The Collector Car Year in Review

With 2012 drawing to a close, it’s time to take a look back at some of the biggest events of the past twelve months. And for those of us who track the collector car market, the biggest news has really been an increase in values of classic cars. We’ve seen some of the highest prices ever achieved at auction throughout 2012. And with more and more high-end investors turning toward top-level classic cars as investments, it’s a trend I expect we’ll see continue through 2013.

Each January, thousands of collector cars head to sunny Arizona, where a handful of land auctions all take place consecutively. This year’s total? $184m for 2,186 cars sold. That’s an average of $84k per car and an all-time record, behind the $167m previous record from 2007.

And each August, Monterey, California becomes the collector car hub of the universe. This year, 786 cars brought $258m at several high-end auctions – an average of over $320k per car, and another all-time record, besting the $198m achieved in 2011. High points included cars like the 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster that made an earth-shattering $11,770,000 at the Gooding & Co auction in Pebble Beach, and the 1968 Ford GT40 racer that became the most expensive American car ever sold at auction when it achieved $11,000,000 at RM Auctions in downtown Monterey.

I’ve been tracking the market for Sports Car Market magazine for almost a decade now, and I’ve never seen so many records broken in one year. Sure, a lot of them are at the ultra-high level – but the boost in market confidence because of these sales tends to trickle down the market into the more affordable, everyday level. What’s this all mean? Well, you don’t need to be dealing in million-dollar cars to realize that this is one of the best times ever to be involved in the collector car hobby.

Overall, values seem to be stable and/or moving up across the board for good cars, and there are a lot of good cars available, especially on eBay Motors.

So, with 2013 on the horizon, it’s time to get out there and buy. Find the best cars you can on eBay Motors, check them out in person, and be sure to research how the market has been doing in regards to that make and model before you commit to a bid. There’s a lot of value in finally getting your hands on that car you’ve always wanted. And if you buy it right, you’ll be a happy camper when it comes time to sell.

When it comes to hot rods, there is no better icon than the ’32 Ford. Rodders have been chopping, channeling, and overpowering these cars for generations — and thanks to years of use as street terrors, drag machines, salt flat top-speed specials, and show cars, there just aren’t a lot of real-deal cars left. Today, a lot of guys build ’32s on modern custom chassis with replica fiberglass or steel bodies. Although these cars look more or less like original ’32s, a lot of them aren’t.

But that’s not the case with this 1932 Ford Roadster. The seller says it’s original Henry steel, which is to say that it came from the Ford plant back in the day. The frame is an original piece as well, along with the grille shell.

Overall, this car has had a four inch channel job done, which basically lets the body sit four inches lower down on the frame. The seller says it’s an early hot rod build that’s been completely restored, and both the paint job and the parts used help to verify that. It has a too cool early ’60s look, all the way down to the sparkly steering wheel, Moon gas pedal, chrome reverse wheels, and pie-crust slicks. The listing doesn’t say when the car was originally rodded, but I’d guess it was from that time.

The engine is a 1963 Olds 394-ci V8 that’s been balanced and fitted with a solid roller cam, roller rockers, tunnel ram intake with twin AFB carbs and velocity stacks, zoomie headers, and more. The trans is a Muncie 4-speed, and the rear end is a 1958 Olds unit with 3.94 gears.

This car has a great vintage look, but it also has some added benefits to make it an easier driver. These include and electric fan, an alternator, a modern gel-cell battery, new master cylinder and brake lines, and MSD ignition.

Hot rodding is all about individuality, but it’ll be hard to find a ’32 that screams ‘hot rod’ more than this vintage build. Click the link to see the listing with a Buy-it-Now of $33,500: 1932 Ford Roadster

Photo credit: Nikki Boertman / The Commercial Appeal

Winter is one of my favorite seasons, but it’s not usually a very good time for using your classic – unless that classic is a vintage 4×4 pickup and you love plowing through snowdrifts.

For the majority of us, winter generally means our classic cars sit for a couple of months while we wait out the weather. And while sitting can be hard on old cars, it doesn’t have to be. Here are some quick tips to help you make sure your car will be ready to roll on that first sunny day of spring.

Keep it Dry
Moisture is your car’s enemy, so your best bet is to find an indoor parking space. A heated spot is ideal, but anything enclosed will do. If you have to keep your car outside, get some dessicant packs to help suck up any moisture that might make it in. Remember: moisture equals mold and possible rust, and none of that will be fun to find on that first 60-degree day of April.

Keep it Charging
Cold temperatures can kill batteries, and so can slight draws on your electrical system. Products like this Battery Tender will keep your battery charged and ready to go, so when you get in and hit the key a few months down the road, you can pretty much guarantee that it’ll crank over. At a starting bid of just $39.99, this is a lot cheaper than a new battery.

