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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Continental: Found this convertible MKIII Continental appeared yesterday around the corner from my house (Boston, MA). You can see a tarp in the back seat, so I am guessing the top isn't working at the moment. You can also see some wires bleeding from the driver door. You can't really see much from the pictures, but the car is beat-up from head to toe. It has a Key West "Mile 0" marker sticker, so I am wondering if or when it made that 27+/- hour trip. Im not sure who the "Quinn 74" sticker is for. Trying to find a specific Quinn in Boston is like trying to find a needle in a needle-stack. It has Mass plates, so I am surprised the body panels are not eaten-up. There is also a forth-gen Continental that lives on my street, I was going to send pictures with my better camera with that one.

Nova: I was riding around on my lunch time and found this early 70's Nova. It was sitting in the middle of a loading dock around an industrial/warehouse area in South Boston. I think it is a straight-six from the look of the oil pan.

Spitfire: Funny, after all that British Leyland talk, I rode past this Triumph yesterday after work. Seems to be in good condition, even the top looked good. I didn't spot any rust on it, besides on the muffler. I thought it was funny to see the Mass plate that says "Spirit of America" just over the Triumph badge. Spotted in an industrial area in South Boston.

How much does a project MGA go for these days? For that matter, what does a maybe-running Chevy 350 sell for? Consider your answers to those questions while you contemplate this 1956 MGA with Chevy 350, which has a price tag of $500... or "BEST OFFER BY THIS WEEKEND." Maybe the seller will take a hundred bucks! Fifty! You get a '56 MGA body on a Nissan pickup frame, with a Chevy 350 under the hood (and maybe even connected to the frame and/or drivetrain). This "WAS A PROJECT MANY YEARS AGO," so we're not sure what that makes it now. Oh, the mysteries you'll solve getting this thing in driving condition. Check out what appears to be an RV drinking-water tank used as a fuel tank! Thrill at the sight of those racing slicks, which will come in handy at the dragstrip when you'll plow straight into the nearest guardrail and take a helicopter ride to the nearest ER break off some 11-second times to the roar of an approving crowd! Or maybe you could set it up to handle and have a very, very poor man's Cobra! Thanks to W1ngnut for the tip.

That 350-powered MG would be loads of fun, but the disc brakes and independent rear suspension of more recent British iron would be nice to have with V8 power under the bonnet. Yes, we're talking Triumph TR6 here, and Junkman suggests this '71 TR6 with Chevy 350 as an easy weekend project. Hey, if Junkman thinks it's a good car, who are we to disagree? Sometimes you see a description like "Chevy V8 conversion started, but far from finished. Has 350ci V8 & auto transmisiion just setting in it" and you figure it's best to just back away slowly, but that's a quitter's attitude! There's rust. The interior is obliterated. But, as the seller says, "it is what it is & they are bringing $15-$30k restored." You see? This car is a license to print money! But you won't want to sell it once you get it driving, because the power-to-weight ratio will be a one-way ticket to the cemetary so exhilarating.

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Say your '73 Porsche 911, which you bought brand-new, failed to pass the Washington smog test 17 years later. Would you break out the wrenches and make it pass... or would you convert it to electric power? Exactly! And that's what the owner of this 1973 Porsche 911T did, installing electric motor, batteries, the works. We may have to dock some PCH points here for the good grammar and detailed description (and where's the official eBay CAPS LOCK style?), especially since the seller has a big website full of info on the project, but don't worry- the hell is still there! See, the electric 911 stopped running after 357 miles, and it's been sitting since 1999. The seller straight-up says "This was an electric car. To be one again, a lot of work is needed." There's corrosion from battery-acid leakage. The brakes are garbooned. There's all the stuff you'd normally have to deal with on a car that's been sitting in a damp climate for a decade. But still, electric 911! Imagine getting this thing geared up for some Tesla-hunting!

