifts with the US-width Camry, but I have to clap on the mirrors and climb out of the window. My wife doesn’t want me to do that because I have an…eh…long history of scraping up cars on walls (and fences and pillars). Volvo rubber bumper habit.
My garage was built for probably a Model T Ford, and is a VERY tight fit for the 1964 “compact” Corvair.
I also got a 2008 Koenigsegg CCR CCXR for a neat 800000$:
http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=58573519
http://finncdn.no/mmo/2015/4/vertical-3/29/9/585/735/19_2027829560.jpg
…and the claimed world’s only B7-upgraded Stealth racing car:
http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=60500351
http://finncdn.no/mmo/2015/6/vertical-3/12/1/605/003/51_438623513.jpg
Both ads include some video documentation.
http://img1.oplius.lt/beta.plius.lt/images/anns/autoplius/2/40382/3/naudoti-automobiliai_9293000_thumbnail.jpg
1942 Chrysler in a small town in Lithuania? How come….
http://en.auto.plius.lt/ads/chrysler-kita-5-3-l-hatchback-1942-petrol-4038203.html
Ex-military staff car that somehow found its way there after the war???
Checked sellers other offerings and there’s many recent US cars so it’s probably recent import as well. Lithuania was left behind iron curtain in 1945, I’m not sure how many war time Allied cars ended up in Baltics if any.
Aren’t you from Estonia? You understand the language?
LT and LV have their own language group, those languages are unlike any other. I know only few words. EST is Fenno-Ugric language, so similar to Finnish.
Ok. Lithuania has become a quite regular source for GAZ 24 and the like in Central Europe – figured you might know why.
Well, the Lithuanians are a bit same type as the Polish, a lot of small scale business, wheeler-dealers if you will. And they have that long border with Belarus, which I guess is a country still living in 20. century. So maybe they get their exotic soviet cars from there. There’s not many left in LT, I go there 1-2 times a year.
Ah, didn’t even think of Belarus…my guess was these cars came out of Kaliningrad or were just generally unloved, now that Putin is threatening the old Soviet sphere again.
the SUGGA ! in Sweden, nope British Columbia. http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5084122770.html
Spiritually close to its native country though.
(I never truly understood why Volvo is so unpopular in Canada – usually the answer involves frugality. Yet, roads, climate, CDK-factory point the other way.)
do I get a bonus point for ” wagon Wednesday” ? this mean machine is kindof a wagon of sorts…. (they look like they could squish a Willys MB )
Just posted on Bring a Trailer, here Sjalabias – check this one out, super Volvo clean and cheap ! http://bringatrailer.com/2015/07/22/one-owner-concours-winning-1982-volvo-242-dl/
That’s a truly rare gem. One can find 242’s like this from time to time – I’d like a similar condition wagon and a juicy lottery ticket, in reverse order.
What about this subtle Cadillac in a tiny southern Italy country side town? I know that place and streets are so narrow you can hardly drive through it in a normal (small) car …
http://ww3.autoscout24.it/classified/259469635?asrc=st|as
http://pic1.autoscout24.net/images-big/635/469/0259469635001.jpg?499ca2c5c38c49fa6dba8e602ced32e5
Forget curb feelers; you’ll need wall feelers.
AKA you and your buddy’s hands.
How about this malaise era customized Chevy Impala diesel wagon for sale in Italy ?
http://pic1.autoscout24.net/images-big/721/788/0273788721001.jpg?d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
http://pic1.autoscout24.net/images-big/721/788/0273788721004.jpg?d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
http://pic1.autoscout24.net/images-big/721/788/0273788721006.jpg?d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
http://www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?id=273788721
Wow, my WTF? meter just exploded. I like the grille.
Is there any place on the planet where that wouldn’t be out of place?
Florida?
Santa Fe, NM perhaps?
