10 Years of American Motoring – Audi/Morris/Porsche
Discussion
As a soon to be Ex-Expat Brit I thought I’d post a few pictures as a visual timeline of my motoring experiences in New Jersey from 2004 to present as we prepare to return to the UK in September.
Always suffering from what my family refers to as ‘itchy car key syndrome’ I’ve had an eclectic sometimes eccentric variety of rides while Stateside, oddly enough few of which have been American.
Not knowing a soul in New Jersey on a social level, cars and car forums quickly became a great way of meeting people and as a result I’ve made some good friends along the way.
2004 – 2005
Can’t seem to find any pictures of the Ford Explorer or Jeep Liberty that were my company car’s and they were a bit boring.
2005-2008
VW Golf GTi
While Europe was enjoying the much improved Mark V GTi North America was still putting up with the sluggish Mark IV and I made the mistake (not my first as you will see) of leasing a 1.8T with a NJ traffic friendly autobox. Dull is not the word. Badly built would be two better words to describe it.
Assembled in Brazil my particular GTi was definitely a Friday car suffering a laundry list of problems from Day 1 when the A/C crapped out on me on a beautifully humid 95f July day. Coupled with the memory of 2” of standing water in the footwell after a particularly violent rain storm this was a 3 year automotive period I’ll happily forget about.
This hapless steed also introduced me to a lovely old gent and his equally ancient Nissan.
Doing my bit for international relations I tried to avoid a major diplomatic incident.
Suffice to say I failed.
Reset 21 accident-free years clock to zero. Thanks Mr. Myopia
Edited: Jan 25th 2015. Added long lost picture.
2008 Audi TT 2.0 FSI DSG
While Yank V8’s and V6’s are still popular here I could never quite get my head around the woeful build quality or the 1970’s amusement arcade interior styling that incorporated reverse Tardis engineering.
A good example being the Ford Mustang V6 I hired for a touring trip round Maine and New Hampshire. I think the barn would have handled better than the ‘stang
Amidst a sea of beige Japanese 4 door sedans European Coupe’s have a bit more exclusivity on the U.S Eastern Seaboard and the launch of the Mark 2 Audi TT caught my interest.
Before the PH powerfully built RWD devotees laugh at the much maligned TT bear in mind my everyday motoring pretty much looked like this.
And as my budget would only stretch to the FWD I justified leasing one on the grounds that as bends and curves are in short supply in my urban bit of New Jersey a FWD car would not be at much of a loss to the slightly more powerful AWD V6.
The TT proved a reliable and fun daily over the three years I had it with some memorable journeys in New England and Ontario Canada.
It really proved itself in December 2009 when we set out on what was supposed to be a quick 1300 mile round trip blast to North Carolina to pick up a new terrier pup.
Once out of the New York Metro area the little silver TT always drew a lot of attention, if only for the lack of proper sized cupholders
In rural Pennsylvania we stopped for a washer bottle top up. We really should have bought some sheepskin slippers for what was about to follow as the Eastern U.S got slammed with a major blizzard.
It was fun to see 10 year old kids in North Carolina experience snow for the first time, likewise some locals get some 4WD off highway snow driving practice
Oops
Having picked up this little fella.
We turned straight round and set off on the return 650 mile return journey which should have taken 10-12 hours. Until the snow REALLY came down.
This Chevy Impala driver had the right rubber for the conditions, just possibly on the wrong car.
Things then went from this.
To this
Stationary for 6 hours outside Washington D.C in a smallish TT with a dwindling supply of fuel, non-house broken puppy and only some M&M’s to eat was a bit of a downer but heated seats and 900 tunes on the ipod made life a bit more bearable.
We finally found some clear road, north of Philadelphia at about 3.00am on the Sunday morning and I got up to what felt a very brave 50 mph on run flat all season tyres….
And a little bit faster once on the I-95 NJ Turnpike.
Having left North Carolina at 9.00am Saturday with only 8 hours sleep over 72 hours we pulled into our driveway 22 hours and 40 cups of coffee later.
