Completion

Here's the orphan car that patiently waits. It's my '64. It is also the first real all-around project I've ever started. And no, it isn't done...but I can finally say that it's getting close. The picture to the left shows the exciting progress milestone-I finally got the back of the car put together! It has been a long wait, but the rear lights, taillight housings, trim pieces, gas door and rear bumper are on! And no, this car is not even close to perfect. But taking this long on a first time car "restoration" is many lessons learned. It is also an irritating cause of wanting to do every prior step over again. As time passes and experience increases, my ability to detect shoddy workmanship (my own shoddy workmanship) increases. I just have to remind myself this is part of the journey, and that I'm not the pro I often think I am.

The '64 is looking great for a careful budget project. Heck, it's definitely worth the "20 footer" status, and maybe even ten feet on a cloudy day! Jokes aside, it is still a cool old clunker and I enjoy working on it again.

The car has, again, been many lessons learned. I made the floor pans and trunk pan from scratch, and welded in 1/4 panel repairs as well as fender patches. Fitting the car together has been a big obstacle, and I realize more and more how much this car has been wrecked, bent, rusted, twisted or replaced.




But I have the back of the car looking like it should for the first time in almost five years! And that was rewarding to be able to do, given my injuries and the junky-ness of this car. The bumper is a re-chromed one from back east, and wasn't exactly straightened like it should be. Also, the rear frame extension showed visible damage from a wreck, but the mounting holes looked right. Well, they weren't right! Here is what I had to do to get the bumper to fit...





As you see, I had to cut the bracket in order for the holes to line up, as well as cause the bumper to twist into proper shape. I tacked the new position of the bracket, put everything together for test fit, then removed and fully welded the bracket, including patch pieces to strengthen the new setup. Again, this shows that the car is just one problem after another. But it also allows me to learn! Besides, I like old cars.

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Going Continental

I may not have mentioned my intention to move to France. Some may have guessed, after I mentioned "driving a lot in Europe" while considering my next purchase, that I may not be long for the UK. Well I can now inform you my specific intended destination is the south of France, somewhere between Nîmes and Perpignan. I'm not sure where yet.

And at this rate, the Lotus and the Fiat will be going with me. Actually, I never really intended to get rid of the Fiat, though transporting it to the south of France could be, um, time consuming. The Lotus, however, is not selling. It seems a global banking crisis is not the best time to try and sell a luxury item. Who'd have thunk it??

Ironically, I think I'll have a better chance of selling it in the Côtes d'Azur than I do in the UK. This is a millionaire's playground, where £10,000 is an evening's bar bill and Jaguar XJ-S convertibles go for £25,000, even though they struggle to reach a third of that value back in Blighty.

I was contemplating this when it dawned upon the French are probably as big in the classic cars scene as the British. It is they, after all, who host the most prestigious classics race in the world, the Le Mans Classic. And when the classic sportscars tour came to Silverstone this month (I got complimentary tickets from a nice chap called Guillaume, who is a classic sportscars organiser from Paris) the pitlane was awash with French accents. Far more French folk than British, even here in Silverstone. In fact, since my car has been for sale, two thirds of the serious approaches have been from French people.

If I were going to move anywhere in Europe, I can't think of a better fit for the classics enthusiast than France.

The Italians love cars, but can't be bothered with old ones (with a few notable exceptions). The Germans love efficiency, so that's that really. The Spanish are indifferent. The Swiss government positively hates cars, and while the Swiss themselves drive around in some of the most expensive cars in the world, the only Swiss person I know who is fortunate (and rich and half English) enough to have a stable of vintage sportscars only bothers to drive them when he's going to France for a few days. The Dutch are up there and enjoy their motorsport, but the French beat all comers hands down when it comes to passion and enthusiasm for classic cars.

I actually look forward to driving the Lotus on French roads for a few months. We're aiming to move in spring 2009 so, savings permitting, I may well be flinging the Lotus around some French country lanes in the spring sunshine.

That would be nice.

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The Originals

I like cars, old cars! And I've delved into some interesting types, styles and eras. Heck, I'm sure on a kick about early dry-lakes and street roadsters lately, as well as GM full sizes from the golden years of '60, '61 and '62. But these wonderful moves still take their place when my mind reverts to it's original beliefs about cars. The Originals. Original to me. Passed on by dad. And golly molly, very good lookin'!

