Well, we’ve made it to the end of January, which has been approximately eleven years long. To celebrate, I thought we should take a look at some cool red convertibles – but not the typical fare. You don’t see these two every day. They’re more expensive than our usual cars, but worth it, I think, at least in terms of fake internet money.
Yesterday we looked at a couple of cheap VWs, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the little old Fox take the win. I’ve always thought they were neat cars, sort of a miniature Audi 4000. The Beetle’s airbag issues and rust scared some of you, it sounds like, whereas the Fox’s needs seemed easier to tackle.
Myself, I’m definitely on team Fox. I don’t dislike the New Beetle, and I really like that orange color, but if I have the choice between an ’80s VW and a 2000s VW, I’ll always go for the older one. Of course, I’d rather have a Scirocco, but who wouldn’t?
If you go looking for convertibles in the internet classifieds, you’ll find a lot of Mustangs, Chrysler Sebrings, Miatas, and Corvettes. Every once in a while, you’ll come across a Camaro or a BMW Z3. You know what you won’t find? A Nissan 240SX. Or a Citroën Méhari. Except today, I did. Let’s take a look at them.
1970 Citroën Méhari – $10,500
Engine/drivetrain: 602 cc OHV flat 2, four-speed manual, FWD
Location: Seattle, WA
Odometer reading: 44,000 miles
Operational status: Won’t start, has an ignition issue
One of my favorite categories of car is the “beach car”: an open-top version of a small economy car, built for sunny environments. The Mini Moke and Fiat Jolly are two famous examples, but Citroën also made one, based on the 2CV platform: the Méhari. It was only available in the US for two years, 1969 and 1970, and very few were sold. This is a rare car indeed.
The Méhari shares the 2CV’s air-cooled flat-twin engine, in its largest displacement: 602 cubic centimeters. It’s front-wheel-drive, of course, though a 4WD version was available for a few years in other parts of the world. It uses the same four-speed manual and leading/trailing arm suspension as the 2CV, and is apparently better off-road than you’d guess. This one does not run; the seller suspects a problem with its aftermarket electronic ignition system (probably a Pertronix unit). Those systems are usually bulletproof, so I wonder if something just isn’t hooked up right. The seller says it was running and driving just a couple of years ago, which is a good sign.
Like most beach cars, the Méhari’s interior pretty much is its exterior. This one doesn’t even appear to have doors, just vinyl-coated chains stretching across the openings. The Méhari was classified as a light truck in the US, so it didn’t need seat belts, either. These things will go about 50-55 miles an hour, I’ve read, which must be terrifying. This one has been partially disassembled; the seats are stripped to the bare frames, but new covers – along with a whole bunch of other parts – are included.
The Méhari’s body is vacuum-formed ABS plastic, molded in color. Time has not been kind to this one’s red body; it’s badly faded. Hopefully it’s not too brittle. Replacement panels are available, if you need them. It does include a new convertible top and windshield.
1992 Nissan 240SX SE – $8,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Odometer reading: 263,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
For some cars, popularity is a curse. They become extremely well-known for one thing, and nearly every cheap example gets snatched up and used for that purpose, which drives up prices and makes it nearly impossible for casual enthusiasts to get their hands on one. The Nissan 240SX is such a car, and the one thing it is well-known for – and has been ever since Nissan first advertised it – is drifting. 240SXs get hacked up to make them drift better, crashed, rebuilt, and drifted some more. Only one bodystyle seems to escape such punishment: the convertible.
The 240SX is powered by Nissan’s twin-cam KA24DE four-cylinder, in this case backed by a four-speed automatic. It’s a good setup for a mild-mannered cruiser of a convertible, but less than ideal for the drifting crowd, which might be another reason why this one has remained intact. It has a ton of miles on it, and the seller says it has been a reliable daily driver for a long time. See? Keep cars stock, take care of them, and they just keep running.
It’s hard to assess its condition inside, because we have no way of knowing what’s under those seat covers or dash topper. The carpet doesn’t look great, but the door panels are in fine shape. The seller says the convertible top works fine, but the air conditioning doesn’t.
