+1 lew for the maxwell smart reference. Would you believeā¦
R
+1 lew for the maxwell smart reference. Would you believeā¦
R
WITHOUT USING GOOGLE ā¦ who was Maxwell Smart?
And what did he drive?
Well, I know he called his boss on his shoe! Canāt remember what he drove though.
You got me. Dunno the car. Ill have to go into the cone of silence to figure that one out. But I do know the saints Volvo p1800. That get me anything?
R
Forgot about the P1800.
Loved the graphics.
Sunbeam right?
Maxwell Smart - Get Smart. A sitcom about a secret agent. I used to watch it on cable when I was around 10-12 years old.
Lew: Kids today must be confused if they watch that show. The telephone booth sticks out so much. They might as well put a neon sign out that says āsecret HQ hereā.
Sunbeam right?
Mostly. Sunbeam TIGER; 260 cu.in. Ford V-8. It would have been a Mustang beater if Chrysler had had a small displacement v-8 in itās inventory. Sunbeam Alpine 260 in Europe
I met my to-be wife about three months after her mother sold theirsā¦ ā¦ ā¦
Lew: We need a thread on small British sportscars hehe:)
Saw one of these in a Ralph Lauren commercial yesterday alongside some German sports coupe. How many kids know what this is?
Some sort of Austin Healy?
R
I have fond memories of the many years of taking country road rides with my Dad in his - itās a Triumph TR3. Dadās was a 58.
I wonāt say how it left our family, you donāt need to cringe like that today.
While looking for a photo, I found one for sale that was rolled:( Very sad sight.
I still remember being only 9 or 10 and whenever Dad would stop for a red-light, I could lean over and touch the ground from the back edge of the window!
He loved that car, her name was Henrietta. I donāt want anyone to think an accident was involved; hereās what happened. I was 18 or 19, in college and still living at home when my Mom decided to have a garage sale. Dad was on his way out of town for a biz trip and she half joked as he left, āIāll sell that useless yellow thing if you arenāt here to object.ā I remember laughing because that was not plausible, impossible, inhumane and certainly not seriousā¦right? I came home from classes that day and Henrietta was GONE.
My Dad bought it in 1968 for $400 - from a little old lady whose husband passed away. Dad had gone to her house looking for tools at a garage sale, saw the car and talked her into selling it to him. The car was perfect and hadnāt spent a single night in the elements all the years he had her. She only had a new battery and new tires, other than that she was completely original and only had about 30K miles. Sheād been appraised for insurance a few years before this for $11,500 - all original paint, no accidents, all original leather in great shape, perfect chrome, perfect engine, etc. My Mom sold her to some guy for $2500 - signed my Dadās name on the title. My parents didnāt talk much for a few months after that and one Saturday a year or so later I was outside playing basketball when I heard that familiar sound - the guy whoād bought it came around the corner and parked in front of our house - he wanted to show my Dad the cool things heād done - a stereo in the dash (he cut a hole in that dash), a driverās side leather covered roll bar (he tore up the original carpet and had bars welded to the floorpan - unsupported) and touring lights (he drilled holes in that gorgeous chrome bumper). I politely told him he should leave - and he did. Never saw Henrietta again.
not long after that, my Dad bought his first Corvette (heās had 3 since) and I remember my Mom saying something to the affect of ādonāt dare do itā as he and I drove over to see it - he bought it on the spot and looked somewhat happy as he drove into our driveway.
My parents didnāt talk much for a few months after that
That is what 55-gal barrels and concrete are forā¦ ā¦ ā¦
TR-3ā¦ . spoooge. ā¦ . four cylinders with three main bearings, agricultural. Itās all you can do to get both of your feet in to foot-well; toe-heeling goes without saying. Impossible to enter without first sitting down on the seat, with you feet on the pavement, and then rotating on your butt while pulling your feet into the vehicle. Made great engine noises!
But itās hard to say, from this angle, if this is a TR-3, or a TR-3A. It could be a TR-2. The grille on the 3A was full width of the front fascia.
TR-2; 90 bhp
TR-3: 95 bhp - first car fitted with front disc brakes; grille insert moved to the front
TR-3A; 100 whopping bhp!
And it was all down hill from there, imo.
TR-4
Can we officially retire this thread ālittle Brit car loveā now?
R
Yes, Dadās was a 58 TR3A (full width grille, all upgrades) and while it wasnāt the highest tech of cars - thatās what the reliable British cars WERE, simple. Probably why Lotus uses Toyota engines now, theyāve gone full circle.
Iām finished walking down memory lane, retire at will.
Well, an unmaried friend of my dad had a TR4 and an Alfa Spider 2000. He constantly
tried to āspoilā my dad. Instead he spoiled me with only one drive in the backseat of
the Spider when I was 14.
Years later I met his son in design school. He was one of the first who were hooked
onto āinterface designā and drove an old, neglected Citroen. I guess it is not in the genesā¦
mo-i
P.S.: Iād rather like to know how a marriage can be saved after an event like thatā¦
Lew: āALL DOWN HILL FROM THEREā?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?! ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?!
TR6 is the greatest sportscar design of all time. Manly, yet lithe.
Except for those Lucas Electronics (and calling them electronics is being generous).
Reliability has nothing to do with sportscars (usually).