And yet another adventure is done and dusted.

First thing next morning, I jumped in my rental Cadillac……..



……and headed north over The Grapevine to the town of Tulare and Highway 99 Hot Rods as the first stopover of the Bonneville road trip.



Seeing my favourite A coupe in the parking lot, confirmed I'd found Don’s new shop with no problems.



Also parked outside was Don’s shop demo vehicle a tasty all steel Deuce Roadster based on a repro chassis and Brookville body.



This is the second one of these Don has built to showcase the work he does at the shop. The first one sold within weeks of being completed and he’s keeping this one a little longer.



The top is pretty neat too and an important addition considering we nearly fried crossing the desert a couple of years ago in Don’s green deuce roadster, which is an original old hot rod and has no top. It comes apart in less than a minute and fits neatly in the space at the back of the boot.



It's good to see the business that's come Don's way in only a few years as a result of his hard work and dedication to delivering quality results. The shop is filled to overflowing with customer cars.





This pick-up was in the final stages of going back together when I was here in January and it's turned out great.



I think I posted some pic’s after my November 2013 visit of the GTO that had come in for Don to rework and correct some issues created by another 'restoration' shop. When I was here in January, the owner had just agreed to strip the fresh paint and start over. That metallic light blue paint job had enough ripples beneath it you could surf on it, not to mention the doors not fitting anything like neatly. With the owner agreeing to a full rebuild rather than patching up previous mistakes it has taken months of heavy-duty bodywork by Don and our expert body and paint pal, Rotten Rodney to get it right. But right it is and today it was fresh out of the paint booth, ready to return for final assembly.



It is now as close to perfection as I've ever seen.



And a little bright sunlight just makes it look good enough to eat.



Now that the paint booth was free, Don had another car ready to take up the space.



Unfortunately, with no engine it had to be pushed across the road to the paint shop.



We've all heard the jokes about the mechanic's car, here's the painter's shop truck



Don and his now two man crew, have come up with a neat design for a pick-up truck suspension seat.



With all the right equipment at hand, thanx in part to sharing with 3D Engineering & Fabrication (Don's brothers, the Three Dillards) next door, the guys do some pretty neat fabrication. Like this simple but sturdy combination shock and headlamp mount.



This roadster, reputedly built by a big name shop in the L.A. area, was purchased from it's first owner by a Tulare local.



It's in the shop to have this mess fixed, the result of an electrical 'short' that can't be traced because the wiring loom is now melted into one big lump of copper and plastic.



This roadster is being built from scratch for another local customer.



There's quite a contrast between the two build styles.



To get some electrical practice, or methinks to feed his masochistic tendencies, Don is in the final stages of building this '57 Chev for another local customer.



The guy heard that the shop was pretty handy with Corvettes (they've had three or four through in the past 12 months) and he wanted his '57 fitted with a complete 'Vette drivetrain.

The engine swap was easy…………



….. some of the other bits a little trickier…..





….but it's Corvette front to back and all parts in between, everything from the donour 'Vette is included.



Or was it?

Loving what he saw, the owner decided he wanted all the mod cons, like solenoid powered doors, cruise control, power windows, flappy paddle gear change, digital dash and everything was to be controlled by tiny almost invisible micro switches. So don is now practicing his electrical skills making it all work. And drawing up a huge wiring diagram for the car as he goes.





Each switch requires a relay to power it and there's computers for all the body items, digital dash, air con, engine and transmission management. lights and everything else right down to the dissapearing license plate.



The large hinged control panel and two batteries take up a lot ofspace in the boot, but so far everything works. Turning off the ignition isolates the primary battery and switches the system to the second battery to power everything whilst the car is not running. When the car is locked, power is cut to everything but the clock and door unlocking systems. For insurance, there's also a plug in remote batery connector under the back of the car.



I like Don's idea of fitting fog lamps in place of the front bumper bullets.



Here's a few shots of the stuff they do next door to Highway 99 Hot Rods, at 3D Welding and Fabrication.

Welding……



……Fabrication…….



……Welding and fabrication……..



……..Sandcars………



…… high stepping pick up trucks…….



and competitive Desert race trucks.

Don's masterpiece is Tony's '40 convertible. Tony is an industrial designer in L.A. and he owns a ’50 Ford Victoria (Ford never built such a car) and a gorgeous mildly customized ’56 Ford Victoria hardtop coupe.



The ‘40 started as one of Tony's sketches and a rusty almost beyond help, '40 coupe.



After an incredible amount of fabrication and work t's now a running and drivable car…….





…that's also a very well proportioned custom convertible.



The pie section job (2 inch front 1.5 inch rear ) is almost unnoticeable, likewise the radiussed wheel arches that are matched to the wheels and tures and up front moved almost 2 inches forward fron the original position to help the illusion that the car is longer than it really is.



……. but Don is particularly proud of the grille.



A Merc grille was too wide and '39 or '40 Deluxe units just didn't suit the car, so it was made from scratch, with each stainless steel bar different to the next.



Although the bars were laser cut, much of the final shaping was done by hand and the end result is a work of art.



When the car is finally painted and upholstered, it's going to turn heads wherever it goes and possibly also have a few 'experts' scratching theirs, because it will have a ’48 convertible top rather than a ‘39/40 one.



Some of the small details are pretty slick too and you’d have to be a ’40 Ford expert to pick them all. For starters, the windscreen frame and vent windows were fabricated from scratch, no part of them is from any early Ford but they appear factory stock.





Yup, my buddy has done good, making the transition from corporate life to hot rod shop dude very nicely.

Since we knew there was water on Bonneville, we figured there was no sense heading out across the desert until we knew Speedweek was go. That meant we had time up our sleeves to make the Tulare, Friday night cruise. So the Deuce was given a tub……. and off we went.







As Tulare is a smallish country town, meant the cruise night was not what you might expect in L.A., more like a local Aussie one. Just with different cars.



Like this stock Studebaker Avanti.



Being a four-speed car makes it kinda rare……



The factory Paxton Blown R3 engine makes it even more desireable.



Somebody said this Dak Dak was in the movies.



Proximity to sand dunes in both the nearby desert and coastal areas, plus lots of mountain country, means you see plenty of stuff like this around these parts.



However, I preferred this one.



Trad styled A roadster was pretty cool too.



The four door thing is catching on.



Of course Cop Cars have always had four doors.



Not sure if the cops would have had the same sense of humour as the car's current owner.



The local cars are all built to a pretty high standard.



And that Merc wasn't the only four door.



