Welcome back to Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness! One of my favorite pastimes is searching for rare and weird vehicles for sale online. I’m always looking for something cool to look at and maybe buy, so I have a hilariously long list of vehicles just gathering virtual dust on my computer. I don’t always know what I’m looking for. Sometimes I find a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI and buy it, and sometimes I find a lightly-used Boeing 757, but that’s the beauty of the internet.
Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness cracks open a morsel of my search history to show you the vehicles I’ve been looking at, lately. Some of the vehicles are affordable, after all, I do try to buy some of them, while others are better fits for a collector like our Beau Boeckmann.
This week, I’ve listed the constraint of pricing to find some random awesome cars. I decided to sort-of follow a theme of cars you can buy right now that might be at your next town car show.
1997 SsangYong Korando – $18,000
The glorious thing about importing over 25-year-old cars is that you’re not limited to Japan or Europe. While those are easier countries to get cars from, there’s a whole world out there waiting for your quirky self. How about a weird South Korean off-roader with the heart of a Mercedes-Benz?
As the story goes, SsangYong had a relationship with Daimler since 1991. Thus, SsangYong was able to benefit from platforms and engines from the German marque. This led to the development of the blocky Musso SUV. SsangYong also sold the Istana, a Mercedes-Benz MB100 with a new badge. Mercedes engines and transmissions also found their way into the Korando, Kyron, and Rexton SUVs.
The Korando has technically been around since 1982. Those first SUVs were rebadged Jeep CJs with engines from Isuzu and Peugeot. The SUV you see today began production in 1996 as a smaller companion to the Musso. Back then, SsangYong was trying to position itself as a popular producer of off-road vehicles in the region.
Power in this example comes from a 2.9-liter Mercedes-Benz OM602 inline-five diesel. That engine is sending 120 HP and 189 lb-ft of torque down to all four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. The seller doesn’t say much about this example other than the fact that it’s rust-free and has 69,000 miles. It’s $18,000 from the seller in Tampa, Florida.
1972 Fiat 850 Spider – $7,500
Here’s a little spider that’s as cute as a button. It’ll stand out compared to the guy with the Fiat 124 and the other guy with the Fiat X1/9. Ok, those X1/9s are pretty cool, but the 850 Spider is quite the looker. From our friends at the Lane Motor Museum:
Following the introduction of the 850 Sedan in 1964, Fiat debuted the 850 Spider two-seater convertible in 1965 to compete with the MG Midget and Austin-Healey Sprite. While the Sedan and Coupe were styled and built in-house by Fiat, the Spider was designed and built by Fiat’s frequent stylist and carrozzeria (coachbuilder) Bertone. Famed stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro led the project during his time there.
The 850 Spider was powered by a rear-mounted 843cc four-cylinder engine that unusually rotated counter-clockwise (like a Chevrolet Corvair). With only 47hp on tap in earlier models, the 850 Spider wasn’t exactly a drag racer. However, with a base price of $2,100 and up to 40 mpg, it was frugal fun wrapped in beautiful Italian styling, perfect for sunny Sunday drives in the country. Note the clever metal tonneau cover, which provides a clean look while the top is down.
Interestingly, the lighting assemblies of the 850 Spider were shared by Lamborghini for the first few model years of the Muira supercar. In 1969, the headlamps were changed to a “frog-eye” style to meet US regulations, and the engine was enlarged to a 903cc unit with 52 hp. The 850 Spider was not perfect though. In addition to reliability issues, many 850s were subject to recalls before they hit the sales floor due to rust. This, along with its economy car- disposability, means there are not many 850 Spiders left, even though 125,000 were sold (most to the US market).
Oh yeah, this adorable spider has a rear-mounted engine! Power comes from a 903cc four making 52 HP and hits the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. The seller of this late production run example says the car has its original paint and body. One newer part included is a soft top and a hard top if the seller can find it. You also get service records going back to the 1970s.
It’s $7,500 from the seller in North Hollywood, California and the car has 80,000 miles.
1967 Honda Dream CA77 – $3,000
Here’s a motorcycle with vintage style, but it isn’t something you’ll see every day. From the National Motorcycle Museum:
The first officially imported Hondas came to America in 1959 and included “dry sump” 250cc Dreams, the model CA76. By 1961 the 305cc wet sump model with electric starting, the CA77, had arrived and became popular almost instantly.
