It Came From eBay Hell: Triumph TR3 with an Italian Body and an American Heart

Much like Christine in the Stephen King novel of the same name, this 1957 Triumph TR3 Special began life as nothing more than a…car. Since then it’s mutated into this thing that sports a faux-Ferrari body and a Chevy 350 V8 under the hood.

All that remains of its British donor car are the number and chassis plates, front suspension, windshield wiper motor, tail lights and fuel filler cap. The “coachbuilt body”, as the eBay Motors seller describes it, is a combination of hand-worked aluminium and glass fibre.

There’s also an Edelbrock manifold and carburettor, TH350 transmission and a Ford 9” limited slip differential. There’s also an integral roll bar, four-link rear suspension and wide 275/50R15 rubber.

The seller would like us all to, “Please note the superb quality of the craftsmanship this car has been constructed with, particularly the very high quality of the wiring.” That’s his emphasis, not ours.

Still, if you would like to buy this, “authentic piece of American Vintage Motor Sports History” you can for the low, low asking price of US$19,500.

Though to be honest a car that’s spent twenty-five years in a shed gathering rust dust with a wannabe Ferrari 250 GTO body affixed to it isn’t my idea of a good investment. You can check out our full gallery bellow.

It Came from eBay Hell: ‘80s VW Golf Stretch Limo with Mercedes Nose

So you want your own limousine? Sure, I can dig that. Who hasn’t thought of trading in their daily commute for something that’s chauffer driven? And what better place to start your search than on eBay, where you’re sure to find something both unique and affordable, if not exactly well built or driveable.

Here’s one such find, based on a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf for the rest of the world) with a Mercedes-Benz nose piece. The seller’s description reveals that this vehicle has new brakes, struts, a new exhaust, new wheels and tires, new windshield and gas tank. And it still has its original motor and transmission, with a twin barrel carburettor with aluminium intake and header which the seller assures us makes it, “Fast for what it is.”

Inside there are two bench seats facing each other, and an electrically operated tinted glass partition that can separate the passengers from the driver. Classy.

The interior is in need of a lot of attention, though. There’s no headliner, no carpet and the custom interior panels have yet to be fitted. The air conditioning’s not hooked up and there’s no sound system, either. The car’s also missing a, “Few other odds and ends.”

On the upside, it has a clear title and the car comes with a fixer upper GTI engine and a white rabbit plush toy that has been stretched and has a VW hat on its head. Sadly there are no pictures of the latter. The starting price is a low, low US$4,999.00 (€3,676). Price for a first generation Rabbit, but not bad for something with such...uh...”unique qualities.”

The strange this is, this car has been on sale before, almost two years ago. And it was in the exact same state it’s in now. We don’t know what this means, except maybe that the owner grew tired of working on it. Take that however you want, and leave your comments below.

Russian Customizer Turns a Jaguar into a GAZ-21 Lookalike

Previously on Carscoop, we’ve seen Pontiac Fieros turned into “Fierarris”, Toyota Soarers adorned with Mercedes-Benzes off cuts and some others too hideous to even mention. For the most part, it’s a case of turning a boring, mainstream car into something that resembles a high-priced exotic if you’re squinting through grease paper with the sun in your eyes and have lost a lot of blood.

What you rarely see is something exotic transformed into something that some people would call mundane. That’d just be silly. Never to be one to shy away from a challenge, the Russians have done just that: taken a Jag and turned it into a GAZ.

Originally this car was a 1993 Jaguar XJ40 with an automatic transmission and a 3.2 L V6. Its exterior has been adorned with the grille, head- and taillights, unique side vents and boot emblem from a ‘70s Volga. It’s not quite in the same league as the BMW 6-series derived Volga V8 Roadster or the Porsche Cayenne-based “Lenin-mobile”, but it’s still an impressive transformation.

Find of the Day: 1982 Rover Ventura with SD1 Face and Chevy V8

Found for sale in Johannesburg, South Africa, by Carscoop reader 'SamuraiJack', is this strange creation called the Rover Ventura. We're not sure if it's actually based on the Rover SD1, but judging from the photos, it appears to sport the same front end as well as dashboard and door panels as the British saloon. The seller or the vehicle says it is powered by a new Chevrolet 350 c.i. V8 engine. Check out the full gallery after the jump and if you happen to know any more details on the car, feel free to share in the comments section.