Top Off Those Fluids!
Cars that sit can develop leaks, especially from engines, rear ends, and automatic transmissions. It’s always a good idea to make sure all your fluids are full before you put your car into storage – that way, you’ll be able to easily spot any leaky seals quickly when you go to move the car again, and you’ll know just how bad the leak is because you’ll know how full each component was when you parked the car.

Antifreeze is especially important during the winter months. If you have not flushed your cooling system in a while, do it before you put the car away. If the temperature gets really cold, weak antifreeze could possibly lead to a cracked engine block and thousands in repair bills. Replacing it is just cheap insurance.

Watch Out for Mice!
Furry little creatures have a habit of making your car their home during the winter months. Don’t let them move in. Keep your doors shut and windows rolled up, and be sure to check in on your car a few times just to be sure nothing has taken up residence. I tend to keep a few mouse traps handy just in case – I’ve had to evict mice from too many heaters and defrosters over the years, and I really don’t like replacing chewed-up wiring.

Treat Your Fuel
Fuel doesn’t keep forever – especially not when the weather is cold. But you don’t need to run your tank dry before storage – just get some Sta-bil. Read the instructions and use an appropriate amount to the gas in your tank, and then run the car long enough to fill the fuel lines and carburetor with the treated fuel. When springtime rolls around, you won’t need to worry about bad gas in your tank.

Relax That Suspension
Long periods of sitting are hard on springs, shocks, suspension components, and tires. I like to get my cars up off their suspensions if they’re going to be sitting for more than a month or so. This lets the suspension hang and gets the pressure off the tires, helping to prevent flat spots. A set of jack stands like these are perfect for the job.

At the very least, make sure your tires are properly inflated, and if you can, roll your car back and forth once or twice throughout the winter. It’ll help keep your tires from turning square.

Being proactive can save you a lot of trouble down the road – but there is no substitute for a good thorough once-over when spring comes. That’s the time to replace all your fluids, check out the brakes and tires, and generally go over your car from bumper to bumper. But that’s a couple months down the road. In the meantime, enjoy the Holiday season. Spring will be here before you know it!

Disc brakes may be most common on new cars, but if you drive something built before 2000, chances are you’ve got a set of drum brakes on the rear. They were the industry standard on all four wheels for years, especially in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and the design is both simple and pretty effective. Here’s how they work.

In a drum brake setup, you have five major components at each wheel, along with some associated springs and mounting hardware. These five components are the backing plate, two brake shoes, the brake drum, the automatic adjuster, and the wheel cylinder.

In a drum brake setup, when you step on the brake pedal, fluid is transferred through the brake line to the wheel cylinder. That cylinder, which is mounted parallel to the wheel on the brake’s backing plate, pushes out against the brake shoes, which are also connected to that brake backing plate. The brake drum is machined to slip over the end of the axle’s wheel studs and surround the entire brake system. When you’re driving, it rotates at the same rate as the car’s wheel. So when you hit that brake pedal, the brake shoes push outward against the spinning brake drum. The friction generated slows the wheel down, thereby making your car stop.

As your shoe surfaces wear down, the automatic adjuster keeps them correctly placed against the drum. It’s threaded like a bolt, but also has a wheel with teeth that is used to ratchet out as the shoes wear away. In most cases, the adjuster only adjusts when you’re backing up, but you can remove an inspection port in the backing plate and adjust it with a special tool. Some designs are actuated by the cable-operated parking brake.

By design, this system keeps a certain degree of pressure on the brake drums at all times. Oldschool drag racers found a trick that used the system to their advantage – they could back off their brake adjustment to get zero drag on each wheel, which gave them the slightest of edge over a competitor who didn’t. And in a world where a thousandth of a second can mean a win or a loss, it was a popular trick. But I can tell you from experience – stopping a 110-mph 3,500-lb drag car with four-wheel drums can be scary, especially if you’re used to the easy straight-line stopping of discs.

Drum brakes are simple, but they do have some drawbacks. The first is heat. Drum brakes aren’t effective at eliminating heat the same way disc brakes are, and when they get hot, they tend to fade and stop working. Overheating a set of four wheel drum brakes is easy to do, and when you do, you’ll have a hard time getting the car to stop. Other drawbacks include noise from the drum, inconsistent pulling from side to side when on the brakes (especially with front-mounted drums), and wheel cylinders that can start leaking if your car sits too long without being used. When that happens, better plan on a new set of brake shoes – once fouled with fluid, shoes can become ineffective.

Discs are a much more efficient design, and by the mid-1960s, most car builders in the U.S. had switched over, at least for front wheel systems. Why? Because front brakes do most of the braking, and the discs just worked better. But for years, it was common to see discs on the front and drums on the rear, especially on SUVs and trucks. The Chevrolet Suburban is a good example of a later-model truck that still featured drums in the rear.