This one is cool, the driver is the old lady's son, nuthin' unusual there, but the car is hers not his.



She purchased it brand new and it has never had more than scheduled maintenance.
However, she did own up to changing the tail lamps in 1959, after the new Cadillac's arrived.



What makes it more special is the factory issue high output, 283 with factory dual quads.



…. and that it's also a four speed car!
I was tempted to ask if she ever lived in Pasadena, but we were close enough that it really didn't matter.



On the road since the early sixties, this T bucket has never had front brakes and never been involved in a collision. The owner does not spare the rather ample horsepressure (or the rear tyres) and it too, is a four speed car.



This pickem-up has seen time in Don's shop.



Thirty nine Chubby was a pretty well done long distance hauler.



A handful of muscle cars turned out including this Duster…



…plus a few Cudas and a rather sinister sounding Chevelle.



Saturday morning, bad news came through that speedweek was cancelled due to four inches of water on the course. So we just bummed around town looking for a donor unit for a new project that's headed to Don's shop.

This El Camino seemed promising and the price was close to budget.



This Mustang was even better priced.



We both figured this pick-up would make a pretty decent project in its own right.



Didn't seem to need much work.



This Mustang had all the right parts but at $12,000 the price was a bit steep to pull it apart for hot rod drivetrain. I did consider bringing it home but I’ve already got enough problems and it’s not really what I want.



Had a pretty decent interior …..



….and rear end.



The red Mustang was in the local classifieds at the right price.



However, the dealer forgot to mention it's a six cylinder model.



Everything else they had was priced a tad high to be pulling to bits for parts.



Shopped out we headed off to lunch at the local aeroplane diner…



Since the shop was so busy and our next planned event after Bonneville was two weeks away, I suggested to Don that maybe I'd head back to L.A and do some other stuff while he got a few paying jobs done and I'd return in time for us to cruise together to The West Coast Nationals at Pleasanton. I figured if I left early enough on Sunday morning I might even be able to make the Pomona Swap meet.

Don agreed that was a good idea, but he'd come to Pomona with me and head back home afterwards.
So at four A.M. Sunday morning we were on the way south to the big swap meet.



Traffic is pretty good at that time of morning.



And we had a good run all the way into Los Angeles.



I got a bit of a shock when we arrived at the swap meet as it appeared to be……



…. nothing but Dak Daks!



And more of those bloody Things!



Yup, there was Dak Daks everywhere!
Like I mean millions of the little buggers or so it seemed.



Pregnant pastie shaped Dak Daks…….



…… Fastbacks….



…...Type 3 sedans….



…..People movers….



…..and Kombi Vans.



Even some squashed ones…….



…..a few sexy ones….



…..and I figured this one has to be the stunt double for the similar but cleaner look alike that lives in Tulare, coz this fella had a few bruises and battle scars.



There were hotted up Dak Daks…..



Weird Dak Daks…



Dak Dak yoots…



..and convertibles.



Heck it seemed like every bit of German insanity was here.



and it just got worse….



to the point of being stupid.



Turns out the swap is actually two swap meets in one.



One for the Dak Dak crowd



And one for everybody else.



I think that's enough Germanic insanity for now, so I'll concentrate on the main game in the next post.

I wasn't over impressed with the swap meet part of the Pomona shindig, too many cheap toy vendors….



…reproduction signs……



…..and not as much genuine old car stuff or hot rod fodder as I thought might be there.



On the other hand, there was heaps of reproduction stuff for all makes and models.



Like I maean they had damn near everything covered.



From seats…



…….to skirts and…..



…..sunvisors.



Even purdy coloured alternators and accessories.



Some cool jukeboxes and vending machines.



Quite a few vendors selling new chinese made radiators.



But then I guess there was enough old stuff to make the trip worthwhile.



I was sure there's something for me in this pile…..



….this one too…..



… but not this one.      



I was tempted to buy the bike, just to get around the huge expanse of space.



This guy had a Chevy for sale on hist stand.



More new stuff.



And lotsa shiny stuff.



License plates are big business now that the old ones are able to be used on newly built, or old cars.  
The desireable or hard to find pairs like 1932 or 1933 often have silly prices on them.



Sometimes you gotta look at each stand to find interesting stuff like what I think is a '58 Pontiac instrument cluster.



We did sopt some decent looking speed equipent.



And for those looking for a heavy duty off roader, there's nothing quite so tough as retired military equipment.



As always at swap meets around the world,you'll see some innovative parts lugging devices.



Quite a few vendors offering custom serpentine belt systems to help fit the new engines in narrow old engine bays.



I can't remember what was on this table but there mist be something that I figured worth a second look.



However, what did make it worth while is the cars for sale, there were literally thousands in various states of play from rusty hulks to mint originals.

I love a '58 Edsel and the Citation Convertible is the grandaddy of them all!











Starting at huge bux, you could negotiate down to big bux for this rare '48 'wood' trimmed Chevy convertible.





Same year Fleetline coupe may have been better value.



The car that put Toyota on the global map and path to world domination.
This original unrestored RT40 Corona was mint.



On the other hand, this Corolla was just insane.



Full tube chassis and roll cage, all aluminium double wishbone suspension from a couple of different model Lexus, 3-UZ quad can four valve all alloy V8 with screw type blower and a whole bunch of other modifications. six speed GM gearbox, LSD, huge wheels and Brembo brakes would make it a fun package for road or track.









FJ series Tojo Land Crusers are bringing insane money in the US, more than many class cars.



Here's why.



For the price of the FJ on the trailer, you could have had this Jeep and a nice MOPAR convertible.





Big tyred high clearance trucks are all the rage.



However, when Don and I saw this one, we declared, "HE WINS!"



There really was something for everybody in the vehicles for sale area.



Not sure about the load rating of the wheels on this one.



And of course there was a huge volume of MOPAR stuff.









However, I think this pick-up might benefit from a slightly narrower front axle.



And of course there's always the obligatory old Ford.





Yup, just like Louisville there were MOPARS, here's a few of them from the used car lot.

Early/mid sixties Plymouth Fury.



Late forties Plymouth.



I guess this is a Coronet, kinda like a Super Bee wagon.





Almost but not quite a letter series car.



Early fiftioes Chrysler, maybe a New Yorker.



This is a test, so feel free to correct me as I'm quite possibly wrong, suggesting this is a Plymouth Fury.



Not a clue on this one but looks like a B Body, Coronet maybe?



I only know this is a Dodge because the badge on the hood side says it is.





