[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by Jack White

I don’t love EVs but can appreciate DIY innovation. I’m a bit disappointed at the polarization between EVs and ICE, to be honest. Cool cars are cool cars, in my opinion.

We've politicized it like we do with everything in this country. How else would we maintain our strong since of tribalism?

[Lady Jane]

1993 Alfa Romeo RZ Roadster Zagato.

[Tommy-G]

Local car show

[GarySL]

Brother-in-law's Lotus

[Jack White]

Looks like my last post was deleted, though I’m unsure why. I’ll post again with less info.

[wdb]

I got deleted too, fairly IMO. Sorry mods!

Anyway. I did a road trip through the Appalachians a couple of weeks ago, Pennsylvania to Georgia and back. This despite the frigid temperatures and the summer tires on my car; the cabin fever was too great, and the reason for going was huge. I hoped to at least avoid snow, which I sorta accomplished. Snow was falling from the sky on the first day but fortunately did not stick to the roads, and it had snowed in the high places in North Carolina the day before I got there so there was lots of snow to be seen -- but again the roads were clear. It was a great drive and a welcome break from the winter blahs.

[Jack White]

Originally Posted by wdb

I just hope that votes continue to be important.

I did a road trip through some fun Appalachian roads a couple of weeks ago on my way to/from Georgia. Ran into snow, which I hoped I wouldn't considering I'm on summer tires. But the cabin fever was too great so I went anyway — and had a fine time.

Ooh, that looks like really fun drive! I only have MPSS summers on so I know what you mean by getting out when you can, running the risk of traction issues and driving really carefully when coming upon the snow. Thanks for sharing.

[Jack White]

Although it’s not my favorite type of open wheeled race car, it’s still pretty cool!

[floridaorange]

…

[Llarry]

1934 Cadillac V-16 452D Coupe

[Llarry]

The MG TC played a major role in introducing the American public to the concept of a sports car. About 10,000 TCs were built from 1945 to 1949, with 2,001 sold in the USA. All cars had right-hand drive. The engine was a 1.25 liter four cylinder of 54.5 horsepower. Needless to say, performance was underwhelming by today's standards. The TC featured 19-inch wire wheels with skinny 4.50 x 19 tires -- the successor MG TD introduced in 1950 replaced those with smaller 15-inch wheels and wider tires.

The first TCs to be brought in to the USA were imported by military personnel who had been stationed in the UK, but then the TC was officially imported as well. The 1947 retail price in the US was $2,238.

The MG TC is practically the epitome of the classic British sports car and surviving examples are much-loved.

[Llarry]

The Jaguar XK-120 was a sensation when introduced in 1948. The "120" referred to a speed capability of 120 miles per hour. The car stayed in production until 1954, when replaced by the XK-140, and 12,000 were built, exceeding Jaguar's expectations considerably.

A small number of lighter-weight Special Alloy Roadsters were built. Here's a 1949 example.

[Llarry]

The Daimler SP-250 Roadster was produced from 1959 to 1964 in the UK. It was based on the Triumph TR-3 chassis and used other TR-3 components but was powered by a Daimler 2.5-liter V-8 engine of 140 horsepower. It also featured four-wheel disc brakes. The SP-250 had a fiberglass body and the chassis had an unfortunate tendency to sag over time. At introduction, the list price was US$3,900. A bit of an ugly duckling, in my opinion.

Daimler was sold by owner BSA to Jaguar in 1960.

[Llarry]

1935 BMW 315/1 roadster derived from the 315 sedan. Straight six of 1.5 liters and 40 hp. 242 built. Succeeded by the famous BMW 328 in 1936.

[Llarry]

The BMW 315/1 roadster was succeeded by the BMW 328, which had a very successful racing career. The 328 featured an inline six enlarged to 2 liters with double the power (80 hp) of its predecessor. Top speed rose from 100 km/hr to 150.

[iminhell1]

onlyfuns

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The BMW 315/1 roadster was succeeded by the BMW 328, which had a very successful racing career.

The BMW 328 was quite a collector's item and Swiss automaker Sbarro built a number of 328 replicas using more modern BMW running gear starting in the 1970s. The base offering was a 1.6 liter four cylinder of 84 hp borrowed from the BMW 1602, but the options went up from there. Disc brakes were standard in front and optional in the rear. A few were imported into the USA.

[Buug959]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The Daimler SP-250 Roadster was produced from 1959 to 1964 in the UK. It was based on the Triumph TR-3 chassis and used other TR-3 components but was powered by a Daimler 2.5-liter V-8 engine of 140 horsepower. It also featured four-wheel disc brakes. The SP-250 had a fiberglass body and the chassis had an unfortunate tendency to sag over time. At introduction, the list price was US$3,900. A bit of an ugly duckling, in my opinion.

Daimler was sold by owner BSA to Jaguar in 1960.

It reminds me of a catfish from the front.

[Llarry]

Early 1920s Duesenberg Model A Tourer -- Straight Eight engine, hydraulic brakes. Succeeded by the famous Duesenberg Model J.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duesenberg_Model_A

[Llarry]

The Duesenberg Model J was like an answer to Britain's Rolls-Royce: A luxury car for the ultra-wealthy.

The Model J was introduced in 1928. It was powered by a 6.9 liter (420 cubic inch) straight eight of 265 horsepower. Further chassis details can be found in the Wikipedia article. The cars were all custom-bodied by coachwork companies and available in a number of different wheelbases.

481 Duesenberg Js were built from 1928 to 1937. Of these, 36 were the supercharged 320 horsepower Model SJ.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

[Llarry]

On the other end of the spectrum from the luxurious Deusenberg was Fiat-Abarth. Carlo Abarth was born in Austria but moved to Italy for work when young and became an Italian citizen. In 1949 he founded Abarth and specialized in performance modifications to Fiat cars.

One of his signature cars was the 850TC, which was an extensive modification of the plain-vanilla 600D econobox produced by Fiat. The Fiat-Abarth could be had in a relatively mild form or in racing form. The mods started at doubling the power of the Fiat engine to 55 horsepower -- this in a car weighing less than 1400 pounds. Racing versions went up to 75 hp. Other signature modifications were the oil cooler at the nose and the opening of the (rear) engine lid for improved cooling. The cars were noisy and popular with Italian motoring enthusiasts. Abarth also sold components for the DIY crowd to make their own a bit at a time.

Here's an 850TC.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Early 1920s Duesenberg Model A Tourer -- Straight Eight engine, hydraulic brakes. Succeeded by the famous Duesenberg Model J.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duesenberg_Model_A

Here's a link to the original brochure. I love this car!

https://www.oldcarbrochures.com/stat.../dirindex.html