Craigslist Crapshoot

The World’s Worst Car Is For Sale On Craigslist
Welcome to Craigslist Crapshoot, our weekly search for the most bizarre, awesome, and/or terrible vehicles that the online classifieds has to offer. 
There’s this odd stereotype that young female librarians turn from dowdy to dyn-o-mite simply by removing their glasses and letting their hair down. I don’t know anything about that, but I do know that the Toyota Corolla, long considered the apartment refrigerator of the automotive world, does have some hot models in its past. Not only that but you dug up some of the coolest of the hot for sale last week. We’ll discuss those in a sec, but first this week’s quest.
Toyota may have eschewed the Corolla for the Prius as its focus, seeing as the hybrid has a family of models and the Corolla just a single lonely four-door to its name, but we still like the original sorts of  hybrids—cars with American V8s were they might be least expected. Let’s see what we can find in cars that have had their engines replaced with good ol’ American iron. Price is no object, but the results will be judged on perceived value.
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.

Got that? Good, Now, let’s crow about Corollas.


You know, there are certain older cars that have reached cool status simply by surviving. That’s certainly the case with the 1972 Carina Alff found on eBay. Horsepower counted in the double digits and a beige vinyl roof may not be considered cool by today’s standards, but on that blast from the past, they both just feel right. Somebody seemed to agree as that car sold for nearly seven grand.
Inliner noted that you didn’t have to set the Way-back machine that far to get a Corolla that was interesting, and found a 2005 Corolla XRS with a six-speed stick and a rev-happy DOHC four that it could be boasted Lotus found good enough for the Elise.
In the end however, the Corolla that I think was most noteworthy straddled both of those extremes. The 1980 Corolla Liftback located by GTXcellent looks to be in great shape and features styling that has really has stood the test of time. That’s one damn-fine looking automobile.
Congrats to GTXcellent, and thank you all for your also-excellent contributions. Now, let’s go looking for V8s in all the wrong places.
1980 Toyota Corolla

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  1. Kiefmo Avatar
    Kiefmo

    Among the best pairings — A Volvo 900-series with a Ford Windsor 302. And this one is supercharged and manual, to boot.
    http://images.craigslist.org/00101_lwBgkmmwZUm_1200x900.jpg
    http://images.craigslist.org/00A0A_g93KuNavGwV_1200x900.jpg
    http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/5631454977.html

    1. CruisinTime Avatar
      CruisinTime

      These mongrel cars must annoy certified mechanics and parts store people as well.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        I choose my auto parts stores based on the mongrel-friendliness of the counter staff.

      2. nanoop Avatar
        nanoop

        There was a time when Volvo and Ford were officially close. There must be a store that can cope with it.

        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          Ask your local Jaguar mechanic.

    2. smalleyxb122 Avatar
      smalleyxb122

      “Do I want a puffer?”
      “You want a puffer.”

  2. GTXcellent Avatar
    GTXcellent

    Not a fan of airbags or the rims, but I bet this Jaaaaaaag is a whole lot more reliable with the SBC.
    http://images.craigslist.org/00606_9xx1lk6t07t_600x450.jpg
    https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/5634519217.html

    1. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      Somewhere a Jaguar V12 ripped from it’s home lies alone, sobbing.

  3. Kiefmo Avatar
    Kiefmo

    This ’87 FJ60 looks great in yellow — and can get out of its own way with a GM tree-fiddy and 700R4.
    http://images.craigslist.org/00b0b_fNiPaKUYKdO_600x450.jpg
    http://images.craigslist.org/01414_r5X7lvLr9z_600x450.jpg
    http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/5587300315.html

  4. Andrew_theS2kBore Avatar
    Andrew_theS2kBore

    Good: SBC swap, solid looking shell, reasonable price for the current market insanity.
    Bad: everything else.
    Ugly: If the claims regarding its appearance on TGUSA are true, it spent the whole episode breaking down. Not the best of selling points.
    http://images.craigslist.org/00M0M_bERJRdVTjMc_600x450.jpg
    https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/5611161725.html

    1. mrh1965 Avatar
      mrh1965

      Here is a 78 280Z that is PURPLE and has a 327 from a 69 Chevelle under the hood. $8,000, obo.
      https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/5630977650.html

  5. mdharrell Avatar

    If one intends to swap an American V8 into an British taxi, the obvious choice is a Buick nailhead:
    http://images.craigslist.org/00707_69dM8lyVINK_600x450.jpg
    http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/5607242326.html

    1. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      Obviously.

