Great Cars Available…Get It Before It's Gone. Check the date of the post. If it is a few weeks old, it is probably too late.

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Vinyl top: ’65 Ford Mustang (real) GT

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We are always on the Mustang hunt and with millions you would think it is easy to find Mintworthy Mustangs. It isn’t. We tend to favor Mustangs in original condition or with desirable options. Today’s Mustang is in Smoke Grey, one of our favorite colors and one you don’t see every day. Our ’65 K-code fastback was originally this color but when we bought it is was Poppy Red. According to our seller, he brought the K-Code to his paint shop for a respray and they thought Smoke Grey was too dull so they painted it red. Read More

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50 Years: Cobra Daytona Coupe

No, we haven’t run across a barn-find Daytona Cobra so cool your jets. This year is the 50th anniversary of the spectacular Daytona program that changed the face of racing back in the ’60s. And it is equally fitting that we recognize the Cobra today during the running of the 2014 24-hours of Daytona – a race that will conclude Sunday afternoon. If you can imagine the Shelby workshop back in ’63 and Ole Shelby came out to the shop and asked one of the guys what he was working on. The guy would have probably said, “I’m working on the Coupe for the Daytona race.” That became the Daytona Coupe. The rest is history. Rather than bore you with a rehash of the history of the Cobra, we invite you to view a video featuring the designer/engineer Pete Brock who helped make this car happen. Click on the image to see the video.Screen shot 2014-01-26 at 2.41.12 PM

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More Auction Results: ’14 Gooding & Company, Scottsdale

We continue to digest the auction results from last week’s successful Scottsdale auctions. And since we were not overwhelmed by anything offered on the market for our Daily Digest, we thought our readers should pause to look at some of the results along with us. Perhaps it might change the contents of your bucket list. All we can say is maybe our ’67 Mercedes is going for a one-way trip to Monterey this August! Click on the image below to take you to the Gooding results.Screen shot 2014-01-20 at 5.32.46 PM

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Traditional GT: ’83 Porsche 928

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The GT was born out of necessity in the ’50s. Well, necessity for wealthy European folks who wanted to travel great distances in comfort on the weekends or holidays. Cars made by Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes and others, filled the niche with luxurious cruisers capable of sustained high speeds. And of course, they didn’t want to be embarrassed when they pulled up in front of the Hotel d’Paris in Monaco, so the GT car had to be gorgeous and exclusive. Fast forward to the mid-70s. Porsche was successful with the 911 but they wanted to appeal to the client who demanded a bit more refinement, more pace and more luxury. The 928 was born, designed in part, by an American by the name of Tony Lapine. Read More

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Rising Fun: ’01 Acura NSX-T

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McKeel Hagerty and his astute team selected the Acura NSX as a modern car that has collectible potential. It is in good company along side the Lotus Elise, Audi TT and Dodge Viper. We’ve never featured a NSX before so we took a look around and came up with an exceptional candidate that has been treated to extensive upgrades. The NSX has covered only 29,300 miles to date. It is a 6-speed in Silverstone Grey Metallic with black leather interior. Read More

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Potentially nice: ’72 BMW 2002

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BMW fans call these “roundies” because they have round tail lights and small, chrome bumpers. All 2002 model Bimmers are prized but the roundie is the one people want first. It is difficult to find unrestored 2002s in decent condition because they were prone to rust. One has a better chance of finding a nice one on the west coast so easterners rarely get an opportunity to find one locally and avoid shipping costs. Read More

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Nice Find: ’78 VW Rabbit Custom

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I worked for VW of America in Englewood Cliffs when this one was built. This is among the last of the German-built Rabbits before VW inflicted a near fatal wound by building them in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. We don’t really think an old Rabbit is collectible but this one is special. It has had only 2-owners since new and accumulated a scant 24,400 miles. Read More

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Seen on the street: ’86 TVR 280i

TVR reTVR 280i is a sports car designed and built by TVR from 1980 to 1988. It was available as a fixed head coupé, both as a 2-seater and as a 2+2, or as a 2-seater convertible. The 2.8-litre “Cologne” V6 producing 145hp (in US form) had already been certified for US sales, allowing TVR to return to the US market after a six year hiatus. The Tasmin was the last TVR to be exported to the USA, with the last car brought over in 1987, this being a series II 280i like today’s car on the street. Read More

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Success at Mint: ’14 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Convertible

Lou 2One of our frequent readers, Lou O., really wanted a new 2014 Corvette. He wanted one of the first convertibles and pay a fair price for one. His experience shopping on his own, was less than pleasant. Either the dealer wasn’t allocated any Corvettes or the dealer added a signficant “dealer profit”. We read this on The GM Authority Website that described his experience: “As the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette begins to trickle into dealerships, the more greedy establishments are not hesitating to charge as much as $10,000 and more for their C7 Stingrays on the block. Way to go, guys. At the same time, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Stuff like this always happens when it comes to vehicles as hotly anticipated as the new Corvette.” And they were referring to the Coupe and not the Convertible! We know a great dealer who has a franchise on Long Island and New Jersey so we gave them a call. We put a deal together and a few months later, Lou’s Cyber Grey Convertible arrived at the dealership.He paid a fair price and the dealer is happy to have a new customer. If you are looking for that special car, give us a chance to make it happen for you.

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Happy Holidays!

We will be taking a break during the Holiday Season. We will be back on Friday morning!

New Kakob

1927 VOLVO  “JAKOB” VANQUISHES the COMPETITION!

We searched our library of vintage images and found a wonderful illustration for our first Mint2Me Holiday e-Card. Many of our readers are Volvo Cars of North America Alumni and you might recognize this Guy Billout illustration from the cover of Via Volvo Magazine’s Winter 1985 Issue. Perfect.

We launched Mint2Me almost a year ago with the goal of creating an online community for passionate vintage car buyers and sellers who enjoy the exchange of information and the joy of sharing and discovering those rare finds. Other gearhead websites have come before us. But we thought we could bring something new and fresh and sometimes humorous to this crowded niche. Our readers seem to think we are doing pretty good job and that is very rewarding. If you aren’t already a daily Mint2Me reader, consider this an invitation to join our loyal readers by signing up for our Daily Digest.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2014.  And, as always, drive safely.

 

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Happy Historic Holidays

I am honored to have been a friend of Donald Healey later on in his life. My relationship with Donald began through my active participation in the Austin Healey Club but we remained friends well past the sale of my last Healey, a black ’61 Mark I. I always looked forward to his Holiday Greeting card. This one is from 1981 and it is one of my favorites.Healey_Card-01

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Hooniverse Calendar

Hooniverse is one of our favorite websites. It is a bit irreverent and that is probably why we enjoy it so much. Here is what they say about themselves: The word hoon is a term that comes to us by way of our friends down under. In Australia, hoon refers to someone who drives in a reckless manner, and this has led authorities to develop anti-hoon laws. Here in the United States, however, we’ve adopted the word and redefined it. Our definition refers to someone who loves the simple act of driving. Be it at a 1/10th cruise in a beloved classic machine, or a 9/10ths rip down one’s favorite canyon run.

HoonIn addition to their editorial excellence, they have a good eye for horse-flesh. And that is why our very own ’67 Mercedes-Benz Rally Tribute is featured in their 2014 Calendar. He is Mr. June. We encourage all of readers to step up and buy one for $13.00. Click here for the link.