West Eugene Street Sweep: Everything from a Pierce-Arrow to a Volkswagen Beetle

VW Bus high-top camper. Note the extremely rare original "sport" hubcaps.

1964-65? Ford Falcon and Ranchero. Both are in very rough condition.

Falcon and Ranchero, again. Notice extensive body damage on Ranchero.

 Very well-preserved Ford Pinto, likely a 1970 or '71 model judging from license-plate letter combination, hubcaps and slim bumpers.

Front view of above Pinto. You don't often see any kind of Pinto, especially not one in this good of condition.

1967 Dodge Dart. Very nicely restored.

1935 Pierce-Arrow. Never in my life would I have thought I'd find one of these in this state of neglect, on a gravel street, 75 years after it was made. The car next to it is a 1939 Buick touring sedan with added-on portholes.

Circa-1952 Cadillac sedan and 1966 Buick Riviera in the same carport as the Pierce-Arrow and 1939 Buick.

1935 Pierce-Arrow, viewed from the front. This must have been someone's pride and joy that they poured many hours and dollars into restoring, only to let it deteriorate in an exposed carport.

Look closely at this picture, and you will see a 1970s Jaguar XJ6-C inside the carport.

Derelict 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle Sun Bug edition.

1972 or '73 Fiat 124 Spider. The elderly owner of this car was gracious enough to let me into his carport, take pictures and even sit behind the wheel.

Fiat 124 Spider interior. You can see that some restoration is needed, but it's not to the point of needing to be gutted and completely redone. A good cleaning, new seat covers and new carpet would do this car a lot of good. The dashboard and console are in unusually good condition and are very original.

Front of Fiat 124 Spider. The grille badge is not correct (where there would be a circular red badge with "FIAT" written in the center and a gold laurel wreath encircling it, there is instead a badge from the vinyl top of a mid-70s Mercury Cougar.

Very nice Ford Mustang II hot rod.

 Equally nice Colonnade-body Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.

Early 1980s Toyota Celica coupe, in nicer condition than most others.

Dodge Route-Van camper conversion, circa 1955, and Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport, circa 1978.

1959 Chevrolet El Camino, in need of restoration.

Morris Minor 1000, circa 1959. This would be an excellent project car.

Ford Galaxie 500 coupe, late 1960s vintage.

Datsun 620 pickup, converted to utility trailer. Normally, just the bed is used to make a trailer, but here we have most of the cab as well.

Oldsmobile Cutlass hot rod, circa 1969.

A Genuine Freebie: 1973 Datsun 240Z Project Car

Note: This is NOT the car being given away in this ad. This is a file photo of what it could be when restored.

While searching the Seattle Craigslist, among the random household items, ratty furniture, camper shells and scrap metal usually found in Craigslist free-stuff sections, there was a genuine classic car: a 1973 Datsun 240Z. This car is an automatic with two sidedraft carburetors, it does not run, it is purported to have a straight, solid body with rear-hatch damage, and has title issues along the lines of needing "registration only" from the Washington DMV, which as an Oregon resident, I don't understand anything about. There are no pictures in the ad, making it a true pig in a poke, but this could be a great project for the Z-car enthusiast, or even a 24 Hours of LeMons or ChumpCar racer for those who partake in one of those two race series.

Find it here, in Seattle, Washington:

 http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/zip/1120673165.html

More Street Shots: Import Edition

Late-60s Fiat 850 sport coupe. This design was one of Fiat's most attractive sub-1000cc car designs, and was done in-house by Mario Boano, formerly of Carrozzeria Boano. This appears to be an abandoned or partially finished project.

Same Fiat, different view. You can see the surface rust taking over the grey primer, and the overall neglect of the yard and house.

Rear view of Fiat 850. It's a shame that this car has to sit in that neglected yard like it does.

Datsun Roadster and 510. Both in very nice condition from what I could see, and just a few houses away to the right of these cars, there was a neglected brick house with a long driveway leading to a Honda N600, a mid-60s Buick Wildcat and numerous 30s-40s-era cars and trucks behind them. I didn't want to commit trespassing, so I'll just be patient and wait until I can find an owner or caretaker of the property so that I can look at and photograph the cars and trucks legally.

Split-window-era Volkswagen Microbus. This bus appears to be rusty but restorable, and I've heard of all kinds of cars, from VWs to Bugattis, in far worse shape than this being restored.

Volkswagen Rabbit, circa 1979. This car doesn't appear to have moved from its current spot in years, but is still appealing with its dealer-applied decal package and weathered esthetics.