The Junkman

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.

Gunze Sangyo High Tech Daytona Cobra Coupe with the photo etch and white metal. Thought it was too expensive when it came out and likely the same were I to ever find one again.

I've got one! Along with a UMI decal sheet that is very useful for some minor marking variations. Got it from Happico before he went out of business.

Where can one consistently find Nunu/Platz kits in the US? I've seen announcements and buildups but I've never seen a kit for sale. Granted, I live in a hobby shop desert but where?

In its natural environment. That is a warm weekend, Napa Valley/Calistoga, CA and just parked along the street like a bourgeois.

So, some Florida guy displaying the efforts to compensate for his "inadequacies" ?

A pristine classic in the wild. Bank parking lot in Santa Rosa (understandable). I think the color is Silver Blue Poly but I have not a spec of knowledge regarding Jags of this vintage. Not a particle of dirt on it. A nice change from BRG.

I'm FAR from a Nissan expert (or even a fan) but the JDM brand name for this was Fairlady. I think it was sold as the Datsun 1600 and Datsun 2000 in the late '60s/early 70s. The Fairlady was then became the Datsun 240Z et al. I've always (semi) regretted not buying a Fairlady 240Z when I was stationed in Tokyo from 1974 to 1976.