Good morning! Today we’re going to dive deep into the weeds of project-car land, a place I know some of you aren’t comfortable. But variety is the spice of life, right?
Yesterday, I may have screwed up. It was pointed out to me that the Lexus is not, in fact, a 1998 model, as the ad states; it’s the older first-generation LS400, which makes it a 1994 at the newest. In my defense, they look damn near the same. But I should have checked. I forgot the number-one rule: Never trust the liv-I mean, the seller. That “mistake” throws the whole ad into question; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Legit or not, I’m going against the overwhelming majority of votes and taking the Mercedes. I’m not a fan of the perfected-to-death Toyota/Lexus feel, as reliable and durable as the cars may be. To me, this is the choice between a really good steak dinner and a really good salad. Of course, I know which one is better for me. But I also know which one is more satisfying.
All right then. Let’s brush away some cobwebs and reserve a U-Haul trailer; it’s time for a couple of project cars.
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1967 Lotus Europa S1a with extra chassis – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Olympia, WA
Odometer reading: 68,000 miles
Operational status: Disassembled, in need of total restoration
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I can’t think of another car company as shrouded in legend and mythology as Lotus. Its cars are barely cars at all, ephemeral wisps of the bare minimum amount of structure and bodywork necessary to send a tiny engine and a lone driver around a race track, or down a country road, as quickly as possible. Everyone knows Lotus cars are fragile, unreliable, and absolute death traps in any sort of accident, yet everyone wants one. Most of us have never actually driven a Lotus, but we all know how wonderful they are to drive.
The Europa, if you’re not familiar with it, is a mid-engine car, featuring a steel backbone chassis and a fiberglass body. Its engine and gearbox come from Renault, a 1.5 liter pushrod four and a four-speed manual, specifically chosen by Colin Chapman to fit within the Europa’s frame. This is a Series 1a Europa, which added luxury features such as removable side windows and exterior door handles not included on the very earliest cars.
One quirk of the early Europas was that the steel frame was molded into the fiberglass body, making it all one unit, great for stiffness but a nightmare to repair. The Series 2 cars switched to a bolt-on frame. This package deal seems to include a separate frame, which must be from a Series 2 car. You could probably plop the body onto it, but you’d have to cut out the existing frame to make it all work. You’d have to inspect everything to see what the best course of action would be.
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The car itself has no engine in it, but the spare chassis does, and the seller says lots of other parts come with the deal, including at least one more engine from the looks of it. And speaking of looks, the Europa is not one of Lotus’s prettier designs. Personally, I like it, but I know a lot of people don’t. You can pretty much guarantee you won’t see another one, though; Lotus only built a few hundred Series 1 Europas.
1982 Chevrolet K5 Blazer with 1984 parts car – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 350 cubic inch overhead valve V8, four-speed automatic, part-time 4WD
Location: San Francisco, CA
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Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Starts and runs, unknown beyond that
If featherweight sports cars aren’t your thing, how about a big chunk of Detroit steel? Chevy’s K5 Blazer was General Motors’s answer to the Ford Bronco and the International-Harvester Scout. But instead of a unique design, GM based the Blazer (and identical GMC Jimmy) on its full-size truck platform.
This Blazer sits a little taller than stock, with a few inches of lift in its suspension and some gnarly tires. It also sports a rather interesting custom paint job. I’m guessing from the deer-and-bear logo thingy on the door that this was someone’s hunting rig. We don’t know what engine is under this truck’s camo-painted hood, but I’m guessing it’s a 350. The ad says it’s a replacement crate engine, and I can’t imagine anyone bothering with a crate 305. The only thing we know about its mechanical condition is that it starts and runs. That’s something, I guess.
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It’s rusty outside, and rough inside, but it looks like it’s all there. The good news is that “squarebody” Chevy trucks are popular enough to have a whole cottage industry of restoration parts available. The bad news is that you’ll be setting your credit card on fire ordering everything this one needs.
But wait – there’s more! Act now and you’ll get a second 1984 Blazer absolutely free! It’s every bit as rusty outside, and the seller says it “needs a new engine,” but the interior looks a little better, so it may be good for some parts.
Either one of these choices is going to require a lot of time, skill, patience, and space to turn into a functional vehicle that you’d be proud to show off. To tackle a project like one of these, you have to really love the subject matter, or else you’ll run out of gumption and never finish. Hypothetically, though, if you were possessed of the skill and desire, which one would you take on?
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(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
