A Mostly British Obsession
Valuable, if hard, lessons learned
I once picked up a Rider magazine only to find myself inside of it! I was riding over to Ballard one day and remember thinking “why is this guy photographing me?”
The article was on riding in downtown Seattle, I think. This must have been in about 1998.
What can I say? When I show up to look at a rusty heap and people I know are showing up as well (hi, Constance and Doug) there’s really not much I can do other than say “sure, I’ll take it.” It is very complete and very original. Plus the now former owner said it can stay where it is until my shop is ready.
Hm, I must have a minor Healey buzz going (or I located a folder of long-forgotten scans on my computer, I’ll never tell). This is my 100-Six in the snow of 1989–the Healey and I were stuck from 2:30 in the afternoon until midnight on the 520 floating bridge. We didn’t turn a wheel for nine hours. I ran out of gas, sat in a stranger’s car to stay warm, caught a lift from a crazy guy who drove 15 miles to deliver me to my house two miles from where we started, and there found a foot of snow at 3:30 in the morning. This was a big snow (there were more local news reporters than snowplows running around) and it stayed below freezing for two weeks, unusual for western Washington. The Healey was actually a pretty decent car to drive in the white stuff!
This is the Austin Healey 3000 Mk. 2 I owned, pictured at the Seattle vintage races in 1995 or 1996. Imagine my delight when, after a day at the races, I came back to my car to find this pre-war Aston Martin parked next to me. I’m not sure of the exact model–there is an excellent guide here–I believe it might be a 1934 Mk. II 2/4 seater.
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Twice in the last week the Land Rover has been pressed into heavy hauling duty. Last week it was a Costco Wholesale run (and when we go to Costco twice a year, we really go). Almost 600 pounds of stuff, swallowed up very neatly. Tonight I retrieved an old Delta Unisaw (circa 1948, pictured), which is 300 pounds of cast iron and stamped steel, and again the mission was successful. All in all, it’s a useful car, and has been a good buy thus far (knock on wood). Just turned 113,000 miles, too.
As in, I miss this car. It’s one of the few cars I honestly wish I still had…though once my current E-Type is back on the road I’m sure all will be better.
This is the only “completely restored” part of my E-Type, the carburetors. I really enjoy this kind of work…sad to think it’s now been three or more years since I completed them! One day I’ll be working on that car again…almost ten years after I purchased it. Pretty pathetic. You can see the rebuild of these carbs in progress over at XKE Data.
The Triumph 955i has artificially low miles–due to a speedo glitch. (It’s probably not more than about 150 miles in arrears, but it is annoying.) More and more often, the speedometer ceases to register a speed (or add miles to the odometer; they’re both digital). This always coincides with the ignition key being used–it either works when you start the bike, and keeps working, or it doesn’t work and stays dead. I recently rode to my friend Matt’s in north Seattle, and the sequence of speedo operation? House to ferry, alive; ferry to Matt’s, dead; Matt’s to ferry, alive, ferry to home, alive. Other rides it’s the opposite.
When the speedo is “dead” it will sometimes display a speed of one mile per hour for a few seconds. I’ve wiggled wires but haven’t gone beyond that so far in trying to solve the problem, showing my usual initiative.
This is just about the closest I have ever come to a new car or truck. This F150 four-wheeler was three years old when I bought it with 45,000 miles on the clock. It was a nice, comfortable truck, and when in four wheel drive was very good at dealing with snow, loose surfaces, etc.
I sold it when I realized I wasn’t using it much–it was a lot of money to leave sitting in the driveway. It was also a bit of a monster, as I don’t like full-size trucks without an eight-foot bed, and with the “supercab” that made this machine almost 22′ long. Perfect for our street-parking-only house in the city!
My car project this summer is going to be giving old Fergie a face-lift. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just a bit of a dress-up over her current condition, which is pretty scruffy. I have a new pair of fenders, a new wheel center, and a few bits and bobs…and a couple of cans of paint. New tires, too. The machine will still need a full restoration at some point, but for the short-term this will be great.
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