Madman's Shed of the Week

[Raza]

I know they exist, but I've never seen a manual minivan before.  This is a first.

Never seen a Mazda5 before?

[the Teuton]

Those vans are a PITA to work on... Still, pretty cool!

They don't break.  I've never seen a low mileage Previa have any problems.  It's almost as if Toyota didn't think it was necessary to service the engine.

Never seen a Mazda5 before?

And I suppose then that the Colt Vista Wagon counts then, too, right?

[ChrisV]

14-20 October 2007.



You guys know how much I love these things.

My second Shed of the Week is a 1992 Volvo 240 sedan.  Bulletproof 2.3 litre B230F engine and Aisin-Warner AW70 4-speed automatic.  Blue and unknown miles, this one's being sold by a local beater lot for the bargain price of $1,495.

I'm willing to bet some hard-nosed negotiating will bring this down close to the one grand mark.  It looks to be in pretty good shape and, being VERY familiar with these tanks, I can fix just about anything that's likely to go wrong.

If it weren't for limited space, I would have a whole yard full of classic RWD Volvos.


Cheers,
Madman of the People

Looking at the wagon version of this car right now, for the princely sum of $300 on the local caraigslist. Says it has a leak in the brake system he can't find after putting new pads and rotors on it...

[S204STi]

Looking at the wagon version of this car right now, for the princely sum of $300 on the local caraigslist. Says it has a leak in the brake system he can't find after putting new pads and rotors on it...

That actually sounds like a deal...is the rest of it solid?  Probably just has a rusty brake line or something...

[ChrisV]

That actually sounds like a deal...is the rest of it solid?  Probably just has a rusty brake line or something...

Bought it last night. No rust, and seems quite solid. Looks to be leaking in the master cyl, which is an $80 part.

[Vinsanity]

OMG! congrats!

[L. ed foote]

Bought it last night. No rust, and seems quite solid. Looks to be leaking in the master cyl, which is an $80 part.

Should've talked him down to $250; then you could've entered the BABE Rally 

[Raza]

Stick or auto?

[J86]

Bought it last night. No rust, and seems quite solid. Looks to be leaking in the master cyl, which is an $80 part.

niiiiiiiice dude!  I have an enormous affinity for those things...almost bought one last year.  My uncle had an 88 240 wagon, stick, that he spent lots of time at IPD on...  thing would SMOKE some pretty nice cars goin' up hills.

[ChrisV]

It's going to my brother in law, since we got the pickup that he was driving (the one that is going to my kid). My wife thought it only fair to give them a car to drive this winter (since their other daily driver lunched it's transmission), so I'm going to fix the brakes and give it to him. It's an auto, but beggars can't be choosers, especially in this price range. This will bring the price of the "free" truck up to $400 or so.

[Madman]

28 October-3 November 2007:

This week's shed is the newest so far.



It's a 1997 Saab 900 SE Coupe (3-Door hatch).  Arrest-me-red, auto, 2.0 Turbo, sunroof, leather, alloys, cassette (woo-hoo!) and unknown miles (dealer doesn't say in ad).  This sexy Swede is a steal at only $2,900.

My brother has a 1998 900 S Coupe with the same drivetrain (his is blue) and it's been a great car.  If I were in the market, I'd be all over this one!


Cheers,
Madman of the People

[omicron]

Now there's a fine car. Alarm bells are ringing given the dealer's lack of disclosure about the mileage, but with a sound service history that's not necessarily a problem. These old Saabs and Volvos just keep on going, given proper maintenance.

[J86]

It's going to my brother in law, since we got the pickup that he was driving (the one that is going to my kid). My wife thought it only fair to give them a car to drive this winter (since their other daily driver lunched it's transmission), so I'm going to fix the brakes and give it to him. It's an auto, but beggars can't be choosers, especially in this price range. This will bring the price of the "free" truck up to $400 or so.

nothing is fre

[Raghavan]

28 October-3 November 2007:

This week's shed is the newest so far.



It's a 1997 Saab 900 SE Coupe (3-Door hatch).  Arrest-me-red, auto, 2.0 Turbo, sunroof, leather, alloys, cassette (woo-hoo!) and unknown miles (dealer doesn't say in ad).  This sexy Swede is a steal at only $2,900.

My brother has a 1998 900 S Coupe with the same drivetrain (his is blue) and it's been a great car.  If I were in the market, I'd be all over this one!


