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Welcome to Project Car Hell , where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! We had as close to a tie as you're going to see in the Hell Garage, last time around, with the '77 911 Turbo just barely beating the '78 911 Turbo in the poll. Now it's time to return to some mano-a-mano PCH Superpower action, and not only that- it's time to look at crazy orphan cars from across the ocean, cars that will make passersby shun you like the freak you are admire your rebellious spirit. France versus Britain! Simca versus Humber! You got your Reliants and your Lloyds, but when you're talking about weird British marques that Americans can't identify… well, it's tough to beat a Humber. You get your Rootes Group-ish Chrysler-influenced styling, Lucas Electrics, and ahead-of-its-time technology (well, not really, unless the time is being set in Detroit) with the Magnificent Humber Sceptre ! Just look at that fine hunk...
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It would appear that our readers are Lamborghini purists, given the 82/18 shellacking the V12-powered Espada issued to the Chevy-powered Espada in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. Either way, who would have imagined owning a genuine, almost-running Lamborghini for the price of a new base Camry? Project Car Hell beckons! As we say so often here: what could go wrong? Today we're going to leave PCH Superpower Italy and head to a nation not so well known for maddeningly difficult Hell Projects; yes, we're feeling so inspired by the vintage Japanese steel at the Motoring J Style show that we have no choice but to descend into the fiery furnace of Vintage Japanese Car Hell. The Japanese have been building super-reliable, easy-to-repair vehicles with good parts availability for so long now that we tend to forget that at one time they built crazy cars. Cars that rusted to nothingness before your eyes, full of components and designs from Britain and Italy... while at the same time...
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The extremely cheap, extremely sketchy (putatively) NSX-engine-powered Acura Legend obliterated the dime-a-dozen turbo Civic in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll , which is about what we expected. So what if we could find not just an NSX engine but an entire car for cheap (well, maybe entire isn't the right word here, but you get the idea)- what then? Well, then we have quite a dilemma when trying to find something to stack up against the Acura, a car that's equally cool, in spittin' distance of the NSX's price range, and hideously expensive when it comes to part obtainment. Perhaps it's an impossible task, but let's see how things sort out in today's Detroit-versus-Japan matchup! You want an NSX, and so do I. It's safe to say that you wouldn't be reading this series in the first place if you were the sort who doesn't want an NSX (unless your brand of garage masochism requires engines with carburetors... lots and lots of carburetors, in which...
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After a Corvette-inspired hiatus , we're back to Project Car Hell once again! When we left off, the '56 Mercedes-Benz 190SL had a slim lead over the 4x4 Karmann Ghia in the German Ass Bondo Choose Your Eternity poll. Today, we're going to leave the Continent and cross the Channel to the true home of Hell Projects- the island nation that has produced some of the coolest- yet most maddening- machines ever to leak oil over tattered knuckle-flesh: Great Britain. Sure, we had a Bentley and a Lotus just last week, but Hell never runs out of British cars. God Save The Queen! 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...
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After a pair of close ones, we finally had a decisive victory in our last Choose Your Eternity poll , with the Taurus SHO using its Yamaha power to roar to victory over the SRT- Faux by a 70/30 margin. We're not surprised by that, but we don't have the foggiest idea who should be considered the favorite in today's matchup. Either choice would be serious fun with all the bugs worked out... but such big, crawly bugs! Today we're going old school with the source for a PCH ad; I dropped by Alameda's Lee Auto Supply (the last independent auto-parts store in the area and sponsors of the Park Street Car Show ) and taped to the counter was this flyer for a '77 Lotus Eclat . The Eclat was essentially a fastback Elite, with all the pluses and minuses of the breed. You know it'll stick to the road... if it can reach the road, that is! This one is only $6500, and the seller claims it runs. Formerly owned by a "retired head mechanic for Lotus Racing," this car has...
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It turns out that almost 60% of our readers prefer a drivetrain-free Lambo to a Ferrari with a fried engine, according to Friday's Choose Your Eternity poll . And that's as it should be, given the creative suggestions we got about the type of engine(s) best suited to Il Diablo. For this Monday, however, we've decided to return to Package Deal Hell. See, it's not really Hell unless your neighbors are enraged from the moment you create your Instant Junkyard, and thanks to eagle-eyed tipster JimmyTheFly , we've got a pair of Seattle-style 3-in-1 deals that'll make you fell like the rain will never stop. Thing is, the difference between Hell and Seattle is that it rains water in Seattle and flaming starter fluid in Hell! What's the first thing you look for in a project car? Wait, there's no need to answer- we all know it's shiny bolts! Fortunately for you, this batch of three 1973 Fiat 850 Spiders comes with "lots of cleaned and polished parts and bolts," so you know the hard part is already...
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