Panther? I hardly knew her!

Today's car was largely chosen because I wanted to use some form of the title above. Nonetheless, this is still a neat ride, and one worth taking a look at. To sweeten the pot on this one,  if you decide to fly in and pick it up I will buy you one tank of gas - provided you drive it home at least 2 states away.

So what do we have? A 1973 Johnny Panther Microcar, located in Cherry Valley, AR.

In trying to research what I was going to write here, I found that this is probably the only Panther for sale in the US, and that the seller has dropped his price quite a bit. Probably because it's hard to keep it up on all 3 wheels. 

It is a fun looking car, and provided you don't have any turns to make, it might make a good commuter car to keep your gas bills down. 

No, it's not fast, but I'll tell you - if you have a small car like this, 50MPH seems crazy fast. You'll feel like you are driving a shitty Porsche way, way too fast. 

The interior seems nice, if a bit spartan, but this isn't the car you take to pick up the big client at the airport. 

Despite this photo not being in the ad, it is of the same car. I found some other ads for the same car that date to last year and had it priced at $5000(!). Now, at $3500 it is still pricey, but almost worth it for the laugh when you pull up to the line at your local "drag and brag". 

Do I want this car? Yes. Do I think you should buy this car? Yes. Do I want to ride in it? No. 

Remember - I have $20 on your road trip. 

Go get it. 

Spyder, Man.

Today's car is a 1974 Jensen Healey Spyder that seems too good to be true; it runs and drives very well, with a Lotus engine and other engine components. Jensosns are pretty rare, with only a total of 10,000 produced. I don't have much to say about this one; I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. $9500, Dallas.

Even the interior is perfect.

And what a view in the garage.

For $9500, this seems like a helluva steal - and one that makes me ache for my empty bank account. I can't imagine any better way to spend ten grand, especially with spring coming. Maybe, if you head out there today (it's 20 degrees out) you can make an even better deal because the dude is tired of standing in the cold.

Go get it. 

What the Vuck?

Today's pick is a 1961 Ford Econoline "truck" - but like an El Camino is a "cruck", this is a "vuck". I've always liked these, and think they are really sharp.

This one isn't restored, instead it's mildly "custom" with 50 louvers on the tailgate, 1982 corvette seats, and some sort of tube TV in the dash.

He doesn't say what the wheels came off of, but they are not original.















While it's not original, it looks well put together, if a bit dated. I'm not familiar with what the market is for these, but he is asking $9995, right at the top end of our "limit" for the blog.

It certainly looks like a hoot to drive.
The drivetrain was pulled out of a Thunderbird, and the 302 motor it's rocking should give it enough get up and go to make it more exciting than you want.

 This isn't one I'm daring myself to buy, but I do like these, and if you want to have a crowd around you at the shows, this 1961 Econoline would certainly get the job done, and help you get the real job done when you need to haul stuff from Home Depot.









Sellers description:

1961 Ford 5 Window Econoline Pick Up,,,Very Rare.
302 Motor, Auto Tranny and Rear End out of Ford T-Bird
4 BB Holly Carb.
1982 Corvette Seats
AM/FM Stereo
50 Louvered Swinging Tail Gate
White with Burgundy Interior

Great looker and driver, gets looks and compliments wherever I go.
Multiple show winner, have trophies to show.

$9,995.00 Might consider trade,,,,,what do you have??

Craigslist ad.

Fleetline or Flatline?

Today's way to spend your money comes from Texarkana, Tx. For $5500 you can pick up a 1946 Chevy Fleetline with what looks to be an '80's "restoration", complete with overstuffed velour seats and reasonable paint.

It looks like the seller has (or had) more than one old car, but has no interest in digital cameras, and we are seeing some old scanned photos. That means older resto to me, maybe even an estate situation.

Obviously the car isn't concours quality, but I'm guessing that it's once again a solid "driver" type car. With all of that fender chrome and the visor, this will certainly get some looks, especially of you put on a straight pipe and loud it up a little.

