A Visit to Steve's Crazy Microcar Hoard

Dave, Nick and I followed Steve and Muggsy's trailer of French micro-weirdness to Steve's place outside Upland. I wasn't sure what to expect, but a mid sixties ranch house/microcar farm in an upscale neighborhood wasn't it.  The driveway was largely obscured by a handmade tarp and irrigation pipe gate that blocked a carport. In front of the tarp structure, a faded red spaceage something-or-other [note: Steve says it is the Zeta Sport Coupe prototype, made in Australia by Harold Lightburn] poked out from under a car cover, hinting. How the neighbors haven't advanced on the compound with pitchforks and torches I'll never know.

The Crosley Cruise: 2015 West Coast Crosley Club Meet - Part 2

I headed over for the Crosley Cruise kickoff at Thomi's Cafe on Sunday morning.  As luck would have it, my station wagon had developed a slight water pump leak over the weekend - I greased the zerk fitting and kept my eye on the temp gauge.  Luckily I'd brought a jug of water just in case, and borrowed another from Mike Blackburn who had decided at the last minute not to do the tour.  Mike's water jug sprung a leak as soon as I loaded it in the car.  So far, so good.

Prelude to the Crosley Cruise

Since 2015 was the 30th Anniversary Meet for the club, I had suggested that we do something we'd never tried before: a two-day meet, with a Crosley-friendly driving event scheduled for Sunday. While my proposal was overwhelmingly approved at our 2014 meeting, I came to find that my idea was going to be more of a struggle than expected.

2015 West Coast Crosley Club Meet - Part 1

I'm still recovering from the festivities at the West Coast Crosley Club's 30th Anniversary shindig this past weekend in the Gold Country: three days of Crosley shenanigans, 70+ Crosley fans, 23 Crosleys (or variants) and 160 miles in the driver's seat of a 26.5 horsepower mighty mite really takes it out of you.

Denver or Bust: Part 2, There and back again

Continued from Part 1...

Leaving Minden, Tim's Transit cruised across Nevada like it was on rails, and we couldn't even feel the extra weight of the trailer.  We'd opted for Highway 50, the Loneliest Highway, since it had more stuff to look at along the way, and we made it to Eureka, Nevada (population 610) that night.  As luck would have it, Tim had a friend who owned a house there, and though he wasn't home, he was happy to let us stay - the key was under the mat.  We were out the door by 6:30 the next morning, and wonder of wonders, found a tiny coffee hut on the main drag that, A) was open; and, B) served fresh-brewed espresso!

Car Spotter: Autobianchi Bianchina Special Cabriolet

A friend of mine was watching the 1966 Audrey Hepburn movie How to Steal a Million and sent me a note: "what is this car?"

Good question.

The Most Epic Fiat Multipla Trip EVER?

I haven't made a secret of my obsession with Fiat Multiplas.   What's not to love: twice the charm of a VW bus stuffed into a package half the size! Some folks dream of hitting the lottery so they can get a Ferrari.  Not me.  I'd get a Multipla.

The Southwest Unique Little Car Show 2014

Success!  My trip from Sacto to Pomona had been uneventful - no troubles with the trailer, and my cattywampus hillbilly load of Crosley carcasses hadn't shifted at all.  I even found the NHRA Museum with a minimum of wrong turns, making me glad I'd finally activated Google maps on my phone.

Half and Half

After having such a great time at last summer's Great Pacific Northwest Microcar Show I swore that this was the year I'd make it to the OTHER western-state microcar meet, the Southwest Unique Little Car Show.  SWULCS has been running for 34 years (!) with locations rotating between Arizona, Nevada and California.  With this year's meet scheduled for Pomona - in the parking lot of the NHRA Museum no less - there was no excuse to miss it!

Report: 2013 West Coast Crosley Club Meet in Sutter Creek

Hard to believe it's been two weeks since the annual West Coast regional meet - it already seems like ancient history, kinda the way it is the week after Christmas.

GPNW MicroCar Extravaganza, Part III

We soon came to the small town of Carlton and stopped for lunch.  This was a choose-your-own-adventure affair... there were a half dozen food options on the tiny main street. Dave, Kris and I chose a food cart right by where we parked - great food but we were totally on our own - everyone else had gone for a 'real' restaurant.   Kris called her folks who happened to be close by.  They drove over and eyeballed the street-full of micro machinery while giving Dave a hard time just like any daughter's Dad should.

Mind = Blown! 2013 GPNW MicroCar Extravaganza, Part II

Dave, Kris and I were up early and on the way to Forest Grove before 9AM.  We led a Citroen DS21 for much of the trip and then were shocked when they rolled past the show entrance without stopping - apparently they weren't MicroCar fans because we never saw them again.  The parking lot at McMenamin's was already rich with Micro and Mini cars - several of which had arrived since last night.

2013 Great Pacific Northwest MicroCar Extravaganza, Part 1

By the time Dave and I actually got on the road for Portland it was after 9PM. We made it about 50 miles past the Oregon border before we pulled into a truckstop and got a few hours of sleep in the car.  I'd brought my computer so I managed to do a little work while we ate breakfast and Dave frantically tried to nail down a really good job offer in China that had come in just before we'd left Sacto.

Ebay Watch: Picture Perfect Project - 1948 Wagon

There aren't a lot of half-finished projects I get too excited about. There's usually a good reason that someone quit in the middle, and even if not, there's just too much head-scratching when you're surveying box after box of greasy, rusty parts.  It's bad enough when I'm the one who took it apart - it's another thing entirely when it was someone else.

Powell Would be Proud: the Hiriko Car

The tiny Spanish Hiriko car (Basque for 'urban') prototype was just unveiled, getting a lot of press for its bizarre/genius design.  Imagine something smaller than a Fiat 500, that's electric, that folds nearly in half when you park it, and has independent all wheel drive.  !