eBay Sleeper: 1979 Chevrolet Malibu with Pontiac GTO 5.7-liter LS1 V8

Now that Pontiac is officially gone, one way of keeping the heritage alive is to salvage whatever parts you can find. We don’t know if that’s what the owner of this 1979 Chevrolet Malibu thought, but, nevertheless, he did swap the original engine with a modern 5.7-liter LS1 V8, sourced from a wrecked GTO, while keeping the styling of the car pretty much stock.

Engine aside, the old-school Malibu has been fitted with a 9-inch Ford locking differential, a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual, various Corvette drive accessories and Edelbrock rear shock absorbers.

The seller claims it's in good condition without any rust, and that it is accompanied by the original engine and transmission, purchase order and receipts for every new part installed.

As far as we can tell from the photographs, the interior is also in good shape, fitted with hard-to-find factory original bucket seats and floor console (according to the owner).

The mileage is listed at 47,656, but it could be what the new engine has clocked up and not the car. In any case, the Malibu seems to have aged well and the bevy of new parts installed should put any reliability-related worries to rest. It should be pretty fast, too.

*The car was listed for sale on eBay for $11,000, but the reserve was not met.

eBay Find: Mini-Me Audi TT Roadster Replica

If the original Audi TT was the hairdresser's car in some people's eyes, then this lookalike replica of the TT Roadster is beyond doubt, Mickey Mouse's car... Discovered on UK's eBay, the seller does not state on which car it is based, but it's almost certain that the donor car is the Banham X21, a small British roadster which in turn was based on the Austin Metro mini and used a 1.3-liter engine. The X21 already looked a lot like the TT Roadster so if that's the case, then conversion wasn't that hard of a task. Check out the creepy little bugger in the gallery after the jump.

Craigslist Find: 1991 BMW 340is E30 with 4.0-liter V8 Engine

It's not the craziest or most extreme E30 project out there (that title could go to the 350i with its 350HP 5.0-liter V12, perhaps even to the RX-7 rotary-powered 320i), but this BMW 340is that's up for grabs on Philly's Craigslist certainly caught our attention. As stated by the seller, the 318is' factory 136HP 1.8-liter four-pot gave its place to a 740i-derived 4.0-liter V8 engine (we're guessing it's the M60 V8 with 286HP) coupled to a 5 speed manual transmission.

The heavily modded E30 also features a limited slip differential, an upgraded suspension, M Roadster trailing arms, E36 M3 front brakes, M Roadster rear brakes, 17-inch M3 alloy wheels and a not so cool, larger double kidney grille.

The asking price for the 340is is $14,950 which may very well be justified by the work involved in the project, but don't forget that (in the States) with less than $15k you can get into the driver's seat of a M3 E36 Coupe.

Brillante Vendetta a Ferrari Testarossa for Yuppies Hit by the Economic Crisis

If there's one manufacturer that every motoring enthusiast adores, it's Ferrari. And from the mid to late '80s, the king of wall poster exotics was the make's epic flat-12 engined Testarossa.

So what does a budding Ferrarista do in the late '80s? Well, you can't buy a Testarossa, as the thing costs US$180,000 or more than the median house price at the time. You could buy a Chevy Corvette for a lot less, though really that's just admitting that you're not as rich or cultured as the guy with the Mercedes-Benz 450 SL.

So why not go for something that's home grown but with an exotic edge? No, not a De Tomaso Longchamp; I'm talking about something that's really home grown. Home built, even. A Brillante Vendetta!

According to the seller, California based Classic International began converting C4 Corvettes into the Testarossa-lookalike "Brillante Vendetta" in the late '80s. The seller bought this particular example new for US$70,000 in 1989 and has owned it ever since. To put that into perspective, a new C4 Corvette would set you back US$32,000 in those days.

With just 15,000 miles on the odometer, all relevant paper work and the promise that it has been regularly serviced, this Italian impersonator comes with a 5.7 L V8, auto tranny, full grain Italian leather interior and inlaid burl wood on the dashboard. Couple that with power everything, climate control, steering wheel mounted controls and even one of those awesome, car phones from the early '90s and you've got yourself...well, something, that's for sure. Finished in Ferrari's trademark red with black soft top and clip on red hard top, a recent insurance appraisal valued the car at an alleged US$35,000.

So what's the verdict?

Well, it looks pretty good for what it is. Yes, Classic International was a little ambitious trying to recreate a Testarossa instead of something simpler like a Mondial and the interior looks a bit more kit car that superstar. And there's the fact that for a few thousand more than the US$21,900 asking price you could pick up an actual, second hand Ferrari or even an immaculate C4 Corvette.

So I leave it to our readers: would you or wouldn't you?

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com
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