The missus and I didn’t speak for about 4 days.
3 years, 28,000 miles and only a broken door handle due to ice and a hamfist later the TT went back to the dealer.
Coming soon, when house packing allows, the Morris bit.
Thanks for reading.
Edited. Jan 25th 2015. Oooh - an anniversary. Six months today since I started this threadette.
Always suffering from what my family refers to as ‘itchy car key syndrome’ I’ve had an eclectic sometimes eccentric variety of rides while Stateside, oddly enough few of which have been American.
Not knowing a soul in New Jersey on a social level, cars and car forums quickly became a great way of meeting people and as a result I’ve made some good friends along the way.
2004 – 2005
Can’t seem to find any pictures of the Ford Explorer or Jeep Liberty that were my company car’s and they were a bit boring.
2005-2008
VW Golf GTi
While Europe was enjoying the much improved Mark V GTi North America was still putting up with the sluggish Mark IV and I made the mistake (not my first as you will see) of leasing a 1.8T with a NJ traffic friendly autobox. Dull is not the word. Badly built would be two better words to describe it.
Assembled in Brazil my particular GTi was definitely a Friday car suffering a laundry list of problems from Day 1 when the A/C crapped out on me on a beautifully humid 95f July day. Coupled with the memory of 2” of standing water in the footwell after a particularly violent rain storm this was a 3 year automotive period I’ll happily forget about.
This hapless steed also introduced me to a lovely old gent and his equally ancient Nissan.
Doing my bit for international relations I tried to avoid a major diplomatic incident.
Suffice to say I failed.
Reset 21 accident-free years clock to zero. Thanks Mr. Myopia
Edited: Jan 25th 2015. Added long lost picture.
2008 Audi TT 2.0 FSI DSG
While Yank V8’s and V6’s are still popular here I could never quite get my head around the woeful build quality or the 1970’s amusement arcade interior styling that incorporated reverse Tardis engineering.
A good example being the Ford Mustang V6 I hired for a touring trip round Maine and New Hampshire. I think the barn would have handled better than the ‘stang
Amidst a sea of beige Japanese 4 door sedans European Coupe’s have a bit more exclusivity on the U.S Eastern Seaboard and the launch of the Mark 2 Audi TT caught my interest.
Before the PH powerfully built RWD devotees laugh at the much maligned TT bear in mind my everyday motoring pretty much looked like this.
And as my budget would only stretch to the FWD I justified leasing one on the grounds that as bends and curves are in short supply in my urban bit of New Jersey a FWD car would not be at much of a loss to the slightly more powerful AWD V6.
The TT proved a reliable and fun daily over the three years I had it with some memorable journeys in New England and Ontario Canada.
It really proved itself in December 2009 when we set out on what was supposed to be a quick 1300 mile round trip blast to North Carolina to pick up a new terrier pup.
Once out of the New York Metro area the little silver TT always drew a lot of attention, if only for the lack of proper sized cupholders
In rural Pennsylvania we stopped for a washer bottle top up. We really should have bought some sheepskin slippers for what was about to follow as the Eastern U.S got slammed with a major blizzard.
It was fun to see 10 year old kids in North Carolina experience snow for the first time, likewise some locals get some 4WD off highway snow driving practice
Oops
Having picked up this little fella.
We turned straight round and set off on the return 650 mile return journey which should have taken 10-12 hours. Until the snow REALLY came down.
This Chevy Impala driver had the right rubber for the conditions, just possibly on the wrong car.
Things then went from this.
To this
Stationary for 6 hours outside Washington D.C in a smallish TT with a dwindling supply of fuel, non-house broken puppy and only some M&M’s to eat was a bit of a downer but heated seats and 900 tunes on the ipod made life a bit more bearable.
We finally found some clear road, north of Philadelphia at about 3.00am on the Sunday morning and I got up to what felt a very brave 50 mph on run flat all season tyres….
And a little bit faster once on the I-95 NJ Turnpike.