Could a fully restored, turn-key electric car really be considered a project? You bet... as long as it's a British Leyland product. I don't care how many components you replace, the spirit of Joe Lucas will always come along for the ride in this electric 1980 Triumph Spitfire. The Spitfire is a popular subject for electric-drive conversion; it's small, light, sporty, and the fact that nobody in his or her right mind wants one makes Spitfire deals quite cheap. This one has a 120-volt motor and ten 135AH batteries, and the seller claims it will do 75 MPH. Range? Who knows? The seller says it's at least 35 miles. We suggest ditching all that lo-po gear and building it up to White Zombie standards... well, once you've fixed all the stuff that will break just getting into your garage. Thanks to BZR for the tip!

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...the Ferrari macher went into the first curve, realized he was heading in too quick and after nailing brakes — and shot like a cannon into the rest of the pack. Although Schumi wasn't physically hurt, we're hoping assuming his pride was given a quick punch to the gut. [via Motor.nl]

We had a Triumph GT6 just last week, but somehow that wasn't enough British Leyland Hell! Plus it sat for 23 years, which may have been just a little too challenging. So how about a GT6 that's only been sitting for 20 years? For a mere $2,000 (Canadian), this 1972 Triumph GT6 (which its seller describes as a "Good project car right out of Austin Powers the spy who shagged me") could fill your garage with dashed hopes and crushed dreams of roaring about town in your very own six-cylinder British sports car. The seller claims the body is in good shape, but there's some scary-looking damage around the windshield frame. The "Engine rebuilt before storing in 1988 long story," and we're betting that long story has plenty of twists and turns and confusing epilogues. Would it be sacrilege to suggest dropping a 2JZ-GTE in this thing?

Call it a Volkswagen, call it a Porsche, but a 914 by any name has great mid-engined hoonage potential. You can keep things all Porsche in the engine compartment, maybe even make it a homegrown 914-6, or you can stuff a wild Subaru boxer in there for some oversteeringly dangerous fun. The great thing about the 914 is that you won't have a posse of Porsche purists ready to string you up if you feel like, say, making a 914amino out of one. So head on up to London (no, the other London), where $2,500 Canadian dollars will buy you this 1973 Porsche 914. The seller states "project car lost interest," but you know you won't lose interest, right? Especially not with "all parts are here for it some new still in the package" and "new floors welded in already." Maybe it's just a matter of bolting on all the parts and roaring away! Or maybe not... actually, almost certainly not.

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(Buick): I saw this lovely ol' gal docked in Pacific Beach and thought you might enjoy. She appears to be original and the relative lack of rust tells me she hasn't spent her whole life in CO. I'd peg it as a '68, giving it the 2bbl 350, right?
(Triumph) I saw this beautiful Stag, replete with removable HT option, when I went to my neighborhood c-store today. Apart from the dirty water spots and the slushbox, the car is absolutely flawless. Don't know about you, but I don't see one of these every day - let alone in such great condition. Hopefully has owned it over the years has been insane enough to keep the original TR 3.0 liter V8.

In addition to his Triumph, Schumacher brought his track prepped Ducati 1098R and Desmosedici RR to the Barcelona track for testing. It's not known which series, if any, Schumacher would choose to participate in, but it's assumed he can pretty much write his own ticket. Any lack luster performance would be made up for by his crowd-pulling name. [Via Motorcycle News]

In 1963, an Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint coupe sold new in the United States for $5,895. That was $1,200 more than a '63 Stingray with the optional 360-horse L84 engine. So you gotta figure this '63 Alfa Romeo 2600 (go here if the ad disappears) for just $1,900 is the mother of all steals- I mean, what's an L84 Corvette worth these days? You'll be laughing at all those Alfa drivers with wimpy four-bangers under the hood, because this car has a wild DOHC inline six with three sidedraft carburetors. Just pause and contemplate that for a second: a 45-year-old Italian car with an engine family that's been extinct since 1968 and three finicky carburetors for you to try (and fail) to synchronize! This one will need some work before you can even get to that part, however, because "car has a lot of rust hood,doors, rockers" and "the int. is dust but all." We're not sure quite what to make of that last statement, but we're pretty sure it's not good news. The engine is still there and the seller claims to have the carburetors and steering wheel, so you can feel certain that you'd have at least 45% of the parts you'd need to get this machine back into glorious driving condition.