Think this may be a '33-ish Plymouth.



This is most likely a '40 Plymouth.



I reckon '40 Dodge for this one?



These boxy little MOPAR wagons are everywhere.



'40 Dodge?



Reckon this would be about a '36 Dodge.



Postwar model, Dodge or Plymouth, I can't tell from this angle especially looking at a thumbnail image.



1970 Plymouth Satellite is almost a Roadrunner.



However, the Roadrunner is kinda special.



And my fondness for the '68/9 B body Dodges and Plymouths grows with each one I see.



Yet another one of those trendy little wagons.



'55/6 Dodge Coronet, or maybe Lancer, or Custom Royal?



Valiant Signet Hardtop.



Late '30s, maybe '38 Dodge with two too many doors.



Mid sixties Plymouth Fury?



Dodge Coronet or Super Bee?

Before we move on, here's one MOPAR that I reckon is a bit special, it's a '65 Dodge 880 Wagon. The 880 Custom was the most luxuriously appointed of the Dodge range and featured the 318 V8 as standard equipment, although a 3 speed manual was standard in all Polara and 880 models that year, these were usually ordered with the Torquflite trans



What makes this one special is that it's fitted with the 365 hp, 426 Wedge engine (same as used in the famous drag racing Ramchargers) and four-speed trans, with factory Hurst Shifter, power brakes and a few other nice bits from the options list.



A factory 'sleeper' if ever there was one.

Now we can move on and look at some of Henry's finest, all of which everybody should know. So we'll start with one that's just superb and the best of the early model years.



Where it all began for the 'modern' Ford, sort of.



This is a late model T but I fear it's seen better days.



Depression or not, this is one of the best looking Ford's ever.



This is probably one of the least attractive Ford products.



Some say these are OK looking, I can't help thinking there's something missing.



Simple customising on a '51 model.



The real '57 Ford, Fairlane…….



….hardtop…..



……Ranchero……..(acshuly I think this might be a '58 but from this angle who can tell for sure)



….and wagon.



A '56 Sedan Delivery.



The mid fifties pick-up set the company towards domination of the light truck market.



This one looks to be a '55 Crown Victoria.



Late sixties or early '70s? Econoline Van.



Early sixties Econoline pick-up.



Choice and hard to find '51 Mercury Convertible.





Mid fifties Mercury.



Early sixties, the tail lamps & star suggest Mercury (Meteor maybe?).



Post war Convert with a touch of custom body and paint.



Tall and short, shoebox, so called because of it's slab sided body styling.



Radically customised '53 or 4 Victoria Hardtop.





Thirty five saw the first hint of fat fenders.



Another nicely customised '49 or '50 Mercury.



'49 F series pickemup.



A '56 F100 Pickemup.



Sporty model T.



Ranchero for 1959.



This one looks famillarbut it's not, since Gordon's is an Aussie body.



This was the third or fourth model A Mail delivery unit I saw on this trip.



This T looked to be still working hard.



Not too many of these left un chopped.



Kennedy era Lincoln.



Nice compact Failane two door.



I guess this is what they call a trailer queen.



1935 Panel truck.



Another customised Mercury.



And last but not least, the Grand Torino, but I don't think this one was ever driven by Clint Eastwood.

Finally we can move on and can confirm that GM vehicles were in the majority at the Pomona Swapmeet, as they tend to be all over the US.

So it's now time to check a few of them out, starting with this 1941 Cevrolet Funeral Car.



Yummy '62 Chev convert.



I have a feeling this is an Oldsmobile.



Chevy trucks all looked the same during the war years.



A little customising makes it hard to know for sure if it's Chev or one of the other GM brands.



This one is very clearly a mid sixties Buick Riviera.



I reckon this El Camino is the same vintage as the one Done is looking to break up for parts.



This one looks like a '63 Chev.



An earlier model El Camino, with wood grained trim.



This one I reckon is maybe early to mid '70s Caprice wagon.



We all know what this one is, cool!



'48 Chev Coupe was in pretty good shape.



Here's the little Olds F85 built off the Corvair platform in the early sixties.



Reckon we all can recognise a '55 Chevy when we see one.



But we probably might not recognise a Chevy Van.



Early Bel Air is easy to spot.



And of course no discussion on Chevrolet would be complete with out a Corvair Convertible.



There's something about this '50 Caddy that isn't quite correct for the model year, can you spot it?



This old Injun Chief was drop dead gorgeous, sold within minutes of arriving.





There's a reason these Fleetlines are so popular.



A while line of GM machines.



The difference from '54 to next year was like the change at Ford in '49, but this is a '53 model..



The big Chev's look OK with a little work.



Here's a few '49 and early fifties machines for your pleasure.



















A line up of GM pick up trucks.



Fifty four model I'm thinking'



Heavy duty unit.



And the new for 1955 V8 model.



Fins arrived with a vengeance in '57.



'58 Oldsmobile is dripping with chrome/stainless trim.



Late model Caddy with paint.



Not sure of the year on this one, late '50s.



Early sixties chevelles.





Sixties era chevy Van.



Not sure if this is newer or older, I'd be thinking newer.



This one is definetely newer.



Corvair wagon is not so common.

Nineteen fifty eight was a very good year for most  cars.



So was '39.



'47 Caddy is one of the better models.



Another Buick.



The fins were back bigger and bolder than ever in '59.



By the time the Beatles arrived, they were all but gone.



Airbags are for trucks.



Fiddy Five is purdy in pink.  Or is that Salmon?



I lost count of how many hi rise trucks we saw.



Yet another 'Gasser'.



Lowrider riding high.



Stock is OK sometimes.



Yup they do it to Chevies too.



Where do all these neat early fifties cars come from?





Mid fifties Oldsmobile.



Sinister looking late model wagon.



Another lowrider in the making?



Another stock earlyy model.



Chevy Suburban so named because they are big as a small suburb.



Dunno if these were stars from the movie Cars, or just a couple of old Chevies with broken suspension.





This is the second one of these I saw on this trip.



Here's another nice brand X model.



Quite a few Studebakers around the place, but not so many old ones.





I never knew there were so many of these things produced, they seem to be everywhere.



Little Crosley wagon was in very good shape.



The Fabulous Hudson Hornet.



Of course we can't do brand X without thinking of AMC or Nash and rambler..







Nash would qualify as predecessor to Rambler.



Of course the British were there.



And the Japanese.



This was a very well styled and constructed 'special' based around Jaguar components.