I mean the GM A-bodies from the early part of the "kings of the road." You know, the "M" word: musclecars (which isn't exactly my favorite word). I hate to admit, but I am very opinionated here: these are the finest examples of what I consider the best automobiles ever made. This section of favorites starts in 1964 and ends in '65.

My picks are, again, very opinionated . Hopefully no one takes offense, but the cars shown on the beautiful 1965 May cover of Car Life magazine (above) are the all-timers, the great ones- with exception of the '65 Coronet. Mopar fans, I apologize. I don't hate the Coronet in the above pick, but it doesn't make The Originals. Not even close. Yes, I admit it is probably faster than all three of the others. But my list of ultimates only includes the other three "supercars"on that cool old magazine cover.

And there are others that don't quite make the list. No Mustangs, no Camaros, and not even the first Firebirds. And the venerable Road Runner doesn't get on the list. No 'Cudas, no Chargers, no chopped Mercs, no hot rods or their many imitations. People, I don't even allow the '54 Bel Air or fastback early GM's like '49 Pontiacs and Cadillacs.

Ferrari and Lamborghini are not contesters, and Bentley or Rolls don't quite measure up. (Yes, even old ones, and obviously the new ones!) I hate to say it, but Porsche doesn't even make the list (although I still secretly desire a pre-'68 911 or 912, maybe even a 356..). And sorry for this narrow-minded judgment I'm about to relate, but Porsche broke old and esteemed traditions when they released an SUV. Porsche SUV!? That's sacrilegious!

Guys and gals, don't hate me...but Corvettes aren't included. I do actually think the Blue Flame Six babies of Corvette's first yearlings are beautiful. I also completely adore a 1960 Ventura, the coolest '60 full size car ever made. I like the beauty and mystery of rare cars like the '62 bubble top 409 Bel Air. I also dig '67 Chevelles in total stock trim. But these above mentioned don't get the list either.

People, I know I am guilty of a simple-minded American old car mentality. And my trumped-up claims of car knowledge are not only biased, they're probably weak sauce! But the blame lays in the old car gene I received at birth. And it suits me just fine; heck, even naturally. I didn't simply learn to live with it, I ate it for dinner!

There's many automobiles I love, but even most of them don't make the list.

Nope, just these, The Originals:

1. 1965 Pontiac Lemans/GTO Either one, they're the same thing. Converts and hardtops.
   
2. 1965 Olds Cutlass/442. Again, same thing, but boy there's something about a real '65 442.
3. 1965 Skylark /Gran Sport Again, same thing! But there is something about the GS in particular...
4. 1964 Pontiac Lemans/GTO 'Nuff said.
5. 1964 Olds 442

Now, one of the reasons I became so sentimental about The Originals is because I had to work on my clunker 442. It is a project car that patiently awaits it's turn for restoration, but I run it every month or so to keep things oiled and seals from cracking. Suddenly it wouldn't start, so I busted it out on Saturday and massaged it back to life. And boy this clunker got me remembering... I walked in to put my tools away and saw the '27 T roadster, my buggy lakes-style car. It looked cool as ever, but for once I consciously remembered what The Original favorites are!

Below the picture of my orphan Olds shows some of the good, and not so good. But it's a cool clunker! It used to have a sunroof chopped into the top, but thankfully came with an entire roof cut from a Cutlass. I replaced the roof when I first got the car. Please don't ask why there are Dodge turn signals on this car. And no, it will not sport the 15" Chevy rally wheels when it is done. Lucerne Mist, correct steel wheels, Olds dog dishes and red line bias-ply's are what it will get. Just like Lansing made her in the first place.



Stop laughing, the above-pictured car really is one of the best...no really...! And if you think I'm a redneck, go see my little brother. He has two documented 4V- code '65 442's. One hardtop and one convertible. And if you're weird like me, you'll be excited to unearth such rare classics. These are The Originals. I've known it since I was a little peanut: it's an actual passed-on gene characteristic of the slightly more common "old car" gene. And I got my old car gene from Dad, of course.

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Attempts Successful...Kind Of

Having been electrocuted and all the extras that came with it has been, in summary, exhaustion. Even though the whole list of effects from such an interestingly extreme injury is about ninety feet long, exhaustion seems the biggest reminder now. The others are bad enough they don't deserve attention. But man alive I get tired! I mean tired!

