The list
copyright 2006
I've worked in the automobile business for nearly 30 years so you can imagine that I've had a fair number of different cars. But for someone who is as into cars as I am, it is amazing that there is such a large number of interesting cars that I have had virtually no experience with. So now I'm on a mission. I'm making a list of cars that I want to experience, and I'm going to do my best to acquire them and write about the process. They won't come in any particular order but when the opportunity emerges.
I am looking for extremely original cars considering their age. The fewer owners the better. Few or no modifications. Of course no rust or major collisions. One repaint in the original color would not be a deal breaker. These cars are rare. The typical old car has suffered through a period of time when it was worth so little that it attracted owners who where rather "creative" in their approach to things such as maintenance and care. Maybe "creative" is the wrong word. Insert "negligent" instead. May of these owners attempted to "improve" their cars (these are the creative guys). Trust me, the typical old, used car owner without an advanced degree in engineering or design can rarely improve what a manufacturer has spent millions of dollars developing.
I want to drive these cars and experience something similar to what a new car buyer did back when the car was new. When I was a kid, I caught Porsche fever. I got this not from a toilet seat, but from reading Road & Track magazine. I remember reading the article on the 911RS probably in late '72 or '73. The writer was great! He seemed to put me in the driver's seat. I felt I knew exactly what it was like to drive a 911. I was so enthusiastic I actually earned a "bad attitude" mark from my high school driver's ED instructor while driving the school car when I blurted out "PORCH!!" upon seeing one on the street. I didn't learn until later that it was pronounced porsh-a. I finally made it out of the seventies, then in the eighties I started my car business. Soon after I bought a 911 and was never so disappointed. You can probably guess what I did. I bought the cheapest car I could find. This car drove nothing like a 911 should. It actually put me off on 911's for awhile until I happened upon a good one. Going through the gears in the good one took me back to 1972 reading that R&T article. The writer had done a good job after all.
I won't begin to write the entire list here( it will continue to evolve as time goes on anyway ), but includes cars such as the Lotus Elite, Maserati Khamsin, Mistral & 3500, Sunbeam Tiger, Lancia Fulvia HF 1600, Stratos, Ginetta G4, Lamborghini Islero, Ferrari 365GTC4, TVR Griffith, Fiat Dino Spider. After I find a car and make the purchase I will go through it so that it will drive the way it was intended. I will spend some time driving it and will be on the look-out for the next candidate. At some point the car will become for sale and another fortunate enthusiast can take over.
One car that has intrigued me for a while is the 1968 Triumph TR250 aka the TR5 outside of the U.S. These cars combine the body of the TR4A and the six cylinder engine of the TR6. They are somewhat rare and my client want list has always had several people on it who invariably list their requirements as, "TR250, must be British Racing Green and have wire wheels." My standard response is, "I'll enter your request in my database but since I've never had one in any color, don't hold your breath." I like the look of the TR4A and the idea of a smooth straight six. By the way, a straight six design is naturally balanced. Same with a V12. This cannot be said of V8's, V6's or 4's.
It's amazing what you can do once your mind is put to it. I was fortunate to find a nearly one-owner car. What is a nearly one-owner car? The last owner bought this car in Long Beach, CA in 1970 and kept it 36 years.
It has low original miles and the 78 year old seller admitted that his wife never let him spend any money on it. That is a shame but fortunately he drove it very sparingly. They moved to a retirement/golf course planned community 15 years ago and he drove it one day a week about 2 or 3 miles to play golf. Now I'm correcting the "never spent any money on it". We're installing new u-joints, suspension bushings, rebuilding the brake booster and on and on. I want this car to drive like they did in 1968 when I'm done.
March 22, 2006
I finally got to drive the TR250 home tonight. It is so nice running
through the gears and hearing the
mellow exhaust note( especially since the clunk
is gone that used to accompany every shift ). The new u-joints and
differential mounts took care of this. Eighty MPH is easy and comfortable.
The passenger window glass has a rattle and there seems to be a slight brake
drag.
March 23, 2006
On my way to the freeway entrance in the morning I noticed the engine note
breaking up. I moved the choke to various positions but couldn't get it to
run clean. I was able to almost make fifty MPH so I limped along in the
far right lane with the big trucks and motorists with glaucoma. At the
shop upon lifting the bonnet I was greeted by a steady drizzle of petrol from
the back carburettor. I guess open-carb surgery is in order.
March 30, 2006
The float in the back carb had taken on fuel and sunk to the bottom of its
chamber. We rebuilt both carbs and all is well again, or at least it would
be if it would stop raining outside.
April 1, 2006
It finally stopped raining and I got a chance to do a little driving. The
car just won't run clean and crisp. It seems to be a lean condition.
We put all new parts in the carbs during the rebuild. I suspect the new
metering needles are not made to the same specs as the original ones. It
seems that many of the new parts we are forced to buy now are produced in
countries not renown for their engineering expertise but rather for their cheap
labor force.
April 4, 2006
Sure enough, we measured the needles and they were off. Our machine
shop turned them down to factory spec. This should do the trick.
April 11, 2006
Finally. Now the car runs crisp and clean off the line and pulls strong in
all gears.
April 15, 2006
I tried to buy another car on my list. There was a '66 Lancia Fulvia
listed on EBay for the second time. I've never driven one of these cars
and only looked at a hand-full up close. I just like the body style and
the idea of a technically sophisticated all alloy engine built without apparent
regard to cost. I've never been a fan of front wheel drive although this
configuration can be devastatingly fast off road. This is also a very rare
instance where I like the standard body more than the Zagato variant (Zagato has
made some of the prettiest designs on the planet). I think the Fulvia
Zagatos are quite ugly (that doesn't mean that I wouldn't buy one). This
particular car was listed by the owner who is also a writer for a well known car
magazine. It no-saled and even though I was willing to pay more than the
ending bid, we just couldn't get together on price. These cars are little
known in the U.S. and the market is razor thin.
May 10, 2006
Sometimes a car gets on my list through the back door. I saw a
'67 Alfa Romeo
1300Ti on the internet. I looked at the photos and became
intrigued. The car looked incredibly original. There are actually no
four door sedans on my list, but the more I looked the more I liked it.
Originality is one of my hot-buttons. It is sometimes hard to tell much
from photos on a computer screen. But, I had this feeling. The car
just looked right. I followed my sixth car sense and took the plunge.
It came off the transporter truck last Saturday. Amazingly, it is nicer
and more original than I was lead to believe. Disclaimer: this is
extremely rare with internet sales and I am a licensed professional (a lucky
one sometimes). So, don't attempt a sight un-seen purchase unless you
really do your homework first.
April 6, 2007
Well its been a long time since the last update. I've been incredibly busy
with client restorations and our bread & butter Mercedes 280SL business. A
few more cars have snuck onto my list and I had to buy them. Two time warp
cars: a 1960 Cadillac Coupe Deville and a '72 de Tomaso Pantera. Both have
21,000 actual miles. The Caddy has original paint and the Pantera has
mostly original paint. A make that's been on my list for some time now is
Abarth. If you explore my site a bit you'll find a '60 Abarth Allemano
Spider that I had a few years back. It was unusually original right down
to the carpet, soft top and upholstery. The most recent Abarth purchase is
a 500GT Zagato. This car will have its own page on this site soon as it is
very special. If you click around the site you'll find a picture of it
next to the Cadillac. To find the link, think "contrast".
More to come..............