After experimenting with a few versions of 250cc parallel twin overhead cam engines in the late 1950’s Honda locked onto a unit construction ball and roller bearing OHC design in 1961 that would be made by the tens of thousands in several versions until the CB350 arrived in 1968. The Super Hawk, Scrambler and Dream were Honda’s biggest bikes in this era until the DOHC CB450 came along in 1965.
Simple to manufacture and distinctive in the Honda Dream’s design are the pressed steel leading link fork, frame and swingarm in what some refer to as “pagoda styling” along with 16 inch wheels typically shod in whitewall tires. Fully sprung seats came in red, blue and black not necessarily matching the bike’s body paint. Dreams had enclosed chains, 12 volt electrics, square headlights, decent tool and patch kits plus available options like saddlebags and fender guards.
The museum goes on to note that one highlight feature is an electric starter. Many motorcycles of the era required you to kick them over. That was fine for a small-bore machine like this, but the electric start made motorcycles just a bit easier to live with. Honda introduced electric start on motorcycles in America in 1961.
The seller of this 1967 Honda Dream says the motorcycle starts and runs while the tires hold air. Power comes from a 305cc twin making 23 HP. It’s $3,000 from the seller in Des Plaines, Illinois.
1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner – $29,500
The 1950s were a fascinating time to be a car enthusiast. Automakers were cranking up size, slathering on trim, and piling on big, attention-grabbing features. Ford debuted the Skyliner in 1957 with the tagline “World’s Only Hide-Away Hardtop.”
Ford boasted even further a couple of pages forward in its advertising:
“Here’s the car the motoring public has dreamed of for years … the car many automotive experts said would never be mass-produced. Now, Ford has made this ‘miracle’ a reality. It’s another first from Ford, the company that brought you low-cost V-8 power and created such automotive classics as the Thunderbird! Just touch a button … in less than a minute the all-steel hardtop vanishes smoothly into the rear deck … and you’re sitting in the most exciting convertible under the sun! It’s literally two glamour cars in one … each a masterpiece of craftsmanship and distinction!”
“The Skyliner represents the beginning of a new era in automotive design. This newest new kind of Ford introduces to the motoring public the most dramatic idea in automobile design since Ford presented the first 2-door sedan in 1915. And remember, the same patient research, planning and testing that went into the Skyliner, goes into every model of the new kind of Ford for 1957.”
Ford also described how that top works:
“The top operation is simplicity itself and completely automatic: first, after the dash control knob is pulled out to lower the top, the rear deck lid unlocks and rises to the ‘up’ position. Next, the top unlocks from the body and windshield header and begins to move upward and back. As the top moves, its forward section folds down and back to enable top to fit into trunk. The top continues its backward movement into the trunk. Here it comes to rest snugly on cushioning pads. Rear deck lid closes and locks itself tight. Entire sequence is reversed for converting back to hardtop. Transformation time is from 48 to 55 seconds.”
The roof sounds horribly complex. A 1959 Galaxie Skyliner like this one utilizes six electric motors, four jacks, 10 solenoids, a bunch of relays, circuit breakers, and oh yeah, 610 feet of wiring. If you think the Volkswagen Eos sounds bad, I wouldn’t want to repair this ride!
Ford explains that the Skyliner (called the Galaxie Skyliner in 1959) was based on the Fairlane 500, but stretched out an additional 3 inches. While the Skyliner is not the first car to have a retracting hardtop, it is often credited as being the first to reach true mass-production status. About 48,394 examples were produced for three short years between 1957 and 1959.
Power comes from a 352 cubic inch V8 rated at 300 HP. Drive comes from an automatic transmission sending power to the rear wheels. The seller of this example says it has some patina but everything works. It’s $29,500 from the seller in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the vehicle has 73,000 miles.
1991 Citroën BX 19 TZi – $12,000
If Italian hotness isn’t your jam, what about French weirdness? The Citroën BX was the brand’s successful effort to market vehicles to the upper-middle-class of the day, from Citroën:
Launched in 1978 under the codename “XB”, the Citroën BX project set out to create a modern, unconventional vehicle with an emphasis on innovation. BX was to be a transverse-engine vehicle, lightweight to ensure good acceleration and low fuel consumption to help with cost savings. Like all top-of-the-range Citroën cars of this era, the 5-door hatchback BX was fitted with a hydropneumatic suspension system to ensure comfort and impeccable road holding.
