"If only you were nearer" Back on track! Apologies...

[VIP]

Jan 14, 2016 20:31:59 GMT Mantasport said:

Yep saw it at the show earlier.
Everybody else was looking at the Mclaren P1's, Nobels and other super cars, I was looking at this

It would appear Bryn is using it to promote his London Motor Film Festival, which is a great night out if you get the chance to go.

www.londonmotorfilmfestival.com/

[Deleted]

Still an engaging yarn sir, keep it up please.

[Mystery Machine]

Hopefully more to post up later tonight about the Chicago side of the trip, it's slow going working through all the photos bit by bit! After not updating the thread properly for quite a while, it's hard getting back into the swing of things.


Yeah, the 911 is currently on the London Motor Film Festival stand at the NEC which is helping to promote the festival as well as RED camera systems. Bryn asked if it could be used on the stand and I happily agreed. I spent the day there yesterday and met lots of really nice people, even if the show itself wasn't exactly amazing. Some nice stuff there, but I'm not sure I'd want to pay to get in?

Toyo tyres also kindly supported/sponsored the car with a new set of its tyres. That's one thing off the MOT hitlist!









If any of you are going to the NEC this weekend, please feel free to drop by the stand (hall 19, the Performance Car area) and take a look at the car/say hi to Bryn.

[Mystery Machine]

I don't think I'd ever slept so well that night? The tiredness from being on the go for well over 48hrs with only an hours sleep ensured it.

When I did awake, AJ and I headed out in his R32 four door to meet up with Fish for breakfast. Now, we could have gone to McDonalds, or any of the other chain places but I asked if I could experience something a bit more 'local' than something I could have back in the UK. The guys were 100% up my street and Sarkis was the destination. A firm favourite of both the guys.



The place was amazing, so much character. I real slice of American culture with nice people, great food and a 'joint' that was just so effortlessly cool because it wasn't trying to be anything. It was a bit rough around the edges, but that's what made it. No airs and graces, no pretentious decor....just a fantastic cafe.

And it has just hit me how much I didn't photograph! I didn't take a single shot inside of Sarkis so you can't get to see what I'm talking about, nor can you see the great food they serve. Having said that, the portions were more than enough for me and I found I could only manage about 1/3 of my breakfast. I truly broke me in the 'must finish what I'm served' stakes.

Back outside, we chatted in the car park for a moment and I grabbed a few shots of AJ's car. You wouldn't be able to run blue headlights or tinted windows like that over here, but in Chicago, not a problem.





Stood over by Fish's brand new GMC pick-up thing, discussions were underway about where to go today.



Both Fish and AJ had kindly taken the day off work to show me around. I insisted I could just explore Chicago on my own and didn't want to impose, but they don't know how to take no for an answer and had plans to show me some cool things.

I gave up arguing!



I jump in with the big guy and we drive across town to the first of a few destinations. I take the opportunity to snap a few shots of the R32.





It looks so good on the move. I've never really been a massive fan of the 4dr, but this car convinced me of how cool they could be if given the right treatment.






Something I saw a lot of around the streets of Chicago, a lot of police presence. Apparently Chicago was in the midst of a bad spate of gun related deaths, "10 people killed and 55 more wounded this Fourth of July weekend alone." - you could actually feel the tension in the air in some places. I don't like guns. Or people getting killed.




....we got to our first destination. The garage where Fish's Dad keeps some of his cars.

In the yard to the side were a lot of fairly ordinary motors, but this 500SEL stood out to me as a lovely slice of 80s excess. It turns out it was one of Fish's first cars!



Just beyond that was his immaculate Mk1 caddy.



When I say immaculate, I mean IMMACULATE!



Next to it was this curiosity. A genuine 911 which had been given a 959-esque makeover in what I can only assume was the 80s? It was kind of grotesque, but at the same time strangely alluring in that wide-bodied 80s excess kind of way. I would certainly roll it once cleaned up and the ride height sorted.








We then headed inside. I think you'll like this part...

[camerashy]

Glad to see you back and finishing this thread mate

[Mystery Machine]

As soon as we step into the workshop itself, the predictable 'Look, a squirrel' 911 syndrome has me heading straight for that corner.

It belongs to Fish's Dad, as do the rest of the cars in here. Well, nearly all of them.



