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  • 84 month car loans and six figure Mustangs: it’s never been more over

    This is Collector Car TL;DR: a weekly recap of what happened on Collector Car Feed, plus car auctions, listings, automotive news, and other things of interest to the average CCF Enjoyer.

    And you can get it weekly by giving me your email address.

    The Videos

    This past week in Collector Car Feed videos we wrapped up Readers’ Rides, played a game, and began a rice rocket hunt for frequent collaborator Lil Cargo.

    You don’t have to go broke to get off road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee
    This wraps up Readers’ Rides for now, still reading emails sent in Q3 2023. There’s a good mix in here: posers, real ones, Brazilians. Something for everyone.

    Canada is allowing Chinese EV sales. Is the Canadian auto industry goose cooked? (A Game)
    We play Price is Wrong with guest players Lil Cargo and Alan in place of Atlas, who is out ice fishing. Every car shown was built in Canada. It’s kind of shocking how many domestics are built in Canada, or were before the Canadian-Chinese EV Apocalypse of 2026.
    Everybody likes a game. If you’re only watching one, this is it.

    $10,000 doesn’t buy a whole lot anymore on Facebook Marketplace
    Lil Cargo has sung about the 350Z, but has never owned one. We aim to change that in 2026 and begin a Facebook Marketplace hunt with the following constraints: under $10K, can put a big exhaust on it, can put big wheels on it. His requirements, not ours. This search will continue into the following week.

    The News

    More Than 1 in 5 New Car Buyers in the U.S. Are Taking Out Loans of 84 Months or Longer
    If you don’t have an 84 month auto loan, this is a feel good story. Road and Track is letting the auto industry off easy: “The price of goods and commodities has been on a roller coaster ride ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, and as all of us know by now, the automotive industry has been far from immune to such fluctuations.”
    It has been six years since Covid. Please come up with a new excuse.

    Audi Quietly Ends A8 Orders In Germany, Signaling The Sedan’s Demise
    The A8 is dead, but Audi is “leaving the door open” for a “possible successor”. Better be a big door, because you know it’s going to be an SUV.

    Jeremy Clarkson defiantly hits back at criticism of The Grand Tour replacements as he makes plea to fans over new trio
    The big takeaway here, for me at least, is that they’re bringing back Grand Tour with new hosts. Apparently this has been known for months. In this article, Clarkson says they’re “bloody funny” and so on. The six episode season comes out sometime in 2026.

    Acura Will Sell Its First Model Ever In Japan
    The title is not the interesting part of the story, which is weird. Honda is going to import American-made cars to sell in Japan in the second half of 2026. They’re bringing over the Integra and Passport Elite. Good luck shilling that underpowered, overpriced, rebadged hunk of shit at home.

    The Cars

    14-Mile 2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Coupe 10th Anniversary Edition
    This Terminator sold for $175,067. Not a typo, not a moved decimal. If you ever wanted an 03-04 Cobra, well… you can’t afford it anymore. It’s over.
    Obviously this is an extreme example, and to be very real, it’s been over for a while now. The Terminator has been a true neoclassic collector car nearly since its inception. These were never cheap. Equivalent F bodies have always been a more sensible purchase. But this locks it in: the Terminator is off limits to enthusiasts. It’s a showroom and museum piece now.

    45k-Mile 2006 Subaru Baja Turbo
    The value of an automatic Subaru Baja Turbo is often debated on Collector Car Feed, but rarely is it demonstrated on BaT. This one sold for $15,500, and while the miles are low, the whole car has been resprayed (that’s bad). It makes one wonder what an all-original stick shift turbo might sell for. We’ll keep an eye out.

    Ongoing Auctions

    2013 Ford Focus ST
    Lightly modded, 120K on the clock, but at time of writing it’s sitting at $6600 with a day left, and there are no accidents on record. There’s a lot of good here.

    2000 Lexus ES 300
    You’re about to see demonstrated the power of grave robbing. This is an unremarkable Lexus sedan with 44,000 miles on the clock being sold out of Florida. The ES 300 is very much just a dressed up V6 Toyota Camry; for that reason expect this to sell for over ten grand.
    You could make a decent living off Florida estate sale cars like this one.

