The Junkman

I've seen a grand total of 3: one in a dealer showroom in Tokyo when I was stationed there in the mid '70s, one at the National Auto Museum (the old Harrah's collection) in Reno, and this one out in the wilds of California a little over a 18 months ago so seeing one remains an occasion.

Yesterday, just as we were leaving a birthday lunch in Windsor, CA. The owner and family ate next to us. Some real pride of ownership.

Or they're over-compensating for some perceived lack in their life? ? But you're probably correct. In California there is required to be a barrier (fender, mud flap, flares) that extends to the outer most portion of the tread. Not that the law is enforced.....

Today at an antique collective store in Sonoma, CA. (Nothing I was interested in except for protecting the family finances) 1955 Ford Victoria with Ford-O-Matic proudly emblazoned on the trunk. Funky cell phone camera pretty much captured the colors though the camera operator contributed to the fuzzyness..

Mentioning of Point Reyes Station brought this to mind, found it parked on one of the side streets. Unrestored to the point of being untouched. The dash pad and interior were severely worn and sun-baked but still quite the catch.

Ooh, I forgot: a TR-4A likewise in....red. A really good day. My best results are usually around the east side of Santa Rosa and around the wineries and vicinity of Healdsburg. (When a lion looks for a zebra to take down, she hangs around the water hole.)

Old British sports car day. TR-3, an Austin Healey Sprite, and most notable of all an MGA. What was notable about the MGA was it had British Columbia plates, a minimum of 1000 miles from home. Single driver with zinc oxide dabbed on his face. I have to image the space taken up by tools and spare parts had to at least equal that taken up with his clothing. Courage and confidence personified. Oh, and all the cars were various iterations of red.

This past Sunday on US 101 in Marin County north of SF, a mid-50's Lancia Aurelia coupe, in what can only be described as late '50s Aston Martin racing green. Of course I was in the fast lane and the Lancia was in the #5 lane with a speed difference of 20mph +/-.

The more you look, the more details you see. Its great.

Had a buddy that I commuted to work with many moons ago that had a similar "Flintstone Emergency Brake" portal in the passenger footwell of his Toyota pickup, covered with 1/4 inch plywood. Only his was a naturally occurring-rust. I made him pay me for the gas and we used my car for the most part.

Would you call that a “shooting brake”?

While on a bicycle ride, 1950 Ford Custom parked in front of the local auto stereo shop. Very clean and straight and had "age appropriate" license plates.

There's only one Academy kit I want and that's this one announced over 10 years ago (#vaporware) https://www.scalemates.com/kits/academy-15507-shelby-cobra-daytona-coupe--100205 Well, that and a re-release of their European Sports car (GREATLY resembling the Ferrari 250 GT California)

I hope that fluid puddle is from some other source. ?

I would destroy that spoiler SO fast it wouldn't leave time for a memory. Parking lot bumpers, roadway dips, driveways (even my own); just gone.

To say nothing of the mystery of manipulating a choke with a cold engine.

I swear on a stack of Playboys, so help me Gilbert Gottfried: a pur-sang Ferrari 250GTO with legit California Historic Vehicle plates right at the edge of downtown Carmel, CA. Classic body, red of course and not the 64 updated body. Being Carmel and within spitting distance of the Monterey Peninsula this would be exactly where I'd expect to find such a beauty. Even idling at street speed it sounded....ready.

We had a 1982 RX7 in Maya Gold. 19 mpg city/19 mpg hwy. Loved that car (my wife moreso) but once we were 3 in the family, somebody was going to have to stay home.

Hey, I live in part of California where I get excited to see a Karmann Ghia. Once in a while the California Mille blows through but otherwise its hit and miss. I've seen 2 Skyline GTR's in the past 6 months.

So am I seeing TWO Skylines, a Supra and a Lancia in one frame? Wow, if that's what they're parking outside I wonder what's under the roof.

Nothing uncommon. Revell 1969 Boss 302 because one can never have enough Mustangs. Also a Revell 1969 Chevelle SS396 because I have always liked that GM body style to the exclusion of most others.

I feel ya, brother. I live in a valley in Nor Cal and there have been times you couldn't see a couple hundred yards when the smoke rolls in and settles.

Citroen Traction Avant in black, naturally. Just like this and in the same parking lot as the E-Type Jag I posted a couple of weeks ago.

Related subject: Tamiya auto re-releases announced at the Shizuoka show. Lancia Stratos Turbo -the racy one 1/24 Porsche 935 Martini 1/20 And a new GMA T.50 (had to look that one up-a follow on supercar by Gordon Murray, designer of the Mclaren F1) https://www.facebook.com/tamiyainc

I recall talking to an (older) firefighter years ago (probably at a car fire). He was waxing about how as older=classic VW's passed out of their useful lives the number of car fires he and his crew had to deal with dropped drastically. His theory was that the flexible fuel lines became brittle and eventually leaked onto the hot exhaust pipes. I had a 73 VW but it had left before it reached that point.