Project Cars

A Brit in a Barn: 1976 MG Midget Mk IV Project

When I was growing up, you used to see quite a number of these cute little MG Midgets on the road. A buddy of mine bought one and when I rode in it for the first time, it had… more»

Little Old Lady Owned: 1974 Ford Mustang II

After seeing years of declining sales, Ford reinvented the Mustang in 1974. The original car had gotten big and bulky, so the Mustang II was a subcompact using a 4-cylinder engine for the first time in the pony car’s… more»

440 Horsepower Surprise? 1956 Ford Fairlane 500 Victoria

After a major restyle in 1955, Ford changed its products little going into 1956. The Victoria was nearly the top-of-line automobile and was that name given to hardtops (you could go one step further and order the Crown Victoria… more»

Storage Find Smorgasbord: BMW Isetta, Pontiac Catalina, and More!

One of my favorite listing “types” is a mish-mash of cars offered for sale by a guy who is likely similar to many of us: a variety of vehicular interests, all colliding together in a cinder block garage. The… more»

Good Driver: 1970 Dodge Challenger Project

Chrysler introduced its new E-body platform in 1970, reserved for the Plymouth Barracuda and the new Dodge Challenger. The two cars had different sheet metal and rode on different wheelbases, so they weren’t exact copies of one another. The… more»

Numbers-Matching Muscle: 1970 Plymouth Road Runner

It is fair to say that by 1970, America’s automotive landscape was changing dramatically. Manufacturers still produced muscle cars and high-performance models, but the specter of tightening emission and safety regulations saw large amounts of their development budgets funneled… more»

Solar Gold Survivor: 1980 Pontiac Trans Am Turbo

As Federal emissions controls continued to choke power out of V8 engines, Pontiac dropped its biggest displacement motors in 1980. So, the standard fare in the next-to-last year of the second-generation Trans Ams was a 301 cubic inch V8…. more»

Cheap Wheels Oddity? 1960ish Cheetah Kit Car

The 1960s brought the era of the kit car and most of them were based on a Volkswagen Beetle chassis and engine. But the Cheetah was different, it was a fiberglass-bodied kit that relied on Chevy Corvette infrastructure to… more»

1967 Mercury Park Lane Convertible Barn Find

The Park Lane convertible was arguably Mercury’s swankiest offering in the mid-1960s, and this example was recently extracted from the barn where it had sat for the last 34 years. Currently showing 63,964 miles on the odometer, this one-owner… more»

Almost Perfect? 1971 Pontiac LeMans Sport

If you wanted a mid-size Pontiac convertible in 1971, you had two choices: the GTO or the LeMans Sport, the latter being the next best thing to a performance machine without the muscle stigma of the former car. This… more»

Seldom Seen Original: 1933 Willys Coupe

Rarity is a strange condition.  Some items are rare because very few were produced.  Some items are rare because they were poorly built and did not hold up as time passed.  Others were used up and the remnants were… more»

Off the Ground: 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad

The 1955 to 1957 Chevrolets are referred to today as the “Tri-Fives” and they brought tremendous sales success to the GM division. But out of more than 4.5 million 150s, 210s, and Bel Airs assembled, a scant 22,000 Nomads… more»

Affordable Exotic? 1975 Maserati Merak

Do the words affordable and exotic ever go together? This vintage Italian sports car we have here is available for about half the price of a typical new car! Maserati had success with its two-seat Bora model and decided… more»

No Reserve Project: 1966 Porsche 912

Years ago, when I was an idealistic man in my early 20s, I assumed that driver-quality ’60s 911s and 356s would always be within reach of the average middle class car hoarder. Well, we all know how that turned… more»

Garage Find: 1961 Chevrolet Corvette

Even though the C1 was nearing the end of its lifespan, Chevrolet still threw in a few exterior revisions for the 1961 Corvette, including redesigning the rear end with boat-tail styling and adding quad round taillights in the process. … more»

Numbers-Matching Survivor: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

If you’re the sort of person who struggles to make decisions, this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 could be an interesting proposition. Its faded and tired paint suggests it would be a worthwhile restoration project, while its lack of rust… more»

Barn Finds