Practically Used Homestead Wheels

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Sports and Foreign Cars

Early Corvettes and two-seater Thunderbirds are collector cars. It is too expensive to restore high-mileage Mercedes, Volvos, or MGs for daily driving. But do check out Datsun's pre-1970 MG-like Roadster convertibles and '70 to '73 240Zs. The original "Z-car" has a tough but lively six-cylinder engine with dual carbs that anyone can adjust, excellent handling and brakes, along with the look of a short E-Jag. Coming from Honda Country, it was never taken seriously and you can get a surprisingly good one for $1,000, a great one for $5,000, but look hard for frame and body rot. In '74 the Zcars began to put on weight, but the 260s and 280s are still cheap and fun.

Volkswagons didn't disappear after Woodstock but are alive and well and living in California. Beetles, Transporters (Buses), and Karmann-Ghias are still the cheapest wheels around. You can get an all-new (remanufactured) Bug for $6,500.

A good used one costs $2,500 to $1,500. Asking price for a so-so but driveable Bug is maybe half that, but my son Sam got a $700-priced Super Beetle for $150. A like-new "Thing" (civilian version of the 1950's W. German "Jeep") or a fully restored Bus will go for $3,500. Good Ghia hardtops cost little more than Bugs, but convertibles are getting pricey. A rebuilt 1,600 engine costs as little as $500 and you can switch engines in an hour. In any VW, watch out for rust in the floorpan and hiding under paint around doors and fenders. You can find VW mechanics in any city, or spend $20 for John Muir's zany book How to Keep Your VW Alive and do it yourself. VW shops sell accessories, hot-rod, and dune buggy kits. Get a copy of HOT VWs Magazine for sources.

Speaking of rear engines, you might look at the Corvair, the '60-'69 rear-engine, midsize semisporty Chevrolet that Ralph Nader pilloried in his book: Unsafe At Any Speed. I've seen persuasive evidence that Nader fudged his data and that Corvairs were no worse than Ford Falcons or other small cars of the day. Ironically, Nader's success (he nailed GM again when they put private eyes on him) curtailed Detroit's interest in selling America on "downsized" cars 20 years before the Arab oil embargo forced them on us. A pity. A cult car among the Rush Limbaugh crowd, the Corvair is cute, sporty, and you'll only pay $2,500 for a good hard top, $1,000 more for a convertible. A '66 Monza Spyder ragtop with the 140-hp engine is right perky, and a good #3/#4 goes for $4,500. Get the stickiest tires you can, put weight in the trunk to hold the front wheels down, and don't prove Ralph correct by taking curves too fast.

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