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What I Learned from Buying a Modern Collector Car

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Some people grow up in Ford families. Their parents are loyal to the blue oval and when they get old enough, they end up driving an Explorer or an F-150 as their first vehicle. I was raised in what you can call a Ford-adjacent household. My parents primarily drove Asian imports when I was a kid, but my dad did have non-running 1964.5 and 1965 Mustang convertibles that were in desperate need of restoration. Their potential always made me daydream about what it would be like to drive one of them with the top down. That desire for a Mustang only grew in high school thanks to friends that had their own. After college, I had a girlfriend who let me drive her black New Edge GT, which gave me a taste of what I had been curious to try. Several years later, I was fortunate enough to test about 10 various S550 models, including the Shelby GT500, as a freelance journalist. As if it wasnā€™t clear before, those experiences made it undeniable: I had to get a Mustang.

In September 2022, I finally did. I signed on the dotted line for a 2008 Mustang Bullitt, one of only 5,808 produced for the model year (Ford made an additional 816 for 2009, according to Steeda). Not only did I finally get what I thought was my dream car, but I also got a year-long learning experience, which Iā€™m going to break down into a few stories. In this first part, Iā€™ll share what I shouldā€™ve done differently in my pre-purchase process.

Be Calm

I consider myself level-headed about my finances. I always wait for sales and never feel that my money is burning a hole in my pocket. Even when I was coming up with my short-list of potential new cars, I thought I was being realistic. Sure, they werenā€™t all that practical, but they also werenā€™t ridiculously expensive. I considered the 2003-2004 Mercury Marauder for its sleek looks and passenger space, but the ones with low prices had too many miles and the less road-beaten ones were more than I cared to spend. Then there was the 2003-2004 Mustang SVT Cobra. Perhaps if the right one wouldā€™ve popped up near me, I wouldā€™ve enjoyed the rush of 390 supercharged horsepower. The 2003-2004 Mustang Mach 1 was also on the list and offered 305 horsepower and the novelty of a shaker hood scoop. Any serious thought of that immediately vanished when I saw a dealer near me had an exclusively Arizona-owned Dark Highland Green 2008 Bullitt with only 25,000 miles on it. So did my restraint. (More on that later.) Ā 

Think About My Lifestyle

The year before I bought the Bullitt was the first one in nearly a decade Iā€™d had a commute. The previous eight I had worked from home. When I got the Bullitt, I was working in an office approximately an hour away from my house three days a week. My initial excitement over the purchase numbed me to the grind of driving a manual car with a heavy clutch in Phoenix rush-hour traffic. That caught up with me once I had to commute five days a week ā€“ some of which hit 115 degrees – in a car with a Dark Charcoal leather interior.

In the lead-up to getting the Bullitt, I envisioned going on rallies with other Mustang owners and taking my fiancĆ© (now wife) down amazing driving roads to romantic destinations. Weā€™ve had our share of those, but we spend most of our weekends in the suburbs or in Scottsdale. Apparently, horses arenā€™t the only creatures who wear blinders.

Consider Others

I knew when I was getting closer to the final purchase that I was being indulgent, but I felt I had earned the privilege. I had always wanted a Mustang and I was finally going to stop dreaming about it and make it happen.

It wasnā€™t until later that I realized how selfish I was in making the Bullitt my only car. To mark the 40th anniversary of the movie “Bullitt,” Ford equipped its commemorative model with a variety of cosmetic and performance upgrades. It offered the GT-based model in only two colors: Dark Highland Green and Black. No matter which one you picked, the Bullitt had a low-key appearance consisting of a pony-less grille, no Ford emblems, and movie car-inspired 18-inch ā€œEuroflangeā€ wheels and exhaust tweaks. According to Ford Performance, in addition to stiffer shocks, springs, and a strut tower brace, Fordā€™s in-house gearheads installed a Ford Racing Power Upgrade Package that bumped the output of the 4.6-liter V8 up to 315 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque.

