On the first day of Gheorghemas
Big Gheorghe gave to me...
Five roadsters you can and should buy right now
FORE! An overdue update on LIV & the PGA Tour
Stories from two three strokes
And much needed hip mo-bili-ty
I'm the car guy here and I haven't written much about them this year, so for Gheorghemas I'm giving you five very cool, very unusual classic or near-classic roadsters that are available right now for less than $25,000. For the uninitiated, roadsters are convertibles with two seats, ideally they are rear wheel drive so you can slide them around. The most enjoyable are often underpowered but very light and nimble so you feel like you're going fast even when you aren't and you can't get yourself into too much trouble (with the law or with trees and houses). I love roadsters and you should too. Hopefully one will strike a chord and you'll buy one and let me drive it. I know the only chord these will strike with Dave will be dissonant, and I eagerly await his screen against cars in a post about books, pickleball, sports injuries, and/or body hair.
There's a joke among car guys that Miata is an acronym for Miata Is Always The Answer, which should be your response to when people say "What car should I get?" Mazda sells it as the Eunos Roadster in Japan which is a little too close to Eunuch Roadster for my taste, and probably why it's a Miata here. There is a very special Eunos Roadster for sale at Japanese Classics in Richmond. Some genius took a 1992 Eunos and made a few go-fast mods, grafted onto it what appears to be the front end of an AC Ace, then remodeled the interior with steampunk flair (including some Heuer stopwatches, looking at you Danimal) and slathered the whole thing in British Racing Green.
Your local Mazda dealer should be able to service it, my 1993 Miata got over 30 MPG as a daily driver and was a total hoot to drive, you won't see another one, the removable hardtop is a sweet perk, and they're asking $22,495 but I'm confident you can do better than that if you try. Good luck finding more smiles per mile, practicality and uniqueness at that price point. It's divine.
Much less practical than the Eunos but similarly green is this 1985 Morgan 4/4 1600 available at Duncan Imports' Christianburg VA location. I've written about Duncan Imports before, and I've written about Morgans many times. I'm not going to pretend that this is a purchase you make with your head--it's all heart--but it has a Ford engine so you can convince yourself that at least part of the car should be easy to service. Just look at this thing though!
It has a hood strap! And a Dog On Board sign! With enough scuffs and dings that you won't worry about getting rock chips when you drive it. Smiles per mile off the charts and you will rule your local Cars and Coffee. They're asking $24,777 but the interior should be reupholstered so use that fact to chisel them down. Seems like Mr. KQ, rob and Marls should go thirdsies on this given their love of fragile British sports cars and relative proximity to it and each other.
I've never heard of this manufacturer before, let alone this model, and that doesn't happen often so you're practically guaranteed to never see another Siata Spring at your local car meet. Like the preceding two cars on my list it's a green two-seat convertible, a formula that always piques my interest, and they're only asking $8,500 for it. The car is located in Hillside, NJ which explains why they photographed it in front of a dumpster. Bring in by my house after you pick it up and we'll go for a spin.
Unfortunately it combines the most awkward aesthetic features of an MG TD and a VW Thing, it has a Fiat engine, the engine is mounted behind the rear axle, and it has no seat belts. But it takes 25 seconds to hit 60 MPH so maybe you won't need seatbelts?
It's in remarkably good shape and I doubt anyone wants it so complain about the rusty underside, offer $5k and see what happens. This might be a great shuttle to and from the beach for our man in the OBX.
Another Italian car? Powered by a Fiat engine? Yes and yes! One of the cleanest Fiat Spyders I've ever seen is currently available at Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, PA. The color combo is divine--Azzurra Blue over tan leather and cherry wood--and the rock guards on the headlights are fantastic.
This car is so nice that as I'm writing this zdaughter came over and said "Ooh, that's a cool car! I like the color. Let me see the inside. Ooh the steering wheel is so cool!" So that's proof this thing is legit because she knows her stuff. The Enkei wheels are too 1998 for my taste but the car is only $16,500 so budget another $1500 for more suitable rims. Leverage that grievance while you're trying to get them down to around $13,000. Most Fiat Spyders were mechanical and electrical basket cases so they wound up abandoned and unloved, you typically see them rotting away in a garage half covered by a tarp or under a tree behind a service station. They are not valuable so no one spends the money to restore them, which means this one was doted on and loved for 40 years.
You may recall that I learned to drive in a 1986 Nissan Sentra. The family stable also included zstepfather's beige 1984 Datsun-Nissan Sentra, a rare and not-at-all-coveted car with dual badging from the crossover year where Datsun rebranded itself. A much much better Datsun is the 1600 convertible. Just look at this magnificent beast--you know I'm a sucker for pastel yellow convertibles, and this one could fit inside Whit's WCSAGD Impala.
Look at that hood scoop! And the chrome scallops around the headlights! And the dog dish hubcaps! It's in Jefferson, GA which is about 30 minutes outside of Athens, so couple the purchase with a trip to a football game or a concert. They're asking $12,000, the ad says "Runs very well" and they're throwing in a new top. And it's a '69. The whole thing drips charm. One of us needs to buy it, probably whoever else drips too.
6. BONUS ROADSTER - 1991 Lotus Elan Turbo
I know Day 5 calls for five things but this is Gheorghemas and it was my understanding that there would be no math. So there are six roadsters today.
There are two versions of the Lotus Elan. The first was made from 1962 to 1975, is rob's WCSAGD, and is considered one of the all-time greatest roadsters, serving as the inspiration for the aforementioned Miata. The second was manufactured from 1989 to 1995 and is also an awesome roadster but was considered heretical by Lotus's tweedy cultists because the powertrain was sourced from Isuzu and, even worse, it's front wheel drive. To those cultists I say "Lighten up Francis."
The 1991 Elan for sale in Springfield, MO is a beaut. Just under 16,000 miles, red over black, it's a study in perfect proportions. It appears to be shrinkwrapped over the wheels--there's practically no overhang. As a result almost all the weight is between the axles, exactly where it ought to be, resulting in what was lauded at the time as the best handling front wheel drive car ever.
It just barely scrapes under our $25k limit at $24,900, but good luck finding another British roadster with modern electronics and a reliable engine in crisp condition at this price point, let alone one that won't fishtail in sloppy weather. Less than 5,000 were made (and only 800 had the turbo engine like this one) and less than 600 were shipped to the US so you probably won't see another one at the Dairy Queen. Parts may be scarce but I suspect the boys in Norwich will take care of you, and you should be able to get the Isuzu bits online.
Now go get a roadster!
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