With Britain in ruins from fighting those goddamn Huns and nothing but economic gloom promised for the next decade or so, what did the Triumph Motor Company decide to build in 1946? That's right, a seriously cool-looking sports car, with an aluminum body stamped using the same presses that made Mosquito bomber components. Let the Germans build depressing, clattery little insectoid rides in their bombed-out factories; the British were going first-class all the way in their rubble-strewn assembly plants! You figure that not many '46 Triumph Roadsters were built, so your dream of owning one could never come true... until now! Here's one (go here if the ad disappears) for a mere $3,800! Just in case you can't tell from the photos, the seller wants you to know that it "needs a full restoration." The seller also states that the car is "missing some parts but well worth the effort to restore," and there's no arguing with at least half of that statement. How hard can '46 Triumph parts be to find, anyway? Come on, be an optimist- they're out there somewhere; perhaps there's a warehouse in Uttar Pradesh with everything you'll need, for just a few rupees! The aluminum body means some of the car won't have rust, and you'll be able to remedy that 34.4-second 0-60 time (!) by simply dropping in a Triumph V8 out of a Stag (please oh please, somebody buy this car and do that swap!).

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The first is what looks to be a 1966 Plymouth Fury III, which was, from what I can tell, Plymouth's halo car at the time. Pretty clean example; I really dig the design for being clean and classy and imposing at the same time. While it's not as fantastic as, say, a late-'50s anything or a '71-'73 boattail Riviera, it does what it sets out to do well.
Next I will show you the other end of Plymouth's spectrum, which I happened to find and photograph about 5 minutes after this one.

This is the opposite end of Plymouth's line from the Fury III I'd photographed five minutes before this Valiant. This one was just around the corner and couple blocks up Magazine Street from the Fury in one of New Orleans's more popular Uptown shopping districts. The Valiant seems to be Plymouth's pre-Malaise economy badge (replaced by the Volare! YES!); this one's in pretty awful condition but is driven at least some, considering its condition, the fact that it's on Mississippi tags, and that I saw it on the road a couple miles away about seven hours later and thought "Wow, look at that old drab-green car coming down the—hey I photographed that car this morning!" Everything cosmetic on this car seems to be falling apart/off, especially the grille and the side trim. Dents everywhere, tooNext is a different sort of Detroit iron from the same year as the Fury.

I'm not sure how I'd convinced myself beyond a doubt earlier that this was definitely a '66, but the shape of the dashboard plants it firmly between '64 and '66. Regardless, I've seen this old multicoloured workhorse parked Uptown on Magazine Street a number of times. I thought it had been in a different place each time but the notice on the dashboard indicated it hadn't been moved in over a month. Either way, I finally shot it between my walk from the Fury to the Valiant. I wonder what the original colour was, because the internet would have me believe that the grilles on these were all chrome.
Next: another day, another car... same five blocks.

While I was photographing this car around the corner from the cigar shop at which my buddy Andrew works, a couple walked by and said something about their landlord trying to sell this car, or something. I passed, because I'm broke, but if I'd had the cash to throw around I'm sure I'd have made an offer. It's advertised as a '65 so I didn't really look into identification other than it's definitely a '64-'66. I can't get over the generally spacey design, but where are the hubcaps? Also, I apologise for the grainy/washed-out photos, most of them have been enhanced because these were taken on my iPhone (decent sensor, awful lens) in the shade. The straight-on rear shot is probably the only one accurate colour-wise.
The next car is a break from Detroit and a break from New Orleans, as well.

