Beat Worthy: '48 Dodge Custom Coupe

Original, unrestored, and daily driven are my four favorite words. Hopefully the car is as solid as the pictures and seller claim, and it has a rich history. Detroit Craiglist

Beat Worthy: Fairmont Futura 5.0 Coupe

Get ready to terrorize your local drag strip or even your neighborhood with this tattered and vinyl topped 5.0 Fairmont Futura Coupe. Sporting mid-80's IHRA decals, Mustang GT wheels wrapped in Comp T/As, and a carpetless interior, this malaise rocket is ready to be brought back to the strip for some blistering 16 second passes. The front corners of the floors near the kick panels are rusted out but the car looks otherwise solid. Like the Plymouth Savoy featured below, the car - also an abandoned resto - is for sale by a body shop on North Main in Ann Arbor. Supposedly it only needs a battery to be road ready, but who knows how long it's been stagnant. The asking price is $1,000obo but if you look closely on the for sale sign, it was once listed for $600, which seems like a fair price.














For details, contact the body shop at 734-663-5690.

Beat Worthy: 1955 Oldsmobile Rocket 88

Attention rat-rodders: this 1955 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is for sale in Saline, MI for a possibly steep asking price of $6,000. It's got the 324V8 (not 324hp as the sign says...) and the Jetaway Hydra-Matic transmission. Flat black and bondo can make any car look good enough for a quick sale, but this example looks to be fairly solid with the exception of some rot in front of the rear wheels.

The owner can be contacted at 734-645-8960

Beat Worthy: 1976 VW Powered Dune Buggy

Friend of Beaterblog, Karl Buck, is selling this period-perfect 1976 VW based dune buggy in Tecumseh, MI for an asking price of $3,500. The car is in running and driving condition and was used last year as daily transportation when the weather permitted. The engine is fairly fresh and the body work in in pretty decent condition. Now is the time to buy your sand rail or dune buggy for the summer.

Email your editors for contact information.

Beaterblog Marketplace Feature: '56 Plymouth Savoy

Sitting outside a body shop on Ann Arbor's North Main Street is this 1956 Plymouth Savoy, displayed in a typical Detroit Metro area scene.

The mid-level Mopar is being sold through the body shop after the owner decided the restoration was more than he could afford. In talking to the owner, the price had not been fully decided but it around the $1,000 mark. The floors are pinholed and most of the interior is in the trunk, most likely a result of a "how-much-will-this-restoration-cost" investigation by the shop. The car has a 2 speed automatic paired with supposedly running 318 V8 that only needs a starter, radiator, and water pump pulley.


The owner can be contacted at 248-760-2057. Click here for the Google Maps location.

Beat Worthy - 1980 Camaro Z28

Spotted on the side of the road near Clinton,
MI is this very clean and rust-free Camaro still carrying its period graphics. It's a 350/350 car that appears to be mildly worked over, with slightly larger tires in the rear and downturn dump pipes that exit before the rear axle. The asking price is $4,000 judging by one of the signs and $3,500 by the other.


The phone number on the car is 734 - 231 - 4572

Beater Batshit: Chevette Limo

$800 for rough running, sat two years, rough interior Chevette usually deserves "Tell Him He's Dreamin'." But what if this particular Chevette has a three foot stretch? The x-body limo market is pretty sparse so comparing prices is dicey. While the ad seems pretty honest for craigslist it doesn't answer the pressing questions of who or why this Chevy received a unit extension. Where 2x4s and plywood used in the construction? Does "very few made" really mean only one guy made one in his garage?

Detroit Craigslist

Marketplace Feature: Beat Worthy - 1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega

The Cosworth Vega is probably one of the most under appreciated classics on the market today. Had it been a success, maybe the American sports car market would have evolved differently throughout the 70's and 80's.

Beat Worthy: Mazda 323 GTX

By far one of the most special edition piston powered Mazdas is the 323 GTX and an example within a LeMons budget is unheard of. All it needs is a piston and some rocker panels. The GTX floor pan was reinforced over the regular 323, so I assume it takes longer for them to rust away. I can't decide what's a better project; rebuild the motor in it and go, or build a 4wd turbo Mercury Tracer wagon, and then 'camino-ize it.