A lot of shadetree mechanics draw the line at working on drum brakes, mostly because of the springs and mounting hardware that can look like a dusty, dirty, painful puzzle. I was a tech for years, and I did a lot of drum brakes when I was wrenching – all you need is a little time, the right brake tool, and one piece of advice: if you’re going to work on your own drum brakes, take one side apart at a time. The other can serve as a roadmap for how the system goes back together.

So there you have it – the ins and outs of drum brakes. If you have a set on your car or truck and they’re in good working order, there’s really no reason to swap to discs. But if you want the best stopping ability possible, you might think about it.

Learn more about modern stopping power from power disc brakes by reading our Disc Brakes 101 post.

If you’re in the market for a stately, opulent four-door sedan, you could buy a 7-series BMW. And if you wanted a hard-cornering sports car to hammer the canyon twisties on Sunday morning, you could buy a Porsche 911. Or you could just buy one car: a Panamera.

To the chagrin of purists who snubbed the Panamera as a wannabe ripoff of the 911, the car has proven itself a truly worthy sports car, with a 0-60 time of 4.0 seconds and brilliant cornering. It’s head and shoulders above the Aston Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte—it’s only rivals, really.

This 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo is high on the Panamera food chain, just a notch below the supercar Turbo S. The miles are lowish, and the $96k buy-it-now seems like a heckuva price compared with the $139k you’d pay for a new one. I dig the cognac interior, and the black paint, black rims and tinted rims look downright sinister.

See the listing here: 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo

Engine, transmissions, differentials, and suspension systems are all important parts of your car. But just as vital, and often overlooked, is the steering system. After all, how are you going to get where you want to go without turning your vehicle?

The basics are easy to understand. You have a steering wheel, connected to a steering box or steering rack, which is connected to the front wheels. Turn the steering wheel and the front wheels turn accordingly. Simple, right?

Well, there’s a lot more to it than just that. Inside that system are gears, universal joints, tie rods, ball joints, spindles, center links, pitman arms, idler arms, and more. It all depends on what kind of car you have. Here’s a quick look at some of the basic systems out there today, and what makes them tick.

One of two systems is usually found in the cars and trucks on today’s roads. First, the recirculating ball mechanism. This system uses a steering box, which is connected to your steering wheel via a shaft that runs down the steering column. Inside the steering box is a worm gear that rides on ball bearings. That worm gear meshes up with what’s called a sector gear, which then moves a pitman arm. That’s connected to the steering wheels through a center link, an idler arm, and inner and outer tie rod ends. This was used a lot in the 1950s and 1960s — cars like this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle are a good example of cars that feature the system – although a lot of heavy-duty trucks still use it today because it’s strong.

The second and much more popular modern design is a rack and pinion setup. This is a simple setup, with a pinion gear at the end of the steering shaft, which meshes up to a linear gear that moves the rack from side to side. These systems are really effective, giving great response and steering feel. If you drive a modern car, like this Nissan 350Z, you’re using a steering rack.

And what about power steering? Well, in an effort to lower steering effort for the driver, the power steering system uses pressurized hydraulic fluid from an engine-mounted pump to pressurize the internal parts of a steering rack or steering box. This, in turn, lowers the effort it takes for the driver to turn wheel. This was especially important when front-wheel drive cars hit the road, as all the mass of the engine, steering components, and drive components on the front end of the car made steering a little tough.

More recently, electronic power steering systems have started to become popular. They’re known to be more efficient than their hydraulic counterparts, since they don’t need to work until the steering wheel is turned (unlike a hydraulic system, which is always running when the engine is running). They’re safer too, since they continue to function even if the engine quits running. And, since there is no belt pulling energy from the front of the engine, these systems help cars achieve better mpg ratings as well.

Over the years, steering designs have evolved pretty far, and today, a lot of cars use four-wheel steering for better performance and handling. This helps both at speed and in parking lot maneuverability. When moving slowly, the rear wheels will turn opposite the front wheels, which shrinks a car’s turning radius. In high speed situations, the wheels all turn the same direction. Ever wonder how monster trucks can turn around inside small indoor arenas? They use four-wheel steering.

That more or less covers the basics of steering. Next week we’ll take a look at another vital component of your car: brakes.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to upgrading your car for better performance – but like the saying goes, speed costs money. How fast would you like to go?

Earlier this week we took a look at upgrades you can make to an otherwise stock run-of-the-mill 2005 Mustang GT — just the sort of daily driver that can really benefit from a few aftermarket upgrades. Last time we focused on engine performance, but that’s only part of the story. Any increase in power really should come with upgraded steering and stopping, so that’s what we’ll look at today.

First things first. Your Mustang already handles well from the factory, but you can make it better with a few simple steps. Energy Suspension makes great Polyurethane bushings for pretty much everything out on the road. These bushings offer a lot less flex than your rubber stockers, which helps to tighten up your car’s handling. They’ll also last a long time, too.

