Whether you’ve been hunting for a unique project, an oddball, or a fun and affordable driver, today’s Reader Finds have you covered. The diversity of our reader’s tastes will never cease to amaze us. Robert J shared a Pre-War Willy’s knight, while Jim S and Josh M shared a mixture of late ’60s projects in various conditions, and Offshore64Guy rounded things out with the FWD Toronado. For those looking for something a little more “Classic”, there is a ’55 Chevy Bel Air. It might not be a ’57, but it’s a V8 car and has potential. Some of the projects are in rough shape, but interesting all the same. Our personal favorite is the Citroen Mehari, it’s not something you see often and will definitely turn heads! Which of these finds piques your interest?
- 1969 Citroen Mehari (eBay) – Jim S
- 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado (craigslist) – Offshore64Guy
- 1971 Mercury Capri (eBay) – Jim S
- 1929 Willy’s Knight 4 Door (craigslist) – Robert J
- 1969 Dodge Super Bee (eBay) – Josh M
- 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air (eBay) – Josh M
- 1968 Ford Falcon Coupe (eBay) – Jim S
- 1963 International Harverster Scout 80 (eBay) – Josh M
- 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle (eBay) – Josh M
Thanks to everyone that submitted a find and if you come across an interesting find, please share!
Dang! A Toro, a Mehari and a Scout. Decisions, decisions…
i would take the scout.
How about all of em except the Citroen and the Capri. No offense to those that like em I’ll even take the lonely Falcon. Looks like it is begging for a 302. One part of the eBay ad says it has a manual Tranny… hmm seems to be missing a pedal. The dilemma with anything fun, somebody always seems to be in love with it, and thinks it’s worth a fortune. Then nobody buys it, then it rots, and a surviving family member gives it away…. sorry but $3900 for that Toro is pretty optimistic, and the 283 powerglide 66 chevelle at $6k reserve not met? Needs a lot of work and I think they built 400k 66 chevelles
I want to like the 55 Chevy, but it’s just too normal for me. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just that it’s the sort of thing most people can identify with wanting. That means the person who owns it would be seen as normal and that just wouldn’t sit too easily with me. No, for me, it would have to be the pure freak factor of the Citroen Mehari.
There’s just something about a cheap entry level vehicle that’s been turned into an off road variant by it’s manufacturer that’s interesting. The cool thing is that it wasn’t just Citroen who did this back in the day either. No, you could also have gotten a Mini Moke, a VW THING (or Kubelwagen or Kommandercar or Schwimmwagen) or a Trabant Kubel/TRAMP. Of the list, of course the Trabant would be the coolest (when is a Trabant NOT the coolest?), but at the current price of $255 for the Citroen I wouldn’t turn it down either. A French front wheel drive off road vehicle with an air cooled twin under the hood? Yes please!
…and the oz-made VW Country Buggy.
Oh, I’m pretty sure I missed a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. There are probably some interesting variants in Africa and South America that I have never heard of that would be just as cool as the European examples that come immediately to mind. I also want to say there is another French one made by Matra that I just can’t think of and maybe even some sort of Reliant too.
Too true, Jim-Bob. I recently was made aware of the Renault Rodeo which looks quite similar to the Mehari. Just doing my patriotic thing.
I’d go for the Capri. Here in the UK it was designed by Ford as our equivalent of the Mustang. And values are heading skywards, especially for early Mk I’s.
Even the lowly 1.3s go like stink!
What does it say about me that the only two cars of this lot that interest me are the Mehari and the Capri? I love the weird and wonderful? I’m glutton for punishment? My wallet is permanently empty and my credit cards are always red hot?
To me the perfect Capri is a MkI chassis with the 2.8 Cologne V6. Fit the Cosworth cross ram intake just cause its so cool and enjoy the drive.
This one appears much too nice to do anything other than fix the rust and drive. Keep it stock as most seem to have been modified.
As for the Mehari, its hard not to like the cute little bugger. I’ve no idea what I’d do with this poor thing but its more appealing that the one for $32,000 that was on “that other sight” the other day.
I’d go for the superbee
I love the sleeve valve engine in the Willy’s Knight. I you have never seen how the work look here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSMYjRNQ8Rs
The Capri. It appears to be in very driveable condition, not commonly seen (especially in this shape) not a lot of $$$ (yet), easy to maintain and most of all, fun to drive.
The Falcon brings back memories! My Dad bought one of these used from his sister in 1978. I’m not sure where she got it, but it was originally a crab apple green color and had been repainted royal blue. By the time it came to us, the royal blue had faded into a chalky purple! It ran well but my mother refused to drive it because of the wear in the front end that resulted in alot of play in the power steering. Dad drove it to work for several years and, I believe, he eventually traded it in on a Datsun 620 pickup. Sometime, I wish he’d have just parked in the basement for me…
For me, the Willys Knight, somewhat; the ’55 Chev, although I’m curious about the whereabouts of the engine; the IH Scout looks like a worthwhile project; the ’66 Chevelle, also. I see the price on the Chevelle hasn’t blossomed out of reach, and I sure hope that whoever grabs it will restore it to its original glory instead of making it into another ‘Numbers Matching’ SS396.
That Scout is tasty, but it’s too far for me. And I would want to get a better look at it before purchase.