BMW E36 318ti cars are well into this price range, and while not endowed with the six cylinder engines that were available in Europe (323ti), more than one enthusiast has dropped an E36 M3 motor into a ti.  It's a bolt-in, as the body was engineered to take the six cylinder engine.  The M3 nearly doubles the hatch's horsepower and at least triples the fun factor!  Even a "normal" E36 six cylinder engine is a nice hp improvement over the four.    BMW blew it with their US marketing strategy on this model--it was billed as an "entry level" BMW; they built a Rabbit but never offered the GTI in the States.   ... View more

In the toolbox I keep in the car:  a 3 x 5 " chunk of 1/4" steel plate, and a similar-sized piece of angle iron, also 1/4" thick.  When away from your shop, they're great for use as a small anvil or stable surface for beating on, either individually or as a (very) small "table."  In the shop, I have an 18" piece of mainline railroad rail, excellent as an anvil or to form curved surfaces using the curved surface atop the rail .  And also a rectangular block of machined steel, about 3 x 4 x 6"--bought at a scrapyard, perfect for making sharp 90 degree bends in sheet metal--steel or aluminum, when forming small brackets etc.   ... View more

You can still buy a really nice carbureted BMW 1600/2002 for well under $15k.  I'd also add to the list most any BMW E30 Three series (1984-91) other than an M3--some of the more popular--and low mileage--models are creeping over the $15k barrier, but many nice ones are available--and not just the plain Jane 4 door sedans. ... View more

I once rescued a damsel in distress whose (pre GM) SAAB had stalled--in the left turn lane, on a cold rainy night.  No spark situation caused by points that had completely closed up.  Reset 'em with a screwdriver and a business card, which happened to be just the right thickness...Off she went--and probably made it all the way home.     ... View more

Best thing I ever found in a car I bought:  a 14k gold charm, under the back seat, with the inevitable petrified french fries.  This was several years after I bought the car, and by then the Air Force seller had been transferred.  Nearly 20 years later, I noticed his name in an AF publication, and called to see if it was the same guy. It was, so I told him about the charm.  Seems his wife had received it as a bridesmaid gift--he was amazed I still had it.  But who throws away 14k gold?  I sent it back to him to be reunited with its original recipient.   ... View more

Since 1983 I've owned four Datsun/Nissan pickups:  521, 620, D21 and a current series Frontier.  The 521 was a gift from an owner who couldn't start it--turned out rust in the gas tank had solidly plugged the fuel filter and the fuel pump.  It was known as the Red Menace (actually it was faded to a kinda pink) due to randomly failing brakes.  Finally fixed that problem--and the rusty gas tank--and hauled stuff for years.  While the US version was rated at 1000 lbs, the identical Japanese version was rated at 1000 kg (2200 lbs).  The lower US rating was to allow importation as a 1/2 ton truck.     Size creep:  my '07 King Cab Frontier is 206 inches long, and has the same size bed as my '72 521, that was 172 inches long.  Even my '81 King Cab was only 181 inches...But if I describe my Frontier as a "twin cam, 4 liter V6, six speed manual, 4 wheel disk brakes, Bilstein sport shocks in a 2 + 2 body" it sounds more like a sports car than a pickup truck... ... View more

Several more:  The first series Corvair's wraparound belt line molding was copied by European and Japanese designers: BMW's Neue Klasse sedans (1962), and later the '02 series, the VW Karmann Ghia 1600, the NSU Prinz, Mazda Familia and even the Russian GAZ 966.   Auto Union (DKW)'s SP 1000 was a direct crib of Ford's original two seat Thunderbird.   And the copying crossed the Atlantic in the other direction with Ford's 10th generation Thunderbird (1989) whose silhouette, roof line and distinctive Hoffmeister Kink on the C-pillar was copied from BMW's E24 Six series.     One more--although they were developed almost simultaneously:  Renault's 4CV and the postwar Morris Minor... ... View more

