The Stanmobile: 1932ish Custom

The builder of this next car must have been inspired by Johnny Cash...no, not by Cash's dark days of cocaine & alcohol abuse (although that could be a factor) but the 1976 song "One Piece at a Time" where the singer describes a custom built car that used a variety of parts from his factory job at GM.  "Now, up to now my plan went all right, 'Til we tried to put it all together one night, And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong. The transmission was a fifty three, And the motor turned out to be a seventy three, And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone." You get the idea.  Find this 1932ish Custom here on eBay built from 32 vehicles offered for $25,000 in Bay City, MI.

DT 5.0 Best 5-Cylinder Cars Under $20k

I've always felt like the 5-cylinder was the red headed stepchild of the inline internal combustion engine family. Four-bangers are everywhere; inline sixes are "teh sex" and normally reserved for silky German machinery (unless we're talking pre-V6 America, in which case they were completely pedestrian). But the 5-pot never got much attention. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn to them - who doesn't root for the underdog, especially on DT? Let's check out the world of 72° crank pin offsets. This post is part of DT's 5th Birthday Celebration.

Kingly Fun For Pauper Price: 1988 Pontiac Fiero 3800SC

The Pontiac Fiero is one of the unsung heroes of the American 80s car scene.  It doesn't get top billing at car shows around the country, but it offers a fun combination of composite body and mid engine handling in a stylish package...but it gets even better when you turn up the power.  Find this 1988 Pontiac Fiero 3800SC offered for $2,000 in Ashley, IN via Craigslist.  Tip from Eric B.

Gemini In The Rough: 1976 Opel by Isuzu

Find this 1976 Opel by Isuzu offered for $1200 in San Antonio, TX via craigslist.. Tip from FuelTruck and words by Hunsbloger: As an Opel fan these were the worst. By the end of 1975 the fuel injected, swim deck bumpered Opel Manta Luxus had effectively priced itself out of competition in the US.   The DM was up and the Dollar was down.  It was killing the US manufacturer's ability to import their way into the small car market.  The Capri was similarly impacted by the same currency challenge.

Montezuma's Revenge: 2004 Pontiac Aztek

Daydreaming about which American muscle car or European exotic to park in the garage is a great pastime, but inevitably most of us have to fill basic transportation needs first before acting on our dreams.  Filling those needs usually involves some type of multi-purpose family hauler.  Fortunately, no one said it has to be mainstream...or of this world.  Find this 2004 Pontiac Aztek for sale near Phoenix, AZ for $2,999 via craigslist.

Fiero Chassis 3800 V6: 1979 Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet

I think it was Colin Chapman that once said the best VW Cabriolets are all built on the Pontiac Fiero chassis...or was that Smokey Yunick?  You won't find that quote in the history books, and both those guys are dead, so you can't verify those quotes -- but if they were alive, I'm sure both would agree that the only powerplant for your Fierrabbit is a GM 3800 V6 with a single turbo put in the place of the original supercharger.  Like this 1979 Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet custom offered for $6,500 in Rancho Cordova, CA via craigslist.  Tip from Safety Fast.

20k: C4 Corvette Cage Fight: 1991 ZR-1 vs 1996 Grand Sport

You've got $20k budget for something sporty, what do you buy...a new V6 Mustang?  Heck no!!  You don't want people to think you are driving around in a rental, do ya?  What you need is something that'll show the boys back at your 30th high school reunion that you made it.  What you need is a Corvette.  But not just any Corvette.  You need a C4.  A rare one....but...do you pick the 32-valve ZR-1 or the limited edition Grand Sport? That is the question...

10k: UPDATE: Pancake 6 With Extra Syrup: 1965 Corvair Corsa Turbo Convertible

Updated: Dec. 31, 2013  Well, it looks like this Corvair we  posted in October will be starting 2014 with a new owner. We found this youtube video which includes a segment of the car being driven, while cruising for more Corvair bargains.  Turns out the car is probably even nicer than we expected, making it an extremely good buy.  The purchaser even knows his vehicles well enough to know when to get a dig in on Corvette owners!

Original post:
The used car market is a fickle wench, but every now and again she swings our way.  Just as we're watching the Sunbeam Tigers and pristine VW vans accelerate out of the DT price ranges at an amazing pace, we're also seeing the market's bright lights shine on the formerly lowly Corvairs.  Recent ebay sales have been at a higher price and a brisk pace for all manner of Nader-mobiles, but focused on high color or freshly restored 1965-1969 models.  Find this 1965 Corvair Corsa Turbo Convertible for sale in Santa Cruz, CA for $9,000 via craigslist. Tip from our maestro carfindologist Kaibeezy.

5k: Bustrocity: GM Scenicruiser Bus w/ 1976 GMC Motorhome Title

Not exactly a good daily driver, but certainly an interesting piece of metal, this 1950s Greyhound GM Scenicruiser bus has been re-titled as a 1976 GMC Motorhome and is being sold in Tampa Bay, FL for $5,000 via craigslist.  The PD-4501 Scenicruser was an aluminum sided passenger bus made by GM for Greyhound between 1954 to 1956, but has been stripped from the inside and is now a "blank canvas" according to the sellers. Chances are good that it's still powered by a 9.3 liter Detroit Diesel 8V-71 two stroke supercharged diesel V8 screamer. What would you do with a split level RV? Park it in front of your 1950's split level ranch? Mid Century Modern is, after all, totally "in" right now.

5k Flash: Tarted Up Fiero: 1986 Zimmer Quicksilver

The Zimmer Quicksilver is a Pontiac Fiero based 'custom' built in small quantities by the Zimmer Motorcars Corp from 1984-1988.  Oddly enough Zimmer is still in business today and sells 'era' cars in exotic locals (like Jordan) to folks with more money than sense.  Find this 1986 Zimmer Quicksilver for sale in Birmingham, AL currently bidding on ebay for $6,900 with a few hours to go.

15k: Pace Yourself: 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Pace Car Edition: 6k miles

Prepare yourself for some action, as this T-top equipped beauty will blow your mullet right off your head.  The 4th generation Chevrolet Camaro debuted in 1993 with an all-new sleek door-stop inspired look and a $995 option for an "Indy 500 Pace Car Edition.'  Some wife-beater wearing hairy backed dudes opted to get the "Pace Car" edition, they probably would have sold 10X if it had been NASCAR themed, not that Indy attracts the 'high-brow' Ferrari jacket douche-bags, but the bottom line is that just over 600 of the Pace Car edition were ever sold. Most Z28s have lived great lives doing donuts in high-school parking lots and routinely causing police to pull them over for the generally being awesome, but today's minty clean feature has been pamper and only has 6k miles on the odometer.  Find this 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Pace Car Edition for sale in Sacramento, CA for $17,000 via craiglist.