I’d forgotten about these. With a bench seat and that school-bus shifter, it’s like a living fossil from the Triassic period of factory-custom truck offerings.

It looks to me like an intermediate point between the Shuttle—which for various reasons unique to certain military needs (that it ended up never having to serve) had to have big wings—and a lifting body.

The seller seems to have a number of cars, with an emphasis on fancy German ones, for sale in the area, so I am assuming that he is a curbside dealer who has little or no firsthand knowledge of each one. ND-leaning even before considering any signs as noted by others that this unit may have had a hard life.

It’d be like learning on an American pickup or Army Jeep/early CJ, just with more difficulty chasing down parts.    It is simple as a stone axe and not haired over with accessories, comfort features, or grace notes of any sort.

Given that this was designed for heavy use on bad roads and none at all, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the rears were full floaters. The US convention of semi-floaters with five or six lug nuts, full-floaters with eight or more, might not be universal. Here’s a diagram.

What kind of vehicle-miles traveled are we talking about... and how many of them involve California-registered RVs vs. ones from out of state visiting California (and spending money there)? That’s what separates optics from substance.

I enjoy “Rosemary and Thyme” and “Vera” as much as the next Britbox subscriber but have little desire to spend thirteen-five to cosplay either one, especially given that this example is in such, ah, what’s a nice way to say this, you’d be unafraid to use it as an off-road truck’y condition.

Not my jam, but also not surprised the ad is down, at that price and condition.

Don’t go in expecting it to be either an Eldorado or a Miata and it should Oldsmobile along stylishly and comfortably. NP on the condition that the underneath isn’t a rust bomb.

Someone on another forum guessed that this might be a “hotshot” driver (urgent deliveries for people who are burning money and daylight at a ferocious rate for lack of a spare part or whatever).

Yeah, at some point we’re all counting on the people around us to pay attention and not run into us. But that isn’t always how it goes. If I am doomed to be in a crash, I like my chances better in today’s equivalent of this car, even though it was surprisingly stout for its day. Absorbing and redirecting energy to…

All the stars for that “kids, don’t try this at home, unless you happen to be Bob Hoover” demo (speaking of northern California, an airshow at the former Hamilton AFB may have been where I saw it), and the reminder that a car with half decent aerodynamics doesn’t need that much horsepower for steady-state highway…

Some sage whose name escapes me at the moment once observed, “Being a hero in your own time sometimes means you don’t have much time left.”

If you want one of these, this might well be the one you want, and the price is, if anything, on the low side for apparent condition. The question is whether it runs as though Great-Grandpa drove it often enough to keep things lubed, and occasionally brought it in for a tune-up. If it languished for years under…

A point that is implied by a link in the top paragraph: the orange beast driven here by Leno is actually the second Jerrari.

A shiny but slapdash respray in an incorrect color is actually more off-putting to some than a three-speed slusher (still pretty common in those days), but it’s still a good deal for an appealing car that otherwise looks to be in pretty decent shape. I’d want a local BMW expert to independently corroborate that…

Someplace with cheaper insurance and fewer speed cameras than Phoenix?

Not surprised the ad is down. They aren’t (apologies in advance) my thing, but if (and only if) the claimed restoration was comprehensive and well done rather than just a superficial sprucing-up, this price is well below market.  

It was a way of getting around that didn’t have to be fed whether you were using it or not and didn’t randomly emit poop in the general direction of your face when in operation, so there’s that.

Substantial “very rare” premium for shifting your own gears. Normally this little kitty goes to market for less than half that price. ND for me, given that it’s not exactly in pristine condition.   I’m fine with an automatic in what’s really a luxury GT with some sports car siblings.