I love a car that comes with a story. Or a log book. Or any vintage pictures from when it was in its prime...and this next car comes with an SCCA log book, and pics from when it was Solo2 champion in EP class. Yeah. The conversation with the owner when you pick this beast up will be worth the price of admission. Find this 1972 Volvo 1800ES here on eBay bidding for $560 with 3 days to go, located in Jacksonville, FL.
Time for our weekly episode of Coffee Brake, where the coffee drops to the floor and the brakes are ground into bits. This week we chase the age old question of make versus buy -- by looking at this incredibly well done 1963 Ford Falcon racer (Tip from Rod S.) offered here on eBay
currently bidding for $25,100 reserve-not-met with 4 days to go. The question is -- can you build your own for less?
If you are car guy and a speed junkie, you'll usually be looking for your next ride to be a bit faster. You can look up factory 0-60 mph specs to get an idea of how it scoots off the line, or 1/4 mile trap speeds to see how it'll go at speed and if you want to know how it handles you can look up skid pad g-levels from magazines. Unfortunately OE tire compound (which you are going to change anyway), gear ratios, measurement techniques and surface differences make many of these numbers worthless. What you need is a good idea of how the car will run through a section of road with all external factors being equal. One of the tricks I've used for a quick comparison of overall speediness is the SCCA Solo2 autocross Stock Classification.
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.
Update 9/3/2013 8 PM PST: The seller of this $4,990 asking ex-SCCA I wanted to thank you for featuring my car recently. It was an awesome surprise to find out it was on there, and the way I found out was even more interesting.