I was surprised at the lack of Packards, this nice mid fifties Clipper was well done and well priced.



By about 1:00pm vendors were starting to leave, the heat was becoming oppressive and the fairgrounds food was beyond junk, not to mention the mile long lines waiting to be served.  So Don and I, plus a few others, headed into town for a freshly cooked in n out burger before Don headed back to Tulare and I made a beeline for my favourite motel.





Tomorrow, something for the train spotters among us.

ince I was meant to be at Bonneville and none of my L.A. buddies were expecting me until the following week, I figured rather than visit rod shops like all the other Aussies would be doing, I'd check out some of the other neat stuff there is to see and do around the place.

First order of business was a trip to Perris, about midway between L.A. and San Diego, inland towards the desert.  The Range Empire Railway Museum is a working railroad with lines that link into the main California rail system.  Of course I forgot one important thing.  It only operates on weekends.   However the folks there were most accommodating and invited me to come in and look around anyhow, apologising that because there was no one on site I could not venture into the huge sheds where the operational rolling stock is housed when not in use.  It was still worth the trip and there's heaps of neat stuff not locked in sheds.

The drive took about two hours, one on the freeway the rest on two lane roads where there is often something interesting to add to the trip.

This has gotta be some of the best yard art I ever saw, notice how the fence had been cut to give the appearance the critter really is eating it.



The Perris Body Repair Shop owner's Pontiac is a bit like Don's painter's truck, almost but not quite a good calling card for the business.



Spotted a bit of junk in yards along some of the back roads, some I could stop for some I had to ignore, probably not really much of value among this lot.



On the other hand there's the makings of at least one rat rod in this image, maybe two.



Almost missed the Caddy at this workshop, I was more interested in the ZChevell that is barely visible in the pic.



This Mustang belongs to the lady working at the rail museum.



Here's a few images of what the place looks like to whet your appetites for some non car stuff.  The main platform includes overhead lines to power the electric trains, most being from the forties and fifties.







Nearly all of the buildings are originals that have been moved here from wherever they stood originally, like this shed which houses the narrow gauge stuff, yup they have Puffing Billy's cousin here.



The property is about the size of a small Aussie farm, with a number of very large new sheds to restore and maintain the working rolling stock.



There's plenty of really interesting stuff to see outside even when the museum is closed just sitting on the miles of track around the property, so much to take in that I spent pretty much the whole day here.







This shed houses a bunch or restored pullman carriages, including first class lounge and dinning cars, plus a couple of late forties Diesel locomotives.



The big shed in the background is the restoration shop where they have three large locomotives undergoing restoration.  They also do maintenance on the other operational equipment here.  The yards are filled with parts and other stuff they've collected on the off chance it can be used to keep the equipment track worthy.



The shed just visible in this shot houses a couple of big steamers and a whole bunch of rolling stock some of which was in use during the civil war.



In fact this old wooden car was used to move troops during that conflict.



This 'building' looks kinda dilapidated but I was told it's in better condition now than when it was 'rescued' from the wrecker's ball.  The plan is for restoration back to its original appearance and function as a working diner.  The main part of the structure and dining area is an old Pullman car.



I had a good long chat with the lady working there and she told me that they have more stuff than they have time or cash to restore, but when it becomes available they have a choice of collecting it or letting it be sent for recycling, so they head out and collect anything that's either rare or in halfway decent shape.



Not much was known about this crane other than it came from Arizona.



These big GM Diesels date back to the mid fifties.



This little fella is scheduled for the restoration shop in the near future, apparently it was functional but in bad shape when it arrived, the timber cabin is pretty rotten but the rest seems OK to me.



I reckon if it could talk some of the rolling stock would be able to tell a few tall tales.







Sometimes all they get is a piece of the machine and then they have to chase all over to try and find the rest.



I reckon this bus might have a few stories to tell also.





They've also collected a mountain of the machines that were designed to maintain the equipment that have back when it was working full time.



Peeking into the workshop sheds just made me want to return one day when the palce is open.



These two trucks are both operational and have different purposes.



this is one of the many rail-side buildings that have been acquired and moved here over the years.



It’s really like a full sized model train layout.  There's even a turntable, which I'm told is so slick that it requires only one man to rotate even the largest of the museum's locomotives.



Buffalo Springfield Steam Roller was pretty cool too.





Here’s a few more pieces of rolling stock.



The flatbed is what they use to collect donations from wherever in the country they may be.



Then tucked away in a back corner of the lot is Union Pacific Steam Engine number 2546, which arrived here a few years back after resting in a public park since it's retirement in 1955.  It's taken many years to collect all the parts required, but the plan is to restore and return it to service in the not too distant future.





Like all of its kind, this machine is a masterful chunk of engineering.

Since I was living in the neighbourhood, I figured a quick stop over at the NHRA Museum was in order, just to check out the revised layout. It looks great.



The new displays are quite spectacular and appear to have been done by the same people who look after the Corevett Museum in Bowling Green, Ky.



The likeness of old Hank is particularly good.



The others are I guess just fictitious people, doing what we all love to do.



All are set within appropriate backdrops.





Looks like the McMullen car is destined for a life inside the museum, I guess after paying $700k for it, the new owner is afraid to drive the thing.



Whilst I never tire of seeing the cars on permanent exhibit here….















….the highlight for me, was to see Stroker's (The late Tom Medley) coupe back in one piece after being destroyed in the infamous garage fire.





Tex introduced me to Tom many years ago and subsequent to that I’ve been lucky enough to be invited for a spin in the original version of this car on more than one occasion.



The restoration is exactly that, it's just like it had never been damaged.



Perfect from every angle.



I wasn't planning to visit the Petersen, but Ron mentioned The Vault (the underground parking lot and garage where they store the 140+ cars not on display in the museum and maintain them all) was open for tours and I had a free afternoon following the NHRA visit, so I stopped in for a quick peek.

I was disappointed they don't allow photographs in the vault, which seemed strange since you can (and I have) photograph all these same cars when that are displayed in the museum above. But hey, it was worth a look down there anyhow. Especially since all the hot rods were there because they had a bunch of sporty cars displayed in the Museum.

There's always one or two interesting machines in the parking lot.



And the foyer.







Who remembers the old Pep Boys sign brought back from the dead by Rick's Restorations on TV?



The Speed Shop is always worth a look, don't seem to have sold much since my last visit.



And they do have some rare and hard to find NOS (Nice Old Stuff).







It's also taking them forever to finish the engine swap on this old roadster.





