Dear Digest-ers.
Hi to all. Just got back from a visit with Gary Wales in Woodland Hills, CA.
What a blast! Drove out there with veteran automotive journalist Harry
Newton in my 40,000 original mile Minor ragtop to check out his grille badge
collection (the largest in the world) for Harry's article and shoot some
photos for an article of mine.
Gary is well known as the restorer of the massive black
Franay bodied Bentley with the red frog skin interior that
has been the toast of both America and Europe. It is
presently on its way back from Paris. We went for a ride
in Gary's "recreated" 4.5 liter Blower Bentley. This car,
that looks just like the one that John Steed drove in the Avengers, is made
from all sorts of Rolls and Bentley bits
and looks quite authentic - at a quarter of the price of a
real one. To give you an example of how it's done, the
engine is an early fifties 4.5 Bentley six instead of the
rare and original 4.5 liter four. The authentic looking induction system is
ducted to a polished and machined
casting that LOOKS like the original supercharger but is actually a clever
case that houses a modern B & M blower.
It's THAT type of car! VERY COOL
Weird MG Sighting
We came back to Marina del Rey by driving over Topanga Canyon, a winding road
that threads its way through the coastal mountains to the sea, then heading
south. It was
still about 68 degrees and the top was down. Great fun.
The little town of Topanga is a timewarp to the Sixties
that is so impervious to change that it has overtaken Woodstock, Marin County
and even Berkeley for that honor.
As we passed the little post office, Harry yells "did you
see that!" I said "What." He said " the MGA pickup" and I
pulled into a turnout and swung a U-turn back to the PO.
Harry was right. It was cut straight back from the doors
and just to the inside of the tail lights, and a wooden bed
and tailgate was fitted in between. The bed stood proud of
the rear bodyline about two inches and was about four
inches longer than the fenders giving the car a "stepside" appearance. I got
some shots of it and if they come out
OK you will probably see them in British Car or Moss
Motoring someday soon.
On American Cars
Nolan Penney writes: "However, there definitely is
something to the rumble and feel of a v-8, or a v-12 for
that matter. My fathers Mustang has a rumble that no
Triumph or Lotus is going to match. And a torque force
that only comeswith lots of rotating mass."
"Therein lies the yin and yang of it. Of the many methods mankind has used
to scoot himself about over the years, nothing quite matches the rumble of a
BIG 'murrican V8. Driving milady's Mustang ('65 convertible, with the 2V,
289 and Cruise-O-Matic) is certainly enjoyable, but it also sharply focuses
the reasons that I like my MGB so much."
I couldn't have put it better myself. I am just in the middle
of a "street" restoration of our worn out 113,000 mile
1969 Chevy Malibu Sport Coupe. This is the car that we use for long trips,
towing our Brit iron over long distances, bringing home parts cars and
restoration projects. In many ways it is easier to find parts for and work on
than our Morrises or MGs BUT due to the "Muscle Car" craze that
is so popular today, it is getting harder to build a docile "restoration" and
much easier to put together a Muscle Rod.
If I had insisted on a rebuilt 307 V8, I would have had to
go to a restoration shop and pay premium dinero (about
$3000) to have that dependable old boat anchor rebuilt -
as opposed to buying a brand new Guaranteed GM 350 "crate" engine for $1300!
Unfortunately, the new 350 doesn't get along with the original 2 barrel
carb and Powerglide trans
and the boys at the Speed Shop (regular shops in West LA
only want to work on Beemers and Volvos) want to build
me a bracket racer! And then there are the smog
requirements. Even the brakes need to be uprated to
handle the additional power.
It's alot like bolting a Spridget 1275 into a stock Morris
Minor to build a mini deathtrap. If any of you are
interested in this ongoing process, you can read about
it in a new series called "Checkbook Restoration" that
I'm doing in installments for OLD CARS WEEKLY (or is
that Weakly?)
All in all, Morrises, MGs, and old Fords & Chevys have alot
in common. The parts are there, the knowledge and interest
is universal and once correctly sorted, they will be quite dependable. If I
need power or room for six, the big cars are great, though to bop around the
beach and run errands, I will always opt for the smaller and more economical
Britiron.
Cheetahs
The Cheetahs were built by Bill Thomas in the mid-'60s
using Chevy components as an answer to Shelby's Cobra.
Since the factory felt that their Corvette could be made competitive with the
Cobra, they never gave Thomas the support that Ford originally gave Shelby.
It featured a tube frame, alloy body and a pumped up smallblock that was
essentially mounted in the middle of the car leaving little room between the
gearbox and the rear axel for the driver. They have been reproduced in
'glass as kit cars in both
coupe (as were the originals) and a roadster version.
These are nothing like the originals other than they sort
of look like them. The real ones are rare and valuable
today. There will be a detailed article in Old Cars Weekly
on the Cheetah in March sometime. See you on the Funway!
Rick Feibusch
Automotive Journalist/Appraiser
http://www.EnglishCars.com/rick.html
mailto:RFeibusch@aol.com
61 Minor pickup
60 Minor Saloon
59 Minor Convertible
69 Chevelle Malibu 350
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