I’d also suggest upgrading to a larger sway bar kit to help cut down your car’s body roll in the corners. These are much beefier than stock, which means they’ll flex a lot less. These, along with those poly bushings, will really tighten up your Mustang’s front end.

Ford Racing also offers lowering springs that’ll help get your car’s center of gravity down and give it a more aggressive look. These springs will drop the ride about 1.5 inches overall and are a progressive design, which further improves handling performance.

A strut tower brace is also a smart upgrade, as it’ll help tie the front suspension together. It connects the upper strut supports together under the hood, which cuts down on body flex. And subframe connectors are also a really good idea if you plan on pushing your car around the corners – they’ll help keep the car’s body from twisting under load.

All these parts together will significantly stiffen up your Mustang and make it much more responsive to your inputs – although you’ll also feel a lot more of the road, so be ready for a rougher ride as a result. Be sure to have a four-wheel alignment done before you hit the road.

Now that you have the car’s stance and the handling improved, it’s time to look at a new set of rims to replace those old GT stockers. Larger wheels do offer some handling benefit over your stock rims, and they just look cool, too. We found a set of black FR500 rims and Vredestein tires, but there are thousands of combinations out there to choose from. This just comes down to taste.

Bigger wheels allow you to run bigger brakes, like a Steeda 14-inch front units. Bigger brakes mean much shorter stopping distances, and you’ll appreciate that firm, direct brake pedal every time you roll to a stop (and every time you have to mash the pedal because someone pulled out in front of you). And since front brakes handle about 75% of the job, you should start there. Replacing the rear brakes would also be a smart upgrade. Expect your stopping distances to drop drastically with these parts. You’ll wonder how you got along without them.

So there you have it. We’ve taken a stock Mustang and upgraded it, complete with better suspension components, wheels, tires, brakes, and a free-flowing tuned V8 — and all with off-the-shelf parts sourced right here on eBay Motors. And even if you don’t have a Mustang as your own daily driver, everything we covered here still applies – these are basic upgrades that you’ll really feel out on the road, and they’re available for most popular makes and models. So what’s stopping you? Get upgrading!

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Click the link if you missed part 1 of our “Upgrade Your Car” series?

Is your car perfectly capable of getting you from point A to B in totally stock, original form? Sure. But is it as good as it could possibly be as delivered from the factory? Absolutely not!

If you want better handling, better power, better stopping, and better comfort, the aftermarket industry can help. You need to get upgrading, and eBay Motors is your tool. Here’s how to start.

The basics are really the same for any car. In this case, let’s say you’ve got a 2005 Mustang GT that’s totally stock and you’d like to make it a little more fun as a daily driver. First up: power.

Your Mustang GT makes 300 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque from the factory. That’s good, but it can be way better.

Your first step really should be a cold air intake kit. Why? Because airflow equals horsepower, and a cold air intake (or CAI) is an easy and inexpensive way to help your engine breath a little easier. This K&N kit comes with the filter, the tubing, and all the associated hardware to get the job done. It’s an easy installation, it’ll flow a lot more air than your restrictive factory unit, and the filter is reusable – no more paper elements to replace. Just be sure to get one of these cleaning and oiling kits too. Using regular soap to clean one of these can shrink the rubber. Don’t do it!

The next step? Get your exhaust to flow as well as your intake. Nothing turns heads like a good V8 rumble, and you just don’t get that with factory mufflers or pipes. For our Mustang, I’d go the whole nine yards and dump the factory mufflers, pipes, and manifolds for a complete Borla exhaust system and a set of Borla longtube headers, both of which will last forever and boost the Mustang’s horsepower and torque figures significantly. But keep in mind this will require some specialty installation work and a bit of computer tuning to really grab every last horse. You’ll also have to reuse your factory catalytic converters and 02 sensors, unless you decide to also get a set of high-flow cats as well.

About that tuning – eBay Motors can help you there, too. Diablosport’s new inTune system lets you upload several pre-designed tunes into your Mustang’s computer, which will help modify your 4.6L engine’s fuel map and timing curves to make the most of the new intake, headers, and free-flowing exhaust system. Custom tunes are also available through Diablosport, and the unit doubles as a trouble code reader. So next time your check engine light comes on because the attendant left your gas cap loose while you were buying a Big Gulp, you’ll be able to clear it yourself.

These engine upgrades should give you a noticeable bump in power output approximating 60 horsepower(*), while still giving you a smooth idle, decent mileage, and factory reliability. All that is perfect for a car that gets used year-round and sometimes has to sit in traffic.

Now that your Mustang has a little more power and a lot more sound, it’s time to focus on suspension, brakes, and wheels. We’ll take a closer look at that later this week.

* Estimates are based upon manufacturer’s claims. Your actual gain in horsepower may vary due to the condition of your car and how the upgrades interact with existing upgrades. We recommend dynamometer testing before and after applying a set of modifications to your car to measure the true gains in power.

