eBay "Other Makes," Part II

eBay "Other Makes" is like the deep end of the pool when you're 6.  You're free to go there, but you might sink in. There's so much cool stuff in this dark corner of eBay it's hard to pick just a few favorites.  Want some more?  You've come to the right place!

You know what's really boring?  Driving just on land.  What you need is a car that can drive directly from the boat dock into the lake.  Might wanna get in on the auction for this 1965 Amphicar if that fits the bill for you.  The seller says it's in working condition, but the pile of junk on it would indicate it's more of a Ran When Parked. Not trying to be a negative nancy, but make sure you bring a life jacket before you drive into the lake.  These cars are sometimes known to sink.  Bidding's up to $6,225 with the reserve not met; not surprising with a Buy-It-Now of $27,500.  A good deal for a car and a boat?  Or would you rather buy a Miata and a jetski and save the rest for gas?

Another Panoz-style hand-built convertible here.  Originally intended to be the resurrection vehicle for the DeTomaso brand, after Bruce Qvale (which was to be DeTomaso's importer in the US) and Alejandro DeTomaso got in a spat and parted ways, Bruce bought out the production rights and renamed the car the Qvale Mangusta.  That's a mouthful.  Like the Esperante, it's a compact hand-built convertible made using lots of mechanical components from the 32v Mustang Cobra - namely the 320-horsepower Modular V8, Tremec T45 5-speed transmission, and lots of switchgear.  Oh, and the steering wheel - cheesy!  Unlike the Panoz, it's built in Modena Italy.  Still, with 272 built, these are pretty rare.  I've seen a black one at our local Cars & Coffee meet before, and they don't look nearly as bad in real life as in pictures.  This one's for sale in Dallas, TX with 13k miles for $29,950.  Cheap for a super-rare Italian exotic, but a little expensive for a funny looking Mustang Cobra.

So far we've had the perfect car for a person that can't make up their mind, the perfect car for someone wanting a really rare Mustang, and now the perfect car for the Zombie Apocalypse!  This is a 1972 Pinzgauer 710M, which I find to be a name that rolls smoothly off the tongue.  These military vehicles were designed and built in Graz, Austria by Steyr-Daimler-Puch between 1970 and 2000.  It's somewhere between a Mercedes Geländewagen (G-klasse) and a HMMWV in size, and it's a pretty unstoppable vehicle.  These shipped with a 2.5L air-cooled inline four with all of 87bhp under the hood, so it's no rocket ship.  But for a go-anywhere vehicle, a Pinzgauer is hard to beat.  The engine has 2 oil pumps to prevent oil starvation even at extreme angles.  There are portal axles for high ground clearance, a rear-mount transaxle for balance, three locking diffs, you name it.  The seller says everything works perfectly, and it hasn't been hit by the rust worm yet.  It's been spending it's days since 2003 ferrying guests around a vineyard - an easy life for a tough vehicle!  Snatch this low mileage (25k!)  rare-in-the-states Pinzgauer for sale in Napa, CA for only $15,000.

Someone in an apartment complex near my home had one of these a few years ago; at the time I didn't know enough about them to realize it warranted taking a bunch of pictures and nerding out over.  This is a 1989 Sterling 827SL, which Europeans know as a Rover 800 series, and Americans know as "what the hell are you driving?"  The Sterling 825 and 827 were sold in the US by Austin-Rover between 1987 and 1992, and combined the greasy  mechanical bits of the dead-reliable Acura Legend with everything else from Rover.  Which means the only thing that won't break and be impossible to replace is the engine, transmission, and suspension.  These 2.7L V6's are butter-smooth and solid units, but finding Sterling spares is a bit of a dark art these days.  The seller says this one has been meticulously maintained (he's been driving and restoring Sterlings since '96... I want to meet this guy) and it's had a lot of recent work: valve cover and oil pan gaskets, CV joints, belts, shocks, fuel injectors seals, etc have all been replaced recently.  This one's got 132k on the clock, but with an asking price of $2,500, what else can you drive that would attract so many "what the hell is that?" comments?  Check the auction out here.  I've actually written about the Sterling story on CT before, and that article can be found here.  Now the only thing weirder in this vein would be something like a Merkur Scorpio...