Ford paired the enhanced engine with a TREMEC five-speed manual gearbox exclusively. The love of my life didnā€™t know how to drive stick, so if for some reason her car was out of commission, I couldnā€™t lend her mine. I was still thinking like a single guy, not someone who was going to get married in two months.

Then there were my soon-to-be in-laws. We spent a lot of time with them trying different restaurants, shopping, and going on day trips. They both had cars that offered space for everyone. While technically a four-seater, the Bullitt effectively had no back seats. Even if my fiancĆ© and her mother decided to contort themselves into the back row and suffer the pain of nearly zero legroom, my future father-in-law wouldn’t be comfortable in the shotgun seat for long because he was 6ā€™5ā€. Every time we all went somewhere together, it wasn’t in my car. My indulgence had become an inconvenience to the people I loved.

That was just the beginning of my lesson. I learned even more when I purchased my first modern collector car, which I’ll cover in the next part, so stay tuned!

AutoHunter Spotlight: 1987 Porsche 928 S4

Featured on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is this 1987 Porsche 928 S4.

I can still remember the first time that I saw a Porsche 928 in person. It was 1980, my dad had visited the Porsche dealer in Tucson and came home with one for an extended test drive. I was already a bit Porsche crazy, but the 928 was something completely modern and new. It looked a bit like a space ship and was incredibly modern. The interior was even more modern, with amazing electrically adjustable leather seats, a cool instrument cluster that tilted up and down as you adjusted the steering wheel height, and lots of cool knobs and buttons. One of the best parts was that when you shut the door, it felt like you just closed a bank vault. The 928 exuded super high quality surpassing any other car I had ever been in at that time.

Now 44 years later getting into a good example of a 928 feels exactly the same as it did then. To me it remains one of the best constructed GT cars ever built. In addition, that modern styling remains an incredibly current design, and the 928 looks like a car that went on sale yesterday, not one introduced in 1978.

Our Spotlight 928 is a 1987 S4 that was purchased new by its current owner, something you never see anymore. The car has received service to the timing belt, water pump, and fluids within the last 100 miles. It is powered by a 5.0-liter DOHC 32 valve V8 mated to a three-speed automatic transmission and a limited-slip differential.Ā It is painted in its original Silver Metallic paint over its original burgundy leather interior.

The exterior of the car looks to be in amazing condition with no major flaws or issues. The Carfax report starts in 1987 and shows no history of any damage. The car rides on its original set of 16-inch Porsche alloy wheels with correct size 225/50 front and 245/45 rear Bridgestone Potenza tires.

The interior looks just as good with the seat leather showing no undue wear, and all-in-all looks like a car that has been well cared for its entire life. Like all 928 cars, it is loaded with options of the time including power windows, power locks, power steering, cruise control, A/C, and a period correct Alpine AM/FM/cassette deck. The seller notes that the A/C needs a recharge. I would verify that all it needs is a recharge and does not have other issues.

For the last 10 years the car has been serviced at a Porsche shop called Stuttgart Northeast and this 928 has a complete set of service records from new.

Finding a 928 with its original owner, with complete records from new, is next to impossible, as most have had a series of owners and many are in poor condition. This one looks like one to buy, as the owner seems to have taken great care to be sure their 928 remained in condition befitting the best GT car in the world.

The auction for this one owner 1987 Porsche 928 S4 ends Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. (PDT). 

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

Student Great Race Team Blog Day Two

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Two student docents from the Maine Classic Car Museum are taking part in the 2024 Great Race as part of the X-Cup Challenge. Click here for part one of their journey.

Cars and Caves

Max and Cotton here again with our daily blog as we get ready to compete in the 2024 Great Race long distance rally. Weā€™re two high school students from Maine and weā€™re reporting on our experience as rookies in this epic 2,300 mile race. 

Today as we headed towards the starting line, we made a detour in Kentucky for some great cars and caves.Ā First stop was the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.Ā The Museum sits next to the General Motors Corvette assembly plant and the museum was amazing.Ā The legendary Corvette celebrated its 70thĀ anniversary last year, and you can see every example from the first C1 to todayā€™s C8 models.Ā Whatā€™s cool is that they have a boulevard in the middle of the Museum where new Corvette buyers can come and take delivery of their cars.Ā  There were a lot of smiles on the boulevard today.

