I hate that I'm so broke. This is the week all the crazy craigslist deals pop up. Like this $350 Willys pickup!

 I've been on craigslist and some other web sites a lot lately 'cause I'm looking for an engine to go in my '89 Wrangler. It's killing me 'cause I've only got about $300 to spend and that's gotta go for my engine. But I'm finding soo many good things to buy. I'm not too broken up about this $350 '48 Willys pickup 'cause I just got rid of one, but my day-dreaming doesn't stop only with Jeep projects.

This $1800 Porsche 944 would be a lot of fun on the track. I'd bomb it OD green, gut the interior, put an iron cross on

the doors, and find a road race circuit to hit.

There's a half-dozen GM A-bodies from the late '60s/early '70s for under $1,200. Classic 2-doors with good bodies. Buick, Olds, Chevy, even Pontiacs. I don't want to think of how many late '70s/early-mid '80s G-bodies are around. They were just another car when I was growing up, but now it's an affordable rear-drive platform you can get to handle a corner with a little work. Stab in a GMPP E-Rod crate engine, add some swaybars and springs, and kill some imports while being smog-legal.

F-150 and F-250 pickups, Broncos, Blazers, Suburbans, and other non-Jeep 4x4s? Take your pick from $1,200 and less from modern injected models to vintage '60s and '70s selections.

Or maybe a BMW 5-series for $1,000? Or Mercedes diesel 300D? I've wanted a clean one of these for a while. Stab in a stock Hemi and five-speed auto from a wrecked Chrysler car or Dodge truck and cruise in comfort while still killing the 1/4-mile in 14-seconds or less.

A $500 '68 Rambler is just begging for a honked-out, mechanical-lifter AMC 360, 4.11 gears, and four-speed manual.

 Baja bugs, Land Rovers, MG midgets, and more. All for under $2,000. But the funny thing is, most of the Wranglers and even Cherokees seem to be holding their value. Darn, I was kinda hoping to luck into a cheap, clean '97-newer Cherokee or maybe even another YJ for $500.

Oh well, sometimes it's hard to be a gearhead!