Having left North Carolina at 9.00am Saturday with only 8 hours sleep over 72 hours we pulled into our driveway 22 hours and 40 cups of coffee later.
The missus and I didn’t speak for about 4 days.
3 years, 28,000 miles and only a broken door handle due to ice and a hamfist later the TT went back to the dealer.
Coming soon, when house packing allows, the Morris bit.
Thanks for reading.
Edited. Jan 25th 2015. Oooh - an anniversary. Six months today since I started this threadette.
Edited by Whatty on Sunday 25th January 09:14
Thanks for your comment Mr. Tuna
I’m really writing this so that my now 16 month old son can look back in 10 years time and find out what his dad did with his spare time and money when he actually had some of each.
Anyway…..
While the Audi was a fun daily other than wash it and admire its curves I really felt the need to tinker with something old.
Note the word ‘tinker’. I’m no spanner twirler and having helped my brother refurbish a couple of MG’s I knew that a full blown restoration was beyond me. So what was needed was a structurally sound car that could be improved on.
But what?
Thinking back to my first car, Ma’s hand me down Mini 1000, the memories of a misspent youth buzzing round the lanes of Norfolk prompted me to go on Ebay and see what might be about that could be a bit Cooperized.
Why, you might be asking, in a land of V8 muscle, would you want a British rustbox mustering all of 38-90bhp?
I still have no idea but a couple of months later I tracked this 1969 Morris Mini Mark 2 down on Long Island, New York.
The non-original Primrose yellow paint was a bit Marmite but the Cooper-ish white roof toned it down a bit.
A genuine Sixties LHD North American model imported into Canada this Mark 2 lacked the more desirable Mark 1 grille and small rear lights but at least it had the exposed door hinges and … well finding a solid example of 20th Century British engineering in 21st Century America within a day’s drive of New Jersey was always going to be a tall order so a compromise had to be made.
The guy selling was actually the owner of an independent German car repair shop. Owed money by a bodyshop unable to pay a large bill he’d had the Mini restored by them in lieu of payment.
A test drive and thorough inspection on his lift found a structurally and mechanically sound car with paintwork that exceeded anything ever to roll off the British Leyland line.
A nice fat folder of receipts including a new alternator conversion kit plus new shock absorbers and the fact that the drum brakes sort of actually worked saw money change hands.
Lacking the brave pills required to drive it back across Manhattan the seller kindly trailered it out to Jersey for me a week later.
Newish rear subframe and solid if not concours standard battery box.
He’d got a bit carried away with the accessories so within hours of taking ownership I’d removed the self adhesive Union Jack flag from the roof and the 4 of the 6 battery killing chrome foglights and the chrome badge bar.
The engine bay was the only real negative, ditto the ageing wiring loom.
The A-series 998cc seemed a bit lacking but I simply put that down to the contrast with the Audi.
Much much more to come, thanks for reading.
I’m really writing this so that my now 16 month old son can look back in 10 years time and find out what his dad did with his spare time and money when he actually had some of each.
Anyway…..
While the Audi was a fun daily other than wash it and admire its curves I really felt the need to tinker with something old.
Note the word ‘tinker’. I’m no spanner twirler and having helped my brother refurbish a couple of MG’s I knew that a full blown restoration was beyond me. So what was needed was a structurally sound car that could be improved on.
But what?
Thinking back to my first car, Ma’s hand me down Mini 1000, the memories of a misspent youth buzzing round the lanes of Norfolk prompted me to go on Ebay and see what might be about that could be a bit Cooperized.
Why, you might be asking, in a land of V8 muscle, would you want a British rustbox mustering all of 38-90bhp?
I still have no idea but a couple of months later I tracked this 1969 Morris Mini Mark 2 down on Long Island, New York.
The non-original Primrose yellow paint was a bit Marmite but the Cooper-ish white roof toned it down a bit.