Today I started the legendary Saturday as close to normal as I have since getting zapped. I put on my work pants, my dirty shoes and a Clydeco shirt, and headed out the door toward the fit and deserving pastime of Saturday. I naturally accessed the situation inside my drafty garage, realizing that another test drive was in order for the '27 Model T. I also justified such a move because the little car shop was a mess, and I must move cars in order to properly clean where they live!

So the job began. I started first by putting tools away. Everything I found appeared like a surprise- I honestly don't remember leaving my electrical testers and wires out, or my welding helmet on a rafter. And I didn't remember buying a generic wiring harness for the '27 which I found in its box. I had to look at it, and then I remembered. I thought, "Oh yeah, I was going to start wiring that little buggy, I remember why I bought this harness now." Weird feelings. It's like I lost contact with life for a century, and finally the memories are coming back.

And then the job progressed! And the time came to sweep the floor! And I saw the little T roadster, and felt he needed to come out in order to do a good sweeping! So I hooked him up to 12-volt negative-grounded DC voltage and mechanically pumped carbureted gasoline, and pulled that hot rod out.

I drove my hot rod, the little buggy, out of the shop and into the front yard. My neighbor's young boy called to me as he saw the car through his front screen door, and proceeded to tell how he made a goal in his little soccer game today. The funny kid then asked me what I was doing with "the buggy car." It caused an immediate grin from me. Another memory came back- this little boy originally called my '27 a "buggy car" the first time he saw it. HE came up with that- I didn't teach it to him. And my smiles kept coming. He's absolutely right-he shows the purest opinion and observance. How come adults can't tell the difference between a "rat rod" and a little buggy car? Or a real classic car verses a tricked out monster machine? Like I said, he's right. It is a buggy car. It's my beetle-bug car. And it's supposed to be traditional.

After these small moments I took a quick seat on one of my roller stools (covered in dust), in the car shop. And this "quick" break turned into a long break. I was completely exhausted. I looked at my old walls, at the Kendall Oil sign, the old ads and parts I stick all over the place for decoration. I looked at my cracked concrete floors and the shifters hanging on the wall. I got up, put away a few more tools, and sat back down again. I just sat and rested, again totally exhausted. And I noticed how drained I really was. Looking outside at my tarp-covered collection of old cars in various states of disrepair, I remembered what the little neighbor kid said. That '27 Model T is a buggy car. It's my beetle-bug. And I continued to sit, just sit there, enjoying that little boy's statement.

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The End Of The Roundabout

I note with some sadness that the highway powers that be are removing the last of the roundabouts from the A1, a secondary (though still major) dual-carriageway running the length of the country, from London to Edinburgh. Most motorists will rejoice at this, but not the Elan pilot.

The only fun bit of driving from London to Newark on the A1 is the roundabouts. Without breaking any road traffic regulation, it is possible to enter a roundabout on such a road, drop in to second, fling the car through the effective chicane and boot the throttle.

This is great fun! You get to use all of the cornering and acceleration of these fantastic little sportscars and roar away up to 70mph then just knock it over from 3rd in to 5th gear and continue on your way, with a broad grin on your face.

Sadly, this era is coming to an end. My drives from London to my parents, in north Nottinghamshire, are about to become an even more tedious experience. Ho hum.


On a more positive note, a nice French chap, who took an active interest in the Lotus, turned out to be the organiser of several well known classic car racing events, including the prestigious Le Mans Classic. Even though he hasn't even met me yet, he has sorted me out with two VIP, all access, guest tickets to the 1,000km of Silverstone (AKA the 6 hours of Silverstone).

What a thoroughly decent fellow. Clearly a gentleman and a scholar. I'll take the Lotus up for him to have a play with, naturally. Looking forward to it.

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Oh no...Oldsmo!

1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88. It's a quintessential Dad-style car. It's one of the "flagship three" of 1962; the best full-size roof design, as shared with '62 Impalas and the leaders of the pack: '62 Grand Prix. Now am I opinionated? Only correctly...! And I am daring to say that the Dynamic 88 beats it's more luxurious and more expensive brother, the '62 Starfire. Here's why: The Starfire has two-too-many taillights. The 88 uses one set each side. Also, the Starfire has that giganto-barge metal trim along the entire sides of the car. Way too much, way too silvery! The 88 has simpler, stylized side and tail trim.

I traded my little brother John a '65 442 convertible for this car. The 442 is a tough project car, but it is documented and it includes most of what it needs. An extremely uncommon and true flagship of Oldsmobile's attempt at a real musclecar . (Attempt was successful, by the way!)

