2009 Kirkland Concours d’Elegance

Miss Bardahl Hydroplane

The cars on show at Carillon Point are there by invitation only–and the show tends to feature what the folks with real money would call “proper classics.” Truly a wonderful assortment of machinery, this year focusing on vintage Mercedes, “orphans,” classic hydroplanes and motorcycle/sidecar outfits. It was a treat to see these fantastic machines…I more or less took random photos, and there are a lot of them below.
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New Tires for the Daytona?

Front Tire of my 955i

This can’t be good–most bikes don’t use studded front tires. The Triumph is now seven years old and on its original tires, though they have accumulated only 2600 miles. I suppose this will get me to replace them. (I’m not quite sure what I’ve collected, here…I thought it was a bolt, but on further study, I don’t think it is.)

I discovered this on the ferry, headed out to Kirkland for the Carillon Point car show today, so I had 50 miles of riding to contemplate my unwanted companion.

GT Stripped Down, Ready for Some New Metal

1967 MGB GT - No fenders!

I have the fenders, valance and rear hatch off the GT, preparing for a few minor patch panels and then paint. Car is remarkably good, all things considered. Most painful is going to be getting all of the red overspray off of places I will not be painting, like the underside and inner fenders, which all still have very intact undercoating.
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GT Back from the Blasters

1967 MGB GT

Alternative Blasters in Marysville finished their work on the GT–they were quick, friendly, and reasonably priced…definitely going to use them again. They did not do the bonnet as they were uncomfortable with blasting the aluminum.

The car is really very good for a 42 year old MG. The passenger dogleg (just behind the door) has a couple of holes (which we’ll patch) and the lower front fenders are rusted, with some associated damage to the front of the sill. I have new lower fenders and I think (hope!) the sill can be patched.
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GT Off to the Blaster

1967 MGB GT

I put the GT on the car trailer and drove it to Alternative Blasters (in Marysville) to have the cruddy paint job removed. I left the glass in, as it makes life easier for blaster, but will remove it when the car is back. Then it’s on to rust repair (lower front fenders) and new paint in the original grey (which you can see a glimpse of where the tail lights were).

The Ford put in yeoman service (yet again) hauling around my other machines.