    2002 BMW M3 Coupe
    I just like Phoenix Yellow. This is a $40K+ car. Does it feel like the E46 M3 never dipped?

    Final Thoughts

    In a recent video, I promised to give away a choice piece of automotive memorabilia: a 2009 Super Street calendar. The days from 2009 line up with 2026, so you can use it this year! It’s actually two calendars in one: one side is all cars, and one side is all HOT BABES. You can flip it over if your mom’s coming up the stairs.
    Want to win it? Scroll up and sign up for the weekly email newsletter. I gave this one away already, but I have a couple more.

    See you Soon.
    -Feed

  • Craigslist Treasure: 2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX Sport

    Panther perfection. Source: Craigslist

    The Crown Victoria is without a doubt iconic. First introduced in 1980 and ultimately killed off in 2012 at the ripe age of 32, The Crown Vic served as Ford’s rear wheel drive v8-powered sedan as long as many of the staff here at The Feed can remember. The Crown Victoria rose to fame with its most notable Police Interceptor (P71) package, which accounted for almost 90% of the panther platform production after 2008. It was the vehicle of choice for numerous state and federal municipal departments, making its grille and headlights the most recognizable front end ever produced: see one of these in your rearview, and you’ll still probably check your speedometer involuntarily.

    No Officer, I don’t know why you stopped me.

    Today’s Found on the Feed is a 2002 LX Sport, the most loaded civilian trim package you could get for a Crown Vic, and the most aggressive, save the P71. The LX Sport featured stock 17″ wheels, Monochrome exterior (no chrome), dual exhaust, rear airbag suspension, leather bucket seats with a center console and floor shifter, and more aggressive differential gearing. The seller of this vehicle claims the previous owner changed the grille to the P71 Interceptor style, but includes the original in the sale. Notably, the headlights also seem to be interceptor style or marauder lights.

    Like riding on a cloud.

    The seller claims that this example has never “been tampered, just pampered” and garaged its entire life. The pictures, while they lack in quality, do show a car that has been meticulously maintained and shows signs of regular wear for 18 years. This example has a touch under 90,000 miles on the odometer and the seller is only asking $4750. One Feed editor could be heard yelling “God damn that’s a great deal” when this article was drafted; later on, flights to Atlanta were priced out. So act fast unless you want to read an upcoming Understeer article on this beauty.

  • Rice of Life: A Young Man’s Journey of Identity

    Source: CarDomain

    I remember going to AutoZone on three separate occasions to look at washer fluid nozzle lights. Lots of things were brewing inside me, deep paradoxes and truths. Fantasy colliding with reality. My identity trying to claw itself away from my family of origin. My desire and temperance, form and function, all of these tensions and many more lived in those green-tinted washer nozzle lights.

    Source: author

    My 1994 Toyota 5-speed 4-cylinder extended-cab pickup truck wasn’t appreciated for what it was in those years; it was seen only through the lens of what it couldn’t be. Only one company made a header for it, the air intake would need to be a Home Depot affair, and my muffler options were limited. While weighing my options at the local v8 speed shop, they told me “you put this on, and it’s gonna sound like a lawnmower”. As a 16-year-old, my finances were as hampered as my mechanical knowledge, but I couldn’t fight what was in me.

    I have always wanted to turn wrenches, despite going to a private school and my father being a white-collar guy. My adolescence occurred during a period where knowledge and know-how had to be passionately sought and not casually gathered from behind a phone screen. My father, while not mechanically inclined, used the networking strengths he did have to find talented shade tree mechanics scattered throughout our town. They could fix anything and everything in exchange for cash money. A cornucopia of bleary-eyed rednecks who had the ability to install a starter on a Buick Regal while never taking a lit cigarette out of their mouth, or friendly Hispanics who shook your hand with palms of rough-hewn granite. I never wanted to miss a trip to meet one of his latest connections.

