What Am I? Venting

It is Monday morning, time for the best kept secret in internet quizzes -- the What Am I? puzzle. You have to figure what is in the picture, and I'll just be here waiting.

480 Horsepower V8 Powered; 2000 Porsche Boxster S

The first generation Boxster was Porsche's first road-going mid engine car since the 914 and as such was bestowed with fantastic handling, grip, steering, controls; truly a sublime car to drive with gusto, particularly in the faster "S" trim.  This next example takes the excellent chassis and shoves an all-alloy 'Murican V8 behind the rear seats.  Expect excitement.  Find this 2000 Porsche Boxster S  here on eBay offered for $35,000 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Marietta, GA.

LS V8 Swap: 2004 Mazda RX-8

The RX-8 was the last of the line for production rotary engines from Mazda or any other manufacturer.  It wasn't a bad car, but it wasn't the fastest thing from a Japanese dealer when new and cars haven't gotten any slower...HOWEVER, the chassis was sublime, so it makes the perfect donor car for something with some piston rings. Find this 2004 Mazda RX-8 here on eBay bidding for $2,350 with 3 days to go, located in Kansas City, KS.

Chameleon Shaguar: 2003 Jaguar S-Type R

Fashionable automobile paint colors come in and sometimes go out of style just as quickly.  I personally love the weird palette of colors found on euro cars from the 1970's because they stand out amongst today's sea of bland shades of beige, grey, and white.  There are some colors that do not look good on any car no matter the model or brand.  Today's Jaguar has a Autoflex invictus paint job that changes seven different colors depending on the lighting.  It would be generous to say this is a polarizing choice in color for a high end British performance sedan.  Find this 2003 Jaguar S-Type R for sale in place, CT for $12,500 via craigslist. 

Flat-6 Power: 1977 Bradley GT

This next car comes from tipper RockOn who writes: The owner must do a lot of laundry as he has an ironing board for the rear deck!  The Bradley GT was one of the more common kit car of the 70s; not as popular something like the Meyers Manx, but slightly more functional as a car and equally cool...wait a minute...I've seen this movie before...anyway.  Find this 1977 Bradley GT offered for $2200 in Schenectady, NY via craigslist.

Happy Friday: 1994 Isuzu Amigo

I've seen the thumb block and license plate, or even a dirty rag...but never in my time have I seen someone use a piece of tree branch to obscure a license plate.  Unfortunately the camera decided to focus on the branch, so every bit of the car was obscured...anyway, the rest of the advertisement doesn't conform to society's regular rules, but you've got to read it yourself.  Find this 1994 Isuzu Amigo that is NOT A TOY offered for $5,500 near SF Bay Area, CA.

Silver Surfer: 1974 Triumph Spitfire

There is no better money spent on a car than a serious investment from the previous owner and today we've got a whooper.  How about $24,000 spent and countless weekends of assembly -- and you get the entire package from something you can negotiate that is less than $10k. Find this 1974 Triumph Spitfire offered for $10,000 in Campbell, CA via craigslist.

Battle Wagon: 1989 Volvo 240 DL V8

The Prancing Moose badge gets slapped on various Volvo rides, but this next car deserves the badge more than most.  It might have started life as a simple 240DL, but it is now a beast of a machine that'll terrify driver, passenger, and pedestrian alike. Find this 1989 Volvo 240 DL V8 here on eBay bidding for $7,100 with 3 days to go, located in Tucson, AZ.

12 Valve 5.9 Cummins: 1993 Dodge Ram 2500 Extended Cab

If you enjoy the clack-ity-rack-ity sound of a good diesel, then look no more because the Cummins 12 Valve inline-6 is the heavy fuel burning engine that you want in your pickup.  The 5.9 are legendary for reliability, ruggedness, and surviving all kinds of abuse because they were an industrial/tractor engine that somehow ended up in the engine bay of a light truck, which is a far less needy application.  Find this 1993 Dodge Ram 2500 Extended Cab here on eBay bidding for $2,247 with 4 days to go, located in Clackamas, OR.