The first vehicle of the PSA era, BX was developed with the help of CAD (computer-aided design), state-of-the-art technology at the time, to help to perfect the design and dynamism of the car. Engines were taken from PSA group’s bank of powertrains, with powerful engines from its earliest release (62 bhp and 72 bhp 1360 cc, 90 bhp 1580 cc).
Citroën approached the famous Italian coachbuilder Bertone to design BX. The designer Marcello Gandini then proposed an original shape that stood out in the automotive landscape of the time. The cockpit was also striking, with a CX-inspired dashboard featuring characteristic equipment such as satellite controls on either side of the steering wheel and the backlit tachometer.
The numbers coming after BX signify engine size and this example, a BX 19 TZi, has a fuel-injected 1.9-liter engine punching out 120 HP to the front wheels through a 5-speed manual conversion. This car also sports Citroën’s famous hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension.
Unfortunately, the seller says the car’s repaint is looking a bit rough and the air-conditioner blows merely “cool.” So, it’s a running and driving French car with some quirks. It’s $12,000 from the seller in East Waverly, Texas and the car has 160,000 miles.
1948 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible – $48,300
Here’s a classic cruiser that stood at the high end of technology for its day. The people of Hemmings go as far as to say the 1948 Oldsmobile Series 98 was its post-World War II equivalent of what we think of the Aurora today.
The brands of General Motors hit the ground running after World War II to create new car bodies for the new hopeful era. The 1948 Oldsmobile 98 was built on the C-body platform that it shared with the Cadillac Series 62 and Series 61. Oldsmobile played up its new technology and styling by calling it “Futuramic.” Really, Oldsmobilke wanted you to think of its GM Hydra-Matic Drive automatic transmission and the thoroughly modern driving experience. Features included a solenoid starter, a vacuum booster pump, foam rubber seat cushions, and hydraulic controls to operate the windows, seats, and tops in convertibles. That’s just a handful of the features, but this was Oldsmobile luxury in the late 1940s.
Power comes from a 257 cubic inch straight 8 making 115 HP, reaching the rear wheels through that aforementioned automatic. This 1948 Oldsmobile 98 went through a five-year body-off restoration. When that restoration was finished, the car won an AACA Grand National award in 2023. It’s so clean you can eat dinner off of its underbody. That said, the seller states that the pump for the hydraulic system has become weak.
It’s $48,300 from the seller in Clinton, Wisconsin.
1993 Suzuki Cappuccino – $7,650
Earlier this week, I wrote about how now is a great time to import a car from Japan. Exchange rates are in the favor of American buyers! However, you still have to contact an importer, wait a long time, and get a car that will only maybe be good. Or, you can buy a car that’s already here!
The Suzuki Cappuccino launched in 1991 and Suzuki designed it from the start to be an affordable sports car. Japan’s Kei class offered lower taxes and other benefits, so the nation’s automakers made pint-sized sports cars for people who might not be able to afford something more expensive. Out of the other end came a trio of epic cars in the Autozam AZ-1, Honda Beat, and the Suzuki Cappuccino, or the ABCs. Many prefer the Suzuki Cappuccino. Sure, officially, the Cap has the same 63 HP rating as its competition, but some JDM fans feel it’s the fastest and best-driving of the three.
Power comes from a 657cc turbocharged three mounted up front and driving the rear wheels through a manual transmission.
This 1993 Suzuki Cappuccino comes with a low price, but a couple of catches. Its clearcoat is peeling and its paint is fading. Most pressing is the fact that the car is in need of a serpentine belt, which needs to come from Japan. You can use a lawn mower belt in a pinch, but the seller says the car will eat it up every couple of months. So, you’ll need to get the proper part unless you want to be on a first-name basis with your local hardware store.
If you can live with that, this car is $7,650 from the seller in Hamilton, Ohio. The vehicle has the equivalent of 93,000 miles.
That’s it for this week! Thank you for reading.
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I want that Olds so bad- it’s amazing!
That Skyliner is awesome and unique- I’m not worried about the top
Suzuki Cappuccino! One of my favorite names for a car…you can’t even say it w/o being happy!
Always great picks at usual!
Love the BX, and a 19TZi Break is pretty much the best spec as far as I am concerned. Rough paint and semi-functional AC and fart can and 160K miles suggest $7K. $12K is what I would dream of I was the seller.
There was a serious attempt back in the late 1990s to have the SsangYong Korandobrought to the states.
