5k: 1984 Nissan 200SX; S12 Silvia

The Nissan Silvia S12 generation was a sporty little coupe/hatchback sold as the Nissan 200SX in the USA.  Its wedge shaped rear-wheel-drive chassis was only sold from 1984-1988 with a inline 4, turbo inline-4 or V6.  This 1984 Nissan 200SX S12 with 5 spd manual is for sale in Dallas, TX from a small dealership called "BobzCarz", $3400 asking via craigslist.  (Thanks to tip from DT reader Shane S.)

5k Flash, Grand Luxe Touring: 1981 Volvo 240 GLT Wagon

As an alternative to the Chevy LT1 V8 swapped Volvo 745 wagon featured earlier today, take a look at this classic 1981 240 GLT wagon. No - it does not have a V8 swap - but it would be a perfect start to such a project. This is what we'd want to use as a base chassis: a clean, presentable California car in a rare shade of green to make it stand out, albeit slighly, from the sea of other 240 wagons still prowling the streets in the Golden State. Being an '81 model it has the biodegradable graham cracker based electrical wiring insulation, and the esoteric Bosch K-Jetronic continuous injection system - all of which we wouldn't lose any sleep over removing. Find it here on craigslist in Orange County, CA for $2800 or best offer.

5k Flash: 1988 Pontiac TransAm GTA

The 3rd generation Pontiac TransAm is best known for its role use in the TV series Knight Rider as KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) a bulletproof flying car with an effeminate Mr. Feeny voice chip.  This 1998 Pontiac TransAm GTA with 350 V8 and automatic transmission is available for sale on ebay in Hatboro, PA currently bidding at $3,000 with 4 days to go.

5k: 1986 Volvo 740 Wagon with LT1/T56; Thorsday Ultimate Sleeper

Thorsday is back with a bang!!  We've seen so many Volvo wagons with V8 swaps recently that they almost don't qualify as a sleeper anymore..almost, except for the fact that when we see a clean 740 on the road we instantly assume its family oriented driver will stay within the speed limit and only pass people in VW Beetles.  That isn't the case with this 1986 Volvo 740 Wagon that has a Chevy LT1 V8 swap with T56 6 speed manual transmission, for sale in Atlanta, GA for the bargain price of $5900 via craigslist.  $5900 will barely cover parts for a budget V8 swap, so we expect that this is a screaming deal unless the head gasket blows and the chassis rusts into 2 pieces the day after the new owner picks it up.

15k: Incredible Survivor 1957 Oval Window VW Beetle

This 1957 Volkswagen is probably one of the most original and complete "Oval Window" Beetles left in existence. It was sold new in Portugal, rested in a barn for many many years, and was given a sympathetic refresh and re-commissioning by an absolutely fanatical and uncompromising car guy in the UK. The end result is essentially a 39k mile like-new '57 Beetle with only a bit of light patina to show for its 56 years of age. It is being sold by the current owner who purchased it after the refurb in 2011, and is now available here on TheSamba.com forums in North Wales, for £11000 ($17750, or €13550). We know this is a bit above the normal DT price range - but it seems like an incredible survivor car for the right type of owner. We will even restrain from making our normal snide comments about how slow VW Beetles are and how they handle like oxcarts (OK, except for that one).

At Auction: Microcar Madness!! Entire fleet of museum quality microcars for sale.

The Daily Turismo doesn't cover many cars sold at automobile auctions, as they tend to cater to the rich/shameless and good deals are about a rare as talent in a Hollywood movie.  Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, et cetera have done more to ruin the fun that regular folks have had with muscle cars by putting them into the hands of tweed jacketed douche bags who won't drive them for fear of depreciation, and the days of father-son restoration of Shelbys & COPO Chevys are all but gone.  Real working class automotive enthusiasts are driven to the rare/obscure models like the Studebaker Lark and into strange niches like Electric Saabs and Microcars.  If Microcars are your thing, we've got a treat for you, the entire collection of from Bruce Weiner's Microcar Museum is heading to the auction block via RM auctions.

Photo from Microcarmuseum.com

15k: 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12

The Roman poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) wrote in Book II of his epic poem Metamorphoses about the god Phaeton who was bold and brave, but in an attempt to prove his godliness, drove a flaming 'sun chariot' out of control and Zeus (the big cheese of the gods) had to destroy him with a lightning bolt to save the earth from imminent destruction.  In stunning parallel - a vehicle called the Phaeton was bold and brave, but threatened to ruin the Volkswagen/Audi Group USA profits with its out of control build and warranty costs and had to be struck down with a thunderbolt by VW Chairman Ferdinand "Zeus" Piëch.  This 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12 is for sale at a dealer in Springfield, MO via ebay at $17,500 buy-it-now.

5k: 1975 Ford Torino Brougham Wagon, Unmolested Original

Sharp readers may have noticed that DT has been on a bit of a Brougham binge lately - an automotive genre defined by those stately quasi-luxury barges that were somehow meant to evoke the elegance of a bygone era filled with carriages, soft candlelight, and operas. Just like a GT, Deluxe, or Touring trim designation, a Brougham was usually a tarted-up version of any given lesser car model, and most of the major auto manufacturers chose to release some sort of Broughammery into the world with a zenith cresting sometime in the '70s. Ford was no exception, in fact they may have been the worst offender main peddler of Broughams in the US during that era. Most Ford, Mercury and Lincoln Broughams had decorative vinyl tops and exterior opera lights, and were based on 4-door sedans or 2-door coupes. Today we've found the odd exception - a wagon based Brougham without any of that gaudy exterior frippery. This 1975 Ford Torino Brougham wagon looks sharp in white and is available on craigslist for $4900 in Gardena, CA.

