Larry Shinoda did an excellent job in designing this prototype, and visually, to my taste, as good as the original 2 place. The curves flow well and are all balanced, the roofline is beautiful, and it looks like it was a larger twin to the 2 place. Re: the Jaguar 2+2, it doesn't even hold a candle to this 'Vette in styling. The Brits blew it when they enlarged the 2 place - the roofline doesn't flow well, and it just doesn't look right. This'Vette and it's twin, in my estimation is the most beautiful of all the Corvettes ever produced so far. Tragedy that it was destroyed! ... View more

Visiting family in 2016 found us in the LA area, and one of the to-do events was to do the Peterson Museum. Coming inside we were greeted by the MASSIVE "round door" Rolls Royce, and then wandering around came across what appeared at first to be a Corvette, but different. Turned out to be the Corvair GT. Beautiful car, but wondered how a person would get inside. Having now seen pix of the access by this article, wonder no more. Seems that it would be somewhat uncomfortable trying to get in with the front half of the car somewhat blocking access. A small point, maybe, but wheels were mentioned as being different, but they appear to my eyes as being exactly the same "turbine style alloy knockoffs" on both cars. Too bad that GM never put these cars into production, but the clamshell over the engine looks like it would have been a real challenge to do any work on the engine. Guess that would have been the price to pay for the "privilege" of owning an exotic type car. ... View more

@mags56, Ah'l hav ya kno dem bakumup lites is Hellas fum a 1961 VolksWagen Bug. Only hi clas stuf on this here bootiful mashine. ... View more

Sorry for the ignorance, but what is a "Twingo"?? ... View more

If you get to the Phoenix Arizona area, we have the Maricopa Live Steamers which run steam and other trains during the year. Coming up, if the plague isn't still with us, there will be a Fall meet, and quite possibly a Summer meet if the masks can come completely off. There are also some rides during the year other than the meets. They're out in West Phoenix near Water World. I'm not a member, but a member of the umbrella organization, Sahuaro Central, which is concerned with all aspects of railroading. ... View more

An interesting feature on the left side of the "Fifteenth Million Ford" appears to be hinges for a driver's door. My experience with Model T's has been that there was just the impression of a door there because the brake and shift levers would block entry from that side. I also would question why additional expense would have been made to install "fake" hinges if there was no real door there? A "thrifty" person like Henry Ford, it seems to me, wouldn't be adding extra cost to his inexpensive machine. Model T's are wonderful machines, except I still can't get used to the frame flex in driving one. Been a few years now. Prefer the Model A. ... View more

With all the work that this bloke does on his Jag, it would be wonderful if he were able to have a decent place to do his work. Even just a small carport where he's spared sparring with the elements. Kudos to him for what he is accomplishing, in spite of his working conditions. ... View more