    Those missions to get one of the family cars repaired were like stepping into the pages of one of my favorite fantasy books. Leaving the pristine hallways of my private school, driving to an area of town I didn’t know existed. Stepping onto a shop with a floor so dirty you could feel the filth through your penny loafers. Seeing these men drinking cheap beers and smoking. That, to me, felt like they were so comfortable in their own skin, so themselves. A dream I never vocalized but always had was to come to a place like that every day after school and clean their floors, collect their empties and maybe learn something about who the hell I was. I wanted to tap the resources of these mysterious men my father knew, But he wouldn’t open up his little black book of mechanical geniuses for anything other than fixing or preventive maintenance.

    And so when I was of driving age, modifications were silly, and silently discouraged, but not outright banned. This left me with a matrix of trying to meet the needs of my wrenching desire with limited finances and a pittance of ability or confidence. Hungry for mods, I pored over catalogs, back pages of magazines, and dialed up the internet; the matrix relentlessly eliminated my options. I cruised the chrome and neon-washed aftermarket part aisles of Wal-Marts and auto parts stores, until I found myself studying the back packaging of washer fluid nozzle lights.
    What hourly parts store clerk could have fathomed the storm inside of me? Could I even install them? What would they look like? Would my friends mock me? Would these somehow make women like me?

    Source: Geo Metro Forums

    Luckily my heart won out over my mind that afternoon and the lights were purchased for $22.77. I rocketed across town, and with the help of a peer more confident than me, we wired them up and turned them on. I was too scared to actually cut wires or pull the old nozzles out. However, I enjoyed leaning over the hood of my truck and making this small change to it: I was making my mark.
    It’s only through the lens of time that I have realized the deeper truth of those ricey hood lights. They were one of the first authentic steps towards a part of me that was truly me. They didn’t fit my family, my religion and definitely not my stuffy private school. It was a moment of me, answering the call of myself.

    So while my tastes have changed, my resources have increased and my knowledge has deepened, I always hold my tongue when a young man shows me an air raid intake or an eBay muffler. Some could say he is ruining his car, but I always wonder if he’s trying to answer one of life’s hardest questions: Who the hell am I?

  • Found on the Feed: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT

    Projector headlights in a 2008. Neat.

    Today’s Found on the Feed is one of the best V8 and Rear-wheel drive sedans of the modern era. The Pontiac G8 was a direct import from Australia where it was built as the Holden Commodore and sold by GM under the Pontiac Brand in 2008 & 2009. Later to be replaced by the Chevrolet Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) and it’s civilian version, the Chevrolet SS. The Pontiac G8 stands the test of time with its LS3 because its rated north of 350 HP mated to a 6 speed automatic (the 6L80 for you gearheads). Both make it very comparable to modern sedans.

    This example is fitted with Chevy SS wheels

    The G8 GT in today’s example is the top trim level for 2008, The GT. In 2009 GM would release the G8 GXP, which would be the top trim. This particular example seems to have some basic modifications that all LS3’s usually ended up with; exhaust and intake. This example should still make for a great highway cruiser and real bruiser on test and tune night with a few more key mods.

    Check out those tips.

    The seller is asking $4800 for the car, which has 140K miles on the odometer. Assuming this car has no lights on in the dash and it drives decent, I’d say that’s not a bad price for what could be a reliable daily driver that could put a smile on a drab commute. With the included creature comforts of heated seats and an 11 speaker premium audio system, this is one fine automobile.

  • Celsior Project: Adventures With “The Most Reliable Car Ever Built”, Part Two

    My freshly imported 1991 Toyota Celsior

    TOP TEXT
    My previous post got a few questions regarding the cost breakdown of the importing process. Some of you wanted to know if importing a Toyota Celsior is more cost effective than buying a low mileage Lexus LS400 stateside, so I’ll try and keep a running total of what this endeavor has cost.
    Just running some quick numbers in my head, I can already tell the final result is going to depress me, but we car guys don’t do it for the money, we do it because we love cars…right? G-guys?
    First and foremost is the cost of getting the vehicle to the United States: Galveston, TX to be specific. I won the car at auction for roughly $2,300, and shipping/auction fees/taxes totaled to an additional $3,100, bringing the total to roughly $5,400. After it arrived in Texas, I paid a broker $900 and that took care of US import taxes, as well as shipping the car from Galveston to El Paso. If you are interested in importing yourself, this is where money can easily be saved. Add in another roughly $500 for Texas registration/taxes/inspection, and $170 for tune up parts, my cost at that point was about $6,970. That number would soon change.