It looks good outside; most of the paint is shiny, and I don’t see any signs of damage. It has aftermarket wheels, but they suit it well. The seller does note a couple of small issues: the driver’s door lock doesn’t work, and the trunk lid won’t stay open on its own. Typical old-car stuff. It wouldn’t be any fun if it didn’t need something, would it?
“Red convertible” is a pretty tenuous connection between these two, I realize, but we won’t let that stop us. On one hand, you’ve got a cool French beach car in need of some restoration, and on the other, a sporty Japanese car that escaped a hard life thanks to its soft top and “wrong” transmission. You’ve got all weekend to make your choice. See you all on Monday!
I guess I’d rather have the car with pop-up headlights vs the one where they’re sitting in a box somewhere. I would be happy to go look at the Mehari though, if only to inquire about those two Jaguars sitting behind it.
I will the running car that is put together.
I came in fully ready to vote for the Nissan but there are too many question marks for that price point, even for a mostly unmolested original.
The Mèhari on the other hand is purely ridiculous. It’s not even vaguely practical but it’s sure as hell unique. So many 2CVs were made the engines even in the US are cheap to rebuild and replace and there’s probably three wires in the entire thing. I’d say just swap in a motorcycle engine but the oddball nature of the 2CV engine is worth holding on to.
Me want Mèhari.
At those prices it’s hard to cast a vote FOR either choice. Give me the car over the golf cart, though.
It’s a both day! Happy Bothday everyone!
The 240 is priced knowing it’s going to be engine swapped. I voted for it anyway.
I don’t really want either at those prices, (and not just because I have follicle deficiency on my head,) but the S-chassis has headlights, is two grand cheaper, and deserves not being an open top caged drifter. The Mehari is more my style – I already have a drifty Boi that I don’t drift – but not for that price in that condition.
Waiting for the take where someone grabs the Citroen and drops an LS crate motor then goes drifting…realizes their mistake then calls the Nissan guy and tries to do a deal.
I had no idea Meharis were ever sold here. You had me at unique and weird. It’s expensive but what the hell these aren’t real dollars I’m spending.
These are both ridiculously overpriced. The Citroen doesn’t have many reference points but 11k for a disassembled project is rough. And the Nissan….did a quick search and found several decent convertibles for half the price, half the mileage near me, and also some M30s. I guess I’ll go the Citroen because you probably won’t see another.
Neither and both are way overpriced.
The French car wins my internet bucks today. Rare and unique for the win.
I think the seller of the Citroen has fallen into the trap of thinking rare and weird must equal valuable. But then the seller of the Nissan has fallen into a similar trap in thinking that 240SX plus not destroyed must equal valuable. That’s just my needlessly long-winded way of saying both of these cars feel wildly overpriced to me. If I had to make a choice though the 240SX is a much more useable vehicle that should also not be too hard to keep running.
Definitely a neither day for me today. Too many miles and too many issues for that price on the 240. With a manual maybe, but not for that one. The Mehari is just too rough for that price. A non running, not especially valuable car should not be over $10k. I clicked for the Citroen just because it’s the car I’d rather have, but not at that price.
I daily commute on a motorcycle and none of it is highway, so I picked the Mehari. How much worse could it be?
The Citroën cetianly has the element of being unusual, but the price is absurd for it’s condition and what it is, I don’t live near a beach and I don’t have enough of a death wish to take a rubbermaid box with less horsepower than my lawnmower on an actual roadway around here so 240 by default today.
I voted for the Nissan – despite it being grossly overpriced – as I already have an older red RWD convertible with half as much mileage and nearly twice as much power, nearly twice the number of forward gears, twice the torsional stiffness, and on which everything works – which CarFax likes to remind me is worth only about $2000.
I’m not a big convertible fan (says the guy that just bought a 92 Miata, but it had a hard top). But is someone really going to pay $11K for that non-running thing?
I’d prefer a manual but the Nissan would be a fun summer cruiser.
The beach buggy would be a fun project, if it was around $2,000, or less. It’s way over priced as it is, though.