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Mercedes' Chinese Partner BAIC Blatantly Copies B-Class with New BC301Z

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp., commonly known by the acronym BAIC, is one of Mercedes-Benz's partners in China. However, that didn't stop the Chinese automaker, which has acquired the intellectual rights for Saab's older 9-5 and certain 9-3 models, to rip off the design of Mercedes' B-Class for its new BC301Z five-door hatchback and to a lesser extent, the BC302Z sedan.

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Holy Bat Race! To the Batmobile, Carscoop!

Since the beginnings of hot-rodding and customization, the world of modifying cars has been a realm in which car fans could express themselves in an almost uncountable number of ways. It plays host to a broad spectrum of possibilities; ranging from minor appearance items like headlight eyelashes and spoilers to fully coach-built supercars like James Glickenhaus's Ferrari P4/5 and Michael Stoschek's recent tribute to Lancia's Stratos, it's a vast space filled with five-dollar accessories, million dollar showboats, and everything in between.

Residing in that enormous region of "in-between" is a small company called Fiberglass Freaks in Logansport, Indiana, but they're not your average car shop. In fact, you could say they're one-of-a-kind.

Owned and operated by Mark Racop (the "what guy") and Jeff Sandberg (the "how guy"), and staffed by six full-time and eight part-time employees, Fiberglass Freaks is much like Harley Davidson; they sell dreams. In the case of this unassuming small-town Indiana garage, however, they're giving people the opportunity to own a real 1966 Batmobile.

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Man Turns Pontiac Fiero into an Amazing Replica of Lamborghini Miura!

All too often, Pontiac Fiero-based replicas are simply horrible, to say the least. But, once in a while, a truly unique build hits the internet forums like this LS3 V8-powered Lamborghini Miura wannabe. Dreamed up by the owner of Chop Top Fiero in Machesney Park, Illinios, the so-called Fiura (no need to explain that) has been carefully developed over a period of three years and it’s the mother of all replicas using Fiero underpinnings.

Part of its awesomeness is due to the fact that Archie, the man behind the project, went to enormous lengths to make it as accurate to the original as possible, but without spending a fortune.

If you have the patience to read all 19 pages of the thread on Pennock’s Fiero Forum, you’ll learn that Miura parts aren’t exactly cheap nor abundant, so Archie did a lot of fabricating and scavenged all over the internet for suitable donor parts.

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Pontiac Fiero Goes All Ferrari F40

Is there some sort of underground movement in Germany we don’t know about devoted to converting Pontiac Fiero’s into shoddy Ferrari knockoffs? Is this a new national pastime over there or a devious ploy by Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Audi to discredit their Italian competitors?

Whatever you may think, the Fiero-based Ferrari replica is here to stay. And, much like David Hasslehoff, there’s nowhere these things are more popular than in Germany. At least, that’s the impression that I get. Presumably built in Belgium (as it is registered there), this replica has 71,000 km (44,154 miles) on the clock, a manual transmission and a whopping 123 hp. That’s only 349 hp short of a real F40!

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Unholy Tuning: Audi R8 Sedan Based on A8 Limo

If you were ever wondering what an actuall Audi R8 sports sedan would look like, sorry to say, you're out of luck. However, if by any twisted chance you're interested in finding out what would happen if a first-generation A8 and R8 got naughty in bed, scroll down and check out the rest of the photos. According to the forum members of the Audizine site, the R8-wannabe sports sedan was snagged outside Hooters (now, why aren't we surprised...) in Montreal, Canada.

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Video Preview of Porsche Boxster-Based Bugatti Veyron Replica in the Making

While we certainly won't go as far as calling the Boxster the Fiero of the 2010s, thanks to its mid-engine layout and a significant drop in pricing of the first generation models, Porsche's roadster model is becoming increasingly popular as a donor car among replica makers. Recently we showed you a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster clone based on a Boxster S, but now there's a new project car making the internet rounds.

This time the Porsche model will lend its hardware to a Bugatti Veyron replica that is being built as we speak by a man who goes by the name Orlando M. The replica maker explains that the car will not be put up for sale upon completion but will be used as a personal vehicle. The project is still under development but you can take a sneak peek of the process in the videos after the jump.

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Aston Martin's Low-iQ Cygnet Caught on the Streets of Düsseldorf

If we had to give a prize for the most ridiculous new car of 2010, it would go hands down to Aston Martin's Cygnet luxury mini. The British firm's pint-size model is nothing more than a Toyota iQ (Scion iQ in North America) decorated with fancy-pansy wraps - something like those silly replicas we show you from time to time with an even sillier price tag.

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