My experience with VW began when I traded my '63 Dodge Dart for a Bus (type 2) in '68, the first of the "Picture Window" line. Signed up at the dealer and expected a long wait, (demand was such that supply was very short), and was surprised when about 2 weeks later, got the call that someone had not taken delivery on their bus, and I could have it if I wanted. Long story short, (for now), is that going to the grocery store and buying what would have filled the Dodge, was just a little space taken in the Bus. Also taking our firstborn to San Diego from LA completely filled the car, and with the bus, putting him on a blanket over the engine, (very soothing-quick sleeper), and having the rest of his stuff taking just a little space, was just marvelous. Loved the Bus, especially being able to service it easily. Lack of lots of grunt was tolerated, and we learned to speed up downhill so we could get back uphill without too much difficulty, but still, would be nice to have more power. A kid came by sometime in '84, and offered me a price I couldn't refuse, and the bus went away. But the bug had bit, and we purchased a new '84 Vanagon GL. Was wonderful! Upgraded upholstery, A/C, and more power. Downside was not being able to easily get the middle seat out for carrying "stuff". Still was nicer to drive and enjoy. Then, it started to have problems - the A/C stopped running - the "flexible" connection at the compressor kept breaking, dumping all the refrigerant. At the time the dealer fixed until they got tired of messing with it, and we just drove it as was. Then, driving it to Alaska, pulling a tent trailer, got to Seattle, and started hearing what sounded like someone pounding on the rear wheel with a sledgehammer. Stopping on the freeway, checked it out and found nothing amiss, and kept on going, ignoring the noise. Found out much later in the trip that one of the CV joints had run out of grease, and was the source of the noise. Stopped at an auto parts store and got a grease gun, VW grease, and a needle to fill the CV joint, which did the trick. A year or two later, drove from AZ to San Jose to visit number 1 son, and during that time while there, lost coolant. Shut down the engine before damage could occur, and after cooling, took it to the VW dealer. After shelling out $$$, was informed that the problem was that the "head gasket" had "blown". "Head gasket" on this engine is a special plastic "O ring", that cost, if I remember correctly about $300. Problem with the engine is that it is susceptible to the effects of dialectric action - magnesium against aluminum in a water medium, and the magnesium is eaten away from the head, resulting in leakage of coolant. Also the presence of steel, brass, and copper in the same coolant makes for an interesting mix. After a year or two, returned to S.J. and had our next adventure. 60K miles, and the CV joints were acting up some, and some noise too. So those I replaced in a parking lot somewhere in S.J. myself, having found that replacement joints and grease could almost break the bank. A couple years later, finding ourselves in S.J. once again, on a trip to San Francisco, got the the outskirts of the city only to have the water temp gauge pegged out on the hot side. Fortunately, by this time, I was carrying a lot of water, and we limped back to S.J. To the dealer again. Driving it for a couple years, the water pump started leaking, and I thought "no problem". Purchased said pump and proceeded to be challenged to get it installed, thinking to myself at the time that I perhaps should have let one of the dealer's wrenchers have the pleasure. Somewhat later, started having coolant issues again, which I addressed personally with "head gaskets" from a parts house. Drove it for a couple more years until I started feeling like it was going to give me problems again, and went to the Chrysler dealer and "donated" it to acquire a Grand Caravan, which has had no problems. Had there been the Suburdu solution sometime during the Vanagon's tenure in my care, it would most likely have been the ideal solution. I loved the styling of the '68 bus and the '84 Vanagon, but it just got to the place that whenever we took the Vanagon out of town, something would go wrong with it, and we couldn't depend on it. We never did get the A/C running. Sorry, but VW is history for me now with this bad taste in my mouth. ... View more

A couple of things bother me about this raid on the taxpayer wallets. The "carriers" here in Phoenix sometimes walk, and many times drive from house to house, shutting off the vehicle, walking to the mailbox / mailboxes (condo complexes), then get back in, start up and go to the next house. A/C is fine if a person is in a closed car that is kept closed, but the constant in and out precludes any efficient air conditioning, and adds to the cost of operation. Also, with the USPS "failing" with internal problems, and concerns about mail delivery, has there been any indication that there will be an increase in package shipping that would warrant such a large vehicle. For my $$, I patronize UPS or DHL, because I can be assured that my package will make it to its destination and not disappear enroute. As long as the USPS is a governmental "company" I see no change in the internal management or the improvement in service, just a continuing raid on the taxpayer wallet. ... View more

On the bus, heading out to the Budapest airport, our driver was driving very carefully, and could have been accused of driving a bit slower than one would expect.  When asked about it, his response was that he had been required to take a driver education course that was extensive and very expensive, and that an infraction of the driving code in Hungary would cost him his license, and that driving was his livlihood. Not wanting to lose his license, and living, he opted to be law obedient.  Not so here in Arizona. Any driver that is asked, will say that they are a good driver. No sense of the duties of driving, the sense that driving is a privelege is lost in the notion that driving is a "right". I believe that we have captured the coveted title of " most red light runners of the country" at this point, with little concern from officialdom. I look at not only lack of driver training, and also speed limits that have been set low, ( maybe result of Fed mandates), but not enforced, so why set them at all. As such, they only represent "suggested" speed limits, and our drivers routinely ignore them. Tailgating is also rampant, and the results are easily shown in the large numbers of cars sporting "customized" front ends and also "customized rear ends. Regarding spacing from the car in front, it is regarded by a real driver as a "space cushion" for incidents that happen in front of the driver, so that he/she has sufficient time/space to stop without being rear-ended by the tailgater behind, if he/she has been watching the rear view mirrors .  The new cars with all the "bells and whistles" are nice, but people need to realize that real driving is a full time job, and these new toys in the car can be a great distraction which should be accepted as such while driving. ... View more