I remember Jeep getting a little mad back then about the grille design and how close it was to the Jeep products. Other details are hazy though…
I’ve always like the Cappucino but those 3 spokes make it look like a first-gen Viper. EVEN BETTER!
I spy a 3rd-gen Accord LXi hatchback sharing the driveway with that Cappuccino. Impressive to see one survive in Ohio.
Want most of these in my garage. The Dream though…. If it was close enough for me to check out it quite possibly would be mine.
The link between these and the Laverda 750 is a fun read. Have a look at an SFC video and enjoy the polar opposites of goals achieved.
I love the BX, but the price is nuts. Divide by two and you’re about right. That’s the one I’d be most likely to buy (at half the price), but my favorite is easily the 98. Bring me some old B bodies!
At this price you’d be better off importing a BX from France directly.
If you could even find one! But I imagine that a nice non-GTi couldn’t be more than like 4-5k Euro.
They are still plentiful:
https://www.leboncoin.fr/recherche?category=2&u_car_brand=CITROEN&u_car_model=CITROEN_BX&sort=price&order=asc
A 19 TZi Break is pretty rare, with AC even more so. Nearly GTi but a station wagon, so for me it is the ultimate model. Still massively overpriced, though.
I have owned two second series (larger front blinkers, more conventional dashboard) Citroën BX Estates, one even in that colour! Great cars, if you keep the pipes from leaking and the steel body parts from rusting.
The Heuliez built estates are really kind of a hack job, notice for instance how they used the hatchback doors, which don’t line up with the roof – like on Volvo 145/245 – but all those stupid lines going in strange directions just adds to the french quirkiness.
So like on a Ferrari Testarossa they had to paint some of the ugly parts matte black, so people maybe didn’t notice them.
Great wheels also! Not sure they are the correct ones for the TZi, the might be from a GTi, but the sure look very french and cool.
I am a little worried about that giant pipe on the exhaust though, what other stupid mods does it have then?
Manual gearbox conversion? Must’ve been the only non-manual BX available…
I have never seen an automatic BX – I know they existed, but only on a few models – initially as a 16RS/TRS (from July 1984), later on the 19 TRD (feb 1986). In July ’88 the automatic option was added to the BX 19, but it was still rare.
I still remember when an automatic was offered only in one or two engine options in European cars.
Yup. I am/was/might still be looking for a 205 Automatique; a late version with four doors and the 1.9-litre nearly-GTi engine (wife cannot operate three pedals).
We’re not going to mention the interesting things in the background of these pictures? I think I’d rather have that nice Accord behind the Cappuccino and the Flintstones Brontosaurusmobile behind the Fiat.
There’s a lot in the back of those pictures…
Sold at Mecum in 2013 I guess
https://www.carscoops.com/2013/06/it-has-4-heel-drive-ram-truck-from/
850, please. Love those things.
Hey Mercedes, I’ve been waiting a few days for an appropriate article to ask:
I have been looking at used cars on craigslist and whatnot for a while now. It always shocks me when I run across a 15 year old VW Bug (the new gen that came out in the mid 2000’s). The prices are way higher than I would expect. 10-15k, where I would think 2-4k maybe.
How are these holding their value so well? Is there a cult for them like the old bug? I will say my neighbor has one, and they love it and I don’t think its been in the shop in the 8 years we’ve been living next to them, so that does say something on its own.
Anyways, any insight from you or any readers would be great!
Have a good weekend everyone!
I was into the BX until “manual conversion”. Hell to the no.
The Korando, I’d at least think about it if there’s a lot of parts interchange between it and a US-model MBz beyond the engine.
I doubt anything is interchangeable except for the engine… and perhaps the gearbox.
Also, Spanish number plate!
Photo tip. If there is a Skyliner at a car show, odds are the the top will be in the partial open/close position. That wide, almost flat, surface is ideal to take reflection photos of nearby things.
Our local car show was supposed to be tomorrow, but really cold rain is forecast, so postponed. A fwe years ago there was a dark Skyliner at the show. Early morning has cars on one side of the street in the sun and the other side in shadow. Taking pictures of the cars in the sun off the reflection of the cars in the shade is something I like to do. The Skyline hood at an angle provided a great photo opportunity of the buildings along the street in the sun.
Didn’t MacGyver replace a drive belt with pantyhose? That ought to get you home.
