Summer of Cars 4 - Monterey - Gooding Auction

So, wrapping up the summer I had a chance to go up to Monterey for Pebble Beach, the Historic Races and lots in between.

The weekend started out with the Gooding Auction.  There were some amazing vehicles, all of which I couldn't even consider affording.

I loved this 1934 Packard.  It was giant and somehow understated.  Maybe it was the company it was in. 

MINI-RANT,  If you're not going to "restore" a car, don't upgrade it half way.

 I was stunned that this FJ40 went for $71,000.  It's a good looking car but falls into the gap between restored to stock condition or resto-mod.  There was plenty that wasn't stock, toyota emblem, short bumper, color, upside down bezel, ostrich skin dash pad (yes, there was an ostrich skin dash pad) and more.  So, if your not going to make it stock, why not clean up some of the mechanical bits.  Get rid of the sluggish 3 speed transmission and add a four speed one.  That way driving on the freeway goes from terrifying to just uncomfortable.  What about power steering?  It's a period correct upgrade and really nice.  And while your at it, front disc brakes - it's nice to stop.  I mean, for 70,000 why not?

other highlights

cool Fiat

cooler fiat

James Bond reference triggered

cool hood ornament

 cool plastic

 After the evening it was refreshing to walk out of the auction and see this Manx Buggy parked across the street.

Summer of Cars Part 3 - The Lamay Musuem - let's wrap this up.

Okay, summer is well over and I still haven't wrapped the summer of cars up.  On our road trip up north we did get a chance to check out the Lamay Museum in Tacoma BUT we managed to lose our camera right afterward so no pictures.

The floor you enter on is spectacular but some of the lower floors start looking like a parking garage.  I really wish museums would make it easier to walk around the cars.

The kids and I enjoyed the slot cars probably more than the virtual racing.  Other than that it's well worth the visit.

Summer of Cars Part 2 - Go Kart! Part 1

The summer started with the cragslist impulse purchase of a $60 "go kart."  "Go kart" is in quotes because it was really just a frame and two tires.

You might notice a motor on the back but after a trip to the lawnmower shop I learned it was worthless.  Basically, for the price of repairing this underpowered 3.5 horsepower motor I could buy a new 6.5 hp engine at Harbor Freight.  And after a 20% discount coupon appeared in my inbox I got the motor for less than $100.  Awesome.

A quick paint job and upholstery.  

The two front tires were fine but the back weren't.

I did appreciate the use of old sockets as spacers on the busted wheels.

A trip to my local go kart shop, Catkart was a big help.  I picked up some pedals, linkage,  rims and tires for the rear.  The kart quickly became a money pit, consumed way too much time but it was so much fun.

Finally we strapped the frame on the roof and threw the rest of the bits into the back of the subaru and headed to my folks in Jamul.


stay continued for part 2

Summer of Cars Part 1 - Braving Baja

So it turned out this summer a lot of time was spent looking at cars.  It started in May with a quick trip to the Petersen Automotive Museum to check out Braving Baja: 1000 Miles to Glory.

It was a decent show but a bit small.  I think if I didn't know anything about off road racing it would've been a nice introduction.

It tended to be a bit motorcycle centric.  There were a couple great cars but most of the best cars were at the start of the 2013 Mexican 1000 which was the same weekend as the show opening.

The always fantastic Bel-Ray Bullet did the 1000 and then, still dirty, went to the museum.

The did have a copy of Cycle Psychos on hand

and I enjoyed seeing the early tool bag

and the weird cut window on this bug.  

Overall, I wish there had been more, like Big Oly (the real one, not the fake modern one in the lobby), a Grabber Olds,  maybe a volvo burro or even the  Four Wheeler Fj40 that Specter Off Road has in their shop all of 30 miles from the museum.

Luckily the museum is big and there was plenty more to see.  It makes me glad I'm a member.

next up  Go Kart!

Van for Sale

I've alway had a soft spot for the Corvair Greenbrier and was excited when I saw this one by the side of the road.

Until I saw the other side.

$575 seems a bit steep for half a van - maybe if the trailer was included

I am wondering what caused the perfect circle of rust on the back. The paint is completely gone.  A tire mount would've blocked the back door and cover the license.  Maybe a big decal that took the paint of when it was remove?  hmmm

Inspiration - THE CONDOR

If there is any car other than a zebra striped fj40 I would want to race in the Mexican 1000 it would be "The Condor."  As a kid, it was one of my favorite vehicles and how could someone not love a giant four wheel drive RV with a big hippy mural on it's side.

This incarnation was the "Debbie Special."  I'm not sure but I think Condor Motor Coach might have run an unpainted one at some point.

I found a couple other images online

and a pretty good article on it in an old "Field and Stream" .  I wonder what happened to
the beast, it would be great to restore the car (and the painting) to it's former racing glory.

inspiration - boss cars

A couple 1972 pictures of the Olds 442 "Grabber."  I'm guessing this is from the Mexican 1000.

 I think James Garner drove the white one.

Inspiration - Historic Races at Laguna Seca

As a kid I got to go to the Harrah's automobile collection, twice.  It was amazing.  At the time it was the largest collection in the world with building after building of incredible cars.

Last weekend was even more amazing, we took the kids to Laguna Seca.   

Static cars are beautiful, moving cars are awesome.  They come alive and walk a fine line between animal and machine.

And the aesthetics of racing are so different than collecting.  Duck tape over the lights and a simple leather strap to hold the hand crank to the side.

Oil leaks and suspensions made out of elastic straps.  So cool and so terrifying. 

I love the world of art but I feel like it's a bit stuck on the collecting side of things and I wish it was a bit more like racing,  lean and terrifying.

Inspiration - Old Educational Film Strip

Custom Cars from 1968 - according to the container it's a "reading incentive"

I've scanned the whole strip.  The pictures are great but I do have a fondness for the graphics, especially the "focus" frame.

I found this at a thrift store along with a stack of books.  I've misplaced the books but I enjoy looking at the strip without the explaination.

Inspiration - mini pick up emblems

I came across my collection of mini pick-up emblem a couple days ago.  I'd collected them when I was making frequent trips to the pick apart back in the late 90s.  My 1967 Datsun truck needed a lot of coaxing to keep it on the road.

Windsheild Wipers

I tore out most of the wiring on Car 23 when I painted it.  The wires were 45 years old, generally mucked up and extremely brittle.  Now that I want to get it on the road - legally - there are a few things I need to get working.  

Today it's the windsheild wipers.  I've decided to go with the stock set up that was already on the car.  They're (supposedly) easily rebuildable and they just need to go back and forth, I won't really be driving a car with no roof in the rain.

Let's look at the wiring diagram

 

 here's the entire wiring diagram

and just the windsheild wipers....it should be simple enough

The Car Is Back!

Car 23 is back from the Laguna Art Museum.  It is really nice to have it home.  Now I just need to tidy up a few things to make it street legal (windsheild, wipers, lights, license, seat belts....) and I'll be ready to roll.