PCH, Bad Things Like You Done In Weed Edition: Triumph TR3A Or Alfa Romeo Duetto?

Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! In yet another PCH Superpower Showdown, Italy triumphs over Britain with the Fiat X1/9 beating the MGB-GT in the Index of Effluency Edition poll. That means Fiat has the honor of displaying the PCH Superpower trophy today (better put a drip pan underneath it, and keep the kitty litter handy)... but the Italians will have to give it back to the British tomorrow if they don't make it two in a row, because we're returning with another UK-versus-Italy matchup!
Only one of these cars is located in Weed, California, but when you get a chance to use an Of Mice And Men reference in a headline, you take it. This particular Bad Thing in Weed (go here if the ad disappears) is a project car with "basket case" right in the title... followed by a price that must be a typo, right? Right? Come on now, when a nicely restored TR3A goes for a princely 15-20 grand, $3,000 is a steal! This one has been sitting for at least 30 years, casting a pall over the seller's visions of a happy retirement, but don't think it's hopeless- hey, "Most parts are complete" according to the seller, who helpfully adds that "those that are missing like the windshield are available from other collectors." It's a California car, but it's clearly been sitting outside for decades, which means there will be rust in the areas rainwater collects. But damn, it would be a blast to have a TR3 to call your own, especially if you upgraded from the original 100-horse engine to something Japanese with lots of cams and boost.
Wouldn't it be great to have an example of the last car Battista 'Pinin' Farina designed? Yes, the Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto, a car so heartbreakingly beautiful that you've always assumed you could never afford one. But wait! What about this 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider (go here if the ad disappears), priced at a totally reasonable $3,450? The seller's statement "Parts in the trunk!" pretty much sums it up, though some weaker souls might find the statement "some rust here and there, mostly on trunk, hood, lower doors, and some underneath, and inside floor pans" disquieting, but how bad could it be? More importantly, what kind of insane engine could you fit in it? Don't try any funny stuff with the seller, though, because he or she has included the very effective "Scammers Stay Away" magic spell in the listing (we especially like the clever circumventing of CL's anti-keyword-spam rules via the use of the word "not" followed by a bunch of other car makes in the title).

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