We both made a ranked list of our favorite Corvettes on the ride to Bowling Green, and we were anxious to see if in-person comparison of these cars side-by-side would confirm or change our rankings. Hands down for Max is the C8. The newest Corvettes have it allā€”the looks, the technology and the power. For Cotton, an orange C7 got his vote as the best Corvette.

Coming from Maine, we were intrigued to see a very special 1954 car called the ā€œEntombed Corvette.ā€ The story goes that a grocery store owner got frustrated that his wife wouldnā€™t ride in his Corvette with him, so he built a secret room in his new store and hid the car. It sat there for many years until it was finally unearthed. Speaking of tombs, the Corvette Museum has a special exhibit showing the cars that fell into a big sink hole in 2014. We were so sad to see the footage of the 1,000,000th Corvette falling into a big hole, but glad to see that General Motors has since fully restored the car.

We were on top of the world after seeing the Corvette Museum, so we changed our pace and went to the bottom of the earth at nearby Mammoth Caves National Park. Well, not quite.  But we did hike down 300 feet and it was pretty cool in more ways than one. It was fun watching Tim and Bram, our chaperones, wiggle, duck, and crawl through some tight places.

We came back to Earthā€™s surface and listened to bluegrass music on the radio as we made our way to Owensboro, the starting point of the Great Race. We said goodbye to our good friends Pete and Talia from Kenney Towing in Wells, Maine. They unloaded our 1961 Cadillac Sedan Deville from the trailer and we both got a chance to take the car for a spin around the parking lot. 

Thanks for Day Two, boys! We wish you luck, and can’t wait for the rest of the journey. Part Three, coming soon.

Pick of the Day: 1999 GMC Sonoma

If youā€™re ready to party like itā€™s 1999, youā€™ll need a Smash Mouth CD, some loose-fitting pants, a few Furby stuffed animals, and a proper ā€œpre-Y2Kā€ vehicle to cruise around in. Here you go:

The Pick of the Day is a low-mileage 1999 GMC Sonoma 2WD extended cab pickup listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Waterford, Michigan. (Click the link to view the listing)

ā€œLike new, excellent condition,ā€ the listing begins. For its age, this truck is fresh and clean. The odometer shows only 54,392 original miles, and the seller (who is the original owner) says the truck has never been driven in the winter.

For most people, a compact pickup truck will do all the ā€œtruck thingsā€ that he or she ever needs to do without the need for a gas-guzzling (and difficult to park) full-sized rig. With that notion in mind, the GMC Sonoma and its badge-engineered sibling, the Chevrolet S-10, got their start in the early 1980s. Actually, the Sonoma initially went by the name ā€œS-15,ā€ but quick received a different identity. Both trucks rode on what General Motors called its GMT325 platform, and much of the chassis engineering was shared with vehicles like the S-10 Blazer, the Jimmy, and the Oldsmobile Bravada.

For 1994, a new generation was born, and the Sonomaā€™s competitive focus was set squarely on the Ford Ranger. In 1998, a facelift brought a new front fascia, different wheel designs, and an overhauled interior. This body style would continue until the Sonoma and S-10 were formally phased out when the new GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado were launched in 2004. Itā€™s hard to believe that was 20 years ago.

Under the hood of this truck (which some referred to as a ā€œquarter-tonā€), power comes from a Vortec 4300 V6 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. This combination was rated at 175 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque when new. Thatā€™s plenty of oomph to make it to your Creed concert on time!

The window sticker says that this truck was originally delivered to Art Moran GMC in Southfield, Michigan when new. It came well-equipped for its time, with $7,111 in options added. Among the included features were air conditioning, power windows, a sport suspension package, cruise control, bucket seats, a locking rear differential, a sliding rear window, fog lamps, a tachometer, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. All-in, the truck came to $22,858 retail.

The asking price for this low-miler is $15,000 or best offer, and that includes a Covercraft cover with a storage bag.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, click over to Pick of the Day.