Another one that's taking forever is this Kustom Merc, I'm surprised it hasn't rusted away by now, but I guess this is California.



At least the pages in the shop manual have been turned since I was last here.



I never despair of seeing the wooden indian outside the supermarket.





Seems they do have a couple of new items in the fleet.





Since this is the 50th Anniversary year of the Ford Mustang, much of the display space was taken up with them, since they were mostly pedestrian models I didn't photograph many of them.

This one was worth the film..



This one appeared to be broken.



And this one wasn't one of George's better ideas.



This prancing hiorse and it's brothers and sisters were much more pleasant to look at.



And this is the street legal version of Henry's Ferrari killer.



They do have a pretty cool collection of movie posters.



If you've never seen the movie that this car starred in, you've missed one of the classics.



his car was never in a movie, but it was custom built for a movie star.



They also have one of this little MOPAR wagons, I told ya it's a new trend.



The main room had a rather sparse display of Chauffeur driven automobiles, like this early '30s Packard Towncar.



A '34 Plymouth is not something I'd imagine would be used by the rich and famous.



There were many quotes from The Chauffeur's Handbook, this was one of my favourites.



Late '30s Packard was the goods, but the mix of cars seemed a bit strange.



Almost like, thesee are the only such vehicles we could borrow as all the Rolls Royces and other Limo's are still in daily use.



This one –off Rolls Phantom IV was previously owned by Liberace, it is totally over the top and covered in tiny mirrors with candelabra motifs.



Anyhow, that was my quick visit to 'The Pete', sorry there's no pics of the best bit.

Thanks Carps
Good stuff as usual
Chris

But wait! there's more.

Some aeroplanes next, then the art of the Bugatti family and there's a lot more to that than just the gorgeous cars at Peter Mullin's private museum.

And one day, when I stop going walkabout, I may even send you all those pics of my models.  

Great stuff Carps, thanks for sharing!

You'll just hafta trust me on this, but it's my pleasure.

So now it’s time to check out the Yanks Air Museum way out on the outer east side of L.A.



The museum shop has some really cool stuff like these ceiling fans….



….or this radial engine coffee table.



Inside the first hangar is a replica of the Wright Brother's Flyer, how they ever figured it'd fly I dunno.



The engine is real, look closely and you'll figure out how it works.



There's lotsa neat vintage aircraft on display, all of them air worthy and able to fly at a moments notice.



Some of them are already in the air.



There's also a few period automobiles…..



…. and engines displayed out of the airframe.



A couple of the planes are 'undressed' to show how they were constructed.



The rest are just cool.



I did get the tech data on most of them.





I was kinda thinking by this point that maybe I didn't leave enough time for this place.





They even have a German doodle bug.



And the aircraft version of the engine Preston Tucker used in his cars.



Looks like I'm not the only hot rodder who likes to fly.



I think that's about it for today, the new posts may be a bit slow over the next few days.

Here's what that V8 with exposed overhead gear looks like installed in the flying machine, hope Biggles had an oil proof face mask.



Amazing to think how much faster aero technology progressed compared to automotive. The car guys benefitted from aero engine technology but planes evolved much faster especially once their worth as a military tool was realised..



Most of the stuff pictured so far dates back to the twenties and early thirties.





But then things got serious.





…. and then they got really serious.



I mean realy, really serious.



The original flying fortress.





Gunner above, Bombadier below, best seat in the house, I don't think so.



Nor is this one.



Something fast to help out might be handy.





The little cars came in handy, think that's why they were called general purpose vehicles.



Cant remember the story on this one.



And still the machines evolved at a rapid pace, can't say anything bad about anything with the moniker FJ



It even looks mean



Especially coming at you.

Radials and huge supercharged V16 piston engines reigned supreme during the forties….



Even some of the antiquated machines saw service during the war years.



Notice the exhaust pipes, the huge Merlin powerplant was located behind the pilot's seat!



The mark 2 version.



Some were pretty angry looking too.



Others not so, but they were still effective weapons.





Then along came the Sabre, Australia's first jet fighter was the Vulcan, but the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation modified some 60% of the US Sabre airframe and swapped out the whimpy GE engine for a Rolls Royce unit with almost 2,000lbs more thrust. Yup the RAAF had a hot rodded Jet Fighter which soon became known as the best of the breed. It was easily idnetified by the larger frnt air intake and so, the Jet age was underway. I recall seeing these things in action at an air show when I was a kid and I reckon gobsmacked is the only word to describe the feeling.



This one is a Northrop F-5E Tiger used by the Korean Air Force in the early 1960s.





The F-84 E Thunderjet was the first fighter jet to fly across the Atlantic and the first to have the ability to refuel in the air.

[

This little bugger was the single trip aeroplane, made by Mitsubishi for use as a Kamakazi bomb.
They have no long range tank as they only did short trips, generally launched by slingshot from a carrier and not intended to return, they had no landing gear either.



A Royal Airforce Harrier Jump Jet, you saw this very plane in the movie with Arnie and Jamie Lee Curtis.



You may also have seen the blue machine here in various TV shows and displays by the famous Blue Angels.



It's a whole bunch bigger than it looked on TV.



Sometimes trying to make them look angry can make them look a bit goofy.



Some of the least attractive aircraft are also the most effective.



A few of you probably have some experience with one or two of these. The one to the right of frame is a Blackhawk that's undergoing restoration.



And the restoration of this baby is almost complete, it's waiting for it's first flight so that any bugs can be ironed out.



Dunno if I mentioned it before, but he set about building a better car, Preston Tucker did something pretty special for the war effort. This is what he invented, probably not the best seat in the house but it also most likely saved a lot of airmen's lives. The two footpedals control rotation speed and direction.



At least the top gunner was mostly inside the aircraft with only his head sticking out.



This is the underside unit, the gunner is hanging completely outside of the aircraft.



You should be able to get a feel for how comfortable it was in these things, note the seat and knee stirrups that perform the same function as the pedlas in the top turret.



Korean Conflict Chopper, bloody hard to shoot these things down with no body work to hit.



The 'Top Gun' Pilot's office.



There's some neat stuff under restoration in the workshops out back.



Kinda kool to see some of this stuff nekkid, and see how simple it really is.







Some are a bit more complex.





How'd you like to be the guy who has to drill the holes and then rivet the panels in place?



Almost too much stuff to comprehend.



And well wrath a visit if you're in the area. Just be sure to head out early so you can do both museums in one day.





Self explanatory really.

And now for something really special!