This one comes from a rainy day on LSU's campus. I see this car parked in central campus almost every day, so it must be some faculty/staff member's daily driver. I always notice that there's about a half inch between the windows and the roof and wondered what happened when it rained. Well, apparently he/she drives it anyway. I caught it on a campus street and not in a parking lot once so I thought it would be a good opportunity to photograph it. I want to say it's between '74 and '76 mostly because of the enormous Malaise rubber bumper... things (though this example only has one) that seem to have grown for '74, and I think a couple details were changed for '77. Paraphrasing Clarkson, I'd say the driver is very brave, or stupid.
Finally I'll take you back to New Orleans, but the next car comes from a different part of Uptown.

Finally, a car I found driving through a different part of Uptown avoiding Mardi Gras parade traffic. Pretty good example of the transition between the flash of the late '50s and the more subdued mid-late '60s. Crown on the grille, but a small one; tiny fins above the headlights; grille-thing under the trunklid. Also, fuzzy dice!

Looks like I got each half of my Prius in a couple of the photos; interesting to note the differences in automotive-design-inspired-by-spacecraft-design from 1963 to 2006, although I'm sure comparisons with that '65 T-bird would have been more appropriate.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the submissions, I know I'll enjoy seeing them on the site...eventually. Keep up the good work; DOTS is one of my favourite parts of Jalopnik!

Many thanks, A Strolling Player, and also thanks to the rest of you who send your Down On The Street Bonus Edition photos my way. Apologies to those of you who have been waiting and waiting to see your DOTSBE photos on the site; my time- and file-management systems haven't been quite as efficient as they might be, but I'll get caught up yet!

First, let's watch the trailer, to get into the right frame of mind. Remember, these bloodthirsty babes are roaming the same desert than the Manson Family made their own a few years later!

As I've mentioned before, Tura Satana's Porsche 356 gets all the attention, but the other two cars driven by Tura's murderous gang deserve equal consideration. So, let's start with Lori Williams' Triumph TR3.


I'm going to get lazy here and copy the description from the England's Dreaming PCH here: Imagine blasting across the desert like a Russ Meyer-esque dangerous outcast in your very own 50s Triumph... say, this 1959 TR3 (go here if the ad disappears), for example. The seller, Mike, is a man who doesn't believe in sucking all the oxygen out of the air with useless discussion (instead, he saves oxygen for vigorous union with iron atoms in the floor of his Triumph); the sum total of the car's description is as follows: "Mostly complete, California car, rust in floors, hard to find classic." It looks like it's been exposed to the elements for a while, so you figure there's some interior work to be done in addition to the rust repair and the inevitable battles against electrical woes, but who cares? Imagine this thing with the body in nice shape and a crazy twin-cam Japanese engine under the hood!


Yes, the TR3 is a mighty fine machine and all, but those bulging headlights might be just a little too cute for a true Tura Satana sidekick's ride. But this 1960 MGA (go here if the ad disappears) is quite the mean machine, with its 79-horse 1600 engine and heartbreaking Lucas electrics. The seller claims the engine and transmission are in working order, and that there's no rust on the body panels. However, mention of the rust situation in other areas (say, the floor... or the chassis) is conspicuously absent from the description. The car comes with a bunch of extra parts, and there may well be enough of them to put together one somewhat complete MGA. All for just $3,500! We'd recommend swapping out the original engine for a 4A-GZE, because your potential desert prey will be driving faster cars than they were in the mid-60s; 79 horsepower will allow everything but Rabbit Diesels and early Hyundai Excels to flee with ease. Then, of course, you'll need to paint it white, to match Haji's car from the movie.