A genuine Sixties LHD North American model imported into Canada this Mark 2 lacked the more desirable Mark 1 grille and small rear lights but at least it had the exposed door hinges and … well finding a solid example of 20th Century British engineering in 21st Century America within a day’s drive of New Jersey was always going to be a tall order so a compromise had to be made.
The guy selling was actually the owner of an independent German car repair shop. Owed money by a bodyshop unable to pay a large bill he’d had the Mini restored by them in lieu of payment.
A test drive and thorough inspection on his lift found a structurally and mechanically sound car with paintwork that exceeded anything ever to roll off the British Leyland line.
A nice fat folder of receipts including a new alternator conversion kit plus new shock absorbers and the fact that the drum brakes sort of actually worked saw money change hands.
Lacking the brave pills required to drive it back across Manhattan the seller kindly trailered it out to Jersey for me a week later.
Newish rear subframe and solid if not concours standard battery box.
He’d got a bit carried away with the accessories so within hours of taking ownership I’d removed the self adhesive Union Jack flag from the roof and the 4 of the 6 battery killing chrome foglights and the chrome badge bar.
The engine bay was the only real negative, ditto the ageing wiring loom.
The A-series 998cc seemed a bit lacking but I simply put that down to the contrast with the Audi.
Much much more to come, thanks for reading.
Edited by Whatty on Jan 26 09:18
Edited by Whatty on Monday 26th January 14:46
Hmmm, not much feedback but I’ll push on.
Started to drive the Mini a bit at weekends and found a Saturday morning car’s and coffee event a few towns away.
Being so close to the wealth of Wall Street meant that there was always a big turnout with a variety of cars present.
Italian stuff
Ferrari 250 GTO
Daytona
And Dino
And Alfa
Old
Newer
Lamborghini
Track orientated stuff.
993
914
American stuff
Viper
Italian American stuff
DeTomaso Pantera (edited Oct 14)
British stuff
On American roads the Elise/Exiges look tiny.
MGA
And errr
Oi! Don’t lean on my car.
More pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/daytrip...76216996339...
Thanks for reading.
Started to drive the Mini a bit at weekends and found a Saturday morning car’s and coffee event a few towns away.
Being so close to the wealth of Wall Street meant that there was always a big turnout with a variety of cars present.
Italian stuff
Ferrari 250 GTO
Daytona
And Dino
And Alfa
Old
Newer
Lamborghini
Track orientated stuff.
993
914
American stuff
Viper
Italian American stuff
DeTomaso Pantera (edited Oct 14)
British stuff
On American roads the Elise/Exiges look tiny.
MGA
And errr
Oi! Don’t lean on my car.
More pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/daytrip...76216996339...
Thanks for reading.
Edited by Whatty on Monday 6th October 23:14
Interesting read so far!
Very strange how you've gone for VERY common cars in the UK when you had the choice of American stuff which is properly rare (due to fuel costs) in the UK. I guess out there like you said the TT is generally rare so that was the left field choice from an american perspective but still, looks like you missed the opportunity to own some big yank engined cars?
Not having a dig at all, just merely an observation! The mini looks cracking.
Very strange how you've gone for VERY common cars in the UK when you had the choice of American stuff which is properly rare (due to fuel costs) in the UK. I guess out there like you said the TT is generally rare so that was the left field choice from an american perspective but still, looks like you missed the opportunity to own some big yank engined cars?
Not having a dig at all, just merely an observation! The mini looks cracking.
lewisf182 said:
Interesting read so far!
Very strange how you've gone for VERY common cars in the UK when you had the choice of American stuff which is properly rare (due to fuel costs) in the UK. I guess out there like you said the TT is generally rare so that was the left field choice from an american perspective but still, looks like you missed the opportunity to own some big yank engined cars?
Not having a dig at all, just merely an observation! The mini looks cracking.
Good point Lewis, I went the Audi route because other than liking the design, Audi, BMW and the like residual values are very good meaning cheap lease deals over 3 years. Very strange how you've gone for VERY common cars in the UK when you had the choice of American stuff which is properly rare (due to fuel costs) in the UK. I guess out there like you said the TT is generally rare so that was the left field choice from an american perspective but still, looks like you missed the opportunity to own some big yank engined cars?