Cheers,
Madman of the People

Make it a 5 speed and that's one nice car.

[ChrisV]

It's going to my brother in law, since we got the pickup that he was driving (the one that is going to my kid). My wife thought it only fair to give them a car to drive this winter (since their other daily driver lunched it's transmission), so I'm going to fix the brakes and give it to him. It's an auto, but beggars can't be choosers, especially in this price range. This will bring the price of the "free" truck up to $400 or so.

Here's pics of the $400 Volvo. The guy said it had a leak in the brake system that he couldn't find. Turns out to be leaking heavily out of the right front caliper. I found a replacement for $35 and will change it out this weekend. Runs good otherwise.





if I were to keep it, it'd probably get a 5.0 dropped in...

[Vinsanity]

man, I'm jealous!

I paid $1500 in 1998 for a 1984 240 sedan with a paint job that looks like it was left in the primate exhibit at the zoo for the monkeys to throw feces at.

At least it ran like a champ for two good years, though, until it started leaking motor oil and needed an engine rebuild.

Good luck with your Volvo!

[Madman]

4-10 November 2007:

Depreciation can be your friend!



This week's shed exemplifies how a financial disaster for the original owner can be the deal of a lifetime for the canny shed hunter.  Take this rig, for example; a 2000 Cadillac Catera (AKA Opel/Vauxhall Omega).  A base-model Catera would have set you back $30,860 in 2000.  Today you can buy this very example shown here for only $2,950. 

Yep, a mere seven years later, the "Caddy that Zigs" can be yours for less than one-tenth it's original list price.  This one has 115,000 miles, tan leather interior, sunroof, OnStar and a Bose CD player.  The post facelift Cateras (2000-01) benefited from a comprehensive re-engineering inside and out.  I wouldn't touch the earlier (1997-99) Catera, but these later ones were properly sorted and still rank as one of the best handling cars GM has ever sold in America.

I almost wish I were in the market right now! 


Cheers,
Madman of the People

[the Teuton]

I really liked Catera 2.0.  I thought it was a very cool car, and the interior was great for what it was.

[Raza]

Interesting.  Shame they never sold them with a stick.

[the Teuton]

Interesting.  Shame they never sold them with a stick.

GTO conversion, anyone?

[nickdrinkwater]

4-10 November 2007:

Depreciation can be your friend!



This week's shed exemplifies how a financial disaster for the original owner can be the deal of a lifetime for the canny shed hunter.  Take this rig, for example; a 2000 Cadillac Catera (AKA Opel/Vauxhall Omega).  A base-model Catera would have set you back $30,860 in 2000.  Today you can buy this very example shown here for only $2,950. 

Yep, a mere seven years later, the "Caddy that Zigs" can be yours for less than one-tenth it's original list price.  This one has 115,000 miles, tan leather interior, sunroof, OnStar and a Bose CD player.  The post facelift Cateras (2000-01) benefited from a comprehensive re-engineering inside and out.  I wouldn't touch the earlier (1997-99) Catera, but these later ones were properly sorted and still rank as one of the best handling cars GM has ever sold in America.

I almost wish I were in the market right now! 


Cheers,
Madman of the People

I really like the look of that.

But one of the best handling cars GM has sold in America?  That speaks volumes for GM!  The Omega is hardly a Ferrari!

[Madman]

I really like the look of that.

But one of the best handling cars GM has sold in America?  That speaks volumes for GM!  The Omega is hardly a Ferrari!

Compared to the pathetic Oldsmobiles and Buicks that could have been had for similar money, the Catera was a Ferrari!  Okay, it was no BMW M5 in terms of performance but it was (in much-improved facelifted form) a well-balanced and tidy-handling car.  By this point, GM had killed off nearly all of it's rear-drive cars and has NEVER produced a decent front-drive chassis.  (Not in America, anyway)

Cadillac's core customer base of pimps and pensioners just didn't "get" the Catera.  The fact that it looked like a Chevrolet Lumina hire car didn't help, either.  But it did inspire Cadillac to dump the wobbly front-drive geezermobiles it had been producing for the last two decades and start building the halfway decent CTS and STS.

Yeah, the Catera took a lot of stick for not being a "real" Cadillac.  But that was actually the best thing about it!


Cheers,
Madman of the People

[CALL_911]

I used to like the look of the Catera. Now it's bland and vanilla as hell.

