Car Hunting, Pt. I

Being a renter out here in California means that I have a lot more free time on my hands than I did in Wisconsin - which is good and bad. The good: it’s quite nice not having to run to Home Depot or Menards on a Saturday afternoon to drop $50 or more on mulch/paint/appliances/gardening tools/etc. and then spend the time working on the task at hand. The bad: I kind of miss doing those little projects and home improvement in general. And with the housing market still unsettled and Carlsbad prices still high, buying just didn’t seem right. So, with a bit of free time and extra cash, finding a fun project car gave became a fun project to work on.

Starting with my list of ten cars I’ll own before I am dead, I started trying to figure out what would be available within my modest budget. That obviously eliminated acquiring a decent example of a 911.

My criteria:

* Affordable to purchase in decent condition. I didn’t want a non-running/unsafe car that I’d have to sink money into in order to get it road-worthy.

* Affordable to run. Inexpensive and readily-available replacement parts, cheap to insure, easy on gas. I did not want to have a nice car that needed, say, a $1,000 part that is now only available from a remote German warehouse, nor did I want anything that’d become a financial weight around my neck.

* A foreign make. Japanese, German, Swedish, heck, even French. Aside from Jeep Wranglers, Cherokees and Grand Wagoneers, most American car models just never did anything for me.

* Readily available locally. I entertained the idea of expanding my search nationwide, but spending, say, 50% of the car’s purchase price on shipping it back to this corner of the country just didn’t seem to make much sense - I’d rather put that money back into the car. Nor did trusting buying a car based on photos and a seller whom I may have only met via email and/or phone.

* Safety. Well, at least *some* semblance of modern safety features. Sorry rear-engined/air-cooled VWs. I want a little bit of crumple zone.

So, with that all in mind, I went back to the list and searched all of the Southern California Craigslists using Crazedlist.org. for:

BMW E30 325i/325is
BMW 2002 (not on my original list, but it should be)
Mazda MX-5 Miata (“NA” platform)
Mazda RX-7 (“FC” platform)
Mercedes-Benz SL (R107 platform)
SAAB 99 Turbo
SAAB 900 Turbo or SPG (first generation)
Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ40)
Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ60)
Toyota MR2
Volkswagen GTI/Jetta GLI (“A2” platform)
Volkswagen Scirocco II
Volkswagen Corrado
Volvo Amazon
Volvo P1800
and, just for kicks, a Citroën DS

The Land Cruisers were quickly eliminated from the list, as all FJ40s within my price range were basket cases and the FJ60s were rough at best. In fact, about the only decent Land Cruisers were FJ80s with over 200k miles on the clock. They’re great, classic, dependable SUVs, but I don’t need another vehicle in my fleet that gets gas mileage in the mid-teens. Aside from late-model Volvos, the Swedes never seemed to have made an impact, sales-wise in SoCal. No surprise, since they’re known as great winter cars combined with the lack of seasons in this region. A few somewhat-promising GTIs came up, but most had very high mileage and/or were located a couple of hours away from Carlsbad. I even found one Citroën DS, but it was in need of a complete restoration and (thankfully for my wallet), located up in Burbank. The Mercedes SLs in my range would have given my wallet a severe cashectomy. After a few weeks of searching, it became clear that I was going to have the best of luck finding a BMW E30 or Miata that met my criteria.

To be continued...

Down On The Street

Driving home from Riverside and close to home, I was able to snap a couple of pix of this fine fastback. Yep, another Volvo, this time a PV444. See, Volvos aren't all boxy and driven by Vermonters.
This one has been spotted in the wilds of Carlsbad before. Pretty nice looking, especially when you consider that it's at least 58 years old. Maybe I'll be able to find it parked sometime in the future so I can get some proper shots.
Put put put, børk børk, børk...

More Volvo Goodness

Why oh why does this fine chunk of Swedish iron have to be 1) local, 2) desirable and 3) affordable?

I think I deserve it. Click here for more info.

Børk børk børk!

Down On The Street

I came across this ruby red gem while walking the dog this morning. Parked just a few doors down from our home, it's one of the cars I'll own before I'm dead.