    Where we last left off, I was recovering from a tune-up gone awry (admittedly, by my own hand). I was now happily LARPing as a 1990s Japanese salaryman (サラリーマン), driving to and from work in my imported, right hand drive executive sedan.  Winter had now set in, and the heater worked just as well as the air conditioning, thankfully, although my Celsior does, unfortunately, lack seat heaters. 
    The arrival of cold weather brought with it an issue that I still have not resolved: on very cold mornings, my ABS and traction control lights illuminate.  I haven’t really delved into this one, because the issue is fairly intermittent, and when it does occur, turning the car off and on again fixes it.  I would say it’s a quirk, but Doug ruined that word for all of us.  Will I have to address it in the future?  I don’t know.  Probably not.  I hope not.  Please no, please.

    Winter in El Paso can get pretty cold, but it’s usually mild.  In the tail end of winter it’s basically nice, sunny days, and it was during this time last year that I decided to turn on the A/C during my drive home. 
    When I pulled into my driveway, I got out of the car to open my garage using the keypad, as I lost my remote opener the moment I bought my house.  As I stepped out, I noticed a noise.  It was a fast, metallic rattle, and let me tell you, it didn’t sound nice.  With the wind taken from my sails, I popped the long hood that kept my 1UZ-FE sheltered from the elements.  I poked around for a minute, and after discovering the sound changed with engine speed, I was a little less sad after narrowing it down to my A/C compressor.  I returned the driver’s seat, and sure enough, the A/C button on my dash now acted as an on/off switch for a godawful racket.  Losing the garage door opener was now a strategic effort on my part, as I would never have heard the compressor rattle inside my plush cocoon of velour, metal, and glass.  The Celsior insulated me from its shame.

    Now, when I did the tune-up, I had made a note of the location of the A/C compressor, and how it seemed like a bitch.  That mental note was now brought front and center, as I ordered a new compressor, drier, and expansion valve from Rock Auto and weighed my options.  I know I said I usually tackle most jobs, but after a quick cost/benefit analysis, I decided to leave this one to a local mechanic that I do my inspections with.  The vehicle was also still filled with R-12 refrigerant, and I didn’t want to be the person to vent that shit to atmosphere. 
    This shop is usually very busy, and I told them the job was no rush, as I have other cars I could drive.  They were very liberal with this statement, and about a month later I was called to pick up my R-134a converted, new compressor Celsior.  During the wait time, like a good caretaker, I was thinking ahead to the next maintenance that needed to be done, and the timing belt was at the top.  I had already ordered the timing kit, water pump, and serpentine belt, and told the mechanic after I paid that the timing belt would be next (is this what they call foreshadowing?) and got a quote, and told them I would bring the car back next month.  I took a happy trip home with cold A/C, and parked the Celsior in my driveway, ready to relive my salaryman fantasy the next morning. 

    Trinkets and good luck from the motherland

    The next day as I left for work, I appreciated once more how smooth and comfortable the Celsior’s ride was compared to my Land Cruiser, which I’d been commuting in for the past month. The difference was night and day.  It was a rather warm morning, and I went to turn the A/C on, but was disappointed to discover it not cooling as well as the day before. To add insult to injury, the passenger side vents were much cooler than the driver’s.  I surmised there must be a refrigerant leak: no big deal, I’ll stop by the mechanic shop on the way home.  I depressed the accelerator deep into the carpet and the Celsior happily, and oh, so smoothly, sped up the mountain pass I take to work.  At the top of the pass, I felt a hiccup.  Small, so small I wondered if it was my imagination.  No way.  No, I didn’t feel anything, I’m being paranoid…right? 

  • Found on the Feed: 1990 Mazda Miata

    The Mazda Miata is the best sports car of all time. This is almost universally known by enthusiasts. But for the uninformed, here are some quick facts for you: When the NA (first generation) was introduced to North America, it had a 50/50 weight distribution. It was also very affordable allowing the vehicle to catch on like wildfire as the amateur racers choice and the weekender’s toy.

