When you are scraping the bottom of the barrel so that you can buy a hot rod, you have to be prepared for what you will come across. If you buy a running and driving vehicle, expect a ton of maintenance issues to crop up. If you buy a car that has sat for years, expect to burn the interior, spend hours vacuuming out rat turds, and renting a steam cleaner to make sure you don’t catch Hanta virus. And regardless of what you end up buying, expect one hell of a story with the car.
Take this 1975…um…GM H-car. The confusion stems from the photos themselves: the seller says Chevy Vega, and so does the front clip. The rest of the car is Pontiac Astre, the corporate twin with Ventura-like taillights. Whatever, it’s GM’s rust-prone Micro Machine from the early 1970s that along the way, was force-fed a small-block of indeterminate size and origin. But that isn’t why I’m actually interested in this car…that comes from the actual wording of the ad.
Quote: “1975 Vega, New 350 Chev engine. My friend John made this car. He left the area with a mad wife after him. I loaned him $500 so he could make his escape. The car starts runs and drives.”
Well then…seems that John’s great big screwup might be the cheapest way into a V8 Vega…Astre…whatever. Light car, small block, and it’s rough enough to have fun with. Just do yourself a favor and spray-paint the car ASAP, in case John’s old lady decides she isn’t done making him pay for whatever he did yet. Or maybe she is, and John ain’t coming back…
Craigslist Link: 1975 “Chevrolet Vega”
I’m guessing John signed over the title too as part of his escape plan!
Not a bad deal though!