So I got the Olds Dynamic 88 in return, and it is quite a car. John faithfully replaced the original 394 (factory 4bbl. and 330 horse -very uncommon on '62 88's). He used an identical 100% correct replacement, 60,000 mile 330 horse 394, from a 4 door Olds that was untampered with. Dad paid over 3K just for that old parts car, hoping he could swap the identical motors and still keep the original, which needs block and head repair. When Dad's health and mind began to fail him, John took over and replaced the 394 and slim jim trans by himself. Dad couldn't quite do it anymore. John did an amaizing job. Everything hooked up right...even painted heads, block, valve covers, etc. the correct hues.

This IS an old man car, plain and simple. It is tempting to lower it, paint the top heavy 'flake white, the body silver and add Astro Supremes with small whitewalls. It would fit the bellflower crowd as much as it would the traditional East L.A. look. But I'm not gonna' do that stuff. I think the Olds will get to keep the stock dog dishes and trim rings, the factory stance and the quiet grandpa exhaust.

After all, it is an old man car. And it truly is a quintessential Dad style. My Dad's style. And boy I sure do miss him.


WooHoo... another car I get to strip, straighten and repaint. I'm getting tired!


394 Olds. Very cool motors.


70, 000 miles original. Look at that interior-never redone or repaired.

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Youth Crime: The Bane Of Modern Britain

I'm going way off topic today, but I need to get something off my chest. Liberals, stop reading now and come back next week when my mood has lightened.

I am deeply saddened to report that some idiots of questionable parentage kicked in every panel of the off side of the Fiat and caved in the right-front headlamp, before battering the guttering with rocks and pushing it against a wall. About £2,000-worth of damage, all told, in the name of "fun".

Essex Police have lifted fingerprints, but here lies the biggest problem: even if they catch someone for it, the aforementioned individual will certainly get little more than a tap on the wrists from a magistrate and a firm instruction not to do it again. Which he or she will dutifully ignore, next time they're out of their tiny minds on cheap cider and looking for something to smash to compensate for their total lack of prospects of becoming anything other than another drain on the British tax payer.

If it were up to me, the magistrate would be able to present the repair bill to the parents or guardians of the perpetrators and tell them to pay up or go to prison. Then they might actually take some responsibility for what junior is doing at 3am on a Saturday morning. (Coincidentally, this is already how they handle truancy, so I'm hoping someone in government will apply the same logical approach to youth crime, and soon!)

The point is when people under the age of 18 years old suffer no consequences for violent and anti-social behaviour, either in the home or in the courts, and have nothing better to do except spend their unemployment benefit on White Lightning and get blind drunk, what possible incentive is there for the disillusioned youth to behave? British law is unable to decide where responsibility for the actions of teenage criminals lies, and as a result it does not know how to deal with them.

With the system mired in apathy, the teenage criminal receives no punishment, nor do his or her parents, and they get the impression they can do what they like. Which, sadly, is the correct impression. Until they turn 18 and get sent to a proper prison, and then it's too late. By the time they come out of Pentonville Road, two years later, they'll be fully fledged adult criminals and those vital formative years during which their lives could've been turned around have been thrown away.

British society as a whole shrugs it's shoulders. Irresponsible parents are free to ignore the behaviour of their offspring. Education professionals are exasperated and powerless. Police are fed up with not getting convictions or, when they do, seeing sentences so light they are an insult to the victims and the police men and women who spent so much time bringing the perpetrators to justice. Judges and magistrates have no choice but to sentence according to British law, which is decided by... The Government.

The one group of people who seem to be saying it's not their fault either and they appear utterly impotent in the face of it - totally devoid of policies and ideas. Every week, in every newspaper, nationwide, the letters section is alive with commentary on this major social issue of modern Britain, but the present government are doing precisely nothing visible about it whatsoever. May I quote a line from a letter sent to The Metro, a free London paper, last week which nicely sums it up:

"Young people in this country have rights but no responsibilities."

So how do you make them responsible, if their parents won't do it and they no longer have to go to school? Well I think I know what the answer is. It's not a new idea, by any stretch of the imagination, but since we are getting a teenage stabbing in a British city almost every night of the week now, it's time someone took some drastic action:

Bring back National Service.