Peter Mullin made a fortune selling insurance then set up his own insurance company to insure other insurance companies.   He sold part of that business to Prudential for a seriously huge bucketload of money and then started collecting beautiful things.

His private museum is open only one or two days each month and even then only accepts small groups, so you need to book well in advance if you want to see the world's second largest collection of Bugatti and largest collection of Delahaye automobiles, plus a few others.

This year, Bugatti is the focus car of the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance, so Peter set up a very special display entitled 'The Art Of Bugatti' which includes a huge collection of Giovani's (the Grandfather) silver and glassware, Carlo's (the Father) furniture, Rembrandt's art and especially his sculptures and Ettore's motor cars (the sons), plus a whole lot more stuff created by other embers of the Bugatti family.

An irony that I did not know until visiting this place, is that Rembrandt studied engineering and Ettore studied art, then each decided they were crap at their chosen vocations and basically swapped jobs.  

Almost everybody knows the story of the Schlumpf brothers, but I was not aware that after a lengthy court case the french government returned 62 of the cars from the Schlumpf collection to the brother's wives and in 2008 Peter Mullin purchased all 62 cars.  The cars of the 'Schlumpf Reserve Collection' as it has become known, remain in original unrestored condition and with the exception of two very special cars, will remain so.

Talking with Peter's brother, I learned that the collection is not about money and that side of it is not mentioned anywhere (it's pretty much priceless anyhow) in fact Mullin apparently has no idea what he paid for most of it, because that's not why he's collected it.  Bill actually apologised when showing us around (an experience like no other as he opened hoods and doors so we could get right up close to the details) for the fact that three of the cars were missing.  The reason being, that Peter and his son were at Monterey racing them, because that's what they were made for.

I also commented that I would have liked to have seen 'The Red Car' a '38 Delahaye, only to be told it was in the workshop undergoing repairs as it had returned damaged after six months in a New York Art Museum.  However, I have been promised that when I return (and I will) that someone will take me to the restoration shop and storage facility to see the cars that are not on display at the time or undergoing restoration and repair.   Bill also mentioned that 'the library' there is something to behold, with original photographs, drawings, blue prints and workshop manuals etc. for the Bugattis, Delahayes and a much wider range of cars not part of Peter's collection.

The man's philosophy is simple:



Lifesized bronze sculpture of Type 25 racer in the foyer.



Some of Carlo's furniture.



It is exquisite!



Cabinet by Carlo, silverware and glass by Giovani, sculptures by Rembrandt.



One of only two displays that were roped off, this lot isn't Bugatti made furniture, it's all from Fritz and Hans Schlumph's office and purchased by Mullin with the 62 cars.
The bronze sculpture of a tiger on the cabinet is by Rembrandt Bugatti.



And of course cars by Ettore.  
The polished aluminium car with orange details is the only one of it's type ever built and first car ever to wear the Bugatti badge.  
Kinda puts the money thing into perspective, simply put it's irreplacable and therefore priceless!
The dark blue car, is the last car built under Ettore Bugatti's stewardship of the company before it was sold.



Part of the 62 car 'Schlumph Reserve Collection'.



Art on wheels, different bodies on the same chassis.



When it sold last in 1989, the car in the foreground, which is probably the best known of the six Royales built, changed hands for $20,000,000.



Every car here has a story and some of those stores are quite incredible.




The wall banner kinda says it all.



Carlo did the cabinet, Rembrandt the sculptures and other stuff that wasn't done by his grandfather.



Look closely at the shapes in this incredible art-deco glassware.



Sculpture by Rembrandt Bugatti.



This bronze lamp is about 5 foot tall.



Once again, different works by different family members.





Grandad's silver work and glassware is stunning.





Even the hinges and slide bolt from the factory door are works of art.



The detail in furniture pieces is mind blowing.



Light fitting and sculpture by Rembrandt, table by his father.



This cabinet isn't very big but it's a work of art as much as a bit of furniture.



Check out the detail work in this desk, rembrandt's paintings on the wall.



Rembrandt's sculptures cover a wide range of styles.



He did lots of zoo animals.





And some exquisite porcelain.



There's a lot of bronze in this collection.





I think it was one of the wives designed a lot of clothing.



And shoes.



Rembrandt's bronze sculpture of Ettore's wife.



So much of the work of different family members goes so well together.





The furniture would fit in any modern home.








Carlo built this bar and backdrop for a large hotel, it has sinks and refrigeration unit integrated into it.



Sculpted in solid gold, not by Rambrandt, but his grandfather the silversmith..



It was really hard to take it all in.



So many pieces seemed to match other pieces only with a different purpose.





This cabinet is over seven feet tall and incredibly detailed.



Desk and chair with musical instrument.



The family did it all.

Mullin's collection also includes a huge range of tools and items from the automobile factory like these casting moulds.









Even the vice is a work of art.



Buggies were built for use on the family farm, before there were motor cars.



This version was offered for sale in the years before there were cars.



Only six Royales were ever completed although Mullin also owns the seventh rolling chassis which was never fitted with a body.  However, many more than seven of the huge 12.7 litre, SOHC straight eight engines were built, as they were also used to power trains, yup this engine was never fitted to a car as it powered a train!  With more than 300BHP and 580 Ft Lbs of torque at 1,700rpm, the job was easy.



Buggatti also designed and built a number of these boats in three sizes, 2.8, 3.3 and 4 metres.  They had folding oars with special hinges for easy stowage, plus a single cylinder front mounted engne driving the prop through a false keel that also allowed a smooth interior and easy dispersion of water.   there are some 25 of these boats in existence today but most are replicas as only 5 to 10 were ever made by Bugatti, this is one of them.



This is the first car to wear the Bugatti name and the only Bugatti never to wear the famous horse collar grille.



It is the only one in existence as it is the only one ever built.



This is the first car built by Ettore Bugatti, the Pugeot Bebe, Pugeot had a sound design but no factory or money to build one, so Bugatti built their early cars and made a handsome profit doing so at the same time helping Pugeot earn enough money to become a self sufficient car maker.



Ettore built many machines and understood very well that reducing weight improved performance, but this lightweight bicycle is the only one he ever made.




And now to the cars, starting with the centrepiece and most valuable (when it last changed hands the price was US$40,000,000) car in the collection.

Can you imagine owning this in 1936? the top of the roof is lower than that year Ford's door handles.



The paint matches perfectly the original metallic colour.



Here's the story.



The car is one of five built, only three are known to exist and this is the only one of the five that was supercharged.







The detailing is incredible.

