Cause I could!

[Mike71]

I have most beat re: time frame and obscurity. In 1959 at 16, I got my license in dad's 1953 Willys Aero Falcon. A good, solid "mid-size" before its time.

They only were produced for three years. Big Auto crushed them of course. Dad bought it 2nd hand in 1957 from a fellow railroad worker.

 

[wombat666]

"Which is exactly why I NEVER park between two cars when I drive my Miata. I always ALWAYS park in a end spot, as close to a curb as possible. As long as I can still walk ok, I don't care if the parking spot is a block away. I don't give them a chance to bang up against my baby! NC"

That was an exception Chief, parked directly opposite our bank where I had to go and deposit a considerable sum of $$$.
She was line of sight visible and about 50 metres away.

What I would never do was park my restored 911RS in any public parking space, aside from the fact it was a labor of love these days it has become worth a lot of $$$, almost to the point where I'm thinking long and hard about selling her.
That's why I bought the MX5, I'd hate to get a scratch on her but I could get affordable cover, unlike the 911RS which would cost an arm and a leg for general insurance.
FTR, this restoration started as an idea some 25+/- years ago when I bought a complete engine and drive train for a very low price from a person who was upgrading their 911RS to a race spec, I sort of collected assorted bits until I managed to find the correct body shell and decided to get serious.

 

[MrZippy]

What kind of van is that Ferry? MrZippy, no offence, but that's almost as ugly as the Nash Metropolitan my Dad had restored and I had to drive to school when I was 16. And no, never got a date in it lol.

I had one and only one ride in a Nash Metropolitan. I was 5 years old and a neighbor, who lived down the street from me and was in my school class, her father picked us up at school and gave me a ride home. Back seat wasn't even big enough for 2 small kids!

wombat666 I have a garage and I'll store the 911RS for ya!

 

[Ferry_vO]

What kind of van is that Ferry?

It's a 2017 Citroën Berlingo, which you can buy as a panel van or as a passenger car. Not the most exciting ride, but we need the space and it is quite comfortable, being a French car.
The engine is a whopping 1.2 liter, 3 cylinder turbo engine which drives almost like a diesel and has nice fuel economy. With fuel close to $8.75 USD per gallon that is quite important...

 

[Greenhouse357]

Wombat, all I can say is wow!

MrZippy, that Renault looks a lot better than the old Nash. I was just kidding lol. The only way you could get into
the trunk of the Nash, was to fold the back of the back seat down.

Ferry, that Van has more external character than 80% of the vehicles I see driving around here.

 

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

Some nice cars here. My wife has a Yaris nothing like that one though. Here is my daily driver.

-Ed-

 

[oldmsgt]

Because I'm old I drive an "old fart's car" as my kids call it, like this one:

 

[oldmsgt]

But, around a half century ago, I drove one of these badass "muscle cars":

 

[Mike71]

Really nice machine!

 

[wombat666]

Pre COVID the Cobra Car Club invited the GT40 Replica Owners Club (us) to a BBQ at Tyabb Airport and it was a good day.
The 'Fake Snake' lot were obviously well disciplined and parked in a neat line, we GT40R people simply parked where ever we could.
But they did look very good.
I'd like to build up a Cobra Replica but only a 289 version, a much nicer car to drive than a 427 IMHO.

As for our GT40 Replica, it's as close as possible to one purchased by Yamaha after the 1967 (IIRC) LM 24 Hours, which was 'rediscovered' tucked away in storage at Yamaha around 1996 or so.
Rather a cheesy photo but it was taken for the front cover of the club magazine.
Not a nice car to drive on public roads since we tuned the 4 Weber carbs and fitted lumpy cams for better track performance ............. and it's really loud as well.

 

[Ferry_vO]

Ferry, that Van has more external character than 80% of the vehicles I see driving around here.

Not as much as our previous MPV though! Loved this Citroën C3 Picasso. but we needed more speed. Bought this after my garage wrecked my Kia Soul while investigating an engine warning light.. We were going on a holiday two weeks later and really needed a car. Never regretted buying the C3!