Not having a dig at all, just merely an observation! The mini looks cracking.
Up until the Great Recession Euro / Japanese build quality was so much better in comparison to run-of-the-mill American built kit. That’s now changed as the Big 3 have finally woken up to the fact that quality actually sells quite well.
I have had access to a number of V8’s – my favourite being my good friend and neighbour’s Chevy pick up.
5 litre V8 + rare 5 speed manual + no weight = ENTERTAINMENT.
With 103K miles, my friend has bought it back twice as a write off from his insurance company thanks to local teenage drink drivers hitting it in the street.
It refuses to die but it won’t pass a British M.O.T but I guess the sills aren't really THAT structural.
Great for amusing runs to the tip. Must try and get some 0-60 times with it before I leave.
Edited by Whatty on Sunday 3rd August 12:43
While the occasional run out to these car meets was fun the Mini did begin to show up its shortcomings.
Boiling hot summer’s with temperatures in the 80f’s and 90f’s and high humidity meant that with only sliding windows ventilation was pretty non-existent and the heat soak from the engine made my ‘fun’ car pretty much not fun to drive from late May through to mid September.
The other issue was that while fun to scoot round the suburbs in, trips further afield on major roads and the Interstate highway were pretty terrifying thanks to the Mini’s absence of power and its lack of size in proportion to other traffic.
I did manage a 60 mile trip out west to the Delaware river on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border for a British car meet.
In addition to BMC product there was also a good line up of TVRs, Jensen and an Lotus Elan which was particularly memorable but only because the owner was completely sh!tfaced.
TR2 with spare spark plugs.
Seeing these little details on other cars inspired me to overlook the Mini’s issues and a plan began to form for the little yellow ‘clown car’ as my American mother-in-law called it.
We even came home winners with an award.
Although as the only Mini there it was a slightly hollow victory.
Thanks for reading.
Boiling hot summer’s with temperatures in the 80f’s and 90f’s and high humidity meant that with only sliding windows ventilation was pretty non-existent and the heat soak from the engine made my ‘fun’ car pretty much not fun to drive from late May through to mid September.
The other issue was that while fun to scoot round the suburbs in, trips further afield on major roads and the Interstate highway were pretty terrifying thanks to the Mini’s absence of power and its lack of size in proportion to other traffic.
I did manage a 60 mile trip out west to the Delaware river on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border for a British car meet.
In addition to BMC product there was also a good line up of TVRs, Jensen and an Lotus Elan which was particularly memorable but only because the owner was completely sh!tfaced.
TR2 with spare spark plugs.
Seeing these little details on other cars inspired me to overlook the Mini’s issues and a plan began to form for the little yellow ‘clown car’ as my American mother-in-law called it.
We even came home winners with an award.
Although as the only Mini there it was a slightly hollow victory.
Thanks for reading.
Edited by Whatty on Tuesday 27th January 17:54
Thanks guy’s, in between kicking estate agents, packing our stuff, filling out endless forms for exporting dogs, wife etc plus amusing a 17 month old this thread is helping to while away the hours before we leave.
Anyway….
Recognising that the little donkey 998cc A-Series was probably serviceable for another few thousand miles I hatched a plan to inject a bit more oomph into it with a view to buying a new lump, 1275cc or 1380cc down the road when funds allowed.
Disciples of David Vizard will know tuning the A-Series engine provides a multitude of options. Based on the proven wisdom that most opt for a single carb set up and some nifty work to the head I decided to do the complete opposite knowing that this was going to be a temporary set up. I also wanted to keep the car looking suitably period.
So in the search for power these had to go.
As did these. Looking at the condition of the original radiiator it was a miracle that it never overheated.
In the spirit of a true Boy Racer it was going to be all show but hopefully a little bit more go and shopping commenced.
Twin S.U HS2’s
Plus, in no particular order, and no pics either it would seem.