New Muscle Car Museum Arises from Down Under

Though Australians appear to share more with the British than with Americans, their auto industry historically has been closer to ours due to their love for the V8. Their home-brewed cars may not have looked like ours, but the exhaust notes often sounded like ours. If this sounds like your bag, the Gold Coast Muscle Car Museum is your new joint to see Aussie performance history and more.

Charger Six Pack

The museum is ā€œthe most amazing private collection of Australian muscle carsā€ of the 1950-70s. Located in Bundall, Queensland, the museum gets its name from the nearby city of Gold Coast, which just so happens to be the sixth-largest in the country. On display are Chargers, Falcons of different stripes, SLR5000 Toranas (a type of Holden), and every Monaro model built from 1968-76 (yes, another Holden product).

And if youā€™re a Mad Max fan, there is a replica of the Interceptor, which was a highly modified Falcon from the 1970s. If you squint, you may see some 1972 Torino in it ā€“ clearly itā€™s a Ford product from the same era.

The same could be said of the Monaro, which also mimicked the design language of General Motors cars of the time, with the late 1960s ones often giving GM c.1968 vibes.

Besides the cars, there is a mag wheel display and a working tune-up machine from the 1970s.

Muscle bike enthusiasts are not left out as the museum has a Honda 750 Four and a Kwaka 900 (apparently, thatā€™s a nickname for Kawasaki) on display.

Adding to the fun quotient are the free pinball machines and a fun Scalextric track. And if you get thirsty, a vintage soft drink machine (or ā€œpopā€ to you Midwesterners).

To learn more about the Gold Coast Muscle Car Museum, visit www.musclecarmuseum.com.au.

Fisker Goes Bankrupt, Plans to Sell Off Assets

Electric vehicle startupĀ FiskerĀ last MondayĀ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protectionĀ with a court in Delaware, just a year after the start of deliveries of the company’sĀ Ocean debut model.

A company spokesperson said Fisker delivered ā€œthousandsā€ of the crossovers to customers in Europe and North America but was set back by ā€œvarious market and macroeconomic headwinds.ā€

In addition to facing a market cooling on EVs, Fisker also suffered challenges in ramping up production due to supply chain issues. TheĀ National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationĀ also started a preliminary probe into the Ocean in May after receiving complaints of doors sometimes failing to open.

Fisker was founded in 2016 and was one of the more promising EV startups only a short while ago. It became a public company in late 2020 via a reverse merger, and the following year its share price shot up to a high of $28.50 before beginning its decline into penny stock status. It was delisted from theĀ New York Stock ExchangeĀ in March.

Henrik Fisher with the first customer Fisker Ocean – May 2023

Fisker attempted to raise funds by partnering with a major automaker, and talks between Fisker and Nissan were rumored. However, without a deal in place, Fisker’s cash continued to deplete and the company in March decided to halt production of the Ocean at the crossover’s plant in Austria operated by contract manufacturerĀ Magna Steyr.

This marks the second time that an EV startup founded and led by Henrik Fisker has succumbed to bankruptcy. A previous incarnation of Fisker went bust in 2013, and its remaining assets were sold to Chinese battery company Wanxiang. That company was revived and today operates as Karma.

The modern Fisker also plans to sell its remaining assets, which the company estimates at a value of between $500 million and $1 billion. Among the assets are designs for three additional vehicles including an urban crossover called the Pear, a lifestyle pickup truck called the Alaska, and a four-door convertible called the Ronin.