For 1939 Bugatti developed a new model to replace the type 57, badged type 64. What makes the chassis unique is the use of duralium, which is an ultra lightweight aluminium alloy, used at that time only in aircraft. Since the various parts were riveted together like an aeroplane, that made it quite expensive almost cost prohibitive to build and with war looming rapidly, the car was never sent to full scale production. As a result, only one car, two rolling chassis and two bare chassis were completed before Europe became engulfed in war. Mullin located and purchased this one of the two rolling chassis and then set out to learn all he could about the body Jean Bugatti had planned for it.

With a number of styling sketches, drawings and blueprints to hand plus the styling buck, the Mullin team had a pretty good idea of what the planned body should look like. So they set about building it. Because the unrestored chassis has never had a body fitted and the one displayed with it here is newly constructed, Mullin has decided that it will never be fitted to the chassis, but instead, displayed this way to show what might have been.











This one is a Type 17 or 18 from around 1912, it has a 100hp 5 litre OHC four cylinder engine with a four speed gearbox and was good for well over 90 mph.





This type 75 is very well documented and ended up in the Schlumph collection because few purists wanted it, whilst Frit'z & Hans did not care much if any of the cars they purchased were 'improved' or changed from original.



It looks unrestored because that is the case. However, it was repainted black from the original blue before the war and it's easy to see where the original leather on the seats was blue (they were dyed red at the time the car was repainted) and it has a non original air intake scoop on the carburettor plus a water bypass to improve cooling. Otherwise it remains as it was delivered to the first owner, Mr D Saint, on Feb 28th, 1936, for a price of 30,000 French Francs. Engine is a 3.5 litre straight eight of 135hp with a four speed gearbox. Hydraulic brakes and body by Gangloff.

As the story goes, Ettore was in Britain for some racing, and whilst riding in a Rolls Royce his British host informed him that he was riding in the best car in the world. Having none of that, Ettore when he arrived home, embarked on a project of monuments scale, literally. He was going to show those British what the best car in the world really looked and performed like. And his car would be so much more exclusive than even a Rolls Royce, because they would only be available to royalty or the extremely wealthy on application, hence the name Royale. In fact he kinda shot himself in the foot by taking this approach as it almost backfired when he refused to build one for a European King. When asked why, Ettore responded by asking if the enquirer had witnessed that ghastly man's table manners!

The first prototype car was fitted with a Packard Touring Car body and at that time (late 1920s) Bugatti figured on a production run of 25 vehicles.



Unfortunately, the great depression took hold and only six cars were completed. Four were sold, the other two remained with the Bugatti family. There was also a seventh rolling chassis completed but never fitted with a body and that is now a part of the Mullin collection.

The car pictured here, is possibly the best known of all the Type 41 Royales and was originally sold to wealthy businessman, Mr Armand Esders, in 1932. At this time it was the world's largest car and fitted with a gorgeous roadster body that had no headlamps, because the owner was not intending to drive it at night. The second owner had it rebodied as it appears today and the solid silver radiator mascot was sculpted by Rembrandt.



In 1999, the car was purchased by the current owner, for more than $20,000,000!

It is powered by a 15 litre, SOHC straight Eight delivering 300hp and 579ft lbs of torque. It weighs 3,175kilograms, has a 3 speed transmission and huge drum brakes. It recorded a top speed of 160km/h.











Of the six cars built all are still existing. One belongs to the Blackhawk Collection in California, this car to Volkswagen, another to The Henry Ford Museum, another to an unknown owner who purchased it by private treaty in 2001 for an undisclosed price. The remaining two cars (as part of the Schlumph Collection) are now owned by the National Motor Museum in France.

Here's a couple more type 57s.

This first one was created by Ettore's son Jean, for his friend Maurice Trintignant, who was one of the most famous Grand Prix driver's on the Bugatti factory team. It was delivered on March 1st, 1939.



Like most of the 106 type 57s built the body was built by Carrosserie Gangloff, located in the town of Colmar in France, which was not far from the Bugatti works. What makes it even more special is that this car bears the production number 1. The engine is a 170hp supercharged 3.25 litre straight eight, with double overhead camshafts and a four speed gearbox.



Mullin's team restored the car in 2002 with personal guidance from the original owner, who always regretted selling the car at the end of the war, thinking that Bugatti would then commence building new cars and he would buy one of them.





The red and black type 57 is another Gangloff bodied car but I forgot to photograph it's story board.
Damn, now I'm going to have to go back to get that information.



No matter which way you look at it, this is art on wheels.



In fact, every single part is a piece of art in it's own right.





This one is a 1932 type 55 and the first evidence that Jean Bugatti shared his father's genius. Of the 38 type 55s built, seven were coupes with bodies by Gangloff and the remainder war bodied 'in-house' with this roadster body designed by 22 year old Jean. The price when new was 72,500 French Francs. 30 of these cars are known to still exist, six of them being part of the Schlumpf collection housed in the French National Motor Museum.



The chassis is from the type 54 Grand Prix car and the engine a 2.3 litre twin overhead camshaft engine also designed by jean and shared with the type 51 Grand Prix cars. It has a Zenith carburettor and roots type supercharger to deliver 130 hp and a top speed of 180km/h.



Halibrand is widely credited as being the father of the mag wheel, but Bugatti had them as standard fittings in the mid 1920s.
The wheels on this car were made famous by the racing cars that used the same light alloy wheels.
The really cleaver bit is thay are directional, with the blades angled to draw cooling air over the finned brake drum which is an integral part of the wheel.





This sleek coupe is yet another Gangloff body on a type 46 chassis.



It's quite sporty but includes many of the styling cues from the Royale Town Car that is displayed along side it.



Look at this pic and tell me I'm wrong about each part being a hunk of art!



The whole car is a rolling sculpture.

The 1931 Type 49 is a little more refined and classy than your Ford model A sedan but about the same size.  
It also had a 3.25 litre SOHC eight under the hood and factory alloy wheels.



This is the large Type 57 model from the mid to late 1930s, a classyy gentleman's roadster or cabriolet that came standard matching golf bag & clubs.  I



It's fitted with the 3.25 litre, 180hp DOHC eight cylinder with twin spark ignition



The body was styled in house and built by Gangloff and it seems rather old fashioned for a car of it's era, but no less artistic than any other Bugatti.



After the war Bugatti decided they needed to build a new car but did not have a new chassis, so they used the pre war type 57 unit as the base for the 1950 Paris Auto Salon show car which they designated Type 101.





