I've been driving a lot of cars lately, swapping things around and trying to get them exercised before the weather changes. Although I have driven quite a few, I've been doing a poor job of posting them so here's a batch of several of them from last week. My Abarth 750 Double Bubble is out for some exercise after its stay at the LeMay museum as was our Multipla and NSU Wankel Spider (not pictured). The Alfa Giulietta Spider Veloce went in for its fluid changes as did the double bubble, my RX-7 and Allard K3. The BMW 2002 tii was beautifully detailed by @detaildriveneugene and got exchanged for our Volvo 122S which should clean up amazingly. Others like the Porsche 944 are simply being moved around between storage locations and going out to get some exercise. Meanwhile the Mini JCW normally lives in Portland but is back in town for some maintenance work. #Abarth #Fiat #FiatAbarth #Abarth750 #Zagato #BMW #BMW2002 #Porsche #Porsche944 #alfa #alfaromeo #AlfaRomeoGiuliettaSpider #MINIJCW #
With the neverending summer we seem to be having in Oregon, I've been working on getting some cars a bit more exercise before it becomes too cold to drive cars which don't have a heater. Although the weather has been cooperative, there is still some impact from some of the forest fires and we've had a few days where the smoke has been bad enough that I don't want to drive an open car. Yesterday, however, was pretty good so I took out my 1959 AC Ace for its run. This car has had its original AC engine replaced with a Bristol unit out of an Ace which was fire damaged. It's been a few months since I last drove this car and the last time was for the interview and photo shoot that's in the current issue of Avants magazine. #ACAce #ACCars #ACBristol #hauglandcollection #DriveBritish #Avants #DriveEverything
It's time to say goodbye to the Calberson Rally paint scheme on my 1980 Renault Alpine A310... I finally was able to acquire a replacement hood (bonnet) without the stupid intake that let water into the front mounted trunk. As the new hood needed to be painted, I decided to take the car back to its original Red Tolede colour. I am not a fan of painting or decorating cars to resemble rally or race cars unless they actually have that history or if you actually go through the work to bring the performance inline. Mechanically, this car is still stock so I would rather return it to its stock colour. #HauglandCollection #RenaultAlpine #A310 #alpinerenault #AlpineA310 #A310V6
I spent much of the day driving @Sockpirateknits's Karmann Ghia but this afternoon I opted to swap it out for another car which is freshly back from the LeMay museum and in need of some exercise after its long stint in display. Today's choice is my 1958 Lotus Type 14 Elite. The Type 14 Elite was Lotus's first purpose built road going sports Car, i.e. not developed primarily as a track car. That said, it still embodies the Lotus idea of "add lightness". To me, this is quite possibly the most beautiful car made in Britain in the 1950s and the styling is far ahead of what was typical in British design, looking more like a mid-60s era car than the contemporaries at it's 1957 debut. This car is also the first true fiberglass monocoque car, with no steel backbone tying the front and rear suspension together. This kept the car light but also made it difficult and expensive to produce. The power is derived from a Coventry Climax 4 cylinder engine originally developed to run portable fire pumps, but which saw great success in race cars of the era. When the Elite was discontinued, it was replaced by the even more brilliant Lotus Elan Type 26 which is, in my opinion as well as that of many others, one of the best driver's cars ever made. #Lotus #LotusElite #ClassicCars #ClassicLotus #LotusCars #DriveBritish #CoventryClimax #Type14 #HauglandCollection
The glass is back in @sockpirateknits's 1972 VW Karmann Ghia after its repaint by @precisionclassics in the original colour. Being a 1972, this originally had the later bumpers and padded steering wheel. We opted to backdate the car aa the more classic bumpers and wheel are far nicer looking. The original steering wheel was already gone when we got the car, replaced by a cheap aftermarket wheel that was too small in diameter such that my knuckles were constantly hitting the turn indicator and headlight switch as I turned the wheel. Fitting the earlier wheel however isn't entirely straightforward as we had to modify one of the levers to keep the wheel itself from hitting it. @vintageundergroundrestorations fitted the glass with new seals and trim as well as sorted out a number of electrical and small mechanical issues. The end result is it runs ans drives better than it ever has in our ownership. #HauglandCollection #Volkswagen #Karmann #KarmannGhia #Vw #vwkarmannghia #DriveGerman
@avantsofficial is hosting Wagonfest again this year at Dirtfish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Washington. It sounds like it would be a great event but unfortunately I have no hope in attending again this year, so here's my virtual entry, being my 1967 Fiat 1100R Familiare. I love driving this tiny underpowered station wagon and it is a great little car to run around town in. Driving it from Eugene, Oregon to Snoqualmie, WA at a top comfortable speed of around 55 miles an hour however, is probably more than I would like to put it through, but perhaps I'll trailer it up some year and get to show it. The other options in the collection would be a 1957 Morris Minor Traveller which I need to finish doing some brake work on, and my 1973 Volvo 1800ES Wagon which would probably be the best option if I am just driving up to attend the show. Some day we'll make it there! #Fiat1100 #Fiat1100Familiare #DriveItalian #Avants
Another car I've had out recently after its stint on display at the LeMay museum is our 1953 Allard K3 roadster. Ours is powered by a Cadillac V8 feeding through a Hydromatic transmission, while others featured Chrysler or Ford derived power trains. This car is one of only 63 made. Overall, the driving experience is a decent, though the suspension could certainly be better. When compared to the J2 and other more race oriented Allards, it is a bit more of a touring car, but didn't excel on That front either, lacking a heater, decent weather equipment and with relatively heavy brakes. #Allard #AllardK3 #DriveBritish #HauglandCollection #V8Powered