All right, now we're done with the British cars and we're ready to take a look at the car driven by the leader of the pack (by the way, Ms. Satana celebrated her 69th birthday at Alameda's Forbidden Island tiki bar a few months ago, so maybe one of the DOTS cars belongs to her). I know a lot of you are probably saying something like "Dude, no way can you buy a real Porsche 356 anywhere near as cheap as those other two cars!" right about now, but that's because you haven't yet seen this 1964 Porsche 356 (go here if the ad disappears) for a stunningly cheap price tag of $4,995. We'll allow that it's missing a few things here and there. Such as the engine. And the transmission. And the floor. All right, fine, it's a rolling 356 shell- but, hey, at least it's not a Beetle-based kit car! We figure you could stuff a hairy Subaru mill in there and triple the horsepower while applying fingernails to the mental chalkboards of Porsche purists everywhere.

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Most folks who watch Faster Pussycat! Kill, Kill! come away with the impression that Tura Satana's Porsche 356 was the most badass of the murderous pack-o-women's stable of vehicles. But don't overlook Lori Williams' Triumph! Imagine blasting across the desert like a Russ Meyer-esque dangerous outcast in your very own 50s Triumph... say, this 1959 TR3 (go here if the ad disappears), for example. The seller, Mike, is a man who doesn't believe in sucking all the oxygen out of the air with useless discussion (instead, he saves oxygen for vigorous union with iron atoms in the floor of his Triumph); the sum total of the car's description is as follows: "Mostly complete, California car, rust in floors, hard to find classic." It looks like it's been exposed to the elements for a while, so you figure there's some interior work to be done in addition to the rust repair and the inevitable battles against electrical woes, but who cares? Imagine this thing with the body in nice shape and a crazy twin-cam Japanese engine under the hood! Thanks (and a Project Car Hell Tipster T-shirt) to Jonee for the tip; Jonee gets his shirt the hard way, by submitting single cars for two different PCHs.

What's even cooler than a taut little British sports car? A stately British luxury car, of course! A car you can enter while wearing a top hat. A car that floats along the pavement like an ocean liner, oblivious to the quotidian woes that beset one's social inferiors. A car with an electrical system by Joe Lucas. Yes, we're talking Rolls-Royce here; in fact, we're talking about a 1980 Rolls-Royce with a bid price of 100 bucks! OK, skeptics, point out that the reserve price hasn't been met, but we bet the seller will be open-minded about any offer in the three-digit range. After all, this car has a few minor issues. Such as: It doesn't run. The right front body is crunched (though the blurry, uncentered photographs make it tough to ascertain the extent of the damage). And, as is so often the case, there's no title. All those drawbacks mean nothing, however, next to the glory of owning your own Roller! Thanks (and a half-credit towards a Project Car Hell Tipster T-shirt) to BananaDoc for the tip!

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We used to think the Ford Mainline had the coolest name of any 40s American car, but that was before we found out about the Playboy. In 1947, the Playboy Motor Company of Buffalo, New York, built 98 cars. The '47 Playboy had a 40-horse flathead four... but this Playboy has been given a chassis transplant! Yes, the chassis and running gear from an '86 GMC S-15 have been married to the Playboy's body, resulting in better ground clearance and dignified good looks that will make Hugh Hefner himself rend his smoking jacket in envy. As for mechanical condition or any difficulties resulting from the not-really-completed swap... well, the engine runs! We don't know what kind of engine, or transmission, or anything else, you get here, but so? This Playboy just needs some TLC to be ready to knock 'em dead, Buffalo style!

Sure, you can call yourself a playboy by driving a car with that name, but a real playboy drives British machinery. And a playboy with a lot of tools and patience drives this pair of Triumphs! For an as-yet-undetermined reserve price (though you will get dinged with a 4% "service charge" if you pay via PayPal), you get a '68 TR250 and a TR4. The seller doesn't know the year of the TR4, but that's OK because he also doesn't have a title for either car. There's rust. Oh yes, there's definitely rust. But you get the 6-cylinder engine out of the 250, and enough parts between them to make most of a complete car! Looks like both cars have been disassembled and their parts scattered all over hell, so there's really no telling what you actually get. But imagine the smooth British style you'd be flashing behind the wheel of the finished project- what would it take, a couple weeks of work?