"Regular" P1800s are pretty cool too, but they don't have the super-cool shooting brake form. And being the "long-roof" wagon/van dork that I am, I greatly prefer the ES.
Just check out the length of the hood - proportionally anyway.
Hard for me to find a bad angle on this rig. About the only thing I'm not a fan of are the US-spec bumpers, protruding too far off the front.
If it was my car, I'd see about replacing with some Euro-style brackets to snug the bumper nice and tight with the body work. Oh, and I'd put a set of silver Minilites on it too.
Such a simple and clean front end.
The back is not too shabby either. In fact, the rear window on Volvo's current C30 coupe borrows heavily from the window design.

It also has one of the coolest hood ornaments:
As well as vestigial tail fins.
Not all too surprising considering that the body was styled in the late-1950s.

On a side note, the Volvo "Amazon" I posted back in July is still parked a mile or so from the home, still for sale. I'd love to have a Swedish brick in the garage. Hmm...

Down On The Street

Taking Juno to the dog beach at Carlsbad's Aqua Hedionda over the long weekend, I came across this gem sitting on a residential street.
Why it's a handsome and humble Volvo 122S, aka "Amazon".
Simple, stout and with legendary durability, this 46 year old car will likely still be on the road 46 years from now, provided gasoline is still being sold and that it doesn't get t-boned by some other car in the coming years.
This badge proclaims what's sitting under the hood to the world. One Volvo B18 engine powers a Volvo P1800 with over 2,500,000 miles on it. Or nearly 100 trips around the globe at the equator.

Speaking of badges, here's what's decorating the front fenders:
I bet this was designed by a guy named Sven with a high quality pencil and some vellum.
As much as I'm a sucker for period-correct Panasport Minilite wheels, if this Amazon was mine, I don't think I'd swap out the simple wheel covers. Well, maybe I would pick up a set to dress this three box car up. But the V-caps would stick around.
Let's check out the interior:
Purposeful and with a truck-like gear lever sprouting from the transmission hump.
Red vinyl and a Mexican blanket? Sweet combo!
Look closely and you'll notice a for sale sign.
Interested? The obscured area code is 858.
I'll take it!

LegoLand Saturday

Celeste took her seventh (we think) trip to LegoLand yesterday.
We had a pair of free passes set to expire at the end of March, and having gone last year in March, we expected the park would be nice and quiet.
And that it certainly was. Celeste was one of the first kids in the park that day and made a bee-line for the Volvo Driving School. There's usually a fair-sized line for this feature, which lets kids plod along in Lego-y electric cars on a semblance of city streets at a blistering 2 MPH.



Those seeking neck-snapping acceleration need not apply.

Overall, she's no thrill-seeker. There's no way to get her on even the mildest of roller coasters.
Which is fine by me. Big slides are pretty cool to her though.
And it's virtually impossible to keep her from water features.

see, I told you it was empty

The mound of dirt on the right side of the shot is from the excavation of the forthcoming water park that is set to open at LegoLand in June.

As usual, we had a blast. Watched some Lego cars race at the Daytona speedway...
Checked out a Lego model of a Lego factory...
Saw "Plasticalla"...
And took in some rides.

While eating lunch we spied some decidedly non Lego-looking toys on display.
Little did I know that Lego built "conventional" toys prior to developing the eponymous building blocks in 1958. Check out the Lego hood emblem...
...and the LEGO molded into the side of this tractor:
Even this service station is a Lego toy.
After lunch we hit the Lego Clubhouse to buy some bricks.
"Drove" a safari truck through a Lego Africa...
...and then headed out for some frozen yogurt.
A good (and tasty) Saturday well-spent.

yum

List - Ten Cars I'll Own Before I'm Dead

For as long as I have been driving, I've kept a mental checklist of cars that I'll own before I'm dead. These are all "obtainable" cars - no fantasy-garage fodder - and most can be found in decent shape for less than $10k in today's market.

