Scrapyard Cat
– More imagery from Sunday’s ride.
March 22, 2021
JEEP
– old forest service trucks were lined up at the Russell Road Military Museum under the Spring sun; their paint was faded and cracked, instrumentation spare and efficient.
March 13, 2021
Motorsport Commentator
– Grand Prix racing was an adventurous spectacle when I was younger, no small part due to the excitement imbued by the high pitched commentary of Murray Walker. His father was a noted TT motorcycle road racer, which Murray took up briefly, before going into TV work and advertising. His races that were a shared experience with the couth color of James Hunt are legendary.
March 11, 2021
Gran Turismo
– slotting a two litre inline 6 into the Spitfires chassis and more streamlined bodywork from the Michelotti studio created a worthy competitor to the silo mar MGB GT. The Poor Man’s E-Type it has been called.
March 10, 2021
I had wallpaper with rally cars
– the small roadster based on the Herald was in production for 18 years from ‘62 ‘til ‘80 becoming a popular runaround. Early iterations saw success in alpine rally’s. Another one from the creative mind of Giovanni.
March 9, 2021
Codename Zest
– pure sixties design from Giovanni Michelotti in the shape of this compact sports car from the Triumph factory in Coventry. In red it looks like a firecracker.
March 8, 2021
Ragtop
– another classic from Giovanni Michelotti’s drawing board. The 3l V8 Stag built between 1970 & 1978. This particular blue body color is impressed on my childhood memory.
March 7, 2021
In Anticipation of Good Tidings
Natty Dresser
– the Triumph cars certainly had their own vibe going on. One in particular was the Triumph Herald; a small two-door car made from 1959 to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, estate and van models, with the latter marketed as the Triumph Courier. This example has a fine green side body and room with white hood and wings. The blue skies with scudding clouds with verdant grass make me nostalgic for the warmer weather to come. I think we’ll revisit Michelotti designs this week.
January 21, 2021
“You built a time machine…
– Launched 40 years ago today the brushed stainless steel paneled car with the full-wing doors was an eye-catcher from day one. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro it earned worldwide fame in Back to the Future as Doc Browns 1.21 gigawatt powered time machine.
December 27, 2020
Red ‘n’ White
-an automobile collector stores his vehicles at my work parking garage. One of the cars was uncovered today. Typically hidden under a dust cover this 1970 Supreme model of an Oldsmobile glowed fire-engine red in the dim subterranean light.
October 17, 2020
Turquoise Tank
More patina that a rusty nail. I was filling up at a gas station in Des Plaines and spied this beat-up Chevrolet. It sounded like heck when it started up. Unless the owner didn’t want to wake the dead by revving too much…
October 15, 2020
Equine Drawn or Tigris Ridden
– two horse versus 94 ponies. Nice old farm box wagon at a driveway in Northern Illinois. To think that people used to travel around the country on dirt roads with transportation such as this. Me? I’d rather have be on my Tiger over those rural lanes.
October 7, 2020
Red Adair
– whilst driving around the West Suburbs earlier this week I heard a throaty growl behind me. Coming up alongside was this tomato-red Stingray. The ‘74 model probably houses a 454 V5 Big Block engine. Looking a little rough around the edges, the owner, sporting a sturdy mustache, looked like he drove straight out of the mid-seventies.
September 21, 2020
Repair 101
– Moon River fender fix. The fine dust kicks up under spirited acceleration as the Apollo 17 astronauts venture up the slope of Taurus-Littrow valley in search of geological samples. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt were the last people to venture past low earth orbit nearly 48 years ago. A damaged fender was repaired by taping moon maps together and clamping them across the mesh tires.
August 11, 2020
Blue and White
I spied this old school SUV parked along a leafy road in the west suburbs today. A brute of a four by four truck.