    All Original

    The Miata came with a 1.6L I4. Which would be replaced in later generations with a 1.8L. It could be had with either an automatic or manual 5 speed, like today’s example. Typically, these motors were pretty reliable with the timing belt seeming to be the only major part that needs service. The seller notes that this example has had its timing belt replaced already. However, this roadster is noticeably unmodified otherwise.

    Freshly Detailed

    The ad for the vehicle states that this is a one-owner car that has been garaged in the winter, which wouldn’t be hard to verify in person. However, it is tough to discern with the pictures provided. This vehicle also has the optional Daisy wheels and newer radials. I don’t think the $5800 asking price is worth the one owner, optional wheels it claims. With the mileage over 109k, under $5000 seems to be more reasonable. Why not check the Mazda section of today’s Feed and find your own?

  • Building an Off-Road Rig: A Beginner’s Guide, Part One

    From lifted jeeps to pre-runner minitrucks, from SEMA-spec mall crawlers to home-built truggies, to the extensive aftermarket for trucks and (especially) Jeeps: the world of off-road has never been bigger or more confusing. I’ve been in the off-road community since the internet was in the model-specific forum days, and the time has never been better (or for you or your wallet) to get out to your local ORV park and begin your own adventure.
    In this article and the following series, I’m going to walk you through the process of which questions to ask yourself, and provide advice on which direction to take your build.

    Whether you are building it yourself or having someone do the work for you, there are a few questions you will need to ask yourself before deciding on any vehicle.
    The first, and most important question: what kind of fun do I want to have? The off-road spectrum is wide and contains things like Baja 1000-style pre-running to Ultra-4 Truggy rock crawling. On a more sensible and practical scale, these are two main categories I’d like to focus on in the beginning: pre-running and rock crawling.

    Now before we jump right into it, there’s something I’m specifically not going to talk about: Cost. Any project car will cost you something. It’s probably cheaper and more fun to just buy a Brazzer’s subscription than to buy a project car, but for the sake of this article, we’re gonna leave cost out of it and you can fit it to your budget.

    Pre-Running

    Photo coursey of Larry Chen

    So you wanna go fast? And jump things? And jump things fast? Then a pre-runner build might be for you. Pre-running is historically the designation given to vehicles that take to a racecourse prior to the race to spot and re-route the course around any danger that could be encountered. Often these vehicles have to be light, robust, built with parts that can easily be found for repairs and be able to carry plenty of supplies.

    Source: OffRoad Xtreme

    Pre-runners typically have some sort of independent front suspension or I-beam front suspension, allowing the springs to have a massive amount of travel, providing better on-road performance. Typically, the I beam suspension is considered the stronger option as it is able to handle the repeated blows the suspension takes when landing a jump.

    Rock Crawling

    Like to go slow? Climb over things? Climb over things slowly? Then a Rock crawler might be for you. Typically, most home-built and entry-level rigs will do this well. The history of Rock crawling is a bit difficult to piece together. It seems to have always been there as something to do with your truck. In a more professional sense, Ultra 4 and things like the Easter Safari (Jeep’s major MOAB trip) fall into this category, which is a great jumping-off point for off-roading as a hobby. Mostly, vehicles with sheet metal bodies (as opposed to fiberglass bodies of most pre-runners) are preferred as they take a walloping.

    Source: The Engine Block

    Most rock crawling rigs will have a solid axle front suspension and there are plenty of vehicles out there that came with one from the factory (some of them aren’t even jeeps). However, a common theme among rock crawlers is taking a Dana front solid axle, either in the 30, 44, or the coveted 60 series and swapping it into your own vehicle. Additionally, you can have it in either leaf spring or coilover configuration, both offering their own sets of pros and cons.

    Over the next few articles, I’ll take a more in-depth look at each of these platforms, recommend some suggested vehicles to start with (that can all be found here, on The Feed) and point out some of the vital things you need in order to choose, build and enjoy your own off-road vehicle.

  • Found on the Feed: 2003 BMW (E46) M3

    Picture this: It’s 2005 and you just got home from School. You just picked up your copy of the newly released video game: Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Adorning its cover is the iconic white and blue E46 M3 GTR that was the pinnacle car in the story of the game. Today’s Found on the Feed can help you relive those dreams and bring you back the thrills of those childhood afternoons that you spent daydreaming of owning your own M3.