[ChrisV]

I used to like the look of the Catera. Now it's bland and vanilla as hell.

Doesn't have to be...

[Madman]

11-17 November 2007:

This week I'm wearing IFCAR's "Mr. Sensible" hat.

.


And it doesn't get any more sensible (or basic) than this.  A 1999 Dodge Caravan.  It's got a 2.4 litre four-banger, a four speed overdrive auto and not much else.  Sunroof? No.  CD Player? Nope.  C'mon, it at least has a cassette deck, right?  No, not even a cassette deck!


Power windows?  Are you kidding!?!


Alloy wheels?  Not a chance!


But at least it does seat seven.....


......and has incredibly few miles on the clock!


Yep, that says 34,393 miles.  And the price is only $3,950.  How can a sensible family man say no to this?  The lack of amenities just means there's less stuff to break or go wrong.  Yeah, I can see myself getting into this whole sensible thing!  It's not so bad and...uh....wait, what's going on?

My head.....it's BURNING!  GOT TO GET THIS HAT OFF MY HEAD NOW!!!!!!!!

Whew, that's a relief.  I can't believe I was actually considering the merits (such as they are) of a Chrysler minivan!  I'm giving IFCAR his "sensible" hat back.  That thing is just too dangerous.

Don't worry, the Shed of the Week will return to normal service next week.


Cheers,
Madman of the People

[Vinsanity]

Wow, I thought my car had low miles for a 2004, and I'm just a cross-country road trip away from catching up with that car's odo.

Doesn't look like that van has a/c, though

[Raza]

I really like the look of that.

But one of the best handling cars GM has sold in America?  That speaks volumes for GM!  The Omega is hardly a Ferrari!

Read this:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/3807/2001-holden-hsv-gts-r-300-v-2001-bmw-m5.html

[Madman]

Wow, I thought my car had low miles for a 2004, and I'm just a cross-country road trip away from catching up with that car's odo.

Doesn't look like that van has a/c, though

The ad says it has air con.  Then again, it might not.  This same van is listed on two different sites.  One says it's an SE while the other says it's an LE.  Was air con not standard equipment on these?  No air con is a deal-breaker for me.

Yeah, the low mileage really caught my attention.  Also the fact that it had the sliding doors on both sides (some Chryslers of this vintage only have the one sliding door on the passenger side) and it has the four cylinder with the four speed overdrive transmission.  The V6 is just too thirsty and some of these vans have a three speed (WTF?) auto.

Cheers,
Madman of the People

EDIT: I just noticed a button with a little snowflake icon on the bottom of the climate panel.  So it does appear to have air con.

[93JC]

Also the fact that it had the sliding doors on both sides (some Chryslers of this vintage only have the one sliding door on the passenger side)

I think that was only the first couple years of that body style. It became a standard feature.

and it has the four cylinder with the four speed overdrive transmission.  The V6 is just too thirsty and some of these vans have a three speed (WTF?) auto.

Actually I'm almost certain the four-cylinder was paired only with a three-speed.

The fuel economy of the four-cylinder is not particularly better than  the V6s, from what I recall. I think if you were to look it up you'd find EPA ratings between the I4, 3.0 V6, 3.3 V6 and 3.8 V6 were within 1 mpg of each other (that is to say the 3.3 was only 1 mpg better than the 3.8, the 3.0 was only one better than the 3.3, and the I4 was only one better than the 3.0 V6).

[Madman]

I think that was only the first couple years of that body style. It became a standard feature.

Actually I'm almost certain the four-cylinder was paired only with a three-speed.

You may be right.  Sometimes the information in these ads can be very unreliable.  One of the listings for this van mentions a cassette deck even though it's pretty obvious from the photos that it doesn't have one.  The info on the transmission is similarly sketchy.  One ad simply says "automatic" whilst the other one claims it had the four speed auto with overdrive.

I'm also puzzled as to why Chrysler offered three different V6 engines simultaneously?  Evidently, the 3.3 V6 produced considerably more torque than the 3.0 did.  If that's the case then why did they even bother with the 3.0 in the first place, especially when the 2.4 litre I-4 was already the base engine?  Was the 3.8 much more powerful than the 3.3 and was an engine that big really needed?

As you may have already guessed, I've never really paid much attention to Chrysler's (or anyone else's) minivans until now.  I think from now on I'll just stick to what I know!


Cheers,
Madman of the People