This Week on Hagerty Marketplace: A Trio of Two-Doors

Welcome to This Week on Hagerty Marketplace, a recurring recap of the previous week’s most noteworthy cars and significant sales from the Hagerty Marketplace online auctions.

We might have thought that the winter weather would put a damper on people’s demand for sporty cars, yet this crop of recent sales seems to prove that there are plenty of places where muscular coupes and nimble convertibles will still draw plenty of interested parties. These three don’t have a whole lot in common, but they each represent a fun collectible that would make a great weekend driver. Which one you pick depends on whether your taste in two doors is big-block domestic or snappy four-cylinder foreign.

1962 MG MGA 1600 Mk II Roadster

Sold for $32,100

The MGA is practically the quintessential British roadster. It has a classic, shapely design with simple, easily serviced mechanicals, making it easy to own for just about any enthusiast who appreciates top-down motoring. While this one isn’t British Racing Green, it’s hard to argue against the classic combo of red over tan. The interior is in fantastic shape and, like the MGA’s exterior lines, has an elegant design. Those are Jaeger guages, by the way, and they include a 120-mph speedometer with matching tachometer and a set of smaller gauges for monitoring oil pressure, water temperature, and fuel level. Its sale price is less than the MGA’s #2 (Excellent) valuation, but this car does have a few small flaws that were noted in the listing, none of which detract from its sporty appeal. It’s still a head-turner thanks to its classic lines and eye-catching paint and chrome, and 93 horsepower rarely looks this good.

1991 Nissan Figaro

Sold for $19,260

Nissan built several cars during the late ’80s and early ’90s with interesting, throwback designs, including the Pau and the Be-1. They, along with the Figaro, were based on the subcompact March. It might seem odd, but we’re now further away from when the Nissan Figaro was produced—1991—than the Figaro was from some of the late-1950s classic compact cars that inspired it. We miss the era when mainstream companies were brave enough to take risks on interesting designs that would only be produced in (relatively) small volumes.

This refurbished example has 38,518 miles on the odometer. Well, it technically has 61,990 kilometers on the odometer, as the instruments are still original. Other parts have been restored, however, including the leather upholstery and dash pad, the convertible top, and the paint, which was resprayed in the original “Topaz Mist.” Its sale price puts is above its #3 (Good) valuation, reflecting the careful refresh and original, low-mileage drivetrain. This would be a great way to get a relatively rare car that would be sure to turn heads at any car show it putters into.

1969 Chevrolet Nova

Sold for $38,520

The Chevy II/Nova is to the Camaro what the Ford Falcon is to the Mustang. Chevy’s early F-body pony car shares much of its underpinnings, like its subframe and suspension, with the more mainstream Nova coupes and sedans which were redesigned for 1968. Some lucky Novas even got the same performance engines found in the high-performance Camaros. This 1969 Nova was likely originally powered by a 350 small-block, but it was given a serious upgrade when it was restomodded in 2014. The car was completely disassembled and the rusted and damaged body panels were repaired with new sheet metal. Likewise, the front subframe was removed, stripped, and refinished. The Nova was treated to a new suspension and interior and the body was sprayed in Cortez Silver. Replacing the long-gone small-block is a 454 big-block topped with an aluminum dual-plane intake and wearing the air cleaner decal from a 375hp L78 396. To complete its muscle car rebirth, the 454 was bolted to a Muncie four-speed manual.

The sale price was less than the #4 (Fair) value for a true SS396, and is more in line with a non-SS Nova powered by a 350. If numbers matching isn’t your thing, then a restomod tribute might be the way to get some real muscle car power for a lot less money.