A new custom wiring harness to account for the alternator conversion from Autosparks in the U.K, to replace the crumbling original.
As the nearest North American Mini spares firm is 3200 miles west of me in California I elected to face eastwards and do my bit by Buying British from DSN Classics in good old Norfolk.
K&N pancake air filters, RC40 exhaust, freeflow exhaust manifold, Cooper S disc brake and hub assemblies, 6 blade tropical fan, adjustable tie rods plus a load of other bits and pieces duly arrived at my office.
Thanks for reading.
Edited for typos.
Anyway….
Recognising that the little donkey 998cc A-Series was probably serviceable for another few thousand miles I hatched a plan to inject a bit more oomph into it with a view to buying a new lump, 1275cc or 1380cc down the road when funds allowed.
Disciples of David Vizard will know tuning the A-Series engine provides a multitude of options. Based on the proven wisdom that most opt for a single carb set up and some nifty work to the head I decided to do the complete opposite knowing that this was going to be a temporary set up. I also wanted to keep the car looking suitably period.
So in the search for power these had to go.
As did these. Looking at the condition of the original radiiator it was a miracle that it never overheated.
In the spirit of a true Boy Racer it was going to be all show but hopefully a little bit more go and shopping commenced.
Twin S.U HS2’s
Plus, in no particular order, and no pics either it would seem.
A new custom wiring harness to account for the alternator conversion from Autosparks in the U.K, to replace the crumbling original.
As the nearest North American Mini spares firm is 3200 miles west of me in California I elected to face eastwards and do my bit by Buying British from DSN Classics in good old Norfolk.
K&N pancake air filters, RC40 exhaust, freeflow exhaust manifold, Cooper S disc brake and hub assemblies, 6 blade tropical fan, adjustable tie rods plus a load of other bits and pieces duly arrived at my office.
Thanks for reading.
Edited for typos.
Edited by Whatty on Tuesday 27th January 18:00
So in early May of 2009 suitably armed with a small fortune in bits, car and parts were dispatched to Motor Car Garage in southern New Jersey specializing in things British.
Lacking the time, skills and level garage floor (more on this small detail later) the only tool I’d be wielding would be cheque book shaped.
You could tell that they didn’t lack commitment.
As I was getting married in late May and on honeymoon in late June there was really no rush to get the job of repainting the engine bay and parts installed so the guys took their time.
In exchange for regular $$$ I was rewarded with email updates as the strip down commenced.
Thanks to 41 years of self oiling the front subframe was solid(ish) but tired.
Like wise the bulkhead.
Some time, some paint and some more $$$ later things progressed.
Getting there. Manifold looks the part if nothing else.
New front Cooper S disc brake and hub assemblies still to come.
Ally rad from ebay and tropical fan would hopefully keep the engine cool in the summer months if not the driver.
While Motor Car Garage pushed on with the job fitting the new wiring harness….
I got hitched to my long suffering girlfriend, flogged a tired Alfa 147 diesel round Tuscany and more importantly sourced a few more period cosmetic bits for the Morris.
Only in production from ’67 to ’70 most of the Mark II Austin and Morris specific emblems are NLA. With the exception of the boot badge.
And while all the Cooper and S bonnet badges are readily available I resisted the urge to take the easy route and badge it as a wannabe.
And because it’s the journey not the destination I started my OCD driven quest for the mythical Mk 11 bonnet emblem.
After several weeks of nightly searching Ebay and Mini forums worldwide I finally found a bloke in Seattle (or was it Vancouver?) who had one.
Small problem. He admitted it wasn’t in great nick.
No matter, with an artist for a wife I was confident it could be restored. Along with my leisure time and sanity.
I asked him to name his price.
Bigger problem. He wouldn’t sell it at ANY price.
Huge problem. He would happily trade it for an equally rare Austin Mk11 one.
At this point those Cooper S badges began to look pretty tempting.