Currently an assuredly "concours d' Lemons" car, this one actually was displayed at our local (for real) Carillon Park Concours in Dayton OH to show the non-car buff folks attending the event what many of the cars on the field looked like in their "before" condition.     "Bridgette" is a 1956 Renault 4CV convertible, and actually is a rare car.  Only 12-13 4CV convertibles were imported to the US (out of somewhere around 10,000 4CVs total) in its last year of production, primarily because the convertibles were nearly 50% more expensive than the sedans:  $1600 vs $1095.  By her VIN, she's one of the last 56's, and thus one of the last 4CV convertibles off the assembly line.     She's a little beat up because, among other indignities to befall her, in 1974 she was a (very) unwilling participant in a tornado, where a barn fell on her.  Thus the dents in unusual places.   After many years in my garage looking forlorn, Bridgette's turn for restoration is approaching.    She'll be painted a nice "Atlantic Green" metallic--a color unique to 4CV convertibles.    That wad of material visible through the side windows--is the convertible top, another victim of the 1974 tornado.  But someday...   Bridgette heading for the concours ... View more

A palace of Dauphines? A constellation of Vegas? A squadron of Spitfires? A forest of Sprites? A club of Sportsmen? A wealth of Bel Aires?   ... View more

Don't think it's a Peugeot, either a 403 or 404 wagon.  I worked at a Renault-Peugeot dealership in the early 70s and am familiar with both wagons.  I think it's a Datsun 410, or just possibly a Fiat 1100 wagon, but would lean towards the Datsun.  They didn't sell very many 410 wagons, so they weren't common when new.   And BTW, in the second picture, the small window VW is either a '53 or 54--note the extra lights atop the rear fender--probably turn signals as those year Beetles had semaphores.  It also has the small tail lights with the extra lenses atop the housing.     Just went through Atlanta day before yesterday--traffic is still heavy... ... View more

IIRC both GM and Chrysler used Lucite in their steering wheels just prior to WWII.  They weren't clear, but usually cream-colored.  It deteriorated rather quickly, requiring some sort of Pep Boys steering wheel cover to keep the disintegrating plastic from coming off on your hands as you drove. ... View more

I too was a year behind my friends getting my driver's license.  Not being nearly as adventurous as Gary, my Dad drove me and my girlfriend throughout my sophomore year and half my junior year, when I finally got my license.  It was thus a treat to double-date with my friend Tom, who drove his folks' '60 T-bird.  The back seat was very cozy for us, but Tom hated it due to the enormous console that separated the two front seats; he referred to it as "the sex divider" as he couldn't even put his arm around his date.  Parking and necking?  Impossible.  Meanwhile, Carol and I (we married  in college) were nicely ensconced in the back seat...  Actually it wasn't too bad not having a license--growing up in Ft Lauderdale it was easier to get to my girlfriend's house by boat than by car--so long as the tide wasn't too high (low bridge).  We went on many "boat dates"--water skiing or just cruising around all the waterways in Ft Lauderdale or even out in the ocean if it was calm.  However, we did not cut class (as did many of our classmates) to be extras when they were filming "Where the Boys Are."     ... View more

I've discovered that rodents can be dissuaded from using the large, OEM style air cleaners (those with paper filters) as nests or winter storage by covering the inlets either with a piece of expanded metal or plastic mesh (used as gutter covers) or stuffing the opening with a big wad of coarse steel wool.  Just leave a note on the front seat as a reminder to remove it.  You can also use the mesh to cover larger openings, such as heater intakes. ... View more

I too have owned Renaults--13 4CVs (over the years) to be exact...but having bought out the local dealer of related parts when they ceased operations in 1974, I don't lack for parts...except for my '56 convertible.  Less than 6000 convertibles were built out of 1.1 million 4CVs produced, and in 1956, 12 or 13 were imported to the US--as US-specific models, thus different from the French Metropolitan cars in several aspects--and mechanically different from the 1955 and earlier convertibles.  And mine was in a tornado, further adding to its restoration challenges.     My other "challenge" is a 1949 Fiat Topolino woody station wagon--real structural wood, not trim.  From the cowl back, the body is unique to the wagon--and they made about 400 that year.  I know of one other in the US.   ... View more

Unfortunately no picture, as this car was moving--right smartly--down US 35 near my house:  a black, XK120 Jaguar, top down, driver grinning as he tooled along "a few mph" over the 55 mph speed limit.  In very nice shape, but obviously not a Pebble Beach concours car.    Can't remember the last time I saw a 120 that wasn't headed to or from a car show.  We gave each other thumbs-up ( I was driving my '91 BMW 318is) and proceeded on our separate ways.  Funny thing--I've never seen that Jag at a local car show, cruise in etc.  Wonder where it hides out. ... View more