Gangloff was called upon to build the modern slab sided body, to ensure the car had contemporary appearance, but Bugatti's other interests took precedence and only a handful were built.



This is one of two cars displayed at the Paris Auto Salon and one of if not the last car built under Bugatti's ownership of the company bearing his name.



This one is a Type 35 touring roadster from the late 1920s.



As this image of the cars stored in one of their warehouses shows, the Schlumpf brothers didn't just collect Bugattis, they collected anything that was considered a classic, like the 3 Cords in this image, delays and others.  After a lengthy court case the French Government returned over sixty of the cars to the brother's wives and Peter Mullin in turn purchased them all.



The cars are all very much in original conditions, some showing the ravages of time and hard use.



Others close to pristine and original.



However, each one has a story to tell.



















This one is untouched from the day it left the factory, in totally original condition, including the paint, it runs and drives as it did when new.



Like all but two of the 'reserve' cars it is destined to remain unrestored, because some things should be left as that are found.



And you I haven’t even got to the race cars yet!   Tomorrow.

Thanks for all the pics

Thankyou so much for sharing your adventures with us Carps! Looking through your pictures and reading the snippets of your stories have been the highlight of my day

I hope you weren't slacking off when you should have been working?

And speaking of stories, this is one of the best……

For the locals around Lake Maggiore on the Italian-Swiss border, the mythology surrounding the Bugatti in the Lake was well known. This already famous 1925 Bugatti Type 22 Brescia Roadster used to belong to legendary Grand Prix driver René Dreyfus and had won many races during it's long career. Dreyfus lost the car in a drunken poker game to Swiss playboy Adalbert Bodé in Paris in 1934; Bodé soon left for home with his new machine, but with no cash in his pocket, he was unable to pay its import duties when he was stopped at the Swiss border. So he simply walked away, leaving Swiss officials to dispose of his prize however they saw fit. In those days, a ten-year-old Bugatti wasn't of significant value, so the officials chose to roll it into the lake; its eventual resting spot was 173 feet below the surface of the water.

Despite the stories it wasn't until the summer of 1967, when deep-diving technology was able to overcome the 29 fathoms of water pressure, that the Bugatti tale ceased to be a myth; a local diving club was able to see it for the first time. Over the next four decades, amateur divers plunged the depths of the lake to catch a glimpse of the car.

An unforeseen, unconnected event led to its exhumation and eventual purchase by Peter Mullin in 2010. In 2008, after a local boy was killed at a street fair, a victim of a brutal, random beating, the local diving club elected to raise the long-sunken Bugatti and donate the proceeds to a non-profit foundation established in the victim's name, to combat youth violence. A crowd of thousands witnessed the long-sunken Type 22 emerge from Lake Maggiore on July 12, 2009.

Incredibly, there was still air in the Englebert tires as it was raised to the surface. The half of the car that retains its aluminium bodywork had rested in the silt at the bottom of the lake for decades; the remainder, exposed to the water, is a solemn reminder of the effects of the elements.

The car is displayed in its own room, walled off from the rest of Mullin's collection; the space is designed to invoke intimacy, and to roughly replicate the minimal light levels available at the bottom of the lake. All the better to help a viewer concentrate on the endless details that make the Brescia a must-see work of art.

THE QUOTE FROM PETER MULLIN.

Art is open to interpretation, and art is designed to make you think and feel. This Type 22 Brescia scores on all counts. This is a car that's had many different lives. Here's a well documented and famous twin-plug competition car, retired from competition and rebodied with its current torpedo coachwork. It's known to have belonged to René Dreyfus, then lost in a card game in Paris. It was pushed into the lake, it became a part of local lore, it became a tourist attraction. Depending on what part of its lifespan you focus on, you come away with a different appreciation. If the focus is on the young man who lost his life, it's a somber part of the story. The faded grandeur of a great pre-war racing car suffering certain indignities is another. The watery crypt, silence and darkness this car survived in lends itself to another solemn experience.

THE CAR



It's the only car in the museum that was roped off.



And yes, it does stop you in your tracks and make you wonder what storiesit has to tell

The Bugatti Type 27 is the car that formed the basis for future Bugatti racers and set the company on the road to building the most successful Grand Prix Race Cars of all time.



It was also technically advanced, it's most famous feature being the cast alloy wheels with integral brake drums. But there was a lot more to the car than just the wheels. Things like the unique method of attaching axles to springs, the use of a hollow front axle to reduce unsprung weight and the extensive use of light alloys.



And the aerodynamic body shape.



Unfortunately the collection's Type 35s were not on display as they were with Peter and his son at Monterey, being raced as they were meant to be used.

The Type '35 is basically a longer wheelbases type 27 and it is on record as the winningest Grand Prix car in history.

The type '37 was essentially a Type 35 car with a new more powerful engine.





And again when the engine was updated, the Type 35 became Type 39.



This is the only American car among the Mullin Collection's race cars. It's important because it was purchased by Ettore after soundly beating the Bugattis in an event at an American circuit. Ettore's son Jean had been on his father's back to build a more advanced twin cam engine, but the old man resisted. After the sound trashing by the American Millers, Jean pointed out to his father that the American cars had two camshafts and since this car had a failed engine and Miller set it aside in his pit, Bugatti offered to purchase it, to learn how the twin cam engines could beat their own.

The Miller is beautiful and minimalistic in the same way as Bugatti.



Voisin, is a good example of interpreting the rules and building a winner around them.
When this car was built all racers were required to have two seats and the rule stipulated a minimum body width measured at the seeing area. So these guys built a narrow bodied racer to reduce frontal area and made it wide enough to meet the rules only where the rulebook stipulated, at the seating area.



Here's another neat trick, an easy to read fuel gauge, so the driver could glance over and see how much was left in the tank.



Talbot were a ferocious competitor.



I've never seen one of these before and it has no markings to identify the maker.



To close out the Bugatti files, a question: How do you make a great road going sports car?



Ansswer: Take the most successful Grand Prix car ever built, the Bugatti Type 35, and have a gorgeous and timeless body constructed for it.



Of course it may mean you need to slightly detune your supercharged 2.7litre twin cam, 4 valve straight eight.



But that's OK coz its still good for well over 180km/h and it looks so good that other sorts car makers will copy it's style for years to come.



And lest you still are not convinced that each and every piece of Ettore Buggati's cars is art in it's own right…..





So now we're off to The Gene Autry Museum to see some Cowboy stuff, before heading back to town for Ruby's Cruise Night.