The advert for at present’s Good Value or No Cube sizzling rod Limo claims it should garner its driver “compliments and thumbs up all over the place you go….” Let’s resolve if its worth is simply as worthy of a thumb within the air.
Yesterday’s 1983 Autobianchi A112 Junior proved cute as a bug and virtually as small as one, too. That lovable nature mixed with a sizzling drivetrain proved a palatable pairing, making the $6,500 asking worth a stable deal, at the very least in keeping with the 60 p.c of you who anointed the little sizzling hatch with a Good Value win.
With a wheelbase of simply over 80 inches and an general size (with its lacking bumper taken under consideration) simply shy of 127 inches, yesterday’s Autobianchi is arguably a tiny automobile. The truth is, it’s so little that it could handily match throughout the working board area of at present’s 1931 Ford Mannequin A Limo. In fact, only a few promenade arrivals or bachelorette events may very well be dealt with by the Autobianchi.
Now, as oddball a automobile as this Mannequin A limo is, let’s take into account it on its deserves. The apparent marketplace for it isn’t the overall sizzling rod fanatic nor anybody with parking area limitations. As a substitute, it’s of curiosity to a livery service or perhaps a kind of get together bus firms seeking to diversify whereas on the similar time letting their freak flag fly.
Amazingly, this as soon as was an actual Mannequin A. The truth is, it apparently took two Mannequin As to construct. In accordance with a earlier advert for the automobile, the bodywork is all metallic save for the extra-wide rear fenders, that are fiberglass. The advert additionally notes that the entire thing rides on a bespoke body comprised of rectangular-section metal tubing and is so lengthy it requires two driveshafts.
This being a sizzling rod, the large block 460 CID V8 is proven off to good impact. It breathes by means of an Edelbrock four-barrel and has been dressed up with a number of polished components and chromed equipment. That’s paired with a C6 three-speed automated with its personal oil cooler and actuated by way of a floor-mounted shifter. Suspension is unequal-length A-arms and coil-overs in entrance and one thing else holding up the 9-inch rear finish within the again. And talking of the again, when you’ve ever questioned why the baggage compartments are referred to as “trunks” because of this.
Each the motive force’s compartment and the seven-seat passenger area are air-conditioned, and there’s a glass panel separating the 2 so farts don’t co-mingle.
In accordance with the present advert, the automobile has 6,500 miles on the clock and a clear title. It additionally claims the engine to be a small block 351, so there’s some discrepancy between this and the older advert. The valve covers lend credence to this being a giant block, nonetheless.
One thing else we are able to glean from the advert is the automobile’s general situation. The images present a clear and apparently well-assembled automobile with nothing wanted save for the twist of the important thing to get driving. It was as soon as a part of the Volo Automotive Assortment, one thing famous with a certificates within the present advert, and as Volo was the vendor within the earlier one. Now, it asks $59,000 to go to a brand new collector or be put into service for hen events and crimson carpet arrivals. Does that appear like a good worth?
Look, I do know this limo isn’t our communal cup of tea, however its audaciousness in simply being a factor is a hoot and a half, and I, for one, am glad such a automobile exists. I feel you ought to be, too. That doesn’t imply, nonetheless, that it’s price that $59,000 asking to exist in a brand new proprietor’s essentially very-long driveway anytime quickly.
What do you say? Is {that a} truthful worth for this practice Mannequin A because it’s offered? Or is that an excessive amount of for a automobile with so restricted an attraction?
You resolve!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.
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