    Everything’s there.

    BMW has been making M cars longer than most of us here at the feed have been alive and it’s one thing they do well. Many other OEM’s benchmark the M3 as the two-door performance sedan to beat. On paper, that’s no easy feat. M3s have an S54 with ITBS (Individual Throttle bodies) that put out a capable 338hp mated to either a manual or automatic five-speed.

    Those three Colors mean business.

    Today’s example looks to be almost time-capsule status. With only 49K miles on the odometer, that’s practically only driving it to church on Sunday’s for 15 years. Furthermore, you can see that the interior is quite clean and the M specific wheels still have that shine. The seller mentions the car has always been maintained at a specialty BMW shop. They also mention that the car is 100% stock.

    Loaded and Leather. (Title of your sex tape)

    Overall at $19975, You can chalk this one up to BMW’s holding their value well. There are cheaper alternatives out there if you have to be in an M3. I doubt you will find a cheaper alternative with as little modifications as this. At the end of the day, nobody will have a bad time in an M3, even if the car is 17 years old. Maybe then, only for a second, can you relive the moment you win your car back from Razor.

    Want to find your own? Collector Car Feed publishes daily lists of interesting cars for sale, including plenty of BMWs just like this one.

    1997 M3 Sedan 5 Speed
    115000 miles
    $10000         		2001 M3 2Dr Coupe 6speed 98k Original Miles
    98237 miles
    $8250         		2002 M3 Coupe 2D
    41000 miles
    $24000

    Editors note: I know the NFS: MW car was an M3 GTR. however, they only ever made 10 GTRs

  • Found on The Feed: 1984 Pontiac Fiero 4×4

    What do you get when you cross an 80s mid engine sports car with a K5 Blazer?
    A car the previous owner bought as a joke: “One of our clients who has way more money than he needs… bought this car to cruise the strip in Las Vegas. …our client has a wife who for some reason did not think the car was as funny as he did.”

    Note the side pipe location source: eBay

    Topped off with some Ferrari 348-inspired graphics, this Fiero is ready to score boomer points at Cars and Coffee or mildly amuse, for the first five minutes or so, any onlookers at the local dunes.

    source: eBay

    The “Fierrari” is front engine, powered by a small block Chevy 350 v8. Unfortunately there are no pictures of the engine bay or trunk.
    This auction is live on eBay at the time of writing; the current price is $3950 with three days to go. If you’ve been looking for a creative way to piss off your wife, this lifted Fiero is a tried and true method.

    source: eBay

    Be sure to check out all of The Feed’s newest daily listings. We list hundreds of interesting cars daily!

  • Found on the Feed: 1993 Nissan Maxima GXE

    Yes, this is the best picture of the car in the ad

    The Maxima is Nissan’s mid-size car that started life as the Datsun 810, and while it might not invoke the feelings of driving passion or speed, it’s actually quite the nimble family carrier and can be equipped with a fairly potent V6. The sheer amount of Maximas produced ensures that parts will be plentiful for years to come, and making a sleeper out of one isn’t to tall an order.

    The 4DSC decal that proclaims that this, in fact, is a 4-Door Sports Car

    This 1993 Maxima GXE may not have the venerable VQ35DE that graces the engine bay of it’s better equipped younger siblings, but what it lacks in oomph, it makes up for in chutzpah. In 1989, Nissan redesigned the Maxima and set out to create sporty sedan, and they were so proud of the result that they emblazoned the rear windows of the 1989-1994 Maximas with the 4DSC moniker, which stood for 4-Door Sports Car. The SE models received a DOHC 3.0L (VG30DE) that was good for 190hp, while the lower trim like this GXE made due with a SOHC 3.0L (VG30E) making 160hp, still not bad for the early 90s.

