Welcome back! Today we’re going back to cars that look like cars, with a couple of cheap and fairly easy projects. I won’t apologize for yesterday’s madness; you know what they say about a little nonsense now and then. It’s probably a foregone conclusion, but let’s see what you picked:
I’m not shocked: it’s the Monkey. That Ranger is good for parts, or continuing on with the experiments begun by the seller, but it will never be a truck again. The Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Honda is ready to go, even if it is a little bit overpriced.
Today’s choices can’t be called overpriced; the asking price for each of them is only a grand. There’s more to spend, however, as both have been sitting for a while, and will need a little money and time poured into them before they’re ready to rock. But they’re not far off, really. Let’s check them out.
1966 Dodge Coronet – $1,000
Engine/drivetrain: 318 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? “Ran a few years ago”
Yes, it’s another big slab-sided Mopar. I make no apologies; I love these things, and therefore you must at least tolerate them from time to time. This time it’s Dodge’s version, the Coronet (meaning small crown, not to be confused with “cornet,” meaning small trumpet), in basic four-door sedan form. It’s powered by Chrysler’s “poly” 318 V8 and the ubiquitous Torqueflite automatic transmission.
This car doesn’t currently run, but the seller says it was running fairly recently, and the underhood photo is encouraging. The intake, carb, distributor, alternator, and radiator all look new, and maybe the water pump as well. My guess is that they put some money into getting the car running, then life got in the way and it got parked again. It happens. But with all those shiny parts already nestled in their new homes, it shouldn’t be too hard to follow David’s new number-one project car rule: Get it running, get it on the road, and then work on the rest of it.
And the rest of it, honestly, is pretty encouraging. The body is straight, and impressively rust-free for Minnesota. The side trim is off, but I bet it’s all in the “boxes of parts” that are included. Obviously the interior needs some work, but carpet is easy, and junkyard seats aren’t hard to come by. Save the original bench to reupholster later if you want.
This looks like one of those cars that you could revive, then tinker with a little at a time, showing off your latest handiwork to the folks at cruise nights and Cars & Coffee each time you get a little more done. And in the meantime, you get a comfy old V8 sedan to rumble around in.
1992 Saab 9000CD Turbo – $1,000
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.3 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Brooklet, GA
Odometer reading: 162,000 miles
Runs/drives? Nope; parked 4 years ago
But maybe V8 rumble isn’t your thing, and if not, what the hell is wrong with you? Just kidding; I’ve got you covered. Here we have one of Saab’s lesser-known hits, the 9000CD sedan. The 9000 was an exercise in platform-sharing with Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo, which each produced their own versions of this car. In the grand Swedish tradition of safety, the 9000 features a stronger structure for better crash protection and is therefore heavier than its wispier Italian cousins.
This 9000 has a way of dealing with the extra heft: a turbocharger. This added fifty horsepower to the Saab’s four-cylinder engine. This one sends that power to the front wheels through a ZF four-speed automatic instead of a manual, but hey, you can’t have everything.
This Saab has been sitting for four years, due to the owner’s illness. Apparently things aren’t going to improve, so they’re selling the car instead of letting it sit any longer. It ran and drove well when parked, and from the photos it looks like they got it started again, but four years is a long time. The fuel has gone bad, the brakes are likely rusty (and possibly even frozen), and it almost certainly needs a new battery. The seller notes that the tires were new when it was parked, but look dry-rotted now, so they should probably be replaced as well.
This Saab also has a pretty serious aftermarket stereo in it. Whether it actually sounds good is a matter of personal taste, I suppose; I can’t stand really heavy bass in a car, so that giant subwoofer box doesn’t look like my cup of tea at all. But it’s a cheap enough price of entry that you could justify spending a little to make it your own.
Cars don’t like sitting; I can tell you that from first-hand experience. My MGB sat for decades before being rudely awakened by the person I bought it from, and I ended up replacing a lot of parts to make it run reliably again. But these two haven’t been idle for that long, and both look like they were cared for before being put away, so reviving either one shouldn’t be too much of a chore. But the time to do it is now, before the forces of entropy take hold. So which will it be – the American tank, or the turbo Swede?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
That SAAB looks like crap. I had this Dodge’s twin except it was a 2 door. Such a piece of shit. But something my ignorant 17 year old self could wrench on at the time.
So go with the devil you know.
The SAAB looks like a generic 90s sedan. The Dodge looks like a generic 60s sedan.
If I’m gonna have to get the dang thing running, I guess I’m going for 60s.
does anyone even want a 9000 without a drop top? Eh, I am not interested in the Coronet with 4 doors and a 318. I do feel like the parts are worth something if parted out though I suppose, still I think I can clean the Saab Fuel system and sell the wheels and stereo system for more than I have into it in the end. Plenty of Boi racers out there still looking for that junk.
9000s were never offered in a convertible; you’re thinking of the 900 (which is gorgeous as a drop top). The 9000s were offered as a hatch, and, more rarely, sedans.
I didn’t know the 9000 came in a notch back form, I’m used to it having the long sloping rear roofline, so it is instantly interesting to me, like seeing a notch back AE86
I take no pleasure in voting against a Saab, but the wheels and the stereo are cause for trepidation.
