I was into drag racing as a kid. So were all my buddies. Before I had a license, I wanted a Dodge Coronet street hemi. I didn't get it, but I got a '63 Plymouth Fury with the LA series "semi hemi". It came with the push button Torqueflite. By the time I built the engine and trans, it was pretty quick. My second car was a Road Runner with the 440. That got modified to the point it was no longer streetable. But it could beat a hemi. So in the end, I got something I was happy with.    ... View more

Big whoop! E. J. Potter but an Allison aircraft motor in the back of a Dodge Dart station wagon over 50 years ago. ... View more

The car hobby is filled with stories like this. It is very fortunate that there are guys who will search out some of these old relics, and bring them back out into the daylight. ... View more

The allure of a steam locomotive is something not everyone gets. I spent a few years in the early '70s restoring old trains in the Midwest. Working out of the National Railroad Museum near Green Bay, Wisconsin, I helped restore to running six locos. The pay was miniscule, but the reward was being up in the cab when the engine was under steam. There is no way to convey in words the feeling of immense power these beasts possess. One of my favorite tasks was being assigned to boiler watch overnight. I loved sitting up in the cab, listening to the sounds they made in the darkness. A locomotive under steam becomes a living entity, it talks to you. It groans, it creaks, letting you know that it feels you there. It is anxiously waiting for it to be called to service. In 2019 the Big Boy 4014 made the rounds of the Midwest over Union Pacific trackage. Having worked on the 4017, it was a major thrill to see this loco running again. You never realize the size of this machine until it passes you at full speed. I hope they will repeat that trip, but if not, I know that it will live under the tutelage of the Rail Giants Museum. ... View more

In my life music and cars have always gone together. In the early sixties it was hot rods, drag racing and the Beachboys, Jan and Dean, The Rip Chords, The Ventures, and West Coast surf music. Later it was Psycedelic, heavy metal and big convertables. When I got into sports cars, it was progressive jazz and traditional blues. As we mature, music is always in the background, even if our tastes change. The perfect accompanyment to our car hobby. ... View more

What a great "lost love" story. I had a '63 Sport Fury, with the LA series "semi hemi". There wasn't a big selection of speed equipment for that engine, but I was able to get an Isky cam, high rise four barrel intake, and headers. The cam was special order, the manifold was Edelbrock, and the headers came from Warshawski's. With the push button Torgueflite, it ran some real respectable times. ... View more

Geezus! That question has been kicking around as long as I have liked cars, and that's a looooong time. I guess I would be labeled a hoarder, since I never get rid of anything unless I really hate it. I have owned my E-type for 47 years. My Austin-Healey for 39. My Elva Courier for 37. My Genie for 36. My Lotus 46 for 33. And my Porsche 914/6 for 23. Maybe I miss my 1968 Plymouth Road Runner that I traded in on my first sports car, a Triumph. Or the Ferrari 206GT, because it was a problem child. It was the ordeal with that car that caused me to pass on a 250 GTO for a paltry $4500. But that was just an old race car at that time, that had been rode hard and put away wet. I know the guy that ended up with it, and he put a big bag of money into it getting it back to where it needed to be. But with those now going for $50 million and up, that was a BIG mistake. People tell me if I cry over every deal I passed up, I'll eventually be hauled away in a goofy-suit. Spilled milk. ... View more

Restoring old cars has been one of the real joys in my life. I knew from the get-go I wasn't going to get rich doing it, and so it remained recreational. The sad part to me is that we have become an "instant gratification" society. We are not willing to wait for something we want. So the hobby has trended away from enthusiasts doing the work themselves, to farming it out to a shop to do it. They agonize about the job taking months to do, but have no idea the work involved. They have never had to do it. And maybe the shop will do a better job of it, although I have become pretty good at it. But they will never know the rush of knowing they actually did it. ... View more

Making a car go slower just isn't in my genes. I'd keep the car all Honda and go with a straight six from the CBX, or the flat six from one of the touring bikes. I believe the motor from the CBX would fit better, and give the little s**tbox some serious scoot. ... View more

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I don't get an error message. Normally when I click on the "post" button, it goes dim. In the cases of the lost posts, the "post" button remains pressed and the reply disappears. I don't have this problem with any other site I post on. ... View more

Once again I wrote a comment that totally disappeared when I clicked on "post". Is this common? ... View more

Just add these to my long list of "woulda-shouldas". If you look at cars as machines, they are all WAY overpriced. As art, though, it might be a different story. For me, they are a hobby, to be restored and driven. Having had a fair of experience with a Bugatti T-35B and a T-37A/B, I would certainly like to own one of my own. And although I have a great respect for the car's history, preserving it would not rule over the ability to use the car. I guess I am stuck on that ghinea pig wheel, endlessly chasing those special vehicles I most desire, forever just beyond my reach. ... View more

Phil Hill was one of the last "Gentleman Racers". He was a Grand Marshal at a vintage race I attended, and I had a pen-and-ink drawing of him I wanted signed. Of course, he gladly did it. And he gave me the sense he felt honored to do so. It is possibly my most treasured possession. His smile was so entrancing, and one of my fondest memories. ... View more

Can't say I will miss any of those. Not only are they out of reach for an old retired guy, but the technological aspect just doesn't do anything for me. I love the feel and sound of the machinery. I want that connection with the road that is masked by newer cars. I am a bit surprised that some respondents have taken issue with the heavy coverage of the late models, but really, to me Hagerty is the best thing that has happened to the collector car hobby. I love the articles by the owners of cars they have lovingly brought back to life, and the trials and tribulations they encountered. They are my kind of people. Maybe coverage of the current models would be best left to publications like Road & Track or Car and Driver. But I guess you know what your demographics are. ... View more