We're racing at the final SCCA Oregon Region vintage road race this year, at #portlandinternationalraceway this weekend. Both of my race cars are still awaiting parts to be repaired, but Bob Macherione (working on his newly acquired GTV in the background) who is kind enough to lend me his recently acquired backup Alfa Duetto. This car was raced in Oregon in the past by @tarletonbull before a stint with a new owner in Arizona. We had a few starter problems on the test day yesterday which was fixed by swapping in a new starter this morning, though the wire to the solenoid fell off during the practice laps. After killing the engine after a spin at the chicane trying to get past @daveschrom06 in his GTV (in the foreground of the second picture), I ended up getting towed back in to the pits. Qualifying, however, went almost perfectly aside from the shift knob coming loose halfway through. The car drives pretty well and is relatively neutral, but oversteers a bit more than my MGB or GTV. It is pretty quick, fitted with a 1750cc engine and my qualifying time ended up close to where I usually end up in cars I have more racing experience with. #VintageRacing #HauglandCollection #AlfaRomeo #AlfaDuetto #DuettoSpider #AlfaRaceCar #SCCA #SCCAVintage
I'm working on catching up posting photos of the cars I brought back from the LeMay museum as I get them out again for some exercise. Another one I took out yesterday was @sockpirateknits's 1958 Fiat 600 Multipla. I suspect that this car was a favorite of many who viewed the collection at the Museum, as it was certainly the most unique car we had on display. Based on the Fiat 600 platform, the Multipla is capable of seating size people power originally came from a 633cc 4 cylinder engine mounted in the rear. As a result, the gearing is low enough to allow the car to move a full load of people, thus the top speed is also pretty low. That said, this example has had a 905cc engine fitted allowing it to accelerate much more quickly and keep up with modern in-town traffic. Unfortunately it still has the same low gearing, so shifting from first to second gear when pulling away at a stop light happens before you are through the intersection and I generally end up in top gear at around 25-30 miles per hour. It's still a blast to drive and draws enough attention that when I was driving it, someone flowed me when I pulled off the road in order to ask what it was. #Fiat #ClassicFiat #FiatMultipla #Fiat600Multipla #Multipla #Fiat600 #HauglandCollection
Now that they're back from being on display at the LeMay car museum in Tacoma, Washington, I've been taking out cars for some exercise as well as changing fluids and getting general maintenance done. Freshly picked up from being serviced, I got some mileage on my 1938 Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Thrupp and Maberly bodied saloon. I've missed driving this car while it was in display and it is my favourite pre-war touring car as it has plenty of torque and horsepower from the long stroke 6 cylinder engine, coupled with the ability to drive at speeds able to keep up with modern traffic and overall excellent brakes for a car of this era. We've done a few long distance trips in this car, including a 1200+ mile multi-day tour to the California redwoods then back, over two mountain ranges and into central Oregon before heading back to Eugene. This car was personally restored by the previous owners who did a fantastic job on it. It was beautifully restored without being over-done and is mechanically very solid and useable. #HauglandCollection #DerbyBentley #ClassicBentley #PrewarCar #ThruppAndMaberly #DriveBritish #Bentley #bentley4¼litre
@sockpirateknits and I are at the Portland All British Field Meet today with our 2005 Morgan Aero 8. We have only missed one year, in 2019, aside from the pandemic years since we started attending. Some years the weather is hot, some years, it is raining. Unfortunately, this year is pretty smoky with smoke from the multiple forest fires in Oregon, brought into the valley due to shifting high winds. This has kept the temperatures down from the forecast temperatures in the high 90s Fahrenheit, but has made it uncomfortable to stay outside for long without a mask. I've done a pretty poor job taking photos of the several interesting cars at this year's event as the smoke is wreaking havoc with the lighting, giving everything an odd orange tinted sepia tone. #HauglandCollection #DriveBritish #ABFMPDX #Morgan #MorganAero8
This afternoon, I picked up @sockpirateknits's Fiat Abarth Allemano Spider from @vintageundergroundrestorations. This is a pretty rare complete example as many of the handful of these produced were raced and lost their windscreens and bumpers. They initially restored this car for the previous owner and Amy fell in love with it after seeing it in their shop when the restoration was finished. After the restoration, however, the previous owners found they weren't driving it enough and decided to sell it on, at which point we bought it. One of the hooks for the soft top in the windshield frame had failed so when we bought it, it went straight back to Vintage Underground for repair which involved disassembling the windscreen repairing and rechroming the frame and putting everything back together. Unfortunately in the process, the windscreen was broken. New glass wasn't available so a very short run of windscreens was commissioned, made in Turkey, which ended up delayed due to COVID, followed by all the post-lockdown shipping delays. Even after arrival, it took a fair amount of experimentation to find a combination of seals to fit the frame to reinstall the glass in the car. All that is now done, the car is freshly serviced with rebuilt brakes and a refresh of the carburettor and drives brilliantly. If anyone needs a windscreen, Vintage Underground has them in stock! #Fiat #Abarth #Allemano. #AbarthAllemano #AbarthAllemanoSpider #FiatAbarth #AllemanoSpider #AllemanoSpyder #HauglandCollection #DriveItalian #vintageundergroundrestorations