Project Cars

Pair of 1960s Austin-Healey 3000 Projects

Introduced in 1959, the Austin-Healey 3000 was a British sports car larger than most, earning the nickname “big Healey’s”. Jensen Motors made the bodies, while British Motor Corp. took care of the rest. In production through 1967, more than… more»

Disassembled Project Car: 1960 Triumph TR3A

I remember when I first saw a “Sidescreen” Triumph: It was 8th grade and we were watching an ancient 16mm film in black and white. The subject was motion and inertia and other Newtonian concepts. There on the screen… more»

Cheap One-Year-Only Wagon: 1977 Ford LTD II Squire

Looking back to 1977, it’s hard to fathom that Ford’s new LTD II was considered an intermediate-size offering.  Just as a massive downsizing program was taking effect at General Motors, Ford introduced their LTD II in 1977, with the… more»

Forgotten Franco-American: 1985 Renault Alliance DL Convertible

In the late 1970s, American Motors Corporation was hanging onto a slender 1.8% share of the US auto market. While the US government bailed out financially fraught Chrysler, AMC was deemed dispensable. Buyers for a lagging automaker were scarce,… more»

Rusty Type 2 Project- 1967 VW Double Cab

When a car you have always desired starts to gain popularity, and the prices of available models begin to soar into the unobtanium stratosphere, you start to look at “project” cars that would have been parts cars 30 years… more»

Parts Car? 1967 Mercury Cougar

The seller of this 1967 Mercury Cougar is listing it as a parts car, with the reasons being that the floor is rusty and there’s no title.  I’m going to have to beg to differ here, as I’ve seen… more»

Seller Wants a Chevy! 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1

The Mach 1 arrived in 1969 as Ford was determined to turn the tides on eroding market share for the popular Mustang “pony car”. Due to growing competition, sales were way off from their peak of 607,000 units in… more»

Topless Beach Car! 1969 Michelotti Shellette

Everything sounds better in Italian, and spiaggetta (literally “little beach” aka beach car) instantly sounds like fun. This 1969 Michelotti Shellette wraps Fiat mechanicals in a whimsical open body, and this project-level specimen seeks a new owner with an… more»

Long Wheel Base 1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

Rolls-Royce followed its traditional body-on-chassis Silver Cloud with a new model in 1965 – the Silver Shadow. The new car struck an ominous note for the bespoke coachbuilders who had worked with Rolls-Royce for generations, for it was the… more»

Another Cheap Z-Car Project! 1990 Nissan 300ZX

We see an enormous variety of classics at Barn Finds, but having two Z-Car projects crossing our desks in quick succession is relatively rare. We recently featured this 1973 Datsun 240Z, and now we get a chance to examine… more»

BF Exclusive: 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible

Big luxury convertibles aren’t all that uncommon, but there aren’t many with four doors. The Lincoln Continental Convertible belongs to a tiny club of factory-built four-door drop-tops. It’s a fascinating design that looks elegant whether the top is up… more»

455-Powered: 1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Because the second-generation Pontiac Firebird had such a lengthy production run, fans break it up in to sub-generations: 1970-1973, 1974-1976, 1977-1978, and 1979-1981. As the owner of a ’74 Esprit myself, I know that the ’74-’76 shovel nose generation… more»

Cheap Project? 1973 Datsun 240Z

It is often said that we only get what we pay for in life. Spending mere pennies on a classic car rarely results in a pristine vehicle finding its way into a buyer’s garage. That is undoubtedly the case… more»

Pole Barn Find: 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door

After a radical styling redo in 1959, Chevrolet toned down its full-size cars a bit in 1960. The batwing tailfins were still there, but the “cats’ eye” taillights were replaced by circles and the front grillwork was less aggressive…. more»

Still in the Barn: 1972 Mercury Montego MX

The Montego arrived in 1968 as Mercury’s reworked mid-size offering. Akin to the Ford Torino, the Montego was in production through 1976 (as was the Ford). The automobiles were treated to a redesign in 1972 and – as was… more»

Roaring ‘20s Throwback: 1978 Excalibur Phaeton

The Excalibur automobile was conceived by Brooks Stevens in the 1960s. Stevens was head designer at Studebaker in those days and he started up a company in Wisconsin to build the Excalibur, which was a replica of the 1928… more»

Barn Finds