Vintage cars

Pistolero

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Sorry for clogging up the "today" thread with old car stuff. Decided to move it to it's own thread.

So, here is the 1936 Cadillac Aerodynamic
Cadillac1936jpg.jpg
Not bad, and had a V-16 motor.

But here is the same year Bugatti, the type 57SC Atlantic.

Bugatti1936.jpg

200 cubic inch, straight 8, dual overhead cam, supercharged, 127 mph top speed in 1936.

Bill
 
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Pistolero

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Of all the cars I have driven, ridden in and worked on.....the E-type is my favorite for looks, and not at all bad
for performance and technology, either.

I prefer the coupe. 1967 or earlier.

E-type coupe front.jpg

And the rear view, also magificent, IMO.

e-type coupe rear.jpg

Sad to say, the prices on these have escalated rapidly. But I will be selling my old 911 SC Targa, and it will pay for a good
chunk of one of these old beauties. I might just do that. And the engine bay is pretty impressive, too. Dual overhead
cam aluminum head, straight six, triple SU carbs, front heat treated chrome moly steel subframe, bolted to the monocoque
central tub. Cast aluminum A arms up front, IRS in back with US designed limited slip (really works well) and inboard disk
brakes. Extremely advanced for mid 60s.

E-type coupe engine bay.jpg

I watched and listened to a bunch of them racing this last weekend in England, and they gave the 289 Cobras and other supercars
of the era a real run for their money. And besides looking great, they sounded great, too.

Bill
 
462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Some of my favorites:
All time favorite street car 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
iu.jpg
Saw this one race, at Laguna Seca, though I didn't take the photograph
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at Laguna Seca.jpg
Favorite American car Shelby CobraShelby Cobra.jpg

1959 Maserati Birdcage, though no a street car
1959 Birdcage Maserati.jpg

In addition to the E-Type Jaguar, the Lotus Super 7 is my favorite English car
Lotus Seper 7.jpg
 
I

Intheshop

Banned
Cadillac story..... may have mentioned it before but claiming O.L.D. if I did.

About 10 years ago,I was on an equipment "poaching" mission(out of state,snagging machines from under local's noses) for a 1941 Pexto 137 stomp shear. Has a retrofit pneumatic system.

20 or so miles west of the outskirts of Philadelphia.... horse country,complete with 300 y.o. rock walls and tree lined lanes dotted with late 18th century estates was where I needed to be. It was an automotive restoration shop. Made friends with the owner on the Practical Machinist forum,"back in the day" so to speak.... before that site started going downhill. Forget the dollar amt,don't matter,it was cheap.... more of the guy finding a good loving home for the piece and I was that huckleberry.

The shear @36" wasn't wide enough and the guy needed the space so couldn't keep it and the new 48" Diacro. One of the cars there,which they had done was "The" ,believe it was a 1939?,Cadillac that was the base commander Army car,at Pearl Harbor on the fateful day.
 
KeithB

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
The heck with cars, I always wanted to own an old firetruck. Almost bought one about 20 years ago, it was on a Diamond Reo frame. No idea about the vintage or even what was under the hood, I saw it parked with a for sale sign on it and stopped and gave the owner a business card with a price on it. He called me later, said he had a higher offer and did I want to raise my offer and I said no. Sorry I lost it but that outcome probably kept peace in our house for a while.
 
P

popper

Well-Known Member
Saw one of the birdcage on the street in San fran in the mid 60s so I guess $$ keeps the LE away. No interior, just tubes and a seat. Friend had an E, styled sort of D but not the same construction - D had a one piece main frame and pylons to mount the engine, suspension. I wanted a MG TC, sort of M 100S style. Enjoy the chasing classic cars series, just to see some neat oldies. Guess Wayne passed recently.
Until they got past the SuperAmerica (4cyl) they didn't really have much of a car for import.
 
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I

Intheshop

Banned
Those chassis were gas welded with OA setups. Which is NOT the handicap it "seems" to be presented by armchair experts.

Leastwise that's how I see it.... referring to the experts comment. Yes I can Tig it faster,yes it's a bit "cleaner",yes Tig is a smaller HAZ(heat affected zone).... but I can gas weld out in the shed/yard/racetrack/etc,away from power and when you've been around some true artists in the biz(some of whom mentored me).... gas welding isn't seen as a challenge. Just business as usual.

Further,and Pistolero or others,may want to comment on this; there's the issue of normalizing welds on chrome moly tubing... in a Tig vs gas weld sense. I've seen it presented both ways and is not something to argue about but,just like politics,folks get right passionate about these processes.
 
I

Intheshop

Banned
Cherokee,one of the interesting aspects of proper wood substrates.... as it applies to "coach building" is in the engineering challenges. Unlike a pce of fine furniture,which can be of the highest forms....coach work wood in auto's was covered up. Therefore,the degree of engineering that went into the joinery,scale,and breadth of it is or can be unparalleled. Joint techniques that aren't seen in other woodworking.

Edit to add: yes,some wood on autos was left exposed. Which sort of proves my point from a joinery standpoint. The exposed work was carried out in a "furniture" fashion. And,is often the source of problems in restoration efforts.
 
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Cherokee

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
Having dabbled in building a few wood furniture things, I can see some complications just in that picture. Lots of skills on display.
 
462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Circa 1986.
Pretty much a junker when I bought it, then put a lot of time, sweat and blood, and money into it. Every two years I'd have to switch out the headers for the original exhaust manifold, for the smog check. Kept it till 1999 when, out of the blue a co-worker offered me $2500, for it. SOLD!
fullsizeoutput_1d1.jpeg
 
P

popper

Well-Known Member
With canvas roof over chicken wire. Black iron body work hard to stick weld on. Now the fords are glued together.
 
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D

david s

Well-Known Member
As Cherokee mentioned some early autos used wood for frames (Morgan still sort of does) also brass, and painted fabric or leather body panels.
 
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