    Minimal number of farts in driver’s seat, an often overlooked metric

    One thing to take away from this ad is that it’s almost a lesson on how NOT to sell a car. The pictures are terrible, and very little effort overall has been put into the description. “Still has the owners manual :)”, gee thanks Karen. However, this ad is also a great example of how to score a diamond in the rough, because this car is low miles and appears to be in great condition, inside and out. The paint still has gloss, and the close up of the roof shows superficial scratches that a weekend and a buffer will easily remedy. It’s very low miles for the age, and would make a unique daily driver for somebody looking for some ’90s nostalgia in their life.

    Shit’ll buff out

    The asking price of $5,000 is, admittedly, a little on the high side, but that’s what negotiations are for. People aren’t exactly breaking down doors for early Maximas; coupled with the effort put into the for sale ad, that’s a recipe for $1-1.5k off that asking price. I just wish I lived closer to Kentucky.

  • Found on the Feed: 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four

    The Toyota Celica is unquestionably a rare car. During the height of the JDM influence in the American market, this often-overlooked model had quite a few desirable performance variants. North America saw a few trim levels of the Celica on our shores, most notably the All-Trac, (Fifth generation) GT (Sixth Generation) and GTS (Seventh Generation) but quite a few more were overseas only. While today’s example never arrived officially, It has been imported legally.

    uniquely JDM

    The listing for this example claims to be (and checks out to be) very rare. With original Tri-Spoke wheels, only 62k Miles, this was not only a rare find in Japan but a very solid import into America. The GT-Four featured the 3S-GTE engine, which is shared with the MR2 Turbo of its time, it’s a proven solid drivetrain that can be built into an in JDM legend or used as a reliable showpiece.

    Mostly Orginal, Untouched goodness.

    As with any build, it’s nice to start with a generally unmodified platform. The listing states this car has very minimal, yet tasteful (above pictured Strut Tower Bar) aftermarket parts. I’d make the exception here though, with the GT-Four being such a rare vehicle that its value should only increase as we see the wave of JDM imports hitting American shores. That being said, the importer is asking $17,995 for this Celica GT-Four. It’s a tall price to pay for a unique JDM legend, but this piece of history is sure to stand out at any Radwood you plan to visit.

  • Found on the Feed: 1999 Honda Prelude

    The Honda Prelude is an often overlooked JDM classic. Available worldwide in a variety of trims, the Prelude could be configured a plethora of ways with either an F22 or the more sought after H22. These motors were similar to the coveted K series but more affordable and easily built. The Prelude is often a unique foray into the JDM market, instead of the all too common Honda Civic.

    Looking relatively clean and stock.

    This 2001 Honda Prelude example appears to be perfect for your first foray into building a streetable JDM classic. Particularly clean as the below picture shows, this body has 176k miles with a replacement clutch. while initially, that seems to be a lot of miles, this car is rife with Ebay Build potential. The H22 Motor that comes with this example is a great first motor to work on, as things tend to be a bit more simple.

    Just as clean on the inside.

    Overall, this is still a Honda and it will be a very reliable car even without the motor work. However I believe any expert will agree, you should always start your build with a stock, clean example so you know what you’re getting into. With this vehicle being a California car, you can rest assured that rust won’t be the biggest issue you will run into during your build. With a price of $4000, you’d have to wheel and deal a bit to make this a great deal.

  • Importing a Toyota Celsior: My Adventures With “The Most Reliable Car Ever Built”, Part One

    TOP TEXT

    About a year and a half ago, I imported a 1991 Toyota Celsior Spec C from Japan.  I had been looking for a nice LS400 for a while, and given the prices that good low mileage examples were commanding, I decided my money would be better spent importing one, since Japanese imports are generally better maintained and taken care of when compared to their American equivalents.  I also wanted to try my hand at importing, and figured I would start with a less expensive car in case I just completely fucked up the import process and ended up getting the car crushed.  So began my adventure with “the most reliable car ever built”.