Wow! This topic really drew the comments. I was a hard core custom chopper guy in the late sixties. Had a WLA frame, knuckle gusher for push, raked head and girder front end. Did a couple of scooters for friends. And our god was Arlen Ness. A chopper was a statement of your ideals in life. It wasn't just a piece of machinery. It was an entire lifestyle. I only see that in the 1953 Panhead. But then, as others here have said, it is all what you like. ... View more

The design of the Kellison body won me over in the early sixties when I saw Dean Moon's version of the car. Intended as a Bonneville racer, Moon's car was custom-car-show perfect, and gleamed with it's bright yellow paint. A few years later, I kept seeing one running around in my town, in black with the Halibrand kidney-bean wheels and three eared knock-offs. I was never able to find out who owned it, or talk to him, but by that time I really wanted to know what it would cost to build one, and any issues that might be involved. After I was involved in vintage racing, I had the chance to buy an unfinished car that had been stored outside for an extended length of time. I was talked out of it by a buddy who thought I had too many projects already. Later I was shown pictures of what was purported to be the finished car, stunning in burgundy metallic paint, Torque-Thrust wheels and side exhausts. Another chance to kick myself in the butt. ... View more

Very simplistic, easy to understand. He didn't get into the emulsion tube system used on Weber carbs. Syncing six of those, along with the Marelli ignition and wild cam is what makes working on a Ferrari 365GTB4 so much fun! LOL ... View more

Anything steel can be welded with the low priced wire-feed welders that use fluxed wire. It just takes a lot of practice matching amperage and wire feed speed. The companies that sell these units also claim they can be used to weld aluminum. But don't try it. You really need an argon gas shield to do that. I actually do a lot of aluminum welding with the typical oxy-acetelene torch. I recieved my aviation airframe certification which required that ability, and found myself using that technique fairly often because there is less cracking after the weld cools. TIG welding would be my other choice. But really, for non-structural joints, like that headlight trim ring, I would braze rather than weld.    ... View more

I do digital now, but previously I used a Canon AE1 for film use. Lots of "attachments" available to perk up the photos. Back when I was taking more pictures, my best friend used a Rolieflex, and took amazing shots of stationary subjects, but I think the Canon with fast film was best for action shots. The Canon digital I use now is fast and simple. My E-Type taken with the AE-1 My E-Type taken with the AE-1 years ago. ... View more

I'm glad to see the Rose's Car Studio, where the original movie scene was filmed, still exhists. I remember Irv telling us stories of how the scenes were shot, particularly the one where the car shoots out of the building. The car in the scene was just a fiberglass body on a rudimentary frame, and very light weight. After the car exited the building, it got stuck in a tree. The film crew was unable to get a shot of the car falling to the ground, so they just showed it wrecked and sitting caught in a chain link fence that spanned the rear of the property.  Normally in that spot in the studio was a pre-war Alfa-Romeo Grand Prix car. For effect, they parked a bright red MG TC next to it. Other cars in the studio oncluded a Bugatti T-35B driven by Hellie Niece, a pre-war Alfa-Romeo Monza, and a Cisitalia. After the brother's deaths, the cars were sold and scattered to the four winds. The only one I have seen since is the Bugatti, owned by a well known west coast collector.   ... View more

I believe that into most people's lives such an outstanding personality  will come. Someone like Art Bates, who was one of my best friends through the 1970's. The closest members of our little circle called him "Master Bates", which always drew a chuckle from him and anyone else within earshot. He drove a well modified Volkswagen Beetle, powered by a pro built Porsche 1600. I drove a highly modified Triumph Spitfire, and the two of us spent most of our days, and nights, blasting around the back streets and highways around the western Chicago suburbs. We competed in gymkhanas together. Spent nasty days inside our garages, working on each other's cars. Art was diabetic, and each day was a battle to maintain that equalibrium that would allow him to participate in the activities we loved. Eventually, he had to have both legs amputated. But that didn't slow him down any. He approached that ordeal with the same level of humor that he did with everything else. Art was fitted with prosthetic legs, which he discovered could be worn backwards. So one of his favorite stunts was to put them on backwards and walk backwards, as if the legs were going the right way and the rest of his body was turned around. (this was one of those "you had to be there" situations) His health continued to deteriorate until he was bedridden. We spent his final days reading Autoweek and Road and Track. He slipped away in his sleep. He never once expressed a word of bitterness at how things turned out.    ... View more

He was the ultimate gentleman, always eager to share his life experiences, not only in auto racing, but business and life in general. The highest honor for a driver was to share a glass of his favorite Remi Martin cognac, and be regaled by the story of his famous crash while driving for Bugatti.  ... View more

50 cars is not enough! ... View more

On a list like this, I always consider the entire car that has the feature. And although I prefer the European version, I have to place my vote on the Ferrari 365GTB4. Aesthetically, many other cars have better design involving their hidden headlight treatment, but the "Daytona" is an icon for all over styling. A big leap from the typical Ferrari front-end oval grille. ... View more

The joys of vintage car ownership certainly outweigh the cons. Image I'm not really concerned about. I don't often show my cars, other than when the show is part of a bigger car activity. And actually, the maintenance is part of the experience. I'm a tinkerer, and I love restoring and maintaining old cars. Fun? Oh, yeah! Safety is a minor concern, so I stay very alert when driving one of my old cars. But I am also a racer, so I accept the risk as part of the dues. The social aspect is high on the list of pros. When you have a gathering of people who are as passionate about the subject that has brought them together, only positive experiences can develop. And since I keep a modern car for everyday chores, the usability factor is of no importance. Vintage cars are a joy in themselves. Each has a personality. and each gives it's own rewards.  ... View more

A group of Toyota Highlanders is a "clan". Duh! ... View more