This Has To Be The Most Bonkers Collection Of Cars Sold In One Craigslist Ad Ever

Our contributor Emily Velasco is very often my eyes, ears, and occasionally fingers when it comes to finding good automotive weirdness around Los Angeles. The other day she sent me a Craigslist ad she found that caught her attention, because, holy shit. This ad, this ad may have what may be the most bizarre and inexplicable collection of cars for sale that I’ve ever seen on this List of Craig. Let’s dig into this, because it’s so very good.

Now, I did attempt to call the seller, not email, because, as the ad states, “FYI: Use the number like a lane line, have to call it. I repeat “Calls Only”” and he already repeated it once. I’m guessing “lane” should be “land,” and that just means I can’t text the number? I’m not sure, but I left a message and if I get a call back, I’ll be sure to update everything. In the meantime, let’s just look at this and speculate.

First, in case the ad disappears into the aether, here’s a screenshot:

…and here’s the full text of the ad, because it’s really too important to paraphrase:

“I am helping a few older people sell off their cars and bike.
Calls Only
Cash Only

Lamborghini needs some electrical help; not turn and key, be ready to tow.
$17,000obo

Next Gen Cobra. $17,000obo

Boat Car!?!? This was design to drive 65mph into the water. Hydrophilic can be used to pull the wheels in when, once in the water. Not going to find this anywhere as it was the only one made at the time of prototyping.
$20,000obo

1940s Looking car. Reminds me of Cruella’s car from 101 Dalmatians film. 5x cylinder diesel turbo. Engine does start!
$17,000obo

Three wheel car. Driver door is in the front. Everything swings out of the way to get in&out! Single wheel in the rear. Open bed to haul stuff. Another one of a kind. Will not find this model anywhere as it was not mass produce.
$17,000obo

BusSubaru. Gray VW Bus with a brand new Subaru engine, breaks, tiers, suspension and refrigerator. Register as a RV. Classic ride with modern part to last! Note: back registration and title resent is required before transfer. Deposit required at the moment to catch up all fees*included in price, not extra from buyer.
$17,000obo

VW BUS! This green RV has just about everything new, starting with the OEM engine, breaks, tiers, paintjob.
$17,000obo

Fiat 1979
$10,000obo
No rust, starts, runs, stops. Frame is straight. Manual. RWD Been over looked by a mechanic with decades of experience at restoring classics. In the hills near by.

Smart Car 2008
CD Mult Disc, AM/FM, AUX input. AC and Heating. Heated Leather seats, power windows, Dual Air Bag, ABS break, Automatic-Clutch 5-Spd Manual, RWD, about 80K miles on current engine as it been swapped out. New tiers all season, New Battery. Minor accident, see passenger side door of the scratches left behind. As the current owner has had it since 2010. A long repair history has been kept on it. 90% of the work has been done at the dealership. Tons of extra parts that come with the car. Optional to take extras. Rear window, set of car doors. OEM radio, tail gate, vents, rims, engine parts, ect. Recommend to bring truck for the extras unless your passing it up.
$4500firm; lot of calls on this gas saver.

1000watt BPM E-Bike
NEW NEVER RIDEN CHARGED ONE TIME. LARGE HEAVY DUTY 4.25 FAT TIRE 1000WATTS 18AHR VERY FAST AND POWERFUL
CENTER HEAVY DUTY CRANK DRIVE
NOT THE WIMPY SPOKE DRIVEN.
CENTER DRIVE ABSOLUTE BEST FOR OFF ROAD AND BEACH.
PAID 2,200. FOR THE WIFE. SHE NEVER TRIED IT OUT.
I BOUGHT TWO. MINE IS EVEN MORE POWERFUL. WILL CONSIDER SELLING BOTH.
$1300 each

49cc motorized bike. has lights to meet DOT standard for day and night. Flask included. Any and all extra bike parts laying around as this was the only bike.
$333”

I think the only reasonable thing to do here is walk through some of these cars and consider them, carefully. We can skip the more mainstream stuff like the Smart Car (which looks in good shape), the Fiat 124 (which is quite cool), and that e-Bike, but I think the others merit some discussion. We’ll go in order in that description, starting with the

“Lamborghini”

Now, maybe I’m a horrible cynic, but I’m not convinced this is actually a Lamborghini. This looks like some sort of fiberglass kit car that features, interestingly, what appears to be a Mercedes-Benz mono-wiper. It doesn’t seem like the ubiquitous Volkswagen Beetle-pan sort of kit car, and I’m really unsure as to exactly what is under all that moldy fiberglass.