Allie and I have owned 13 cars during our seventeen years together. And during that time I've been able to strike a few cars off the list, including an original VW Beetle ('64), VW Bus ('68), Subaru WRX ('02) and a VW EuroVan ('01).

BMW 325i coupe (1988-91)
Now that we don't live in a cold-weather region, a RWD car without traction control or other safety nannies can make sense. "E30"-generation BMW 3-series cars are relatively light, nimble, very-well built, powered by a sweet I-6 engine, inexpensive to buy, insure and repair. Even the parts cost no more than comparable VW parts. 1988-91s have a nicer looking plastic bumper, replacing the "diving board bumpers" from the earlier models. Too bad the ultimate E30 - the first-generation M3 models are so expensive.

Citroën DS
I mentioned the DS in a post last week. Stunning mid-century modern/space-age design, a funky and buttery-smooth riding hydropneumatic suspension and plenty of French quirkiness.

Mazda MX-5 Miata (1994-97)
The authentic reinterpretation of the iconic British roadster, sans-reliability and rust issues. Like the BMW E30s, they're light, cheap, nimble and plentiful. Who cares that some label these as "chick cars" - those people won't know what they're missing. The 1994-97s are the last of the "NA" body style and had received some nice refinements from the early Miatas. I'll take one with a hardtop. Take it to the track!

Mercedes-Benz R107 (450/380/560SL)
This one might have to wait until I'm about 60 or so - it's somewhat of an old-man's (or old lady's) car. The R107-body SLs had an impressive 18 year run of this now-timeless design, during which it was available in the US with 4.5, 3.8 or 5.6 liter V8 engines. All silky smooth, and all unfortunately saddled with automatic transmissions. I'm not a big fan of convertibles, but what a great car for cruising Palm Springs or La Jolla. Screw it, I'll take one now.

Porsche 911 coupe (1988-89)
The most-expensive auto on the list represents the end of the run for the iconic 911. The last two model years of this sports coupe classic were spec'd with the upgraded G50 5-speed transmission, bolted to the air-cooled flat-six engine. Mine will be like the one pictured above: a coupe, metallic silver, Füchs wheels and NO spoiler. This particular example is hovering at $20k on eBay at the moment and is just about as perfect as an automobile can be.

Subaru Impreza WRX STI (2005)
The WRX wagon I drove from '04-'08 was arguably the best car I've ever owned. A super-versatile wagon that was super-capable in all weather conditions - especially when equipped with the seasonal snow tires. But the next WRX to grace my garage will be a 2005 STI propelled by a manic 300HP 2.5l turbo boxer engine. Delete the boy-racer bookshelf wing from the trunk and make sure it has the silver BBS wheels.

Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser
Where can't an FJ40 go? Well, maybe the moon, but that's about it. For true truckiness, the FJ40 can't be beat. And Toyota's F-series engine can be repaired with no more than a rusty screwdriver and a pair of channel locks. That is, if you ever even need to repair it. This FJ makes the contemporary FJ Cruiser look like the bloated pig that it is.

Volkswagen GTI 2.0 16v (1990-92)
VW's "A2" chassis is my favorite. Still light and simple and free from the electrical gremlins that plagued A3 and A4s. The 2.0l version puts out a respectable 134 HP, enough for fun but not too much to get you in trouble.

Volvo P1800ES
Oh yeah, a two-door wagon. The P1800 was Volvo's take on a sports coupe. Built around Volvo's indestructible B-series motor and wrapped in a taught, efficient body. The ES ("estate") was only available during the last two model years, 1972-73, and offered a distinctive tailgate design which influenced the rear of Volvos C30 of the 2000s.

and something with a rear mid-engined layout
Ask a driving enthusiast what's the best layout for an automotive drivetrain, nine out of ten will tell you it's a rear mid-engine style. With favorable weight dynamics, it's been the layout of choice for many grand sports cars. I'm a bit more modest and would be happy with an early MR2. Early Porsche Boxster prices have dropped precipitously over the past couple of years, it's now possible to find clean, low-mileage examples for around $10k.

Okay, that's a lot of iron there. I better get on it and start knocking some of these off the list.