This one is rocking a 283 and an automatic transmission, so if you decided that this was the car you drive to go look at your nice cars, it'd be a comfortable and cool ride and wouldn't kill you on gas. At $5500 in Texarkana, I'm also guessing that you could work an even better deal on the thing. Nothing lowers a price like fanning out a bunch of hundreds in someone's face.

It's said to "run good", so this one looks like a no brainer. Looking at a Civic for your kid? Get him this instead - he won't be able to go fast, but he will get some respect from his riceburning peers for being an old school badass. Plus, with as big as the interior is on this car, no limo is needed at prom time.

Craigslist Ad

Wir leben Autos; the granddaddy to the Sky.

Today's way to spend ten grand is a 1971 Opel GT that runs and drives.

It has the 1.9L straight four, which is good for 83hp - though I'm guessing this one may be horses with gray manes, though the seller claims 74k miles.

The ad also claims it's the original interior, so that probably means "beat", and you can see some possible rust by the lights and above the rear wheel, though that could just be bad paint.

But if it runs and drives and sounds awesome, it might be worth thinking about as a weekend car to BS around in. With this car, I think you have some negotiation room, as he is  a bit high compared to what these cars seem to have gone for in the past in a little better shape. 

I'm sure a full restoration would be more than the car would be worth, but as a car to BS around in and take to Cars and Coffee, it might be a fun little get. 

Craigslist Ad

Take the Shortcut.

Stephen King wrote one of my favorite short stories about a car ever, called "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" about a woman in Maine who drives a Mercedes "Go-Devil" into a supernatural shortcut that allows her to bend time. I first read that story well before there was an internet, and for the longest time I only had a rough idea of what kind of car she was driving - but once I learned, I have never been able to look at a 450 without thinking of Mr. Todd's first wife, who had "lead in her foot and a ball bearing sommers in the back of her ankle".

Mrs. Todd's Benz was champagne colored, but today's two seater benz is silver with a lovely red interior. It comes with 2 tops and less than 100k miles, all for $7800. The owner apprently bit off more than he could chew, car wise, and this one is getting voted off the island. I went to Arizona today to look for two reasons - because there was a little rust on yesterday's wagon, and because I work for a Phoenix.  For under eight grand, if this car runs as nice as it looks, it's a steal; the owner says the car books for 14k, so I'm guessing that he has a wife that's pushing him to get rid of this car at a fire sale price.

Nice backside

The only thing that worries me a little is what is hiding under the sheepskins. If the covers were put on preventatively, that's great, but you might be in for a visit to the upholsterer.

It might not be baaaad though. 

Someday, I will have one of these cars, and if I have my choice, it will have a red interior - but most likely a black exterior.

Here is the craigslist ad.

Swagger Wagon

Today's post takes us to Topeka, KS, where you can get a very rare, probably totally undesirable running and driving project car for $1200. In this case, I'm counting on you using the rest of your ten grand to fix this little wagon up.

AMC Sportabout

This is a 1972 AMC Hornet Sportabout wagon. The seller claims that it's one of 2500 made, and that it is a running, driving example. "Sure'" you say, "but it's just some crappy old green wagon. I know you love wagons, but I don't see what makes this one special"

How about this?

Gucci Edition

That's not custom, that's factory. 

This is a Gucci edition car. The AMC Hornet was the first auto "Collab" that Gucci undertook, and then they moved on to Cadillac and now Fiat. (source). Obviously the front seats need a little work, but the backseat and door cards look pretty good, so there might not be as much cost in the interior as you think. The dash looks fairly nice, and carpet can be had fairly cheap. As cool as this interior looks, I'm sure that once this car is redone it will draw a pretty big crowd at Cars and Coffee.
I think that if you can get this car finished in your ten grand budget, you will have something really special, and you might even have some upside once you are done.

Because wagons are cool.

Here  is the Craigslist ad.