    Auction photo in native Japan

    The day the truck delivered the Celsior to my house, I was ecstatic.  Months of looking for the right car, bidding, and patiently waiting for a cargo ship from the land of the rising sun was now over. For under $6,000 American, I had an auction grade 4, Black Jade Metallic, 130,000 km Celsior sitting in my driveway. 
    Like nearly every imported vehicle, the Celsior arrived with a dead battery.  I left it trickle charging overnight, and was rewarded with a battery that held charge and did not need replacement.  After a few cranks, the Celsior sprang to life and I took it for its first drive around the block.  I fell in love with the smooth, quiet ride, and overall comfort I felt driving it, as well as the relatively unobstructed greenhouse that you simply can’t find in modern vehicles.  The justification to my wife (“Oh, I’ll just import this one to see if I can do it and sell it for a slight profit”) quickly left my memory (but not hers) as I happily envisioned my new, cool daily driver shuttling me to and from work.

    Isn’t it beautiful?

    I made note of the things I wanted to get done, namely a tune up and oil change, and also noted that although the tires looked great and had plenty of tread, their DOT date showed they had been manufactured in 2006. 
    After a relatively simple registration process, I now had a title and a license plate for my RHD beauty, and a newly arrived package from RockAuto containing a few oil filters, air filter, spark plugs, wires, distributor caps (yes, caps), and rotors (yes, rotors).  I enjoy working on cars, and will usually tackle most jobs myself, so doing the tune-up myself was a no-brainer.  It saves money and would allow me to “get to know” the car; she needed to be shown that I care. 

    The most reliable powerplant in history: the 1UZ-FE v8

    The tune-up, honestly, turned into kind of a bitch.  I had to remove quite a few panels and covers to get access to everything, but it eventually got done, and I had a clear conscience knowing I had been a good boy and had done the preventative maintenance the car needed.
    I went to take it for a test drive; the car was struggling to stay on, and was just running like garbage.  Feeling defeated, I opened the hood and noticed a huge vacuum hose that I had forgotten to plug back into the intake.  I was elated when the car returned to normal the moment I put the hose back on, and was again happy with my hard work. 
    The car ran great for about a day, then started misfiring horribly shortly after I again left my house. I turned around and limped it home, defeated once again, thinking there was no way this fix was going to be as easy as me forgetting a vacuum hose.  After about 15 minutes of diagnosis, I discovered that the left side coil pack wire was damaged and arcing straight to the block.  The depression quickly left my body, and after digging an old coil wire out of the trash can, the car was humming once again.  I got a warranty replacement wire from Denso and all was right again in the world…  until I put the spark plug cover on the car a couple of weeks later and discovered the issue was, once again, caused by me.  There is a spot on the spark plug cover that has a notch for the coil wire, and I didn’t notice that, causing the wire to become pinched and damaged by the cover, thereby causing the arc.  I wasn’t going to bother Denso again and ended up running the extra, longer coil wire that was included in the kit, which was meant for the later model LS400.

    Hole in coil wire

    Now, as you are reading this, I know what you’re thinking: “this shit isn’t the car’s fault, this dude is just dumb and he’s blaming the car for his fuck-ups.”  And yes, I agree.  None of this stuff was the car’s fault, but I have to preface the story with this because in my wife’s mind, all of this is me fixing a broken car, and that made what comes later annoy her even more.  While my wife is a hater, I really do like the Celsior, I promise. More on the import process and total expenses next week.

    Don’t mind the reflection, we’ll talk about that another time.

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  • Look at this: 2003 Ford SVT F150 Lightning

    The second generation of the Ford F150 Lightning was arguably one of the best. With the (new for) 1997 body, Ford reintroduced the Ford Lightning variant. Like the original Lightning, the second generation featured an Eaton supercharger on top of the 5.4l V8 that was shared with the regular F150 lineup. Additionally, Lightning’s featured a unique front and rear bumper, as well as suspension components to lower the truck.

    Like a true performance vehicle, the interior was very basic.

    Today’s example, a 2003 SVT F150 Lightning was nearly one of the last model years for the truck. This one specifically features a Kenne Bell kit in replacement of the original Eaton. The wheels are the standard OEM while the bumper is aftermarket. The seller states within the listing that he will provide the original parts with the truck.

    The aforementioned Kenne Bell.

    Overall, This is a little pricey at $16,900 for this low(er) mileage example. With 87000 miles on the truck, it seems to be in pretty good condition from the included pictures. As the overall truck market expands and inevitably we see a return to more performance-based trucks as enthusiast cars disappear, this could be a great future buy.