Thought I'd toss out a few quick notes about the current issue of
_european car_:
The British Motor Industry Heritage Museum is featured in a three-page
spread, with many good photographs. Interesting pictures include the
supercharged OHC Bonneville MG engine, with its twin SUs mounted at
the bottom of a massive blower, and an intriguing MG-badged, Pininfarina
styled, Mini based roadster concept. But my favorite has to be the
half-page, full-color shot of an early BGT, sawn neatly in half
longitudinally, and beautifully displaying both the drivetrain's
mechanicals and the overall packaging of the car. Crawling around
underneath a dirty car on a greasy, cold garage floor using a dim
flashlight doesn't give you a good perspective on just how neatly
every piece is placed on our beloved Bs. I may have to scan this and
post it to the Web site.
The brand-new Jaguar XK8, stunning in both coupe and convertible forms,
is given a three-page introduction, followed by an additional page
outlining its E-type ancestry. Another treat for Jaguar fans (let's
face it, we're all Jaguar fans here) is a comprehensive write-up on
Steve Earle's (of Monterey Historic Races fame) C-type, dating from
around 1954, when it was available for $5860 from your local dealership!
Based on the XK 120, it featured twin 2-inch SUs, a tubular chassis,
rack & pinion steering (the first on a Jag), and a menacingly handsome
aluminum body.
Also interesting is a feature article on the Frua A.C. 428 Roadster. "A
what?" A.C., in return for supplying Aces to Carroll Shelby for his
Cobra transformation, was supplied with Ford 428 Police Interceptor
engines and accompanying transmissions, 79 of which found their way into
modified Cobra chassis, which were then bodied by Creazione P. Frua.
Bearing a marked similarity to the Maserati Mistral, the featured car
sports a Kamm tail, a sharklike nose, and (of course) splined
Minilites!
--
Todd Mullins
Todd.Mullins@nrlssc.navy.mil On the lovely Mississippi (USA) Coast
'74 MGB Tourer - thankfully, not sliced in half
"I could go at any time..."
|