This article was originallyĀ published byĀ MotorĀ Authority,Ā an editorial partner ofĀ ClassicCars.com

Pick of the Day: 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE

Ever since 1971, the Pontiac Bonneville has been through the wringer, being demoted by the Grand Ville, then finding its way back to the top, only to ignominiously be transferred to the LeMansā€™ platform. Cooler heads prevailed a few years later as the Bonneville was revamped and redesigned, now full of verve that had been missing for years. Our Pick of the Day, a 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE, is one of the best of these revitalized Pontiacs. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in St. Francis, Wisconsin. (Click the link to view the listing)

1982 Pontiac Bonneville

We recently highlighted the story of the Bonneville in a recent Pick of the Day for a 1972 Grand Ville. The Bonneville returned to the top of the full-size Pontiac hierarchy as the Bonneville Brougham, which was downsized in 1977 in General Motorsā€™ sweeping program for more efficient space utilization and better fuel economy. These cars were a success but, come 1982, Pontiac discontinued its full-size platform, replaced the G-body LeMans with the 6000, and moved the Bonneville to the G-body platform. Pontiac now lacked a full-size car until the Canadian Parisienne saved the day. This poseur of a Bonneville lasted through 1986, upon which irony would prevail as GMā€™s quest for downsizing and front-wheel drive would result in an all-new Bonneville worthy of its name.

1988 Bonneville SSE interior from brochure

The 1987 Bonneville was based on the H-body, which first appeared in 1986 (Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile 88) and followed the practically identical 1985 C-body (Buick Electra, Oldsmobile 98, and Cadillac DeVille). While not quite exciting initially, Pontiac built excitement, as the ad campaign would say, and that would be coming for 1988 as the sporty SSE. The SSE featured monochromatic ā€œEuro stylingā€ with special aero ground effects, anti-lock brakes, electronic ride control, WS6 suspension, SFI 3800 V6 with 165 horsepower, headlamp washers, 10-way adjustable seats with lumbar support and adjustable headrests, steering wheel-mounted radio controls, and complete instrumentation including compass. While the Bonneville SSE came off a bit over-the-top in the best 1980s Pontiac tradition, it arguably was more appealing than other overdone Pontiacs of the era.

This incarnation of the Bonneville continued through 1991. A handsome, redesigned Bonneville launched in the summer of 1991, with the SSE being slightly demoted to mid-level status because the new SSEi made a splash with a standard supercharged 3.8-liter V6 with 205 horsepower. Another redesign for 2000 ditched the SSE, with the SSEi lasting through 2003. In 2004, a 4.6-liter V8 was added to the new top-of-the-line Bonneville GPX, with the Bonneville series continuing through 2005 when it was discontinued.

This 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE could be seen as part of the reemergence of the Pontiac brand after being saddled with so many disappointments during the Malaise Era. ā€œPurchased on consignment from the original owner,ā€ says the seller. ā€œRuns, drives, and rides like new ā€“ zero mechanical issues.ā€ Over $5,000 has been spent in the past year professionally refreshing the paint.

In case you havenā€™t interrupted your read by checking out the ad, youĀ should note that this Bonneville has only 14,300 miles on the odometer. With so few seen on the street anymore, this may be the one to get for your Pontiac fix. For $14,000, itā€™s almost one dollar per mile.

Click here for this ClassicCars.com Pick of the Day.

AutoHunter Spotlight: 1935 Chevrolet Master Deluxe

Featured onĀ AutoHunter,Ā the online auction platform driven byĀ ClassicCars.com, is this 1935 Chevrolet Master Deluxe.

Gone is the carā€™s original 206ci inline-six that produced just 80 horsepower when new. And now, in its place, lives a much more potent fuel-injected Vortec 6.0-liter LS V8 mated to a 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission. In the listing is a video of a start-up that brings the 6.0-liter V8 to life. There is a nice rumble coming from the side-exit exhaust pipes at idle ā€“ I can only imagine how beastly it must sound at wide-open throttle.

This custom ride is being offered for sale by a private seller in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, and the auction ends next Wednesday.

One of the defining characteristics of this hot rod its distinctive matte finish, which the seller calls ā€œRoot Beer.ā€ The exterior has been updated with suicide doors, inset turn signals in the headlights, custom taillights, and removed bumpers. The smooth wheels and white-letter tires complete the look, which conveys a sort of ā€œrat rodā€ aesthetic with an understated theme.

As unique as the car looks, most of its selling points lie beneath the surface. Among them are features like power steering, a tilt steering column, bucket seats, a Mustang II independent front suspension, power front disc brakes, and a dual exhaust system. Some of the engineering work was completed by Goodfellas Speed Shop in Parksville, British Columbia. The listing says that build documentation will accompany the car.

