The E-Type is Indoors

As you can see, the project E-Type is in Richard Cunningham's garage. The silver cars are his - a '64 E-Type and '89 XJS V12. The scruffy E-Type we brought in lends a bit of ghetto to an otherwise pristine place to work on cars.
We've got the bonnet and hatch off and the interior is out of the car. The radiator and air conditioning unit are also out. We plan to remove the engine and gearbox next.
Body-wise, much worse cars have been restored. This car has some rot in the boot floor, driver's side floor and toe board and driver's side sill. I'm sure we'll find more as we go.
We plan to part the car out, but we are open to offers from anyone that has the time, skills and-most importantly-the budget to put it back on the road. If you are interested, get in touch soon.

Taking in a Stray Cat

I've bought another car. Well, half a car.

It started earlier this week when my wife, Melissa, read an ad to me about an estate sale in Point Clear, Alabama. I half-listened as she ran through the usual list of antique furniture, artwork, collectibles and a 1969 Jaguar XKE Coupe for restoration. I scanned the ad - no phone number, no address; just 'three miles south of the Grand Hotel'.

"Hmm, I might go take a look. There may be some other automobile-related stuff that I might be able to afford."

Later in the day, I sent an email to SABCC NEWSLETTER editor and local Jaguar enthusiast Richard Cunningham about the Saturday sale. He said he would drive down to see of there might a pre-sale viewing. He did. There wasn't.

Richard and his wife, Donna, met Melissa and I for dinner Friday evening and before the last of the pizza was gone, we had a plan to be at the sale as it opened at 8:00 AM.

After breakfast at a Fairhope cafe, we made the drive down the bay to Point Clear. The knot of cars parked along the road let us know we'd found the place. Walking up the driveway, we spotted the car. It had been maroon once, but the paint was faded to a red-brown color. It was on four flat Michelin Redlines and the California license plate hadn't had a tax sticker since 1987.

We asked about the car and was given the asking price and was told that nothing was negotiable. However, the owners instructed the people running the sale that they could accept offers on anything that hadn't sold after 2:00 PM . Richard and I decided that we would come back after 2 o'clock.

We returned promptly at two and we made an offer to the sellers. Richard and I bought ourselves a Jaguar.

It will stay in Richard's 'Garagemahal' as soon as the tow truck delivers it. We plan to give it a thorough looking-over before we decide what to do next. Sell it on? Part it out? Stay tuned!

Everything Old is New Again - Eventually

The video is of the introduction of a new BMW concept car called the GINA. Discussing the car is BMW Design Chief Chris Bangle (the namesake of the "Bangle Butt"). The new concept? A fabric covered body.

Fabric bodies were common on British cars in the '20s & '30s. A number of pre-war MGs carried fabric bodies as standard equipment. I've never seen a fabric bodied car, but I have been around a number of fabric covered aircraft. If you squint your eyes, the GINA is somewhat reminiscent of a Zeppelin. I wonder what a hydrogen-powered version of the car would be called?

New Land Speed Record Attempt

I see where another team from the UK is going to attempt a run at the world's land speed record - for steam powered vehicles.
That's right, it's not enough to hold the records for open land speed (Thrust SSC) and diesel powered (JCB DieselMax) LSR, the boys flying the Union Flag are going to attempt 200 MPH in a steam powered car. The car is currently under construction and will utilize 12 boilers and a steam turbine. The team leader of this attempt is Don Wales, the nephew of Bluebird constructor and multiple speed record-breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell.
The current LSR for steam was set in 1906 by a Stanley Steamer at 127 MPH. You can keep up with the team's efforts here.

Endurance Racing

This coming weekend is the date for that grand-daddy of all endurance races, the 24 Hours of LeMans. Of interest to the members of this club is the evergreen MG-Lola entry of RML Racing. This LMP2 prototype car won its' class in 2005 & 2006 and still carries the MG name into European sports car competition. Best of luck to Ray Mallock and his driving team of Tommy Erdos, Mike Newton & Andy Wallace.

Racing is an expensive hobby so most of us won't be spending much time on the road courses trying to become the next Juan Manuel Fangio. However, for a little money and work you could assemble a team and enter a REAL LIVE 24 hour automobile race. Check out the Web site for the 24 Hours of LeMons and then go buy a $500 beater to enter. That's right - the 24 Hours of LeMons is basic entry level racing with several devious twists. You've got to see it to believe it, and no, it won't be on SPEED Channel anytime soon...

The Old Car Brochure Project

A neat Web site with a large number of brochures
detailing our British cars can be found here.
There's a pretty good collection of brochures
about the more common marques such as
MG and Triumph, but some of the more
surprising entries include Jowett,
Marcos and Standard. It's worth a look.