Checks All The Boxes- 1991 Volvo 240 5.0 Wagon

Many a V8 swapped Volvo bricks have graced these pages, but few have all the qualities to make a truly primo driver.  This is not to say that a car with an automatic or a sedan is a bad car by any means.  Most would agree that the top of the food chain for these swapped cars is a manual trans equipped wagon.  If you were to nitpick anything with today's wagon, it only has the Vanilla Ice era 5.0 Mustang engine which is not as powerful as a modern GM LS and it is painted a pedestrian silver instead of say poop brown.  Find this 1991 Volvo 240 wagon for sale in Ephrata, PA for $8,000 via craigslist.

Pint Five Point Oh- 1973 Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto was the idea of future auto legend and then Ford president Lee Iaccoca.  With a target weight of 2000 lbs, the Pinto was supposed to be a lightweight import fighter, but instead suffered the inglorious fate of being the butt of jokes for twenty years due to the company neglecting a known fuel tank design flaw .  The unloved but successful selling second generation Ford Mustang was actually based off of the Pinto.  Today's Pinto builder channeled their inner Xzibit and pimped out their ride with a bored over 5.0 engine, beefy driveline, flame paint scheme, side pipes, big sound system, and enough street glow lighting to cover three Christmas trees.  Find this 1973 Ford Pinto for sale in Branchburg, NJ for a hefty $17,000 via craigslist.

Plus-Sized Malaise Muscle: 1978 Ford Granada 302 / 4-speed

The Ford Granada was one of those Malaise-era downsized cars that still managed to look huge while being marketed as a "compact." Although the first-gen Granada was derived from the Maverick and was the great-great-grandson of the Falcon, it managed to be larger than a late '90s E38 BMW 7 Series (ok - yeah, the short wheelbase E38, not the long one). The Granada isn't anyone's first choice for a muscle or pony car, but with more popular V8 performance machinery steadily appreciating, there might be some value in getting your burnout fix from a 302 & 4-speed equipped Malaisemobile. Find this 1978 Ford Granada for sale in Sun City, AZ for $8,900 via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.

Fairmonchero-amino: 1979 Ford Fairmont

Seeing that no automakers currently produce a car based ute in the US, interest in older El Caminos and Rancheros is stronger than ever.  A cottage industry has even sprung up selling car to truck conversion kits for Dodge Chargers and various VW cars.  The Ford Durango ute was not an official Ford vehicle, but some 212 conversions were said to have been produced by National Coach Works between 1979-82.  Today's car has followed the Durango formula by starting with a two door Futura model and basically losing everything after the b-pillars to create the flat floor pick up bed.  Find this 1979 Ford Fairmont for sale in Stafford Springs, CT for $8,500 via craigslist.

Parts Bin Bonaza: 1962 Ford Falcon Futura 5.0 T5

Some cars just don't get the respect that they deserve.  This lack of respect manifests itself into head scratchingly low asking prices.  The Ford Falcon is widely known as the redheaded step child to the Ford Mustang.  Today's 1962 Falcon has been extensively hot-rodded using parts from multiple Ford models over the last four decades.  Find this 1962 Ford Falcon Futura for sale in Ballston Spa, NY for $7,800 via craigslist.

5.0 Project: 1985 Volvo 245 wagon

Poorly written Craiglist ads can be annoying, but sometimes offer up big buying opportunities.  Some sellers just don't know much about a car and despite near everyone having a smartphone with camera some do not post up any useful pictures.  The world is not made up of car enthusiasts or DT readers! V8 swapped Volvos usually command a healthy premium in the marketplace so it is very noteworthy to find one for sale under a grand in any condition.  Find this 1985 Volvo 245 V8 wagon for sale in Stafford Springs, CT for $800 via craigslist.

Flat Twin: Pair of Crushed F-150s

Hurricane Matthew tore some stuff up around here, no doubt. It leveled my .05 acre banana plantation and dropped a huge branch across the Baja Bug but in general, nothing too dramatic. It did not, however, drop a white oak across my pair of F-150s like this poor seller, deforming them so badly they resemble mangled Rangers.  Find this pair of completely leveled F-150's for sale in Charleston, SC for $750 via craigslist.

1970 Opel GT V8 vs 1974 Opel 1900 two door wagon

You can find most any car make and model in the metro NYC classifieds.  It is very unusual to find more than one Opel for sale though.  Opel is General Motors successful European affiliate that sold cars here in the late 1960's into the 70's.  Today, we have to choice between these two tasty German morsels: a 1970 Opel GT in Poughkeepsie, NY for $3500 and a 1974 Opel 1900 in North Haven, CT for $6000.

Rhymes with Vomit- 1971 Mercury Comet GT

If the Ford Maverick is the little known step brother of the Mustang, it's cousin the Mercury Comet is even more obscure.  The Comet GT trim level was the muscle car trim package that upped the ante with the 302 V8 engine.  These cars were originally conceived as import fighters, but in reality duked it out for sales with the Chevy Nova and Dodge Dart.  Find this 1971 Mercury Comet GT for sale in Brookfield, CT for $7,000 via craigslist.

5k: Track Rat 302: V8-swapped 1979 Volvo 242GT

How many V8 Volvos does it take to get to the point where DT readers are tired of them? The world may never know. The "V8lvo" as the genre is called is kind of its own thing - on the fringe of Volvisti beyond the turbo 4-cylinder fans and way past the stock freaks lies the realm of unholy unions between Swedish unibody steel and American iron. But why not? Volvo was traditionally westward-looking with its American inspired designs; if only they'd had a proper Yank engine to drop in their tanks from the factory, we wouldn't have to scour the web for homebuilt creations. But variety is the salt herring of life. Find this 1979 Volvo 242GT with Ford 302 V8 swap for sale in Calgary, Alberta (Candinavia) for $3800 CAD via the beyond.ca forums.

8k: Floridian Inebriated Again, Tony: 1974 Fiat 124 Spyder, 302-powered

Here's something you didn't think you would see today: a sprightly Italian roadster with pinstripes for its pinstripes and an American V8 halfway under the cowl. It sits high, as if God himself is calling this angel back to heaven from whence it came. All you linear-minded gearheads will appreciate the right-angle motif reflected in the rectangular side-exit exhausts and a roll bar erected with a T-square. Florida, you've done it again. Find this 1974 Fiat 124 Spyder with a Ford 302 for $7,500 in Panama City, FL (but listed in Westchester, NY) via Craigslist.

10k: Non-Feminine Frite: 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite, 302-powered

Do you like car classifieds that read like a challenge to your testosterone levels? "If you do not own a toolbox, have never changed your own oil, and are scared of tinkering: THIS VEHICLE IS NOT FOR YOU" is one of six overtly masculine qualifiers accompanying profane sarcasm in between technical details in this ad. They're strong words for someone who replaced one of the era's most beloved faces with fiberglass. Although the ovoid headlights, powerdome, and feeder-fish grille opening might be forgiven since all was done in the name of fitting a big, American engine under the hood for the purpose of racing. Find this 1960 Austin-Healey SCCA racer 302-swapped  in Elmwood, NE for $9,625 via eBay with 6 days to go.