Author
|
Thread |
|
|
|
Jesus Saves
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1150
Location: South of Heaven5/20/18 3:18 PM |
Who are they?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19083
Location: PDX5/20/18 3:40 PM |
Just some recently married Brits.
Duke and Duchess of Sussex or some such. ;)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6890
Location: Maine5/20/18 3:49 PM |
Depends
Did Lucas do the conversion?
Actually I don't think you can spoil that car unless you mess with the lines. Reportedly when Enzo Ferrari saw the XK-E he said it was the most beautiful car ever made.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19083
Location: PDX5/20/18 3:59 PM |
When his dad? and bro married [i think], they drove away in a pretty sweet restored Aston Martin. The kids Dad's car IIRC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19083
Location: PDX5/20/18 4:07 PM |
I drove a few of those 40 years ago, Jags. Two things stick out in my mind. How could a door on a car be so small, and you can side step the clutch on a 12 cyl at idle and it won't stall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matthew Currie
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 802
Location: Vermont5/20/18 5:11 PM |
When I was a kid my dad and I went every year to the International Auto Show in New York. They had a white roadster which was the cover car on the catalogue in 1961. I was 12 and I practically fainted it was so fantastic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19083
Location: PDX5/20/18 6:13 PM |
When 17 years old, I found 930 Turbo in the parking lot of Volkswagon of America in Englewood Cliffs, NJ with the keys in the ignition.
We loved all those foreign beasts. I have mentioned in threads here over the years how a friend worked at a body shop that did the repair for Grossman Motor works in Nyak, NY. I have been party to lots of pick ups and deliveries when a teen. Meraks, SM, Lambo sedan, most of the range of the Maserati line at that time. A few cars with the lion on the emblems etc.
Reminds me, time to get working on the 78 MG... ;)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
daddy-o
Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 3307
Location: Springfield5/20/18 10:28 PM |
The Jag photo
Is she driving or is the car not built for domestic roads?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19083
Location: PDX5/20/18 10:46 PM |
Good catch, it is apparently not right hand drive. Maybe a gift for his American wife?
Nope, some googling shows it was rented for the task.
"The car Harry and Meghan drove was based on a version of the E-Type, the Series 1.5, that was only sold in the US and Canada," he explains. "That’s why the steering wheel is on the left!"
And the plate was decorative I guess.
"The Sun reported the couple rented the car specifically for the day, and the car sells for a whopping £350,000 ($471,000). The fact that it was a left-hand drive model probably didn’t affect them too much, since they were possibly only using it for the day.
Another detail you might have missed? The license plate, which features their wedding date. Since the car was only being driven on private property and not on public roads, they were allowed to get a bit creative."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3236
Location: Midland, MI5/21/18 9:30 AM |
E types
Back when I was in early high school, I actually had a thought that I could afford the monthly payments to buy an XK E 2+2. The plan never came to fruition. One of my college roommates had an XK E 6. He said it got 25 mpg at 100 mph (drove from upper Michigan to TX one night :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13ollocks
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 413
Location: Chapel Hill, NC5/21/18 9:19 PM |
Series 1.5 cars weren't only sold in the US/Canada, it's just that they incorporated several features to conform with US safety regs, eg, "open" headlights (as opposed to the earlier faired-in lights), a detuned motor, with 2 carbs instead of 3, rocker switches on the dash, instead of toggles, and "earless" knock-off wheel nuts. They were US-conforming, rather than US-exclusive. Essentially a de-fanged Series 1.
Prototype cars are usually built LHS because ultimately the majority of their market is going to be LHS. For example, ~90% of the entire production of the Triumph TR6 is LHS, despite it being manufactured in the UK. Most of them were exported to the US
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pat Clancy
Joined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 1353
Location: Manchester, CT5/22/18 2:30 PM |
63 XKE coupe
When I met my wife to be, her father was driving a 63 XKE coupe, a stunningly beautiful car. He had bought it used for something like $5000 circa 1967. Unfortunately, like most every other British car of that era, it was less than perfectly reliable - insert many Lucas jokes here. But my favorite memory of that car was my father-in-law beating on the knock-offs with a lead hammer trying to tighten the wheels. The hub splines had worn near razor sharp and when he hit the brakes all four wheels would thunk as the slack was taken up.
The first third of the following video is a Jeremy Clarkson tribute to the E type. He then goes on to review the Eagle roadster, based on the E type. A mere half million pounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66owXqZaexs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6890
Location: Maine5/22/18 4:18 PM |
No wonder you married her
Did you try to negotiate the XK E as a dowery? Perhaps better to admire from afar...
That's a cool video, though I don't think the Eagle is nearly as pretty as the original.
A high school classmate got a yellow XK E convertible for this 16th birthday. In college one guy had one, though the preppy standards were 1600 or 2002s, or 124s. And one more colorful guy across the hall from me had a Z28.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|