The Tampa Bay Auto Museum has a Hotchkiss-Gregoire that was produced with an aluminium frame. I don't remember the date of manufacture, but the car resembles  a '46 Ford sedan. Was found in Canada with a large log which caved in the top. If I remember correctly, the bodywork was aluminium as well.lsdaI ... View more

I traded my 2005 Grand Caravan for a 2018 Pacifica Touring L. I was wanting another Caravan, but was told that it, the Voyager, and the Town and Country had all been dropped in favor of the Pacifica. My Caravan was purchased particularly for the Stow and Go function as my previous 2003 Caravan necessitated lugging the seats out and occupying a part of the house that the wife desired for real furniture.  I used it as a multi purpose vehicle, and I have hauled 4'x8' sheets of plywood, drywall (sheetrock), gravel and bicycles as well as other articles. It was my Covered Pickup.  My Pacifica is serving the same purpose - the seats are in the floor until I have need to haul passengers, and I usually have heavy boxes of materials that come and go as needed, as well as empty boxes used for keeping groceries in place whilst driving in traffic. I realize that not everyone is enamored of this beast of burden, but it is in my eyes an attractive box on wheels that makes my life a bit easier. This newest iteration of the Pacifica is interesting, but "out of my league" in that it has so many features that do not interest me at all, and would not be using. I like my 2018 with its 9 speed tranny and its being able to get out of its own way when needed, and it has most of the features that the newer ones have as well, which have yet to be used. ... View more

My dad being influenced by his older brother with his high end Hudsons, bought a Hudson Pacemaker 6, 3 on the tree, with overdrive in 1951. The car was well cared for, and was at length passed on to me, where it stayed for several years. Started having problems with the shift lever connection to the rod going down the side of the steering wheel not staying together. Finally, after several trys over many months to solve the problem, the car was sidelined and later sold.  Sure was a good car otherwise though - not super fast getting to speed, but held its own, and delivered 20mpg. Still think about what it would be like to still have it, especially with the availability of parts nowadays. ... View more

Dear Sam, My suggestion would be to attend as many car shows as possible. The car owners typically if questioned about their cars can "talk your arm off", and show you things about their cars that you can plant in your memory. Plus, there are always a variety of cars, engines, equipment, etc to find out about.  My first car was a 1929 Model A Ford, which I couldn't drive yet, not being old enough, so it was parked in the back yard. I spent many hours in and around that car, and started working on it, finding out all about it and the parts that went into it, and why they were there. I was fortunate to have my father, who was an "old farmer", (not really old), who as a farmer dealt with machinery all his time on the farm - tractors, threshers, combines, etc. He guided me through the process of making the car sound mechanically and helping me understand what everything was for, and what it did. I also learned about metal crystallization due to bolts that sheared off instead of unscrewing. All of the modern cars carry the basics of the early cars, just updated, improved, and more sofisticated. 4 wheel hydraulic brakes with ABS, instead of mechanical 2 wheel brakes on the back wheels, sofisticated shock absorbers, etc.  Talk with car owners at shows, and you'll be amazed at what you learn.  Cheers, and good luck!! ... View more

Many years back, while in Las Vegas to attend my brother in law's wedding, having free time on my hands and not being interested in the usual attractions, found that the Imperial Palace had a car museum. The casino thoughtfully put the museum on the top floor at the back of all the assorted gambling venues, so one could be tempted to stop and play instead. However, I persisted and found my way to the museum, and it was WOW!! They had what was billed as the largest collection of Duesy's in one place, and what a collection. As I recollect, there were about 20 or 25 in attendance, and all but one was really a work of art. The one that I found "out of character" was a black car with the bulging proportions of a pumpkin, but must have been someone's dream car.  They also had the car that was given to Mussolini's mistress (bullet-proof glass, etc), one of hitler's parade cars (1"+ bullet proof glass), and several other interesting cars, but the highlight of the museum was the Deusenberg collection. I don't know if it is still there, but if it is, it's worth a visit. ... View more