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      I can see it smiling. Should run on alcohol.

  6. Inliner Avatar
    Inliner

    To put the Crap back in Crapshoot, here’s a 1974 Triumph TR-6 with a ‘340 V8’ for $11,995 CAD (~$9300 USD). The only 340 V8 I’m aware of is the 340 Mopar common in Dusters and E-bodies.
    It doesn’t bode well when the only information in the listing is “340 V8 ROADSTER,JAGUAR IRS,TRUE SPOKE WHEELS”, and the hood is up for the only picture included.
    http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/JlQAAOSwuYVWn9lh/$_27.JPG
    http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/markham-york-region/tr-6-v8-roadster/1134202953?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

    1. Wayne Moyer Avatar
      Wayne Moyer

      I guess you could call those spoke wheels. It’s just an odd way to do it. Otherwise this might be a fun car to scare people at British car shows with.

    2. mdharrell Avatar

      My guess would be a Buick 340, as that’s what my parents’ 1967 LeSabre had. Even in the 1970s when it was only a few years old this engine still led to some awkward pauses at the parts counter.

      1. dukeisduke Avatar
        dukeisduke

        Chrysler LA motor. Those tires sticking out of the bodywork look fun. Don’t hit any dips, and look out for all the crap flung up off of the road.

  7. Manic_King Avatar
    Manic_King

    This thing, the Wine Barrels Rod, is technically Model T but with Chevy V8. Built by Gerry Nimz of Burlington, Canada. Available for 15k €, was sold in Ebay for 13,6k € in Feb but wasn’t & isn’t in running order (http://www.ebay.com/itm/321998628517).
    Story: http://icravecars.com/hot-rod-for-sale-on-ebay/
    Ad: http://ww3.autoscout24.de/classified/288575296?asrc=st|as
    http://icravecars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Hot-Rod-For-Sale.jpg

    1. Wayne Moyer Avatar
      Wayne Moyer

      A car that promotes drinking and driving.
      Love that shag.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Can’t turn right, though.

        1. nanoop Avatar
          nanoop

          Try a stern look.

        2. 0A5599 Avatar
          0A5599

          There is a wining noise coming from the cask iron differential. Rather than fix it, just uncork the exhaust to drown out the sound.

    2. Sean McMillan Avatar
      Sean McMillan

      I don’t think there’s anything model T on that car unless they used T frame rails. It’s cool though in that AMT model kit kinda way. I’d drive it.

  8. Inliner Avatar
    Inliner

    A project 1985 Mazda RX-7 with a V8 that isn’t a 350! This one’s a 318-powered RX-7 for $2,500 CAD (~$1,940 USD).
    http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUzWDYwNA==/z/c78AAOSwve5XNkkN/$_27.JPG
    http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/stratford-on/1985-mazda-rx-7-coupe-2-door/1158991645?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Not even a sales ad, but I just saw this Volgamino somewhere. Sort of nice.
      https://s26.postimg.org/dvo89h0x5/Screenshot_2016_06_15_20_52_08.jpg

      1. Manic_King Avatar
        Manic_King

        You’re back in Russia it seems….or is it photo from the last year’s trip?

        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          I would like to say “yes” to both parts, but it’s none…just found it online. I will have my “family free week” in early-mid-July though. Presumably, that just means the ordinary off-to-the-mountains-in-solitary-isolation. But another trip to Russia…I’d like that, too.

    2. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      While we’re Off Topic
      Fiero with a Firebird motor.
      http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/5575635757.html
      That is, an L32 V-6 Camaro / Firebird motor rather than the L44 Fiero motor, except the L32 used the L44s heads and camshaft anyway (wikipedia sez so) so it’s not that radical of a swap. Gets you 50 extra ponies, though!