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Want to learn more? Continue to “Upgrading Your Car, Part 2”

Shifting your own gears is great, but sometimes you’d just rather let the transmission take care of itself. Why bother with a clutch pedal when you don’t have to? That’s where the automatic transmission comes in, and since their introduction in the early 1940s, they’ve come a long way in terms of design and performance.

Fundamentally, an automatic is a lot like a manual in that both feature a number of gears that channel the engine’s rotational power to the drive wheels. But in most automatics, the gears are a planetary system — several outer gears that revolve around one central gear — and most use internal bands and clutches to effect gear changes that are controlled by hydraulic servos fed by a hydraulic valve body.

And rather than a flywheel and a clutch made of friction material, most automatics rely on a torque converter that uses hydraulic fluid, an impeller, a turbine, and a stator to transfer rotational power from the engine through to the transmission. This fluid coupling lets the engine continue to run, even when the car is in gear and fully stopped.

All of that sound complex? It is. But the end result is smooth shifting at pre-programmed times, long service life, and not a lot of fuss from the driver.

Some of the first automatics were developed by GM during the 1930s and culminated with the release of the Hydra-Matic trans in 1940. That transmission saw battle duty in U.S. tanks during World War II, proving its durability and reliability. After the war, automatics became commonplace in new cars, and the buying public loved their simplicity of use. Just start the car, drop it in ‘D,’ and you’re off. No more clutch, no more shifting.

For years, most automatic transmissions tended to have only two or three gears, like the two-speed GM Powerglide in this 1967 Chevrolet Nova and the three-speed Chrysler 727 Torqueflite in this 1968 Chrysler Newport. But starting in the 1980s and 1990s, four-and five-speed automatics started appearing. Today, automatics can have as many as eight forward speeds, and many feature a number of internal electronic features instead of the hydraulics that dominated the design for decades. The end result? Smooth shifting, excellent acceleration, and low cruising RPMs, helping to lower fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions.

Think automatics are slushboxes that take all the feeling out of driving? That used to be true, but not anymore. The aftermarket made automatics into hardcore racing units starting with the B&M Hydro Stick in the 1950s. In drag racing circles, tuned GM Powerglides, TH400s, and Ford C6 transmissions are the standard now, rather than 4-speed manuals. These units are set up for hard-hitting shifts that are dead consistent, every time. Couple any one of them with a high stall torque converter, and you’ll get wheels-up launches when the lights go green.

Modern automatics don’t all feature the same traditional automatic components. A good example is the 6-speed Borg-Warner unit in the Nissan GT-R – it’s a dual-clutch operated automatic with paddle shifters. No hydraulic torque converter here, and no clutch pedal either. It’s the best of both worlds, and it offers lightning quick shifts at the driver’s command. The GT-R is a world-class performer, and its high-tech automatic and all-wheel drive system are part of the reason why.

In recent years, CVTs, or continuously variable transmissions, have also started appearing. These offer an infinite number of gear ratios. There are a handful of different designs here, with some using cones linked together by a belt or a chain. Overall, CVTs deliver a smooth stream of power and tend to offer good fuel economy as well. This 2012 Toyota Camry is a good example of a car that features a CVT, and it offers both simplicity of use and an excellent 40 mpg city rating.

So there you have it. Transmissions in a nutshell. So next time you go grabbing for that gear lever, you’ll have a little more of an idea of what’s happening underneath you.

Engines are great at making power, but without a good gearbox to channel that power to the ground, your car isn’t much of a car. That’s exactly what a transmission does – it takes rotational force from the engine’s crankshaft and gears it up or down, allowing you to make the most of the engine’s power band and do things, such as slowly climb steep hills or blast down the freeway. There are several different styles of transmissions out there. Today we’ll take a look at the most basic: manual transmissions.

Manual transmissions, also called standard transmissions or stick shifts, were at one time the only option available for drivers. They feature a clutch pedal and a shift lever, either mounted on the steering column, like in this 1951 Ford or on the floor, like in this 1939 Chevrolet Coupe which the driver moves to select the gear of his or her choice. When automatics became more widely available after World War II, manuals continued as both base-level units and as performance options for drivers who wanted to handle the shifting themselves.

Manual transmissions use a smooth flywheel bolted to the engine’s crankshaft. Just behind that is a clutch disc, made of friction material, which is designed to grab at that flywheel. The clutch disc is also directly connected to the transmission’s input shaft. Behind the clutch is a pressure plate, which is connected, either mechanically or hydraulically, to the clutch pedal.

When the driver pushes on the clutch pedal, the pressure plate lifts off the clutch disc, and that allows the engine’s rotational power to disengage from the transmission. That then allows the driver to shift the transmission from one gear into another.