It's very tidy and the retro finish to the 16" IB Fuchs is a nice touch.



I like red interiors, but I did find this a bit of a jarring shade. Also a bit *too* fresh for my liking. I'd be afraid to sit in there for fear of scuffing the leather or getting dirt/grease all over it.



Still a very nice thing!



Next to it was an immacualte Mk2 Jag which I didn't even think to photograph, but the little Lancia in front of it, well, that was just too pretty not to get a few snaps of.





Even in its incomplete state, it's still a stunner!



The other side of the white 911 is an ongoing project which really reminded me of Goldenrust's build. And not just because of the colour:



No prizes for guessing why I thought of him?



...and next to that was another MX5, this time running the original engine, albeit with some forced induction:



I've never been a huge fan of the Mk3 MX5, but this one looked great (ride height is significantly lower when not on a 2 post lift)





I could distract you with more cars, or lots of this kind of paraphenalia that was 'littering' the place, literally everywhere:




But I'm going to cut to the chase and show you what really stopped me in my tracks.

Something a bit special.




When people talk about history, or pedigree....it doesn't get much better than this.

[Marks&Spencer food advert voice] This isn't just a race car [/voice]

But that's all I'm going to show you for now. The rest can come tomorrow. I'm off to bed.

G'night folks.

[bigalan]

Tease:-(

[Sinky]

Morning. Are you up yet?

[Mystery Machine]

Jan 18, 2016 10:02:06 GMT Sinky said:

Morning. Are you up yet?

Haha, I've been up hours, just had things like work to do first. I should still be working now, but I'm conscious that I've not kept the updates coming as fast as I'd hoped. So I'm taking a little break to fit in another installment.


One thing I've learnt from spending some time in Canada, and now the US, is that the 510 is far more highly/widely regarded and revered than it is here. There is definitely a good, strong fan base here, but nothing compared to the adulation it gets the other side of the Atlantic.

I was hoping to have found a cheap 510 for myself to bring back here, I love them, but it would seem that prices are even higher across the pond and this is mainly down to two things; racing heritage and the fact that so many people had them 'back in the day' that there is a lot of fondness for them. With that has come a huge renaissance in the cars popularity. Which has, in turn, driven the prices up a lot.

You know how popular and pricey Mk1 & Mk2 Escorts are over here? Same thing over there, even though they are Japanese in origin.

Finding an unmolested example is almost impossible because they have mostly been turned into track cars and race cars. Not all, but certainly most. Very rarely you might find a mildly modified example to restore, but the majority will have been beaten around a track at some point.

The rarest of all the 510s are the ones built, from the outset, as a genuine race car. And this is what you see here:



Look up 510 race cars and you'll see they had a huge impact on motorsport in the early 70s. Labelled 'The Giant Killer', they were super successful on the track and this, in turn, cemented their reputation as bonafide performance cars.

As said, this one is very unusual in that it was never road registered, but instead was built to race from day one. Built in 1972, this actual car has raced against Paul Newman and also Dorsey Schroeder (I had to look him up, I'd never heard of him either, I must confess). It also set the track record in the Road America race in 1987. It's a serious bit of kit!



The car was bought last year by Fish's Dad, apparently it had only recently been subject of a thorough restoration but it turns out, not thorough enough.

Mr Fish Sr is currently tearing it down to do a proper mechanical resto on it. Even in this state, it looked so mean and purposeful. I can't wait to see it when it's all finished. Hopefully with some of the external character left intact?











Behind it are two other gems. These are both work in progress projects that started out as road cars and are being turned into track weapons emulating two extremely famous race cars. The interior of '46' hasn't been started yet and will be torn out and made into a proper race spec at some point. '86' is a lot closer to being finished, full cage and interior is done. Once both are complete, they will be run together as a homage to the original and most famous two (out of only three ever made) BRE race cars. I believe the '86' livery will be changed to '85' when this happens?













It's not every day you get to spend time gawking over a 510 race car, let alone three of them! As you can probably guess, it's the original '41' that floated my boat more than the two beautifully finished replicas of the BRM team cars, but they were pretty lovely too!

[Geordie]

And when I thought this thread couldn't get any better, you chuck in some 510's...........

Just fantastic.

[Darkspeed]

I figured at least one of those 510's would be on Libre's - rare as hens teeth but no want or love for them this side of the pond.