Nash, in Nashville ! ( wait I’m not doing this right ) http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5104840959.html this car s’posed to be here
No, you’re in the clear. Despite the name in the listing, if it’s really a ’61 model then it isn’t a Nash. By then Metropolitan was (briefly) its own marque.
thanks mdharrell, I kinda posted this one just to be silly since I triple bombed the Crapshoot last week .. the SUGGA above, well – that one is a legitimate entry.
Auto Union Munga (?!) in Italy. VW Things are quite expensive nowadays, this seems like a nice price- project car for some Thing- enthusiast.
http://ww3.autoscout24.de/classified/273316930?asrc=st|as
http://pic1.autoscout24.net/images-big/930/316/0273316930003.jpg
VW Things are a dime-a-dozen here in the US, so of course someone had to bring over a German domestic military-spec version instead:
http://images.craigslist.org/01313_kuOMAwTaost_600x450.jpg
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/5128157230.html
On the weekend I met a guy with a Rover P3 who did a fairly ingenious and subtle resto-mod because it was ruined, had sentimental value and he couldn’t find any original parts. I think of him when I see this engine-less Austin A40 pickup in Nipawin.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/VNEAAOSw3xJVcOze/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/nipawin/1950-austin-a-40-pickup/1077634837?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
Desoto Fireflite, 7.5L in Riga, Latvia
http://auto.plius.lt/skelbimai/desoto-fireflite-7-5-l-limuzinas-1960-benzinas-4087789.html
http://img1.oplius.lt/autoplius.lv/images/anns/autoplius/2/26613/33/lietotas-automasinas_5126120_thumbnail.jpg
Mostly because why would you import this, a Toyota Estima in RHD. “You won’t find such an attractive and space efficient minivan in the Canadian market.” Except you will, it’s called the Previa, and there are still a few around.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/3LAAAOSwLVZVk82S/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/saskatoon/1990-toyota-other-rhd-estima-minivan-van/1084152396?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
His price is ambitious, but the cool level is off the charts.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-rv-motorhome/regina/1991-toyota-townace-camper-van/1088368033?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/FJMAAOSwDNdVqrkZ/$_27.JPG
Wow, this might be a winner! Check the boxes: JDM, camper, diesel, manual, 4WD, oddball slide-out, 4-cyl, hideous interior, RHD …aaaaand the clincher, Saskatchewan, Canada. And wow, I want it – good find!
I found an imported Camaro in Canada.
You all think that’s no big deal, because people import rust free cars from the US to Canada all the time.
Except this one wasn’t imported from US.
It was imported from Japan.
2000 CAMARO – Country of ORIGIN: USA. IMPORTED from JAPAN.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MzA5WDYzNg==/z/TnQAAOSwPcVVrOQ9/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/calgary/2000-camaro-country-of-origin:-usa-imported-from-japan/1088685975?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
This needs to be the Crapshoot every other month, highly enjoyable!
Clearly the buyer was thinking “Ah, yes, today I’ll pass on the Skylines, Bluebirds, Silvias, Kei cars and get a V6 automatic CAMARO!!!! Then send it to CANADA!!!!!!! Where it will be worth a fortune!!!”
My head, it hurts, a lot. Thank you!
I bet some US serviceman had is shipped to his duty station in Japan, then sold it locally
Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Sold in Puerto Rico, imported to Oregon, imported to Alberta.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDQ1MA==/z/FjoAAOSwu4BVj0-R/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/calgary/1993-mitsubishi-mighty-max-pickup-truck/1083368539?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
It’s $5800. How much do you think it cost to import it two times?
“…a Humvee in congested downtown Rome.”
I couldn’t find a Humvee, what i found instead is this nice H1 diesel for sale in Rome that, according to the seller, was once owned by Michael Jordan.
http://www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?id=271792102
And if that wasn’t unexpected enough, there’s also such a thing as an italian hummer owner’s club :
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t31.0-8/p600x600/841147_238298576321405_256964439_o.jpg
If he had one, he never made it to Moab with it. Arnold did, a few times actually. I feel like the commonality of the name could be a Jon Voight’s LeBaron situation.