“…called the Galaxie Skyliner in 1959…”
Well… The Galaxie was introduced mid-year as the new top (so to speak) of the Ford lineup. The early ’59 Skyliners are Fairlane 500s. For sedans and hardtops of the non-retractable variety the introduction of the Galaxie is marked by a new, more formal top which looks something like a Skyliner’s top. For the Skyliner itself and the Sunliner ragtop, the change in name doesn’t correspond to much of a change in the car itself.
For ’59 Galaxies in general, the script on the side of the rear fenders changed from reading Fairlane 500 to reading Galaxie and a small plaque reading Galaxie was added to the glovebox door. That’s about it, particularly for models without a change in roofline. The main trim on the glovebox still says Fairlane 500 and the rear of the car still says Fairlane 500, the latter being the case because the central zero in “500” is also the rotating cover for the trunk lock, although that doesn’t actually matter for Skyliners, which have no trunk lock.
Oh, sure, there were some other changes between the earlier and the later cars, although it’s not clear whether this always coincided with the introduction of the Galaxie name, or at least not whether this was true at all of the factories. For example, the door cards in the later cars lost their silver Mylar trim. The car above, despite having the Galaxie name, does have this bright trim, but this may have been the result of later replacement. As another example, the corrugated trim behind the rear wheel arches has black paint between the ribs on earlier cars but not on later cars, but this doesn’t necessarily correspond to whether it’s a Galaxie. The car above appears to have this paint on the right side trim but not on the left.
There are a few things wrong on this car. One is that it has a top switch from a ’57 or ’58 convertible or retractable, all of which use the same switch. The ’59 has a quite different design which is harder to find when one is needed. Using the earlier version as a replacement is frequently done. Another is that it has the fender ornaments of a ’59 Custom or Custom 300, which feature short bases supporting golden spheres, instead of the longer bases and Thunderbird emblems of the Fairlane 500 and Galaxie. This is a much more unusual choice but may simply indicate that a previous owner preferred them and swapped them onto the car when it was time to repaint it. The Continental kit is an aftermarket design which differs in several ways from the genuine FoMoCo item, although many owners like it better. Mine didn’t have a Continental kit at all.
I only got rid of my ’59 Galaxie Skyliner a few months ago but I hadn’t really been keeping up with the research for about twenty years, so some of the questions about when the various rolling changes occurred may have been resolved by now. Still, this one seems to have some issues, although admittedly minor.
Thanks for this detail. Some of my formative automotive experiences were riding along with my dad as he took the ’59 Skyliner he had restored to car shows. I was pretty young, but old enough to read and I remember being confused by all of the different badges – both Fairlane 500 and Galaxie. You’ve shed some light on that. To make matters more confusing, in my family, the car was almost always referred to as the ‘retractable’ or just ‘the retract’. Was that just an invention by my dad (I wouldn’t put it past him), or more widely used?
He sold the car in the early ’90s. I often wonder what were it ended up. I haven’t come across it at any car shows since. It always seemed a bit unusual to me because it was solid white, when almost every other one I’ve seen has been two-tone.
You’re welcome. Calling them “retractables” or just “retracts” is pretty common among owners. Occasionally someone will say “hideaways” in reference to “hideaway hardtop” but that’s rare. Solid white was a popular choice when new but some have since been repainted either as styletone (top and bottom matching with contrasting color in the middle) or two-tone (top one color and the rest of the body another). Styletone is seen a lot more than two-tone.
Maybe it’s the color scheme, but for the first time ever I think the Skyliner resembles a Ranchero with a really good tonneau cover. Also, the world needs more brown motorcycles.
I always thought it was a missed opportunity not to have based the Ranchero on the Skyliner rather than a 2-door wagon. Weld the top on permanently, leave off the trunk lid and hinge the rear panel as a tailgate. It would be a 2-door hardtop crewcab!
The total cargo space in a Skyliner with the top up is bigger than many modern pickup beds even if the “washing tub” in the middle that represents the cargo area you can put the top down around is tiny.
That Olds is simply beautiful.
If I had the money I’d be all over that Citroën. The BX is so totally 80s.
I wouldn’t touch the Ssangyong with a barge pole, although it’s less fugly than a Rodius. Then again even a Mitsuoka Orochi is is less fugly than a Rodius.
Who puts a fart can on a Citroen? Sheesh.
The want for that Fiat is STRONG.
Will that serpentine belt come overnight?