[beetie]

Start sending him little messages now Bruce. 'sell me your datsun, ' it might just work again

[sciclone]

Over here, datsuns are still fetching strong money. Rather than being turned into race replicas though, a lot got CA18 and SR20 swaps. Lightweight + Turbo EFI = Scalded Cat. There are some still unmolested examples and non-restored ones available. You can also get the earlier and later datsuns, including the 1200 ute (sunny tora). I'd have another in a heartbeat, if I had the money.

[lyndon]

Yes, they are plentiful out here (Down Under), but most have had a more modern implant.

Don't think this one has though: www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Datsun-1600-1971/SSE-AD-3595444/?Cr=3

Prices.... I don't mind this price, but I'm not sure if that's in your price point.
 
Lyndon

[ChasR]

Damn, I would have gone down to Autosport if I had known you were there! I've been more cautious with this January than other recent ones!

Fair play to getting sponsorship off Toyo! I'd have left the Direzzas on though .

[randywanger_]

That 510 writeup deserves its own thread. Must pull finger out.

[rabin505]

I had to re-register to RR just to comment... I was home sick and had searched this thread on my brother's recommendation, and read all 32 pages within 24 hrs. It was simply so good that I couldn't stop reading! (Best part was that I could just scroll past your nasty cliff hangers and continue reading.) It's been said MANY times before, but you have a gift for writing.

As a Canadian, what you have put into words about our car culture can be said of every area I've visited in Canada. We really have it good here, and it was fantastic to be reminded of that through your kind words. I don't know Scott, James, or any of the other guys you ran into, but I can tell straight off we'd all be fast friends. Bit of a surprise for me on page 25 (http://retrorides.proboards.com/post/2154030) - the second picture of your newly acquired 911 is side by side with my good friend Noel's "Lightning McQueen" themed Neon. They had told stories of the burned out 911 and I hadn't really given it a second thought until seeing that picture. (Scott might remember it - it was FAST)

Like everyone else here mentioned; you've really hit the nail on the head with following your passion, and you have perfectly captured the adventure with your wordsmithing, and your breathtaking photos. You have also reminded me of many of my own adventures that I really should have documented better!

This adventure in particular reminds me of 2008 when I flew to Portland Oregon to buy an 89' Peugeot 505 Turbo 5sp from a good friend that I'd known for years and had never met. I stayed in his home for a couple days prepping the car and filling it with spare parts, and then drove 2000KM home through the mountains. That was the longest, but I've also done 4-5 other 16 hour round trip road trips to collect other Peugeot's, and your words perfectly describe all the feelings experienced when buying a car this way, so thank you very much for a wonderful reminder of how cool those adventures were. (Coolest road trip so far was driving my 89' 505 Turbo to PPIHC in 2013 to see Loeb obliterate the record...)

Lastly, while I love the book idea, your point is well made. The problem however, is that I have literally had hours of enjoyment despite now being at the mercy of your damned cliff hangers. Anyway - It occurred to me that there hasn't been a suggestion of a way to contribute towards your expenses so that you can do what you do best. Be it traveling or even working on your car, if it enables you to write more content, I'd happily contribute. I know how much work these posts can be, and I really feel a little guilty that I can't even show a little appreciation for all your hard work you've put into this. (Paypal link in your sig maybe?) Apologies in advance if that's not allowed or anything.

Thanks again MM for taking us all along on your journeys.

Rabin

[bazzateer]

Wow! Just caught up with this. Incredible adventures.

I had better luck when arriving in Seattle back in '09, Immigration/Border police were fine, having 'Police Officer' as my occupation may have helped!

[borednow]

Well that's me all caught up.

Moar Please!!!!!

[badwagon]

Wow... What a story you can tell!  

It truly was a great read.  I was directed here by Rabin505  and was also quite surprised to see our neon at the former track in Calgary (Racecity).
Rabin was slightly incorrect, the red Lightning Mcqueen car was FAR too heavy and thus equally slow.  

The #15 Green Neon that we also raced was fast and in regards to your newly purchased 911.. I will leave these here for you.





   

I had the pleasure of racing against it (except for the smoke screen I couldn't see ANYTHING),  
and as an amateur wanna be racer these weekends form my glory stories that I'll carry with me for a lifetime.


... I just wish I had the gifts you posses to share them in such a captivating way.