Plus we all know Michael had a sweet spot for Ferraris.
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5063992693.html
A 1967 Fiat 850 Siata Spring. A car produced for 2 years, in small numbers, that was never sold in the US. It’s location? Charlotte, North Carolina. A place that didn’t buy many Italian cars new (with the exception of the Fiat 124 Spider), much less import them from another country 48 years later. The owner also has 2 Chevelle’s, which is the most common classic car in NC.
Springs were sold in the US. I know a couple of people who bought them new.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5088/5330031103_efa9003e46_z.jpg
Not sure if the drawing does do the car justice; or the car does the drawing justice.
So who would have bought these new?
I don’t know that they’d want me to name names. The drawings are a bit off but, in my opinion, do provide an accurate impression of the vehicle.
The dash isn’t bad.
Thinking more about what kind of people – car guys? House wifes with a taste for the weird?
Ah. I met them at microcar shows, so they’re perfectly normal people.
Award for understatement.
Normal?
Of course.
Thanks for the info! Do you know how many were sold here?
At least four, but beyond that, no.
1981 Puma BTB S2, of Brazil, now in Florida. Never heard of them until now, over at Barnfinds: http://barnfinds.com/never-seen-one-1981-puma-gtb-s2/
no kidding, never heard of this Pinto/VW mashup. I’ll make it up from now ….damnit I found the video of sale … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNuVifA7DSU
Am I doing this wrong?
Am I doing this wrong?
2010 Mercury Mountaineer Premier – $140000 (Bolivar)
http://springfield.craigslist.org/cto/5112625037.html
I had a hard time thinking of what car doesn’t belong in Houston but I guess an electrically-powered hippie mobile might just be that vehicle.
http://images.craigslist.org/00c0c_hLb8DewqUEr_600x450.jpg
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5107491594.html
Nice! If it’s in good shape and that claimed 200 mile range is anywhere near reality, that’s actually a good deal!
I’m fairly certain Alfa Romeo was already gone from Canada by 1997, which begs these questions: who imported this 1997 GTV6 and why? Regardless of the answer, I’m glad someone bring this beauty over here.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/BbwAAOSw9N1Vh2BX/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/city-of-toronto/1997-alfa-romeo-other-gtv-6-coupe-2-door/1081872682?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
http://images.craigslist.org/00808_aHWtF75Lnrj_600x450.jpg
1987 Toyota Levin : AE86 : Imported 100% Legal – $12000 (Richmond, VA)
https://charleston.craigslist.org/cto/5136098502.html
Simply said, in order to use this semi tractor in Germany, you will first have to cut two and a half meters (8.3 feet) off your standard 13.5m (44.5ft) trailer, absolutely ruining your business model. And that’s not even the model with the longest hood and longest sleeper. The only occasions on which I’ve ever seen such a truck in Germany were exclusively promotional for various brands such as Coca-Cola.
http://suchen.mobile.de/lkw-inserat/kenworth-w900l-6×4-deutsche-zulassung-allershausen/205589251.html?lang=de
Someone took a wicked wrong turn and gave up.
Or one could add some jet engines like these Dutch guys did.
http://www.jettruckteam.nl/
http://www.jettruckteam.nl/uploads/1/5/9/7/15973402/2284658.jpg
Extend the sleeper and make it into a camper/RV. I can guarantee no-one else at the campground will have one!
http://images.craigslist.org/00c0c_k0ax9acCQUu_600x450.jpg
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5120007402.html
Nissan Be1
Never even knew such a thing existed. It looks o be a limited edition of sorts, only produced for a couple of years and without any particularly redeeming or unique qualities that I can discern.
Why would a Czech-made Russian tank be in NZ? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/skoda/auction-890528354.htm
http://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/311877924.jpg