5k: 1983 VW Rabbit Cabriolet Type 155; Cougar Bait

The Volkswagen Golf was a compact front wheel drive sedan that in 1974 replaced the aging Beetle in US/European markets (Beetles continued to sell well in South America for years).  The Mk 1 Golf was sold from 1974-1983 and was badged the Rabbit in the USA. This 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet is offered for sale in La Verne, CA currently bidding on ebay for $2,000 reserve-not-met with 2 days to go.

5k: 1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan; Clean, One-Owner

The E36 BMW M3 was sold from 1995-1999 with a sweet sounding inline 6, a 5 speed shift-it-yourself-transmission and standard limited slip differential.  The coupe version is far more common and most have been pimped out or crashed by Instagramming teenagers, but the sedan version has room for your kids and qualifies as a sleeper.  This 1998 BMW E36 M3 sedan is for sale by the original owner in Fullerton, CA for $7500 asking via craigslist.

15k Flash: 1974 Lotus Europa Big Valve; Minty Clean - FANATICAL OWNER

The Europa is a quasi El Camino looking sports car from Lotus Cars, and a fantastic example of Colin Chapman's "simplify, then add lightness" philosophy.  A simple steel backbone chassis is covered in a few flimsy pieces of fiberglass and all powered by a small engine mounted amidships.  This 1974 Lotus Europa "Big Valve" beauty is for sale by its FANATICAL OWNER (all caps are his, not ours) in Tarzana, CA and is currently bidding on ebay for $13,100 with 4 days to go.

 

2k: 1960 Studebaker Lark VIII Wagon; Road kill!

 The Studebaker Lark was a compact car initially released in 1959 by oddball make Studebaker, assembled at their South Bend, Indiana manufacturing plant.  The numerical designation (VI or VIII) on the side of a Lark doesn't refer to model generation as is typical of similar era cars, it actually designates the number of engine cylinders (I6 or V8).  This DT writer was driving down the street near King Harbor in Redondo Beach, CA and stumbled upon this orange/white 1960 Studebaker Lark VIII for sale by owner for $2200.

15k Riddler: 1965 Volvo Amazon Pickup Conversion

It should be painfully obvious to most readers by now that Daily Turismo has an appreciation for the stranger side of the automotive hobby. AMC Batmobiles, VW Beetle trikes, Corvette wagons, double-decker Minis, and all manner of car-to-pickup conversions have "graced" these pages under the moniker of the dubious and universally befuddling Riddler badge. Up until now there has not been anything that would fit into both Thorsday and Riddler categories - and that made us sad - until we found this Volvo Amazon pickup, that is. It started life as a wagon, looks extremely well built unlike many of our past Riddler features, and is available here on carsforsale.com in Marietta, PA for $14,600.

10k: 1984 BMW M6; Grey Market Euro E24

The e24 generation BMW M6 was sold around the world in limited quantities (just over 4,000 produced) with a sweet sounding inline 6 mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox.  The Europeans received a hotter engine making an additional 30 horsepower because of the lack of restrictive US EPA mandated emissions after-treatment.  A few grey-market escapees have made it to the USA and today we've found a 1984 BMW E24 M6 Euro grey market import for sale in Holliston, MA currently bidding at $11,400 with a few hours to go.

DT: Craigslist Has a New Layout

If you spend as much time as we do surfing the internet for cheap used cars, you may have noticed a fairly significant change to the long lived craigslist format.  Images now appear first in the ad with text following - we aren't sure if we like the new format.  It does still allow you to add your own pictures via HTML, but we fear change and this is new/different...

Old Format

New Format

10k: 1998 Ford Ranger Electric!

In 1998 Ford released a new version of the small Ranger pickup, now in its 3rd generation.  Ford also produced a limited quantity of an electric version, which was basically a Ford Ranger XL 4X2 with an electric motor in the place of the gasoline inline 4, most were leased and later re-claimed by Ford and crushed because clearly the big three hate electric cars and are on the big oil payroll..more on that later. This 1998 Ford Ranger Electric somehow avoided the crusher and is now for sale in Apopka, FL currently bidding on ebay for $12,600 with a day to go.

5k Riddler: 1949 Ford Carry All Panel Truck on 4WD Exploder Chassis

In case you aren't familiar with the Daily Turismo riddler badge - it is a unique honor that we heap upon particularly unique vehciles and is represented by the universal symbol of the penguin, wrench, lawnmower and question mark.  This featured riddler is a 1949 Ford Carry All Panel Truck body, 48 F-100 cab, sitting on top of a 4WD Ford Explorer chassis and powered by a 4.6 liter Ford V8 and decorated with Willys Jeep headlights...and its for sale on ebay in Du Quion, IL for $4,700 with 1 day to go.

Army-man grill?

10k: Wrecked 2010 Mazdaspeed3 - Cheap Performance

The Mazda Mazdaspeed3 (or is it just the Mazdaspeed3?) is a hot-hatch rocketship that is powered by a jewel of a 2.3 liter, 263 hp turbocharged, direct injected four cylinder engine mated to a slick 6-speed manual transmission. They don't even offer an automatic as an option! The "speed3" is quite affordable for the level of performance dished out; 0-60 in just 6.3 seconds is super quick for only $24,200 MSRP with a factory warranty. But for 1/3 the price of a new model, we are intrigued by this example that we stumbled across on ebay. This 2010 Mazdaspeed3 is essentially the same car still on dealer lots today and has been in a moderate front end collision. We think this is the perfect start to a track-day car or budget racer - great power, sharp handling and modern Japanese reliability is a great headstart versus the average 15 year old performance car in this price range. Find it here on ebay for $8900 Buy it Now (or make offer) in Huntingdon, PA.