So for the thrill of the chase and with victory in sight plus every Mini forum classified section already saved to my favourite’s I rose to the occasion and….
5 years later I'm sure the Austin guy is still laughing.
But an hour, the wife and the U.S equivalent of Humbrol later.
Cheers.
Lacking the time, skills and level garage floor (more on this small detail later) the only tool I’d be wielding would be cheque book shaped.
You could tell that they didn’t lack commitment.
As I was getting married in late May and on honeymoon in late June there was really no rush to get the job of repainting the engine bay and parts installed so the guys took their time.
In exchange for regular $$$ I was rewarded with email updates as the strip down commenced.
Thanks to 41 years of self oiling the front subframe was solid(ish) but tired.
Like wise the bulkhead.
Some time, some paint and some more $$$ later things progressed.
Getting there. Manifold looks the part if nothing else.
New front Cooper S disc brake and hub assemblies still to come.
Ally rad from ebay and tropical fan would hopefully keep the engine cool in the summer months if not the driver.
While Motor Car Garage pushed on with the job fitting the new wiring harness….
I got hitched to my long suffering girlfriend, flogged a tired Alfa 147 diesel round Tuscany and more importantly sourced a few more period cosmetic bits for the Morris.
Only in production from ’67 to ’70 most of the Mark II Austin and Morris specific emblems are NLA. With the exception of the boot badge.
And while all the Cooper and S bonnet badges are readily available I resisted the urge to take the easy route and badge it as a wannabe.
And because it’s the journey not the destination I started my OCD driven quest for the mythical Mk 11 bonnet emblem.
After several weeks of nightly searching Ebay and Mini forums worldwide I finally found a bloke in Seattle (or was it Vancouver?) who had one.
Small problem. He admitted it wasn’t in great nick.
No matter, with an artist for a wife I was confident it could be restored. Along with my leisure time and sanity.
I asked him to name his price.
Bigger problem. He wouldn’t sell it at ANY price.
Huge problem. He would happily trade it for an equally rare Austin Mk11 one.
At this point those Cooper S badges began to look pretty tempting.
So for the thrill of the chase and with victory in sight plus every Mini forum classified section already saved to my favourite’s I rose to the occasion and….
5 years later I'm sure the Austin guy is still laughing.
But an hour, the wife and the U.S equivalent of Humbrol later.
Cheers.
Edited by Whatty on Tuesday 27th January 18:29
Stu R said:
Must be, plenty seem to come out of the woodwork for the summer meets and so on.
I was actually thinking about bringing a few over last year, still might but not sure I can be bothered with the hassle.
Not sure about Ohio (?) but I could find buyers for a container load of straight car's in NJ. I was actually thinking about bringing a few over last year, still might but not sure I can be bothered with the hassle.
Slowped said:
Very interesting! How did you end up stateside if you don't mind me asking?
Work brought me out here 11 years ago. Fast forward to September 2009 and the Mini was duly trailered back to me in Northern New Jersey.
Now equipped with twin carbs, bigger bore manifold and exhaust the car certainly sounded more throaty (albeit drowned out by K&N induction noise and the turbine roar of the tropical fan of which I had been warned) but in truth had probably liberated only another 5 or 6 more hp.
Still the engine bay was much improved.
And the disc brakes definitely stopped the little bugger better.
And a dollar for every hour spent searching for this would have paid me back for what had become a rather expensive exercise.
Still a hobby is a hobby and while not smart enough to get off the slippery slope I was canny enough not to add up all the bills.
With the NJ non-driving season fast approaching ( Late November to early April, the salt is a killer) I managed a couple more drives out. And then…..
Ton up (don’t look at the speedo too hard) climbing temperature and falling oil pressure pointed to imminent head gasket failure.
Faced with the realization that I now owned the world’s most expensive 1:1 scale model and lacking a coffee table big enough to display it on I stood the car up for the winter and retreated indoors to ponder its fate.
And then the (pork) fat really hit the fire.
Thanks for reading.
Edited by Whatty on Thursday 29th January 13:08
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