As Seen on Craigslist – 1980 Plymouth Fire Arrow

This car couldn’t be any more of its era, and I love it for that reason.  Well, not enough to spend even a quarter of the asking price, but I do love it.  Between the color scheme, the giant graphics on the door, and the “Hemi” 2.6L engine, this thing screams “1980” louder than if you put on some Christopher Cross on the radio and turned it up all the way.  The Fire Arrow was a rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer, but all I really care about are the stripes and the hood decal.  It’s a shame there are no interior pics, because I think I see plaid seats through the window, and that just ups the ante even more.  I can practically feel my sideburns growing just from looking at the photo.

As Seen on Craigslist – 1981 Ford Econoline Van

There are times when I do get bored while searching Craigslist.  Page after page of overpriced musclecars I could never afford and rusty projects that will never get finished tend to dull my enthusiasm, and it takes something truly bizarre to capture my interest.  This van did just that.  Between the pictures showing a grille- and headlight-less fascia (but don’t worry, those parts are in the basement!), a shifter, and a very grungy footwell, I was excited to see what else was in store.  Let’s examine this ad a little further:

“She’d be a great running van with minor work done to it.” – Have you ever done engine work on a full-size van?  Nothing about it is minor.  Considering the seller mentions later on that he suspects the engine has a bad head gasket, I wouldn’t say “minor” is the word to use here.

“Really cool all black ‘no windows in back’ vintage van w/ carpet on the inside.” – I would say “scary as hell” as opposed to “really cool,” but that’s just me.

“Has cupboards for camping” – Or, you know, storing the remains of your victims.

“3/4 of the tires are good (ALL hold air)” – Considering “holding air” is the main prerequisite for being a tire, I don’t know that that’s something to really brag about.  And now I’m really curious as to what makes the fourth tire bad.

“wooden door handles” – And yet no pictures.  Given the state of the rest of the vehicle, I can’t imagine the craftsmanship that went into these.

“kinda messy inside” – Understatement of the century here.

“shifter gets “stuck” sometimes” – At what times?  When I’m trying to get out of the way of a runaway garbage truck, most likely.

“I’ll even help you work on it to drive it out of here.” – Jackpot!  That’s the whiff of desperation I was hoping for.  Hand the guy $500 and this thing is yours, I’m sure of it.

As Seen on Craigslist – 1970 Pontiac LeMans

We got our first real taste of nice weather this past weekend around my parts, and a car guy’s thoughts naturally turn towards convertibles right about now.  While this car’s creamy color and period-correct-but-by-now-cliche Keystone Klassics are up for debate, this looks like one heck of a nice car for the money.  Of course, that crooked gill on the front fender is a little disconcerting and makes me wonder if there’s some questionable body work under it, but if you bring a magnet and are thorough (and are willing to accept some less-than-stellar aesthetics at this price point), you could probably figure out what’s up.  I know if I were in the market for another classic right now, I’d be calling the seller pretty quickly.