Other classic cars

[teamzr1]

Some years ago I drove the PCH from San Francisco to San Diego - taking in the Pebble Beach Concours on the way. Then moved inland to drive Death Valley (127° F !) and on the way stopped to take this shot......

View attachment 17032

...of the Sierra Nevadas. Very corny I know but the view was just asking to be taken.

Early 1970s I was driving a new Olds from Chicago to LA Ca using Route 66 in mid-summer
I got just close to Ca state line and BANG, all the coolant drained out :-(
Here it is weather in 90s, hot sun and nothing but empty land, snakes and vultures

Cop comes by and says he has a brother who owns a repair shop in Needles, Ca at the state line to come tow me to his shop
He then says he has another brother who has a motel to stay and would have my car fixed within 1 day

That day goes by, nothing from that shop, day 2 still nothing, and now I think I am in a movie where I will never
get out of that dinky town and day 3 sure I will never be seen alive again
4th day I had to call around LA Ca and get a tow truck to drive all that way, then take all the pieces of engine that was ripped down
and tow car and me to LA for a dealer to fix it for nothing under GM warranty

Was when GM started using aluminum heads and in that head 1 head warped and there went the coolant

 

[teamzr1]

@antijam that's breathtaking. Any particular car or just a typical rental?

Some landscapes are so breathtaking that it's hard to believe what you're looking at.

When going up mountains like 6,000 plus feet above sea level you do not want a ricer with 100 HP to pull up that distance, so high that the clouds are below you. Even less when the higher elevation is, the less air, density so engine can lose 50 HP up there

Going downhill could mean instant death as must use the brakes a lot that heat up and cease to work
So there are mandatory stops you must do and allow the brakes to cool down before cops let you continue down mountain

Oh, drive that with winter snow, vehicle better be heavy, great traction and lots of torque

 

[antijam]

When going up mountains like 6,000 plus feet above sea level you do not want a ricer with 100 HP to pull up that distance, so high that the clouds are below you. Even less when the higher elevation is, the less air, density so engine can lose 50 HP up there

Going downhill could mean instant death as must use the brakes a lot that heat up and cease to work
So there are mandatory stops you must do and allow the brakes to cool down before cops let you continue down mountain

Oh, drive that with winter snow, vehicle better be heavy, great traction and lots of torque

Your post reminds me of a drive I took many years ago to visit the Mount Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. It houses the Hale 200" reflector telescope which at the time was the largest in the world. The Observatory is just over 6000 ft above sea level and the car (another rental) did struggle a bit to make the climb - and ran out of fuel just as we reached the summit. After a very interesting tour of the Telescope we turned the car round with some help from the staff and coasted several miles down the mountain to slide neatly into a gas station at the bottom. There was a significant smell of hot brakes when we got there!

 

[Roscobbc]

Your post reminds me of a drive I took many years ago to visit the Mount Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. It houses the Hale 200" reflector telescope which at the time was the largest in the world. The Observatory is just over 6000 ft above sea level and the car (another rental) did struggle a bit to make the climb - and ran out of fuel just as we reached the summit. After a very interesting tour of the Telescope we turned the car round with some help from the staff and coasted several miles down the mountain to slide neatly into a gas station at the bottom. There was a significant smell of hot brakes when we got there!

Jeez - hope that car wasn't an automatic with power steering and brakes........

 

[James Vette]

 

[Chuffer]

There was a time when today’s American icons were just old junkers.
View attachment 17023

That looks like an early 60`s Jaguar Mk X in the background . They looked huge on our roads back in the day but positively miniscule compared to the big Yank tank .

 

[Nassau65]

That looks like an early 60`s Jaguar Mk X in the background . They looked huge on our roads back in the day but positively miniscule compared to the big Yank tank .

They certainly were big. Grandad had one for a little while. I can still smell they leather interior. Lovely roomy car.

 

[Chuffer]

It was a 120mph luxury barge , I can vividly remember the first time I saw one on the flesh . It was 1961 and was on holiday with my parents in Llandudno , North Wales . It was parked in the street where we were staying and I thought it was the most amazing British made car I had ever seen !

 

[Roscobbc]

It was a 120mph luxury barge , I can vividly remember the first time I saw one on the flesh . It was 1961 and was on holiday with my parents in Llandudno , North Wales . It was parked in the street where we were staying and I thought it was the most amazing British made car I had ever seen !

The interior was amazing - such a low roofline with doors that were curved outwards - it reminded me of a ships cabin.

 

[antijam]

Live the dream.......
....at a price - £45k.!! That'd buy you a pretty nice '70 Vette !

It's actually the later 420G and like most Jags they're susceptible to rust and an expensive nightmare to restore properly - so perhaps worth the money?. Travel in real style though....

 

[Stingray]

Early 1970s I was driving a new Olds from Chicago to LA Ca using Route 66 in mid-summer
I got just close to Ca state line and BANG, all the coolant drained out :-(

Cop comes by and says he has a brother who owns a repair shop in Needles, Ca at the state line to come tow me to his shop
He then says he has another brother who has a motel to stay and would have my car fixed within 1 day

That day goes by, nothing from that shop, day 2 still nothing, and now I think I am in a movie where I will never
get out of that dinky town and day 3 sure I will never be seen alive again

Rock band Clutch are probably more reliable in such circumstances,

Outside of Needles I nearly lost my mind
I pulled over on the shoulder
Yeah, and I was there some time
A young thing came walking
From out behind the trees
She gave me consolations
And this is what she said to me
"Firebirds! Energy weapons!
Both of these things are interesting to me
I don't care how you get them
I need them both and I need them urgently"

Yeah, I said I can get with that
Oh, I like those things too
But I don't own a Firebird
Perhaps this Datsun will do
Outside of the valley
Yeah, we got to overheating
She took off her sunglasses
And said I believe this bears repeating

"Firebirds! Energy weapons!
Both of these things are interesting to me
I need them both and I need them urgently"

 

[James Vette]

I need a time machine.

 

[Nassau65]

Here’s one for you

 

[Nassau65]

View attachment 17093
I need a time machine.

Orbit orange was a fantastic colour on the judge.

 

[Chuffer]

View attachment 17093
I need a time machine.

Try the original Dazed and Confused .

 

[Roscobbc]

Live the dream.......View attachment 17063
....at a price - £45k.!! That'd buy you a pretty nice '70 Vette !

It's actually the later 420G and like most Jags they're susceptible to rust and an expensive nightmare to restore properly - so perhaps worth the money?. Travel in real style though....

There is always Keith Smiths twin Vortech supercharged big block Chevy power Jag.

 

[Chuffer]

That’s something many Americans do when they retire. Get a motor home and see their own country. I know people who have never been outside of Florida. That’s real sad. America is such a vast country and every state is diff

It sure is a BIG place . I took this shot of rush hour in the Upper Swan Valley ,Montana . Don`t you just love them roads and wide open spaces . Also bagged a shot of this classic cruzin through Whitefish in northern Montana .

 

[Chuffer]

Also came across these iconic US modes of transportation whilst nosing around Whitefish Railroad Depot and some classics languishing in the freight yard parking lot .
Just loved them monster locomotives too with freight trains a mile long .

 

[Nassau65]

You wouldn’t want to be driving the school bus, with a full load of screaming kids on board. My neighbours kids catch the school bus at the top of our road at 06:30am. Poor little buggers.

 

[Nassau65]

That’s a well “paterinaed “ impala. In the old days it would have been called well rusted. Now it’s all the rage.