That same pedal is used to slip the clutch slightly on take-off from dead stop, which can be tricky to get right, especially on a hill. But once you get the hang of it, and you get the muscle memory to get it right every time, manually shifting through the gears can be a lot of fun.

Manuals are better than automatics in a couple of ways. They’re a lot simpler internally, usually offer more gears, and tend to last longer than comparable automatics. They also allow engine braking — using the car’s engine to help slow it down. Plus, you’re always in the right gear, since you’re doing the shifting, and the operation can be as smooth or as harsh as you want it to be.

If you’ve ever driven a muscle car, you know that there’s nothing like rowing your own gears in a Hurst shifter-equipped 4-speed behind a thundering V8. This 1970 Chevelle SS 454 is a great example.

Depending on driving habits, clutch replacement can be a regular job, and it’s not usually a small job.

Thankfully, all the parts you’ll need for replacing, rebuilding, or servicing your manual transmission can be found right here on eBay Motors. Whether it’s a clutch kit for your 2000 Camaro SS
or a complete rebuild kit for the Muncie M20 in your GTO, you’ll find what you need here.

Modern manual transmissions tend to be found mostly in performance cars, and they’ve become much more smooth and well-balanced overall since the days of three-on-the-tree shifting and burly muscle car 4-speeds. Most have six speeds, like this Pontiac Firebird T56 and most feature overdrive gears, which allow the engine to work less at highway speeds, using less fuel and pumping out fewer tailpipe emissions. They’re great swaps for earlier cars, especially muscle cars that came from the factory with 4-speed manuals and no overdrive gears.

Next time, we’ll take a look at automatic transmissions.

In the late ’60s, if you wanted to go fast for not a lot of money, Plymouth was your brand and the Road Runner was your car. Launched in 1968, the Road Runner catered to the bare-bones racer who wanted performance over options. For about $3,000, the Road Runner outran a lot of other higher-priced muscle of the day, and that made it a legend among street racers looking for a performance edge.

This ’69 Road Runner features a 440-ci V8, 6-pack Holley carbs, and a 4-speed manual transmission that sends power to the ground through a Dana 60 Sure Grip rear with 4.10 gears. The seller says the car’s recently been restored and has 94,000 original miles. And while it wasn’t originally a 440 6-pack car, it’ll certainly run just like one now, if not better, and it’ll turn a lot of heads in the process.

The car features Mopar Performance ported and polished heads, an Edelbrock intake, steel crank, Mopar Performance valve covers, Flowmaster exhaust, and more. The paint is Go ManGo metallic and contrasts well with the black vinyl bucket seat interior, and the 15-inch Mopar steel wheels and Firestone bias ply Redline tires give it a good original look.

Over 2,400 1968-1970 Plymouth Road Runners have sold on eBay Motors over the past several years, with average prices ranging from $21k through $40k depending on originality and condition. This one has been changed from stock, but it’ll be a great driver.

Click the link to see the eBay listing: 1969 Plymouth Road Runner

Take one part military truck, one part early 4×4, and one part tractor, and you get the Dodge Power Wagon. Based on the WWII Dodge 3/4-ton truck, these were built for the civilian market from 1945 through the late 1960s. They were the go-anywhere workhorses of the Dodge line, and their PTOs allowed you to run all kinds of equipment with them — ranging from augers to saw blades. Try that with your King Ranch Ford F-350.

This truck has seen better days, but the seller says it’s a fully functional driver with good brakes, a functional winch, a cleaned carburetor and fuel tank, and an added electric fuel pump. The flathead six engine is said to start and run fine, although I’d probably trailer the truck until I could find a set of new tires to fit those old school Budd wheels.

What this truck really needs is a good restoration, and it looks like a solid starting point, since most of it is there, and it still runs and drives. But if you’re into the patina and rust movement, you could fix the broken windshield, double check the mechanicals, and use it just the way it looks now. Think of all the attention it would get at Home Depot.

Power Wagons like this aren’t rare — 95,145 were built over the entire run of the model — but running examples at reasonable prices are hard to find. This one’s Buy-it-Now price of under $5k is attractive, even if it needs some serious work.

Click the link to see the listing: 1952 Dodge Power Wagon

Most people probably don’t think of second-gen Camaros as top-level collectibles. The vast majority of their 12-year production run took place in the depth of the smoggy 1970s, when performance took a back seat to huge bumpers and early emissions controls.

But interest in pre-1974 examples is growing, and cars like this ’73 Z have been making serious money at auction over the past few years.

1970-1981 Camaros are never going to be as popular as their first-gen ’67-’69 cousins, but these cars had all-new styling when they were launched for the 1970 model year, and the motoring press loved them back then — Road & Track called the ’70 “the best American car we’ve ever driven.” The LT1 350-ci V8, which was standard in the Z, made 245 net horsepower in ’73, and when coupled with a 4-speed manual, turned the Camaro into a decent performer for its day.