The Coronet, meanwhile, would be a fair deal in the Southwest and would seem to be an absolute steal in Minneapolis, as long as a magnet along the rockers and a screwdriver to the floorboards don’t reveal anything catastrophic.
If they were both stock, I’d go for the 9000, but the Dodge feels like a better bet today – again, pending an inspection to make sure the body’s what it appears to be.
Edit: Man, though, I’d really want to try to save that Saab if it was a manual and/or a five-door. I hope it finds another loving home, even if that home doubles down on the modifications – better weirdly-corrupted-but-loved than junked, after all.
Either is a solid choice for a grand, but I’m just more of a Detroit V8 kind of guy, so the Dodge it is.
Give me the V8 Coronet
“But maybe V8 rumble isn’t your thing, and if not, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Was I wrong to walk past a V8 so as to enjoy instead the ring-a-ding-ding of a three-cylinder two-stroke engine on the drive to work this morning? If so, let me be wrong.
I’m taking the Saab, immediately getting correct wheels for it, but am keeping the John Deere front license plate. Either one of these could be a fun dumb project, but I’m a sucker for Swede cars, and always had a thing for the 9000.
Old Dodge FTW. That engine can be rebuilt for cheap and the interior aside from the seats doesn’t look too awful. Rustproofing wasn’t a thing so welding on that old metal likely isn’t an automatic air quality hazard like welding galvanized metal. Still, be careful welding.
Like there would be a question which one I’m voting for. Canning those wheels immediately, tho.
Saab takes it for me today. Fix it up and hopefully get some OEM wheels or something close and you’ll be good to go. Maybe even gut the stereo system and go closer to factory if I can get money for it and recoup some of my expenses.
Big hip hop wheels and black windows just turns me off SO much, so I’ll take he white one and see if something can be done about those seats, even though I love old Saabs.
It’ll be way more complicated to sort out, but we’ll take the 9000. I’ve always thought the booted sedan version was handsome, and while I’d prefer OE alloys, I don’t hate those rims.
I previously owned a 1992 SAAB 9000 CD, manual, naturally aspirated 2.3. It was a great car, although the heater core was leaking and the thing always smelled like Aunt Jemima syrup. They are really fun cars, very comfortable, and mostly pretty good.
I’d take this 9000 turbo and replace those godawful aftermarket wheels with viking alloys as nature intended.
I prefer the Saab, though the “Buy ’em both!” argument holds a lot of appeal, too.
Get the Swede running (sweetly?), ditch the rims, and enjoy. The Dodge needs more. The seats are beyond redemption (mine, anyway) and that looks like a home rebuild of the 318. It’d be difficult to really trust that.
For a change, I vote for both.
Tough call. The Dodge will likely be easier and cheaper to fix up, but the Saab is a more interesting project that will end with a better car IMHO. Put me down for the Scandinavian saloon.
“Cars don’t like sitting; I can tell you that from first-hand experience. My MGB sat for decades before being rudely awakened by the person I bought it from, and I ended up replacing a lot of parts to make it run reliably again.”
Cars don’t like sitting outside, fully exposed to the elements and raccoons but how about up on blocks, drained of fluids in a sheltered, climate controlled bubble filled with an inert atmosphere? Do tires and other rubber dry rot in such an environment or will they stay factory fresh? How about the rest of the car, how will it age under such conditions?
If I used a time machine to travel back to say 1955 could I amass a collection of brand new, never driven exotics and store them like that to be factory fresh for a distant future Star Trek style industrial replicator or would I have to take more drastic measures to store the car for that long without it disintegrating?
You can’t stop time man. IF you can time travel, just bring them to the future with you and save yourself the hassle.
I would buy both! Restore the Dodge, make the Saab a weekend racer. And have the Dodge tow the Saab to the races.
For that price, that’s the sensible move, imo. That dodge ought to be fixable by any idiot with some hand tools. And those Saab 9000s are really nice cars. That one looks like it just needs a bit of TLC.
I’m concerned about the bare sheet metal floors in the Dodge. I have a feeling there is way more rust than meets the eye. Saab for the win.
At that price, Why not both?
For a pre-facelift 9000, this is in good cosmetic shape. I don’t see any cracks on the dash, even. It’s too bad it doesn’t have its original wheels, but…that can be fixed.
I wanted to vote Saab because the best car I ever had was a Trollhatten Treasure, but the 9000 never floated my boat, especially in sedan form. Give me a hatchback and manual, lose the ghetto rims and stereo and it would be a maybe.
My first car was a Coronet with a 318 and Torqueflite, so I’m voting for an old, reliable friend.
“MGB”
“Run reliably”
Something doesn’t add up here
I mean, I wouldn’t just hop in it and drive to Tucson, but I don’t hesitate to hop in and drive to the store.
I would hop in my Triumph drive to Tuscon, and I live in Nebraska. Old sixties British cars aren’t near as bad as they are made out to be.
Was about to say automatic yes to the coronet until I saw the gross interior.
I wonder what is hiding under those camo seat covers in the Saab though. Camo!!
Me too. The 9000 has some of the most best seats ever put in a car; but who knows what is left of them at this point.
I’m guessing those mossy oak seat covers are covering some real moss at this juncture.