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Now, when you think about a 70s British car with a V8, you figure it's got to be the good ol' GM/Rover unit, right? Nothing to fear with that well-understood powerplant. However, British Leyland wasn't about to go bolting some engine of colonial origin in their new hot-rod luxury convertible, not when they had an overhead-cam Triumph V8 being knocked together by their loyal workers (between bouts of picket-line duty). That's why this 1971 Triumph Stag comes with three screaming liters of British steel under the hood, and for the shilling-pinching price of just 1500 bucks! Well, maybe this particular car's engine isn't quite up to screaming status; the seller doesn't utter a word about mechanical condition. The seller hasn't looked in the trunk, but swears it "doesnt look like a rusty car by any means," so all you'll need to worry about is every single mechanical component in the vehicle. And the interior. We're not going to lie- even by the standards of British Leyland build quality, the Stag stands out as a particularly trouble-prone car. But if you could get this one working right, you'd have a rare machine that would turn heads and sound great with Cherry Bombs.

All right, lovers of German machinery, we know you're shaking your heads in mixed dismay and contempt at those suckaz who think a British car could ever measure up to the painstaking craftsmanship and design prowess of monocle-wearing engineers from Deutschland. Well, peel off your driving gloves and break out every single tool you ever imagined owning, because here's a 1979 Porsche 911 for a never-imagined-possible price of $1600... or best offer! At that price you might reckon it needs some work, and you reckoned correctly. First of all, the seller says the engine smokes, but since it's out of the car you won't know if "smoke" actually refers to "smoke plus chunks of metal spewing from big holes in the case and several cylinders" until it's too late. As for the condition of the body... just remember, it's only 1600 bucks, or maybe less! No mention of condition of interior, brakes, electrical system, suspension, so you gotta figure that stuff might add a few more dollars to the project budget.

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For quite a while now we've been receiving reports that a new 928 is coming. To which we have always said "Boo Ya!" with the right side of our mouth, and "yeah right" with the left. Up until today the word on the street has been that after the four-door Panamera launches in 2009, they'll begin hammering on a two-door version due out in 2012 or so. Well guess what? A janitor spy deep within Porsche is claiming that a two door Panamera has been in the pipeline the entire time. Seems that Porsche has been keeping a close eye on the Bentley boys and their two-headed Continental GT/Flying Spur monster. Though, unlike the German British two-door, the new 928 (can we just go ahead and call it the 928?) will be all about über performance, not waftable GT luxury. Seeing as how Porsche and VAG are as inbred as a racehorse, might be the only way to sneak a new 928 into production. Put us down for the twin-turbo V8 version please. And, if they drop in the V10 from the Carrera GT, we'll take two. And for the love of the fatherland, make it look like the old 928. – Jonny Lieberman

Porsche building a 928 successor based on Panamera? [Motor Authority]

Related:
Wait, What?: Yet Another Porsche May Be On the Way; Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Porsche 928 [Internal]

This clever ad for the Triumph Herald requires some suspension of disbelief (the well-dressed car thief, the lack of failures in at least several Lucas Electric components) but is quite entertaining in a Keystone Kops way. Of course, we don't see the billy-club drum solo the cop plays on the dude's head... – Murilee Martin
text [source]

Related:
TR7: The Shape Of Things To Come [internal]

As the narrator of this Pathe newsreel tells it, the 1967 models were to be The Big Drive for the British auto manufacturing industry, because "exports must increase if the country is to pay its way." We see such hot-selling British success stories as the Singer Chamois Sport and the Hillman Hunter (which features booth babes dressed in fox-hunting gear), plus a nice assortment of non-British stuff. How about a '67 Ferrari 365P, with that bizarre 3-seater setup? Or a Saab Sonnet? Too bad about the country not paying its way, of course, but some nice cars nonetheless. – Murilee Martin

Related:
British Steel: The 1962 London Motor Show [internal]