By way of model history, Chevrolet originally marketed the Master Deluxe with the tagline ā€œIts outer beauty reflects its inner quality.ā€ Advertisements went on to say, ā€œThe smart, clean-cut beauty of the Master Deluxe Chevrolet for 1935 is a true reflection of its inner quality. For Chevrolet has given much care to the manufacture of hidden parts as to the fashioning of the bodies of this aristocrat of low-priced cars.ā€

An aristocrat is a member of the aristocracy, which, according to Oxford Languages means an individual of the highest class, of noble heritage, also considered privileged or superior. So, for Chevrolet to call this car the highest class of low-priced cars was sort of an oxymoron, but the public seemed to buy it ā€“ literally: between model years 1935 and 1936, Chevrolet sold 846,300 Master Deluxe models, many of which retailed around $560 to $675.

Luckily for us, there are a few of those 846,300 units still on the road for us to admire, but Iā€™m fairly certain none of them are customized quite like this hot rod. Perhaps youā€™d like to make it yours?

The auction for this 1935 Chevrolet Master Deluxe ends Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. (PDT)

Visit theĀ AutoHunter listingĀ for more information and photo gallery

2024 Hot Wheels NFT Garage and Ultra Hots Prototype

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In this episode of ClassicCars TVā€™s Collectible Corner, Jared shows off the prototypes of two Hot Wheels models due to be released in 2024: a Porsche 935-78 and a Range Rover Classic. Both have a ZAMAC exterior and feature an unspun base.

Make sure to subscribe to the ClassicCars TV YouTube channel for all episodes of Collectible Corner, as well as see interesting finds and car reviews!

Student Docents From the Maine Classic Car Museum Great Race Day One

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A pair of student docents from the Maine Classic Car Museum are participating in this year’s edition of The Great Race acting as navigators in a 1961 Cadillac. We will be following their progress on the ClassicCars.com Journal. Here is their first post from day one.

Day 1: The Adventure Begins

We are Max Flynn and Cotton Schlaver, two high school students from Maine getting ready for the adventure of our life participating in the great race 2024. Max is 18, a rising senior at Greeley High School, and Cotton is 16, a rising senior at Biddeford High School, and we are docents at the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel. 

Lane Motor Museum Curator, Derek Moore, explains how the Citroen 2CV works to the X-Cup student navigators from the Great Race visiting Nashville

The Great Race is a 2,300 mile rally with over 150 classic cars and race teams competing.  We are part of a special student group called the X-Cup Challenge.  

Over the next ten days, we will bring you daily reports of our rally preparation and experiences each leg from the starting line in Owensboro, Kentucky, to the finish line in our home state, Maine. 

Max Flynn stands next to his favorite car the Lane Motor Museum, a 1991 Lancia Delta Integrale

What better way to get ready for the Great Race than to see some great cars. We flew into Nashville today to start our epic journey. First stop, the Lane Motor Museum. The Curator of Collections, Derek Moore, welcomed us to this amazing collection of micro cars and cars from around the world. We saw so many cars we had never heard of before. 

Cottonā€™s favorite car at the Lane Motor Museum is this 1947 Tatra T-87 saloon

Our favorites? It was hard to choose, but for Max it was the 1991 Lancia Delta Integrale, because of its rally history. It is a rare car that you never see in the U.S. For Cotton, it was the 1947 Tatra T-87 saloon, because it opened a new realm of information about the importance of this Czechoslovakian company to automotive history. 

We are joined on this trip by the Maine Classic Car Museum General Manager, Tim Stentiford, and longtime museum volunteer, Bram Starr. We also want to give a big shout out to the RPM Foundation. Nick Ellis and his team provided us with a generous scholarship that allowed us to take part in the X-Cup Challenge, the journey of our lives. Weā€™re making our way towards the starting line in Kentucky and will have lots more to report to you in the coming days. Meanwhile, put the Lane Motor Museum on your bucket list of must-see museums. We loved it.

Stay tuned for part two.