I picked this set of triple-SU carbs up from craigslist awhile ago; they were cheap enough that even as a source of parts they’re a good buy. I had a vague notion about putting them on the XJ6, and they would fit, but the lack of manual choke would be annoying. (These came from a Mk. X and won’t work in an E-Type as a conversion, as the inlet manifold is different.) Still, with a couple of HD8 rebuild kits included it was a decent deal.

I created several mosaic posters to raise some money for the “data” car registry sites. I have uploaded about half a dozen to the cafe press store so far. You can see the one I purchased for myself hanging to the left of the toolbox, featuring Chuck’s 1965 OTS on a winter’s day.
(more…)

I’ll have an update on the shop and the GT in the next few days, I hope, but in the meantime, here’s the poster I designed for this year’s All British Field Meet in Bellevue, Washington.

I agreed to help my friend Steve by building the web site, online databases, various other software pieces and doing the graphic design for the meet. Steve was clueless generous enough to take up the mantle of organizing the show after Arnie Taub passed away–and is doing a bang-up job.

This year the show honors 80 years of the MG Car Club of England, and 50 years of the Jaguar E-Type. By coincidence, I have an E-Type which is 50 years old this November, though at this juncture I’m pretty sure it will not be running by its birthday. I had hopes a few months ago, but my to-do list is so long with things not E-Type that I just don’t think I’ll be able to find enough time to get her back on her feet by then.

You can learn more about this year’s show at abfm.com

Everyone has been posting the excellent youtube clip featuring the overview of the 1967 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, so I thought I’d post this equally excellent walk-through with the legendary Jackie Stewart, circa 1971 or 1972.

My friend Jim has decided to sell off a lot of his model car collection, and I couldn’t resist a few despite not really being a model collector, per se. Having purchased a few “regular” models (ie, the kind you can buy in a store) from his stash, I asked about this one, my favorite: It’s a scratch-built resin model, made by the man himself, in about 1:24 scale.
(more…)

Had a great time this afternoon with my friend Matt at the combined Flying Heritage and Historic Flight “Round Engine Day” at Paine Field. The main event was a series of fly-bys: FH’s P-47 Thunderbolt and HF’s Tigercat and Bearcat. As a bonus, we got to see quite a few more aircraft in the air: B-25 bomber, North American T-6A, A-1D Skyraider and some Chinese-built Yak clones (at least that’s what I think they were). After the flying, we visited the new Historic Flight “Kilo-6″ museum and came away quite impressed. Lots more photos after the jump.
(more…)

This is my new favorite car, the 1905 Darracq which took the world land speed record at over 125 MPH. What an extraordinary machine, a car distilled down to its essential elements. I read about it in this month’s Octane and have spent the past few minutes watching clips on youtube. Kudos to Mark Walker for driving it on the road and for restoring an already “restored” car to as original a condition as he could get it.

Went over to watch the Flying Heritage Collection’s Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fly on their “Battle of Britain” day last Saturday. It was just spitting (appropriate weather for the occasion), but I took the Triumph anyway, to make short work of the long summer ferry lines (motorcycles are allowed to bypass the queue). This proved to be a soggy decision when the skies opened in earnest on the ride back. (“Bah, I won’t need rain gear” was my thought before departing the house. Oops.)
(more…)

Had an enjoyable time at the vintage races at Pacific Races on Saturday. I didn’t unsheath my camera all that often but was thrilled with the three vintage Alfas, including the machine Nuvolari drove to victory in the 1935 German Grand Prix, widely considered the greatest drive of all time.
(more…)

I came out of the shop tonight and found that spring has brought out the native songbirds, always nice to see an indigenous species doing well. (That’s one of Jim’s Toyota Seras being eyed by said fauna.)