From gas-powered to electric auto in 36 hours flat: Part 1, Part 2 [Christian Science Monitor]

Related:
Lightningkiss '72: 12-Second Electric Datsun Doorslammer [internal]

British V8 Photo Gallery [BritishV8.org]

Related:
Brits Tout British-Built Cars' Popularity in Britain [internal]

Back in 1962, when it seemed the sun would never set on the British auto industry, the new '63 models were proudly displayed at the Earl's Court London Motor Show. All the usual suspects are here in this newsreel, from the Hillman Super Minx to the Lotus Elan, with plenty of science-fair-style cutaway vehicles showing their innards and car-show babes galore. – Murilee Martin

Related:
Lotus's Master Plan: Three New Models in Five Years [internal]

Yeah, the TR7 sucked so hard that owners had a tough time opening their garage doors (due to the mighty pressure differential created by the car's overwhelming "suck field"). But still, when I was a young lad, dreaming of future wheels, I thought the wedge-shaped Triumph was cool as hell. The TR7 had a typical lifespan of about 18 months, from that first undiagnosable cascading electrical malfunction to the final grenaded transmission, but there was a period in the mid-70s when you saw them sputtering all over California's streets (tellingly, the TR7's main competition at the time was the Fiat X-1/9). Who knows, this 1976 ad may have been the reason for the car's popularity, with its beaded-hippie driver and his various wedge-shaped garages (apparently Triumph was shooting for the all-important Grateful Dead Road Crew demographic). Enjoy. – Murilee Martin

So What Is The TR7? [TriumphTR7.com]

Related:
James May's Manly Triumph [internal]

Coop is a many of many projects. Not quite as relentlessly prolific as his pal Mister Jalopy, Mister Cooper tends to take things a little more slowly. He also updates his blog more often. Unless the project in question is acquiring a set of Plomb tools in the original box sitting on a garage sale table. Then that sucker moves like a chimp with cheetah legs pumped full of crank. He's tentatively decided to enter the world of obscene torque, and as such has secured himself a Triumph chopper frame, which he will then stuff full of electricity. We think this is a splendid idea, because Coop in biker garb is just a really fun thing to think about. – Davey G. Johnson

From The House of Bad Ideas [Positive Ape Index]

Related:
Coop Goes Toolin' for Value, Scores! [Internal]

"Dad" hat [BozBros]

Wherein Captain Slow insults Clarkson and Hammond and asserts that the Triumph TR6 may be the ultimate automotive totem of British masculinity. Watch, enjoy, discuss amongst yourselves. – Davey G. Johnson

Related:
BBC Bows To Richard Hammond's Hamster Death-Grip, Will Air Jet-Car Crash Video [Internal]

Bumbeck came down from the hills in the Mighty Starlet to catch a showing of Cars today (which totally brought out the softy in us, and may well be our favorite Pixar film yet — disregard the haters and see it). He calls and says, "Hey, I just ran across this awesome bike show," which happened to be at Century Motorcycles (since 1936!), only a few blocks up from us on Pacific. We'd been meaning to check the shop out, and we're kicking ourselves for not going in sooner. Oh man...if your tastes run toward old bikes, we have to say, this show was a killer. Even the Harleys there were well-sorted, although most of the machines were either of British or Japanese origin. This might well be the best motorcycle show we've ever attended, because practically everything there was a runner, and those that weren't, well, they were all rad and weird in their own way. Click through for a grip of photos.

Reader James hipped us to this post from the bountiful bosom of the Dallas-area craigslist. It's a '70 Triumph GT body fused to a shortened Chevelle chassis. We're not quite sure what the whole purpose of this excercise was, but since it's only $200 bucks, the money you saved by not buying a sensible car could go into a blown-alcohol 454, making this disturbing vehicle perfect for taking on the Main Force Police.

1970 Triumph GT FrankenCar - $200 [craigslist]

Who Needs an FXX When You Can Have a Pinto? [Internal]