The seller of this car says its a numbers-matching example with just 48,000 miles from new. The car is documented with its build sheet, window sticker, dealer inspection sheet, and more. The paint isn’t original, but it’s in the original colors, and it looks to be in pretty good overall condition.

Low-mile examples of these cars are getting hard to find — especially ones like this, with a 4-speed manual transmission and good documentation. And cars built before 1974 still had round taillights, a small back window, and a simpler front end, which make the design much more attractive.

A total of 859 1970-1973 Camaro Z/28s have sold on eBay Motors over the past few years, with average prices ranging from $20k to $30k, depending on condition.

Click the link to follow the action of this listing: 1973 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

This Series 1 E-type looks like a sleek and sexy driver. As a ’67, it offers the best of both worlds – you get the smaller bumpers of the earlier cars without the pollution controls that robbed some of the performance of the later ones. And on top of that, it’s in a great color combination, even if it was originally British Racing Green.

The seller says the paint is in generally good condition and that the body gaps are consistent throughout the car. There’s no rust to speak of, and the beige leather interior has been redone at some point and is still in pretty nice shape. The clutch and transmission are both in good working order too, which is a big deal, since replacing the clutch in one of these requires pulling the engine — not a small job.

In terms of the overall sports car experience, there isn’t much that can touch an open E-type. You get great performance from the fully independent suspension, a snarling six breathing through triple carbs, decent disc brakes, and more. And since this one is nice but not perfect, you won’t be afraid to actually take it out and use it.

A total of 355 1964-1967 Jaguar E-types have sold on eBay Motors in the last three years, with average prices ranging from $30k to nearly $60k depending on condition. Click the link to follow this E-Type’s progress: 1967 Jaguar E-Type

When you see a 1980 Ford Fairmont like this, you probably think you’re looking at a grandpa mobile or boring mommy wagon. But this one is packing a hot little secret – there’s a 308-cubic inch small block Ford roller motor under its hood. This is a case of a sleeper that’s actually functional as well as fast — it’s a family hauler that can keep up with sports cars in the twisties, can run quick quarter mile times, and still get the kids to school before the bell. Who says you need a new Cadillac CTS-V wagon for that?

According to the seller, the car has been completely built from bumper to bumper, including that 308 Ford V8 with RHS aluminum heads, Edelbrock fuel injection components, Stage 2 AOD automatic with 3,000-rpm stall converter, 8.8 rear end with 3.55 gears and a posi, tubular front end components, big sway bars, and Koni adjustable coil-over suspension.

The paint is original, and it’s a perfect shade of brown for flying under the radar. In fact, if you want to go total sleeper, all you’d need to do is remove the window tint and fit some plain steel wheels. Nobody would see you coming.

There is no rust, and even the interior looks pretty nice. The seller says everything works, too, including the front and rear window washers, dash lights, and all the gauges. The car has only 49,000 miles from new, and the seller says his family has only covered 3,000 miles in it since the performance build was completed.

These Fairmonts are Fox-body cars, so they share their chassis structure with 1979-2004 Ford Mustangs, including the later supercharged Cobras. That means that many of the aftermarket components designed for those cars – and there are a lot of them – will swap into this without too much trouble.

If you want to get where you’re going before the kids ask if you’re there yet, this is the wagon for you. Follow the link to see how it’s doing: 1980 Ford Fairmont Wagon

If you needed a four-wheel drive truck back in 1956, there were only a few options available. They usually required a third-party contractor, like NAPCO, which would take a new pickup and convert it with special axles, special gearing, and a transfer case – just the thing for clawing up mountains for firewood at a snail’s pace.

This Ford F-100 is a rare machine, in that it was converted into a 4×4 by a company called American Coleman out of Littleton, Colorado. This company started converting Chevrolets in 1947, but soon after was working with all domestic trucks. According to the seller, most of the trucks handled by this company were for the mining industry, the military, or for fire departments. And because of the work those trucks typically did, they tended to be heavier-duty rigs than this half-ton F-100. By 1956, American Coleman was pulling out of this segment of the market, due to the increasing availability of factory-built 4x4s. So this could be among the last ones the company produced.

The seller says the truck was built for a wealthy rancher in Breckenridge, Colorado, as a hunting rig. It was black from the factory, and apparently had three rifle racks mounted inside, which the seller removed when he bought it. It then underwent a mechanical restoration, which included an engine rebuild, front and rear axle rebuilds, new springpacks, a transfer case rebuild, all new brakes, and more.

Cosmetically, it was more or less left alone, as it was still going to be used as a truck. There is some body rust, so that needs to be taken into account before bidding. But overall, it does look pretty solid, and it should be a great driver thanks to all the work already done.