Oh hey, look!  A Merkur Scorpio!  While ARCONA/Austin-Rover managed to foist almost 33,000 Sterlings on the unsuspecting American public between 1987 and 1991, Ford's Merkur brand (which was basically their European Ford import channel) moved only 21,000 or so Scorpios in the US for the two years you could buy them, 1988 and 1989.  The Scorpio was the top-of-the-line trim for the Granada, Ford's of Europe's full-size offering at the time, which was really quite a good car.  Front engine, rear wheel drive with independent suspension at all four corners and a 2.9L Cologne V6 providing power, the Scorpio was sort of like a less douchey BMW E28.  However, with a price tag near $30,000 in 1988, and styling that looked distinctly like the Mercury Topaz or Sable which it shared showroom floor space with, the Scorpio was not what you'd call a big seller here in the states.  I personally have only ever seen one, and it was in a junk yard about 10 years ago.  Now, Scorpio's are thin on the ground, but perhaps you could find a better starting place than this one.  The exterior is rough, the interior is worse, it doesn't run, and the owner sounds like he's 18, out of money, and in way over his head.  Bidding starts at a grand (presumably with no reserve) and the car's available in Redlands, CA now.

Ahh... It's a... Ferrari?  Dual-Ghia?  Jensen?  Nope, this is one you've got to be a real classic sports car nerd to recognize - my eyes widened when I came across this listing.  It's a 1961 Facel-Vega HK500.  The Facel brand was France's answer to Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Jaguar - the cars were immaculately assembled grand tourers.  But instead of a finicky high-strung quad carb V12, the Facels used big Chryler V8's - this one in particular uses Mopar's 383ci wedge-hed V8 with twin 4-barrell Carter carbs, and a 4-speed Pont-a-Mousson manual transmission.  Back in the day, these big Facels were cars of the stars - Stirling Moss used his HK500 to travel to races, Albert Camus died in an HK500, and Pablo Picasso had one.  Oh, and Ringo Star - and Fred Astaire.  Sort of like  Bentley Continental GT today - or really, a Prius, if by that metric.  What price all this French muscle glory?  This HK500 has been up on eBay for a while, with a Buy It Now "Internet Price" of only $159,000.  Check out the listing here.

Quick!  Name a car with three seats, besides a McLaren F1 - ready, set, go.  Drawing a blank?  How about the bizarre mid-engined 3-seat Matra Bagheera S?  The what? This weird little sports coupe was co-designed by Matra and Simca, and used a Simca engine/transaxle flipped around backwards and mounted in the middle, driving the rear wheels.  The 1300cc engine was good for a 12.2s 0-60 and a  top speed of 116mph, comparable to cars of the period like the Alfa GT 1300 Junior and the Opel Manta 1900.  The body on this one's rust free - but then again, it's got polyester body panels.  The major point of concern would be the unsealed steel chassis.  This particular example is a 1979, meaning it likely has the later 1.5L motor, but the ad doesn't specify.  With only around 38k on the clock, this well-preserved Bagheera S has a Buy-It-Now of $11,999.  And more interesting, it's for sale at a private dealership on US-70 in Raleigh, NC!  I might have to go take a gander at this bizarre thing later.

Hey, how about a Morgan Aero8?  This was the car that brought traditionalist Morgan back into the realm of modern manufacturer in the middle of last decade.  It represents a pretty good value; the Buy-It-Now is set at $43,500, which is a fraction of this car's new retail price.  And with only 1,835 miles, it might as well be new.  According to the seller, only about 40 of these modern Morgans were imported to the states back in 2005-2006.  It's a nice combination of classic Morgan traits - the ash frame that supports the body, the drop-side doors, the narrow but extremely well-trimmed cabin, and the prominent front fenders.  However, instead of an old Rover/Buick V8, it uses a modern 32v BMW mated to a BMW 6-speed transmission, meaning it's gorgeous as well as properly quick.  It's got blue leather interior with white piping, dual side-exit exhaust, and a bunch of other goodies.  Check out this low-mileage rare bargain here, for sale at what looks to be a Morgan specialist in Santa Monica, CA.

And let's finish off with a good old Soviet-era Russian car.  This (as you can probably tell from the cheesy watermark) is a GAZ 21 Volga, a 1961 model to be specific.  The listing is a mixture of one picture, almost no details, and text that is a mixture between broken English and faintly veiled hostility.  How could it get any better?  "In Soviet Russia, Cashier's Check is not used to buy Volga."  Whoa!  Chill out.  The listing says it's a 4-cylinder manual with 100,000 miles, in "good condition."  Even sketchier, the location is listed at "Europe, Russian Federation."  Well, ok then!  The Buy-It-Now is set at $14,900 and includes shipping to any major port, although they warn of import duties.  Check out the listing here, and snag this this Russian mail-order bride Volga if you're brave.