When my late wife and I toured Germany, we stopped in Dresden, (one of my favorite cities), and a couple of other guys on the tour and I decided to visit the VW plant there. Always like to take pix of our tours, but other than the main entrance hall, pix were verboten. We entered the elevator and were whisked up to the observation level and observed the assembly line, which moved leisurely along, and workers doing their jobs, but not frantically or in a frenzy.  Quite impressive. The moving floor was wood, and I suspect that it would be less tiring than working on concrete. Anyway, we were ushered back down to the level below the assembly, where there were 2 of the Phetons parked for our inspection. The price per car, if I remember correctly was in the range of $75K, and looking at the cars, the opinion of our group was that it was not really worth that much. We didn't see much difference between them and the mainline Toyotas and Hondas that would warrant such a price.  Beautiful facility though. Got a photo of it from down the street! ... View more

Good luck with the sale, if there is one.  Darwin award for the buyer. ... View more

Used to be that tools were marked with the country of origin. I bought one of the ratchet combo wrenches at Ace Hardware, since they're advertising "buy American". Got curious and started looking at the wrench - nicely chromed, feels good in the hand, but no marks or indication as to its origin.  When I was back at Ace sometime later, I asked to see one of the ratchet combo wrenches, to see if there was any label or anything. Nice little "made in china" notation on the removable wall hanger/label. So once the paper hanger is gone, so is the origin information. It apparently was my misguided understanding that we had a law in this country that merchandise had to have country of origin embossed or labeled permanently on the article, but in our current state, laws are meant to be ignored. So if there is no label on the merchandise, I must figure it came from china. ... View more

Whoever wins the Bring a Trailer one that is up right now will get an excellent example of the marque. Well prepared and cared for. Wish that I had room for it, but with room for only three cars, one being a BJ7 Healey, and the other two that will not be disposed of to make room, just not possible to add another fun car!  Someone elses gain.  ... View more

Exactly right Mike.  Years ago, at work, one of my compadres had a GM car (memory gone) with a fairly simple problem that I stupidly volunteered to fix for him. Took awhile to get it done, and was also glad to be rid of it.  About 2 weeks later, he came to me and said that there was another problem which was completely unrelated to the one I had fixed, but he was blaming me for "causing" the second problem. He had someone else fix the new problem, and I learned my lesson to never fix someone elses car.  Just too much of a hassle, aggravation, and loss of friendships in severe cases. ... View more

Tampa Bay Auto Museum has several Tatras:  T-26, 6 wheel "military truck" type; a T-87; T-97; a Tatraplan; and a 603. Museum is actually in St. Petersburg, and has all kinds of interesting cars. The goal was to show the firsts of inventions or innovations in cars, and a lot of foreign cars are on display as a result. The good thing is that they exercise all their cars, so they are not just sitting idle.  They also had a Fardier de Cugnot (steam powered truck from 1700's France) on loan from the Deutsche Museum in Berlin, and subsequently had their own replica fabricated. Well worth the visit if in Florida.  ... View more

Years ago, in Lost Wages for my brother in law's wedding, went to the Imperial Palace to see their car collection.  At that time, they purportedly had the most Deusenbergs in their collection. I went throught the other cars first, very enjoyable, and then entered the Deusenberg exhibit.  I don't remember how many were there, and all except one were most beautifully executed ART!  However, there was one there that I'd be glad to have Chip do his "magic".  I stared at it and wondered "what was the owner or coachbuilder thinking". The body of the car was like a bloated whale, painted black, and seemed like one of the bloated "British royal coaches" that were drawn by a couple of teams of horses. Not meaning to offend anyone, but to me that was the most hideous travesty rolling on a Deusenberg chassis.  Chip Foose would have a ball bringing that one back to the glory that it should have had when it was new! ... View more