Detroit Craigslist

Tell Him He's Dreamin': 1982 Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition

Frank Sinatra lent his name to only one car, the J-body Imperial. Resist the temptation to call it a Chrysler, pure luxury cars don't need separate make and model designations. The front end of this example on Flint Craigslist is no longer Glacier Blue Crystal and doesn't match Sinatra's eyes or the rest of the car. The ad doesn't state if the substitution is due to crash damage. Also unstated are the miles and whether the sixteen Sinatra cassette tapes with commemorative case are included. On the other hand, the troublesome fuel injection has been removed potentially making it a reliable driver. Reliable driver J-bodies are worth about one third of his asking price on a good day. Unless you are a die-hard ole blue eyes fan and an FS Imperial will make you the envy of your stitching club, go find yourself a perfect Mirada or Cordoba for thousands less.

Beat Worthy - '79 Malibu Wagon w/ 4 on the Floor!

It's uncommon but not unheard of to find an odd 4-speed Malibu Coupe or El Camino, but to find an original 350 4-speed wagon is a once in a lifetime opportunity! It's a little early 90'sed out with the graphics, wide-stance Cragers, and hood vents, but it's all reversible.

Detroit Craigslist

Beat Worthy - '65 El Camino driver

Of the 23 El Caminos on Raleigh, NC's craigslist, this one looks to be the pick of the litter. It's not often that one of the earlier cars comes up in decent shape for this little money. $3750 isn't beater cheap, but it would make an excellent summer tow and support vehicle for the rest of your fleet that you won't feel bad putting a bit of time and money into. And when is the last time you've seen one with a manual transmission?

Beaterblog Marketplace Feature: Back to the Future Edition

If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious shit.



Heavy.

Think you are up for the challenge of DeLorean ownership? Well this fairly clean example is for sale on Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, only blocks from the Big House. Not surprisingly, the car only has roughly 10,000 miles on it, as it was used mainly for commuting around the Hill Valley metro area and obviously time travel does not directly impact odometer readings. This car has been for sale for quite some time on the roadside, but is now on Craigslist Detoit, listed for $18,200 by a private seller. Drive by Lewis Jewelers in Ann Arbor to take a look.

Crush it with a Monster Truck: CUSTOM Diamante

A custom car is your personal vehicular expression of taste, or your lack thereof. Whether or not you want a Play Station 2, chrome 18" wheels, and indie glow dash lights, when you build your custom dream car it usually a creation only its creator can love. Personally, its hideous and deserves to be put out of its misery. This car has been listed regularly for weeks and will probably linger around a while longer.

Detroit Craigslist

Beat Worthy - 1956 Studebaker President

Although rare, 1956-58 Presidents are worth practically nothing compared to their less conventionally styled contemporaries. These vehicles contain all of the nice Studebaker engineering and design features but lack the trademark Raymond Loewy styling of the Hawk and previous generation President. Buy this one and drive it!

Detroit Craigslist

Beat Worthy: Rambler American

The story is a little odd but a clean, running Rambler for $1200 isn't a bad deal.


Detroit Craigslist

Crush it with a Monster Truck: 1976 Chrysler New Yorker

At barely $2.00 per cubic inch this running, no rust Mopar barge needs a new home. Or at least the big block deserves one. The whole of the ad is lowest-common-denominator craigslist. From the shaky camera phone pictures to lack of important details like mileage or what else is wrong with the car its fortunate the ad has punctuation.

Detroit Craigslist

Cadillac Cimarron

The Cimarron embodies all that ever was rotten at General Motors. Squared off cookie-cutter styling paired with wretched build quality, poor ride and handling, and laughable NVH. Even though this looks like its been reasonably cared for, $1000 is way too much for any 22 year old J-body.

Detroit Craigslist

1979 Ranchero, end of the line

Beater Blog has always had a special place for passenger cars both from the Carter administration and with a cargo bed. This great malaise era automobile is the last of a proud line of Rancheros. The ad is short on details like mileage or what "modified 351" means, but who cares when you've got a chance to pick up a final year Ranchero in such a fine brown color.

1988 Chevrolet Sprint Turbo

Normally I'm not a fan of small GM products, even if they really are Suzukis. However I'm willing to make an exception for turbos, even three cylinder turbos. The ad is straight forward and seems honest for a craigslist ad with all the pertinent details and correct spelling and punctuation. Anyway, what could possibly go wrong with a 200k mile turbo? I'm tempted to offer him $400 just to see how much boost a three cylinders can make with the waste-gate JB welded shut.
Detroit Craigslist

Toyota FJ Landcruiser

These seem to be incredibly rare in metro Detroit and this particular example has seen better days. You'll have to deal with some half-assed body work and there's no title but the price is reasonable and hopefully so is the rust. Detroit Craigslist