Skip to main content

Vintage Wheels: A great way to blow an afternoon … and thousands of dollars

No, despite what the name might suggest, the Vintage Wheels website doesn’t sell sets of retro alloys and steelies. Instead, it’s a one-stop shop for all rare and extremely cool vintage cars and trucks.

When I was first encouraged to check out the site, I was a bit skeptical, as at first glance I assumed the site was simply a hipster-centric vintage car-listing site. Delightfully, it’s not.

Recommended Videos

Rather than taking on the juggernauts that are AutoTrader, eBay Motors, and Bring a Trailer, Vintage Wheels instead uses algorithms to populate lists of cars for sale from around the web.

vintage wheels 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

On the landing page, users are greeted with images of “Muscle Cars,” “Cruisers,” and “Hipster Classics,” in addition to “Classic Trucks,” and “Affordable Cool.” These sections are good for users who are a bit aimless. I, however, dug straight into the search function and went for my two brand passions: Volvo and Land Rover (I like boxy cars, alright?).

And right away, thanks to the magic that is Vintage Wheels, I found some gems that I not have otherwise encountered – many here in Oregon, in fact.

1978 Volvo 245 DLThe first heart-stopper I found was this red-on-red 1978 Volvo 245 DL. With steel wheels, an automatic transmission, and a blocky front end carved from only the finest Swedish steel, it’s a car you could set your watch to.

Then after nearly draining my drool ducts, I moved across the pond to Britain to investigate what Rovers I could spy. I was delighted with what I discovered. Then I found this very compelling 1964 Land Rover Series II wagon. With light blue paint, right-hand drive, and a motor you can hand-crank (seriously), there’s little reason not to fall head-over-heels for this aluminum-bodied 4×4.

alfa interior
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Lastly, I decided to see what Alfa Romeos Vintage Wheels had in its database. That’s when I found this burgundy beauty: a very clean 1972 GTV. My favorite bit of this Alfa, save the immaculate leather and wood steering wheel, is the yellow headlights. They might not be too distinctive, but – to me – they really pull the whole package together. Just looking at the sleek, glimmering form conjured images of cruising the coast with a blond, leggy co-pilot…just as the designers intended.

So, if you’re looking for a vintage car, or simply to kill a few hours over this long Thanksgiving weekend, I highly suggest you spend some time over at Vintage Wheels. That’s where I’ll be between gorging sessions.

Nick Jaynes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick Jaynes is the automotive editor of The Manual. When Nick isn't behind the wheel on the open road, he can be found…
Tony Soprano vs. Walter White: Who is the ultimate antihero?
TV's biggest heavyweights duke it out for the antihero crown
Breaking bad season 4 screen shot

Sports fans often debate between two heavyweight legends. For basketball, it's LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Switching to tennis, you have Roger Federer fans and Rafael Nadal diehards. Debates like these are ingrained in the culture of athletics, but TV fans have their own version of this sparring match.

Tony Soprano from The Sopranos and Walter White from Breaking Bad are the two characters who still send shockwaves through every drama in the 21st century. These men were the perfect mix of good and evil. They navigated family life and the criminal underworld with cunning intelligence and ruthless risk-taking. Every show with morally gray characters at the center owes its storyboard to Walter and Tony, but which character deserves the antihero crown? This is Tony Soprano vs. Walter White for all the marbles.
Who was the more complex character?

Read more
Learn how to smoke a pipe the proper way with our guide for beginners
Let us show you the classy way to smoke a pipe
Packing a pipe

Pipe smoking is the most aesthetically distinguished way to enjoy tobacco, but you lose the classy effect if you don’t know how to smoke a pipe properly. Smoking a pipe has become a lost art, and these days, most people who engage in pipe smoking do so to achieve a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps your grandfather enjoyed a puff now and again paired with a good stiff whiskey, or maybe your goal is to emulate a pipe-smoking artist.

I know that I enjoy a good puff on a pipe now and then, and knowing the right way to enjoy a pipe has made the experience much more pleasurable for for me. Whatever the case, if you intend to take up the time-honored tradition of unwinding with a pipe like me, you should learn how to smoke a pipe the right way. And smoking a pipe is very different than smoking a cigar (except you shouldn't be inhaling either).

Read more
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more