Is it even actually mid-engined? Is ti a Fiero under there, if so? I have no idea. But wait! The seller called me back! It’s got a Cadillac Northstar V8 in there, and may be built on a Northstar chassis!

This car and the next four are all from the same builder, who was described to me as an older man who speaks Russian. The man sure seems to have been a prolific and skilled builder of cars, from what I can tell here. I mean it, these are no joke.

Next-Gen Cobra

You know what this looks a lot like? It looks like Ford’s 2004 concept for a next-generation Shelby Cobra, codenamed Daisy. We’ve written about this car before, because our ownn Autopian co-founder Beau once owned the car, and we may have something very special involving this car coming soon, so stay tuned.

You can definitely see the resemblance in the front end there, and the rear sure doesn’t try to hide its identity:

Now, again, I have no idea what’s under that (fiberglass?) bodywork, so who knows what this thing is actually like to drive. The Daisy concept car did have at least one company making kit car replicas, the DRB SC540, an Australian company that made the kits for Aussie-market Ford Falcons. Is that what this is? An Australian Falcon in a costume? That’d be pretty rare to find out here!

The seller did send me some more shots of the car, including the engine:

What is that – some LS engine? A Ford V8? I’m not certain but I am certain that the cobra-head shifter is badass:

…even if it’s on an automatic shifter. An auto? Jeez.

The Boat Car

Okay, this one is by far my favorite, because I love amphibious vehicles of all kinds, and this is definitely all kinds of something. What the hell is this? It actually looks quite well-built, with what I think is riveted aluminum body construction, sort of like a Grumman LLV postal truck. It’s riding on Lincoln wheels, too! I don’t think it’s front-engined, because there’s just no room there, and there’s no visible grille or other air intakes, either.

Could this be a VW pan thing, with an air-cooled flat-four at the rear? It’d fit, but I’m just not sure. The description doesn’t really help, either:

“Boat Car!?!? This was design to drive 65mph into the water. Hydrophilic can be used to pull the wheels in when, once in the water. Not going to find this anywhere as it was the only one made at the time of prototyping.
$20,000obo”

Hydrophilic? I looked that up and it means something that dissolves in water, not a great quality for a watercraft. They must mean hydraulic. I think?

The shot of the propeller at the rear doesn’t really answer any questions, either. There’s some cheap LED taillights tacked on there, but again no air intakes or exhaust pipes or anything that may give a clue about what this thing is. I very much want it to be real, though.

The seller got back to me! He said it was a Volkswagen engine in there, but the picture looks more like an American V6 or V8:

I really don’t think that’s any sort of VW engine I’m aware of. This thing does look amazing, though:

What’s in those front two compartments? Inside, it’s pretty basic, with a steering wheel and pedals from what look like a Vanagon:

“1940s Looking Car”

This looks more like a 1920s car, specifically a late 1920s Bugatti Type 35 or something like that. This does not appear to be one of those VW-based Bugatti kit cars, because look at those huge leaf springs. Plus, the seller says it’s powered by a five-cylinder turbodiesel? A Mercedes-Benz one, it seems. It’s got nice big finned drum brakes there, too. And those aren’t just normal sealed-beam headlights in dune buggy buckets, those look like genuine period-correct lights. What is this thing?

We can see more of the builder’s skill with aluminum and rivets here, too.

“Three Wheel Car”

This one is baffling, too. The seller just told me the front end is from a kit and the rest was just sort of put together by the builder from stuff he had laying around.

The rear of it looks like a big  stakebed-type truck? And there’s just one wheel back there? Wow.

The Buses

These are pretty tame, comparatively, and are just a nice pair of VW buses. The Vanagon has a Subaru engine transplant, and the green one looks quite clean and seems to have a recently-refreshed Type 4 engine in there:

The Bike

I just like this little 49cc motorized bike; it’s so simple and straightforward. And, yes, the seller is throwing in “the flask!”

These are all fascinating things to see for sale, and all together, in one ad, it’s dizzying. Incredibly, the seller told me that everything runs save for the Caddy-based Lambo thing, and I genuinely respect the ingenuity and skill that went into building these things.

Especially that amphibious vehicle. If I had 20 grand to throw around, I’d be strangely tempted. I mean, it’s not like there’s so many other amphibious car options out there.

Amazing.

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