Click the link to view the listing: 1956 Ford F-100

Known as the “Zephster Special,” this vintage-styled hot rod features a channeled body over a stretched chassis, as well as a V12 sourced from a 1941 Lincoln Zephyr. If you and your buddies are into vintage-styled retro hot rods, this is the car for you. It’ll stand out more than any other ’29-’32 Ford roadster repowered with a small-block Chevrolet V8 — if you take this thing to a car show, you’d better have time to talk to everyone there.

The seller only includes basic information in this car’s listing, noting things like the 292-ci flathead V12 and a ’40 Ford transmission coupled to a Winters quickchange rear end. The rod also features double pitman arm steering (via a Ford tractor steering box), chrome headers, an I-beam front axle, and hydraulic brakes (a must for use in modern traffic). The wheels are vintage-looking Ford-style spoked units, and although this is a relatively recent build, even the tires look correct for a rod constructed in the late-’40s.

The body has been given a number of modifications, too, including louvers punched in the decklid, a channel job over the frame rails, and more. But the best part is inside the cockpit, where both the driver and passenger sit among some of the mechanical components, like the transmission and torque tube.

A lot of time and effort clearly went into this car’s build, and while its vintage parts may make it a little less comfortable out on the road, they give it a cool factor that you just can’t find in modern automatic transmission and a/c-equipped street rods. Click the link to view the eBay listing: 1929 Ford Roadster

Volkswagen Beetles are great little city cars. But their rear-mounted air cooled engines, torsion bar suspensions, and super simple mechanical components make them great off-roaders, too ó especially when properly fitted out with a suspension lift, big tires, and special gearing. There isn’t much that can break on one of these, and that’s a good thing when you’re racing around in the desert, 100 miles away from the nearest town.

This ’69 Beetle isn’t what I’d call a traditional Baja conversion, with cut fenders, relocated headlights, or wide tires. But does look like something you’d see in SCORE Class 11 competition in the Baja 1000 or Baja 500 ó this class requires the complete body to be intact, with mods for reinforcement and safety.

A suspension lift and 30-inch tall tires give this Bug a lot of ground clearance. The seller says it’s completely rust-free and that the Cobalt Blue paint is in decent shape. The engine is said to be fresh, with 8:1 compression, dual-port Auto Linea heads, high-clearance exhaust, and a new Spanish Weber 40 off-road carburetor.

The seller says it’s ready to drive home – it already made it from Missouri to Arizona with no issues, and a YouTube video of it running around 50 mph out in the desert is pretty good indication that you won’t need to do much heavy lifting before hitting the trail.

A total of 2,107 1968-1969 Volkswagen Beetles have sold on eBay Motors in the past several years, with average prices topping out at $7,500. This one’s mods will likely push the price higher. Follow the link to view our listing of this 1969 VW Beetle

Cadillac has always been the Gold standard for GM, and this Caddy comes straight out of the era when bigger was better – it’s nearly 19 feet long and weighs over 4,500 pounds. If you’re looking for curb appeal in a ’60s cruiser, you’ve found the right car. Just don’t try to parallel park it in town unless you have a few spotters onboard to help.

The seller says he bought this car from its original owner’s estate, and that it’s in great shape overall, thanks to a lifetime of being garaged in a car-friendly California climate. Both the paint and the interior are solid and look original, aside from some added pinstripes on the exterior. The car’s been given all new brakes, a rebuilt TH400 automatic transmission, a rebuilt 429-ci V8, and newer whitewall tires on all four corners. It sounds like all it really needs is a new owner—but that owner had better have a house with a very deep garage.

Cadillacs like this featured power everything and tended to be great highway cruisers, so what it may lack in city maneuverability it’ll make up for in outright comfort on the road. And it’s the perfect thing to get you noticed at that next cocktail party. Click the link to see the listing: 1967 Cadillac De Ville

The 300SL roadster and Gullwing have been iconic blue-chip collectibles for years now. And growing interest in those cars has boosted interest in these smaller, cheaper 190SLs. They don’t feature the same power or performance of their larger brothers, but these little SLs do have a lot of the same looks. And they’re great little drivers, with excellent build quality.

This 190SL looks to be in great overall condition, with red paint over a tan interior. The chassis and engine compartment are both clean, and all the chrome and trim appear to be unmarked. The paint is described as an average respray, and the body is called a 7 out of 10 – both of which make this a great candidate for a general use cruiser rather than an all-out show car.

The seller says this car is far from perfect, but mechanically, there are no issues aside from a possible carb . the toolkit and jack are also missing, so you’ll be hunting eBay’s Parts and Accessories listings to find those.

A total of 584 1955-1963 Mercedes-Benz 190SLs have sold on eBay Motors over the past few years, with average prices ranging from $30k to $60k, depending on condition. Keep in mind, this is no race car – but if you’re looking for a way to turn heads out on the road, this little red convertible with big money looks could be just the ticket. See the listing here.