Cool Runner: 1970 Opel GT

The Opel GT was a compact sports car by GM's European subsidiary Opel from 1965 to 1973.  The little  "poor man's Vette" (reference to its styling similarity with Chevrolet's C3 Covette) was sold and maintained at Buick dealers in North America, an odd place to find a European transplant and undoubtedly part of the reason it was sales failure. The Opel GT has been cheap enough for years that scores have been crushed and sometime soon we expect the remaining cars to keep appreciating. Find this 1970 Opel GT offered for $7700 near Seattle, WA via craigslist.

Mid Week Match-Up: Just Okay

Today is 10-4, so it is the universal day for things that are okay. Mostly okay,,,or just okay...but today for the Mid Week Match Up, I'd like you find cars that are okay. Not great, not extraordinary, but certainly not crappy.  Find something that is simply okay.  Like this 2012 Honda Ridgeline here on eBay bidding for $9200 in Dearborn, MI.

A Luce By Any Other Name: 1972 Mazda 1800 Wagon

I've seen a variety of cars over the past few years.  It started with random internet searches for keywords and blossomed into an obsession with the launch of DT in 2012, but I've gotta admit..I've never seen one of these before. Really.  I've seen Mazda 3 wagons, Mazda 6 wagons, but never have I found one of these oddball Mazda 1800 wagons from the Luce lineup.  Find this 1972 Mazda 1800 Wagon offered for $2000 near Seattle, WA via craigslist. Tip from Steve L.

Electric Avenue: 1984 Nissan Sentra EV conversion

These days it's popular to fret about how the inventive spirit of Edison or the Wright brothers has all but disappeared from America.  I submit to you that it hasn't and the coming electric singularity for the automobile provides ample opportunities for guys in sheds.  Find this 1984 Nissan Sentra EV conversion for sale in Port Orchard, WA for $1,000 via craigslist.

Blown Hair and Leaf Blowers: 1989 Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible 4X4

Do you remember when Dodge introduced a convertible pickup truck...everybody laughed, automobile pundits raved, and the buying public went elsewhere?  Well it is your lucky day, because it can be 1989 again with this next low mile/mint classic.  Find this 1989 Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible offered for $16,900 in Ojai, CA via craigslist. Tip from Sean.

Banana Boat: 1974 Opel Manta

The early 1970s wasn't a good time to be a new car.  The late 60s models were faster, better looking, and less complex in general, but there were a few cars that kept it cool into the mid 70s.  Included in this rare bunch is something called the Opel Manta that was built in Germany by GM.  Find this 1974 Opel Manta offered for $7,200 in Neshkoro, WI via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

What Am I? Blurry Garbage Part Duex

Last week's What Am I? puzzle was a blurry picture of who-knows-what, and nobody could solve the puzzle...which was what I expected and per the plan.  Now I am going to show an ever-so-slightly more zoomed out photo of the same blurry mess and you get to tell me what it is.

Thunder Stick: 1993 Ford Lightning 5 speed

The first generation Ford Lightning pick up truck was marketed as a Mustang GT with a pick up bed.  The good folks from SVT worked their magic on a F150 and created a muscle truck complete with a brawny 5.8 engine and suspension make over.  The 1993-95 Lightning was not particularly quick new (definitely not now), but it was able to haul a real payload unlike the GMC Syclone.  Ford only fitted these trucks with E4OD auto trans, but today's example has been converted to a M5R2 5 speed manual transmission making it a rare bird worthy of DT readership eyes.  Find this 1993 Ford Lightning for sale in Northeast, CT for $9,500 via craigslist.

Bellissimo: 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider

Many of the articles here feature used car listings that are woefully deficient in some sort of way.  When you stumble upon a CL ad with exceptional pictures, detailed info, and an interesting car it really stops you in your tracks .  The Alfa Romeo Spider had a number of updates over its thirty year production run but the basic formula stayed the same over that time.  The early series 2 spiders are one of the more desirable versions with chrome bumpers, relatively svelte curb weight, and pre-smog engines.  DT doesn't normally write about cars near the top of the market, but this one stopped me in my tracks at how well presented and nice it was.  Find this 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider for sale in lakes region of New Hampshire for $12,000 via craigslist.