[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]

 

[Greenhouse357]

This is my 1986 F150 I bought new that I still have, but haven't driven since I bought the 2016 F150 (spoiled me). They are 30 years apart. The 2016 has a 2.7 V6 twin turbo, 325 HP.

Wombat, you have some stunning cars!

Mike, never heard of a Willys Falcon. Cool looking car though. I bet if it is still in existence, it would be worth a a fortune!

Ed, can't go wrong with a a jeep. Here in Florida, the jeep craze has gone wild again.

Oldmsgt, sweet Chevelle. Before covid, we were going to car show almost every weekend and seeing all those restored old muscle cars always did my heart good.

As a side note: Years ago here on this forum was a chap (Britguy) who lived in Shropshire if memory serves. He was very involved with the 357th F.G. like I was so there was a connection and we became friends. His sister lived in Orlando and he came to Florida to visit her. We got together on the weekend and he actually brought me a small piece of the original tarmac from Leiston! Well, I let him drive the '86 F150 by himself around the block since he didn't have a licence here. I can't remember how many times he went around the block but I couldn't hardly get him out of it lol.

 

[huub vink]

Wombat, I must have said this before. The GT40 looks stunning and I don't like the original German coiours from that period. So the Porsche is really nice, but the colour not exactly my taste.

The car below was not mine as it was paid for by the tax payers, but I drove it a lot. Now I don't drive it anymore because I have retired from the fire brigade. But I still think it was a quite sharp looking car.

My own car is quite a bit more down to earth. I hardly drive as I do most things on my bicycle(s). So its more or less my wife's car.

Cheers,
Huub

 

[wombat666]

Huub, did you get to drive round in the SEAT with lights flashing and siren blaring?
'Officially' of course.

I recall you mentioned you weren't keen on the Yellow 911, she's almost leaving me for a new owner, due the the nature of the COVID epidemic there are plenty of cashed up buyers who seem to be eager to pay silly prices for 'Exotic' cars.
Thankfully we've all agreed to sell off several of our cars and as this one is 'authentic' (including the color) and I have all the papers I am driving a very hard bargain, but the deal is almost done!
Even though the GT40R is a trifle illegal as a road car I'll keep it, she represents fifteen years of workmanship and investment.
Despite the temptation to take on stewardship of one of the 934 Turbos, I'll continue with this 911E, as I quite like the quieter temperament and the less conspicuous color, again a 'Factory' standard.

I need something to tinker with as we are still under a 'hard' lockdown.........................after I clean up the shed and tidy all the tools away!

 

[noddy]

What a beautiful car.

 

[huub vink]

Huub, did you get to drive round in the SEAT with lights flashing and siren blaring?
'Officially' of course.

That is what they were intended for. But it actually looks more exiting than it is. Flashlights and sirens have an odd effect on people. I have seen them do the weirdest things to get out of the way. So I preferred to drive this car without using them.

The 911E looks really nice (even including the colour)

Cheers,
Huub

 

[wombat666]

She's undergoing a transplant as soon as we can source a decent drive train, this is our first serious Sportmatic rebuild minus the nasty 'automatic' transmission.

I've never understood how any 'owner' of this type of car can neglect them: the following images are when we first took delivery.
The decay extended quite extensively under the skin, that and the 'Sportmatic' drive train pushed our offering price way down.
Stored (so the story went!) under a house in Portsea by the vendor's Grandfather, the inheritor thought he'd won the lottery, not so!

PS: The scruffy 911T shell in the corner has progressed to a far healthier state, COVID Lock-downs mean idle hands are kept busy with any projects that can proceed 'in house'.

 

[Greenhouse357]

Looks brand new now Wombat.

 

[wombat666]

That is what they were intended for. But it actually looks more exiting than it is. Flashlights and sirens have an odd effect on people.
Cheers,
Huub

We often had flashing blue lights and siren blips in the mirrors when driving the GT40R to places like Philip Island, inevitably because the Highway Patrol were enthusiastic petrol heads wanting to know 'what was under the hood?' and 'how fast will it go?'
One weekend it happened four times on the way and twice coming home.......
Never ever for an infringement, 'Immunity' seemed to have been granted by the HP, but I'm not prepared to chance it with the car set up in full race mode these days.

And TY Greenie, hoping to get her completed by December.