  9. Wayne Moyer Avatar
    Wayne Moyer

    So let’s connect last week and this week. Here is an ’81 Toyota with a V8. It’s actually pretty well done. Right down to having a fuel cell. It looks professional. Well right until you look at the unpainted hood. This doesn’t look like daily driver material though.
    1981 Toyota Starlet v8 automatic, 6 point roll cage, ford 9inch rear end, 10 gallon aluminum fuel cell, Holley carbs, upgraded camshaft, electric fuel pump, headers, extended lug studs ford 5 lug pattern all around, 15inch weld prostar rims with Mickey Thompson street tires, 4 ladder bar, coilovers, front 15x3wide and rear 15x12wide can go to 15x15wide, $10,000 obo cash offer; street car legal with PA clean title
    http://reading.craigslist.org/cto/5574139912.html

    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      15″ x 15″ pretty much says square wheel to me.

    2. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Interesting, but why choose a Starlet of all things? Celica, Crown or Corona would have been much easier to…handle.

  10. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    Let me check if there is a Porvette around somewhere. I don’t mind people swapping engines on 944s, and doing it right will provide you with 300hp without spoiling the weight distribution, improving the sound, too.
    Alas! In the forums there are regularly, ahem, youthful owners who have just purchased a sorry example and are convinced to need “moar power”. The standard reply is to get a better base for that in the first place (there are cars that came with an LS1 right away!), or to invest a lot of time and money beyond market value. Never heard of them ever again, but there are abandoned projects available for fantastic prices nobody would pay… and who would like .to own somebody else’s project.
    Edit: here we go, a nice interior, clean engine compartment, no major issues, but all that work and same low market value.
    http://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay677630.jpg
    http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=76812

  11. HycoSpeed Avatar
    HycoSpeed

    1976 Triumph with a 3.8 Buick V-6 and a Turbo 350. That is pretty much it for the ad, other than a mention that it ‘can be used for parts’, and costs $750.
    That and this single image, where you can see the carb appears to stick through the hood, and also appears to be covered carefully with a tupperware container and a brick.
    http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/5589079028.html

    1. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      You don’t want the container to blow away, do you?

      1. dukeisduke Avatar
        dukeisduke

        Your wife would get mad if you lost the Tupperware container.

    2. Wayne Moyer Avatar
      Wayne Moyer

      The 3.8 Buick isn’t that unusual actually. A lot of people want to turn these into TR8’s and think a 3.8 V6 Buick motor is the same as a 3.5 V8 Rover (formally GM) motor.

      1. Ayreonaut Avatar
        Ayreonaut

        There’s a guy in my local jeep forum with a supercharged 3.8 in a cj7

      2. Rover 1 Avatar
        Rover 1

        They do share a lot in common including many parts and a lot of ancestry being both based on the old BOP 215 alloy V8

  12. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
    Cool_Cadillac_Cat

    No. No. No. No.
    You’re all incorrect.
    This…
    http://www.autoevolution.com/news/bentley-turbo-r-with-675-hp-big-block-v8-costs-39900-on-craigslist-photo-gallery-100388.html
    I did try to buy this before it went to some flipper-loser in the UP of Michigan, but it didn’t happen.
    Kinda glad, now.

  13. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
    Cool_Cadillac_Cat

    No. No. No. No.
    You’re all incorrect.
    This…
    http://www.autoevolution.com/news/bentley-turbo-r-with-675-hp-big-block-v8-costs-39900-on-craigslist-photo-gallery-100388.html
    I did try to buy this care before it went to some flipper-loser in the UP of Michigan, but it didn’t happen.
    Kinda glad, now, honestly.

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      I like the car, but that steering wheel is a crime against humanity.

    2. Manic_King Avatar
      Manic_King

      What’s that thing in front of passenger seat? Rally computer? Police scanner?

      1. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
        Cool_Cadillac_Cat

        NOS controller.
        Could not be more poorly integrated, honestly.