An interesting development happened last night. I found my all time favorite american car, in a color combo that appeals to me, well under my price limit and semi local.
http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/2893411643.html
If that isn't a rot box I think I know what i have to do.
If that is still around when the financial part of this is done it will be mine.
In reply to ditchdigger:
That is a tasty car. Quite tasty.
Deleted because I'm a moron
So, so sorry for your loss.
And you get to play the Barracuda song really loud. Yes. 
In reply to Teh E36 M3:
You just somehow made me want the car less.
I need to call on it before logic rears its head. I am supposed to be looking for something with heat and AC with decent fuel economy that will do 350 mile trips any time of the year.
Oh man, that Barracuda is saweeeet! Buy that and then make sure and attend the Woodburn Mopar/AMC drag day! I'll come park the Javelin next to you.
I came very close to buying one of those when I was 17. It was so incredibly rusty that when you looked under it you saw carpet hanging out all over the place. I wanted it anyway. My dad talked me out of it which was probably a good thing. They're very cool cars.
Well, the car has a 318 in it, so all manner of later stuff will hang off of the thing. Truck EFI and air con bits mixed with some Vintage Air parts could get you at least semi-decent economy (really depends on your definition of "decent") and the A/C and any time of the year.
How about a Syclone or Typhoon?
I'll just leave this here..
1966 Trans-Am at VIR. Richard Petty co-drove with Charles Rainville (whom I know nothing about).
Very sorry to hear about your loss. I have been married not quite 6 years, and I can't imagine the pain I would feel if my wife died. I will keep you in my prayers (I truly mean this), and I hope you find the exact car you want!
You have my sincerest condolences.
On the car front, you should get that Barracuda. That is a kick-ass looking car! I would also get a cheap beater of some sort to sacrifice to the bad weather gods.
In reply to ditchdigger:
i have a never-used set of long-tube headers for (i believe) '67 barracuda with small block. I also have a Tilton bellhousing for a '67 barracuda small block with T10 mounting plate on it, and a hydraulic throwout bearing for the same. these parts have also never been used. if you buy the car, and if the '67 parts work on the '66, you can have the whole mess for $200 plus shipping.
My condolences as well. I can't even imagine.
octavious wrote: As far as the car, and this may just be me getting older, I'd make a list or spreadsheet of every car I was even slightly interested in. I go drive every car, take notes, and add all that to the spreadsheet. After I narrowed it down to 10 cars I'd drive those 10 again, then maybe the top 4 and then the last two back to back. I have such car-ADD that I'd either buy the first thing I thought was cool, or I'd never buy anything. And if you want to make it entertaining for the rest of us, make the list like one half of an NCAA bracket. That way we can a) watch as you test everything, and b) help with questions.
You could make your own Cool Wall! Every car on your list, put it in the appropriate place on your Cool Wall. Make revisions based on how you feel about them after researching, test driving, etc. In the end, pick one, buy it, but leave the Cool Wall up for reference for the next time you want to get something cool.
Or just get the 'Cuda and keep the VW as your commuter car. And/or get the 'Cuda and trade the VW for something comparable, with heavy emphasis on the practical side.
The barracuda is a bad idea but I want it badly. I would throw a lot of money into upgrades and on the plus side it would never depreciate.
The GTI is....well a 2001 GTI. It has the lower output 150hp 1.8t with pretty much every issue that these cars are famous for. Peeling soft touch interior pieces, an insatiable appetite for coilpacks, and a check engine light that is on more often than not. Plus it is rave green with purple wheels.
The scions make a lot of sense but since I feel the GTI is a bit underpowered I doubt a 100hp box would satisfy me. James at garage808 is eager to turbocharge one for me but a few hours worth of googling leads me to believe the 1NZ is one of the least stout motors Toyota has produced.
The R53 minis look good to me. It seems like I would be very happy with the performance out of the box and a smaller supercharger pulley is a cheap upgrade if/when I decided it wasn't enough.
I already have a great project. My Fiat is awesome and I intend to make it even more awesome and put it back into fair weather daily use after some serious bodywork and suspension upgrades.
I think I am going to test drive a 53K mile 04 R53 this afternoon to see if I like them.
How about an extended cab s10? You said you could use a truck, v8 swaps in easy, there are parts out there to make them handle better, should be enough room in the back for the dogs and they are easy to find and cheap. Parts are easy to find and cheap too.
It really looks like my search is narrowing down to these two cars. Nothing else fits my criteria or if it does I apparently have no interest in them.
There are 2 of each in my search area ~100K miles on the cars that are around $10,000 in these parts.
6 speed supercharged R53 coopers. I hear about clutches at 60K and superchargers going out, throttle body boots leaking and causing codes and mushrooming strut towers. What else?
The M3's are both 97 sedans. I hear about the entire cooling systems needing replaced and every bushing in the car tearing out, going bad and shredding the subframe mounting points. The interiors falling apart, Vanos needing replaced/rebuilt at 45K and exterior trim falling off.
It seems like an M3 could really soak up the freeway miles without fatigue but the MINI wasn't too shabby itself at 75mph.
M3 sedans, especially with manual transmissions, are pretty highly sought after. If you find one in reasonable condition, and you like it, you'll probably be able to sell it for what you have in it when you're ready to move on. Don't know if the same holds true for MINIs.
Would that be a fabled M3/4/5 (M3, 4-door, 5-speed)?
I'd jump on that like a flea to a mutt! Definitely check out the M3's. I'll gladly go with you or give you a ride to pick it up 
You'll need to log in to post.