Fresh out of college, and lusting for a Healey 3000, I wisely asked my father in law for advice. He had a fella that wrenched on all his fleet of cars, and had "been around the block" many times, and was invited in on the conversation we were to have. His advice was short and simple.  If I wanted to buy a sport car, I would be in one of two groups - either I would be wealthy, and be able to afford someone else to take care of my car, or I would not be wealthy, and have to take care of it myself. Being in the latter category, and being mechanically oriented and somewhat versed in cars, thanks to my father's tutelage, I took the plunge into the world of British cars. First step was purchasing a workshop manual, and a parts manual. Then it was loads of time poring over the details of the machine that I had just purchased. I have been through the struggles of ownership, and at one point it sat on blocks for 40 years. I was fortunately able to have it restored, and I still have it today, and it was joined about thirty years ago with a sibling who also was restored. Both are loved and enjoyed. The monies spent on restoration will never be recouped, but one has to remember that a special car has been rescued, and that the enjoyment factor is priceless. It is also nice to take it out to car shows and let people enjoy it and hopefully be inspired or put off by the information board showing the long road to where it's at right now. I was fortunate that my first one was only 3 years old, so it was "perfect" when I started. The second one was not. ... View more

WD 40 is a kerosene based cleaner and leaves a residue of protectant on surfaces that are cleaned by it. Owing to the kerosene (oil) it is a mild lubricant as well as a solvent. Very useful for a multitude of applications. ... View more

Everybody has their own opinion of what they like in a car, exhibited by what one sees on the road. In my opinion, there are many that were designed by the ugly stick method, knowing that someone would buy the thing, and then there are the most beautiful cars to wear tires that have ever been seen by humans. In my eyes, this is a beautiful car, excellently prepared, well executed, attention paid to detail, and I imagine a great pleasure to drive. I couldn't be a caretaker of this magnificent machine, the same as I could not be a caretaker of many others, because it would take a lot of love to keep it as it is, but I wish the new caretaker the best of luck in caring for it. Kudos to Mr. Pfaff for his vision and bringing his vision to fruition. Comments regarding other builders are offensive, as each brings something to the automotive world. Not everyone is a Picasso, DeGas, or some other artist that can now bring in fantastic $$. There are other artists that produce exceedingly beautiful works of art as well.  This is automotive ART. ... View more

As a younger person I fantasized about having a nice warehouse that I could store about 100 cars from the '20's up to the present. Old age having taken me in her arms, the fantasy has dwindled, and the three cars that, if I had the room, would be: 1.  1963 Austin Healey 3000 MKII 2.  Jaguar XK140 Drophead Coupe 3.  Jaguar 3.8 MKII Saloon ... View more

The belief system goes all across the board.  I needed some 10-24 slotted head filister screws for my SU carbs some time ago, and went around town, starting with a bolt company, then a speed shop, and lastly an Ace Hardware store that was practically heaven as far as fasteners are concerned.  I couldn't find the right screws in any length where I could even cut them down. An "associate" approached me and I asked him if they had these screws, and he starts looking all over the "bolt room" and comes up with some 10-32 philips round head screws. I told him that I needed the 10-24 coarse thread screws in the slotted philister head configuration, to which he retorted that 10-24 was fine thread and that 10-32 was the coarse thread. We went back and forth a couple of times, and I finally thought, this is a lost cause and just give it a rest.  Don't know where this guy came from, but his mind was firmly made up and don't try to confuse him with facts.   ... View more

The bus is on bringatrailer.com, has 2 days left on the auction, and the latest bid that I saw today is for $50K.  Good luck!. ... View more

Was on a tour of Germany, and one of our stops for a couple of days was Dresden. One of the attractions of the city for gearheads in the tour was the VW factory that was producing the vaunted Phaeton. A beautiful facility with plenty of daylight inside and an impressive assembly line.  We were not allowed to take photos inside the building, unfortunately, as there was some nice architectural features in the lobby.  The tour ended with the traditional gift shop and a couple of phaetons for people to try on for size and feel.  My reaction and that of the group as a whole was shock at the price that was attached to the car. It was small, and didn't seem to us as offering anything worth that much money, and it was no surprise to me that it failed in the marketplace. The Dodge Magnum was a different story however.  I fell in love with the styling, and even got a ride in one once, which was pleasureable.  I would love to  have had a barn and the $$ to have be able to buy one of these, along with about a hundred of my other "dream cars", but unfortunately reality has a bad habit of not allowing that. I was greatly disappointed that there were not enough other people that felt the same about the Magnum as I did.  As far as the Aztek, everyone has their own vision of beauty and what really trips "their trigger".  The car manufacturers have made many cars over the years whose looks have  brought the question, "what were they thinking" to my mind. But these cars have sold, and someone appreciated them, so it's not for me to judge. ... View more