It's simple enough. If you are not in bona fide full-time education or gainfully employed between the ages of 16 and 21, you are joining the services whether you like it or not, be it military, or medical/charity alternatives for the conscientious. All of these organisations are down on recruits, you are unemployed, there many potential career paths for both men and women, front-line or back office, where they will have responsibilities, fair pay, role models and education.

I'd rather my tax paying pound is spent on supporting a teenager's career in the military or public services, than it being spent paying for a teenager's dole cheque, the police time required to investigate my vandalised property and the near-inevitable stay at Her Majesty's pleasure for the poor, stupid fool who is abandoned and shunned by our nation's society.

If the person who kicked seven bells out of my car the other weekend had been RAF ground-crew based up in Lincolnshire, he or she would've been safely tucked up in barracks by 11pm, having a well-earned sleep after a long, hard day of paid work. Not drinking cider in the streets and looking for something to break.

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Mad French Cars

This car is all my friend Tom has bubbled on about since we got back from Le Mans earlier in the month. Before I took Tom to this year's Le Mans Classic, he wasn't much of a car fan. He was just coming along for the ride, doing something a bit different, enjoying a break. When we left the Le Mans Classic, he had a new love in his life. (His previous love was beer, by all accounts, so this probably isn't a bad swap.)

The Panhard CD. Tom is now, officially, a petrol-head.

True to form, he had to pick a real odd one. This crazy, 850cc, two-stroke French saloon was actually entered in the Le Mans GT class, back in the '60s. It never had a prayer, of course, much as it looked rather silly in the glorious re-enactment, but nevertheless, it's a pretty special piece of engineering. It had all manor of technical innovations, unique at the time and not seen again for another decade, before becoming common-place in modern racing.

Sadly, so few CDs were made that the few remaining in good condition are worth a king's ransome. Since Tom is not a king, he'll be left gazing wistfully from a distance at the object of his desire. There is, however, some good news for Tom. Panhard also made a model called the Panhard 24, which is positively cheap in comparison. You can pick up a lovely 24 for just a few thousand quid, which is an absolute bargain for a truly unique car, especially here in the UK.

I love French engineering of that period. In fact, it was Clarkson who once bemoaned the way French car companies have ceased to make "big, mad cars", mostly in reference to the myriad of big Citroens launched in the '60s, '70s and '80s (some of which are still favourites of mine). It's nice to see Citroen weren't acting alone. Panhard were also doing plenty in the "big, mad" stakes.

If you're interested, here is the UK club (there may be others):

http://www.panhardclub.co.uk/

Ps - we stayed in this bed and breakfast, about a 45 minute drive from Le Mans, and it was simply stunning - highly recommended: http://www.manoirdesforges.fr/

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Electrocuted!

The lull in posts happened because I took a two month stay at the U of U hospital, with six surgeries and many painful days! I was electrocuted and got a nice set of brain injuries, as well as some other extra hard stuff. But I still like old cars, of course, and I will get to work on 'em possibly later this year.

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A Different Angle On eBay Sales

I have been Following Greg's efforts to sell his car on eBay, and wonder how one venue like eBay, can produce such different results, to a wild degree of ridiculousness.
One the one hand there is Gregs Lotus - a well loved, quite well kept usable car that one would think would sell reasonably well for various reasons - and on the other hand - there are cars like this car, Then and Now,
The 1954 Mercury XM800

This was a concept car

This 1954 Mercury Monterey XM800 was first unveiled at the 1954 Detroit Auto Show. The car was built for Ford by Creative Industries of Detroit, Michigan and was designed by the Mercury pre-production studio with John Najjar serving as the studio manager. Elwood Engle worked on the project as well, serving as a consultant assigned by George Walker's design firm.

The XM800 traveled the auto show circuit through 1954 it made a brief appearance in the 1954 20th Century Parade of Progress before fading from the spotlight.

Benson Ford promoted the idea of creating the car as a second Mercuy car line which would compete with Buick, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile.

Although the car was never put into production, it did take part in a Fox twentieth Century Film, and was made famous buy having its model put into Grape Post Nuts Cereal boxes.

The engine is supposed to be in excellent condition, and has only ever driven for 5 miles.
43 bids after it was posted on eBay, the bidding closed with the amazing amount of $125,350!!

So, my conclusion is that in order to make good sales on eBay, you need a lot of patients or a little stardust!

This is a guest post by Leslie, who's own blog is at Antique Cars Club

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