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aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
Offline
My Austin A-35 Future Goofy Vintage Racer is home.
At some point, it will be a proper Flying Teapot.
It's a '58 with 948. 29,000 miles (in theory, but who really knows?).
The former owner is a Brit from Manchester living very near Mosport in Ontario.
Nice fellow...he's selling his two "hobby cars" because the economy is tough and he "has to pay his hydro bill" (he also has a nice TR6).
I drove almost 1000 miles on Saturday. Much of it through a lake-effect snow storm in the Syracuse area. I followed a snow plow on Rt. 81 for over an hour.
I've dropped over $10 into two coin operated car washes since the trip and I *think* I've gotten all the salt off the cars. Ugh!
Special Thanks to JP Smit for finding this on a Canadian Kijiji site (and offering to help me, if needed). I found others but they were too perfect and too dear to hack into a race car. This car is ideal for my purposes.
In Ontario I paid $0.79 CDN per liter for gas. Is that even a good price? I have no idea!
The US border requires all cars entering have their undercarriges washed off so I dropped a few loonies in a car wash and hosed the A35 off before heading home. The car wash guy came over and shook my hand.....he loved the car and said his Dad had one.
Four French Canadian guys in a Beemer pulled up to me at a gas station and asked if it was for sale.
An attractive blond woman pointed at the Austin and gave me a Thumbs Up!
I'm going to like this car.......but it wouldn't suit an introvert.
The Canadian border guy were friendly and even suggested I look at the Garmin website to see if I could download a Canadian map for my GPS (I discovered it didn't have any Candian roads in it's database....good job I can read a map).
The return to the US was a little worrisome because I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had all my paperwork done properly (EPA form, DOT form, provinicial ownership title filled out properly) and of course, my current passport.
The US officer at the border gate was gruff and unfriendly, but I think that was just part of his act. He sat there silently staring at the car for over a minute before he barked that I should "proceeed forward and then turn into the first bay on the right".
Which I did.
And the officer in the bay was great fun, talking about my "Mr Magoo" car, etc.
The border stuff took about 30 minutes in all....it was no big deal (as long as your car is 25+ years old).
I won't have much time to work on it right now, but I'm building a 1275 engine that I have on hand (and I have a spare ribcage too). I have a home for it's original 948 and smoothcase too...eventually.
I have access to stuff I need to build the cage. Sprites are based on A-35s, so I already have lots of intechangeable parts. For '09 I will probably just run Sprite disks on front, But I'd like to make it properly VSCCA legal with some "trick" front drums eventually.
There is some surface rust and a little "hanger rash" but it's very solid. I'll make the body repairs and a friend of mine will paint it (probably a light grey).
I'm keeping the race-Spridget. The Escort is for sale. Until this gets done, I'll race the Spridget and after that, I decide what I want to do with two British race cars (plus the MGB). I think the best solution is a bigger garage.I will try to keep the A-35 street legal for now (with classic plates), but I may change that idea later on.
The Car:
Alone on Rt 81 on the drive north
Lake effect snow
Driving up the skinny, windy Thousand Island Bridge (scary!)
Barely wide enough when a big truck comes the other way. Built in 1932.
This is my goal (an A35 at Goodwood)
At some point, it will be a proper Flying Teapot.
It's a '58 with 948. 29,000 miles (in theory, but who really knows?).
The former owner is a Brit from Manchester living very near Mosport in Ontario.
Nice fellow...he's selling his two "hobby cars" because the economy is tough and he "has to pay his hydro bill" (he also has a nice TR6).
I drove almost 1000 miles on Saturday. Much of it through a lake-effect snow storm in the Syracuse area. I followed a snow plow on Rt. 81 for over an hour.
I've dropped over $10 into two coin operated car washes since the trip and I *think* I've gotten all the salt off the cars. Ugh!
Special Thanks to JP Smit for finding this on a Canadian Kijiji site (and offering to help me, if needed). I found others but they were too perfect and too dear to hack into a race car. This car is ideal for my purposes.
In Ontario I paid $0.79 CDN per liter for gas. Is that even a good price? I have no idea!
The US border requires all cars entering have their undercarriges washed off so I dropped a few loonies in a car wash and hosed the A35 off before heading home. The car wash guy came over and shook my hand.....he loved the car and said his Dad had one.
Four French Canadian guys in a Beemer pulled up to me at a gas station and asked if it was for sale.
An attractive blond woman pointed at the Austin and gave me a Thumbs Up!
I'm going to like this car.......but it wouldn't suit an introvert.
The Canadian border guy were friendly and even suggested I look at the Garmin website to see if I could download a Canadian map for my GPS (I discovered it didn't have any Candian roads in it's database....good job I can read a map).
The return to the US was a little worrisome because I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had all my paperwork done properly (EPA form, DOT form, provinicial ownership title filled out properly) and of course, my current passport.
The US officer at the border gate was gruff and unfriendly, but I think that was just part of his act. He sat there silently staring at the car for over a minute before he barked that I should "proceeed forward and then turn into the first bay on the right".
Which I did.
And the officer in the bay was great fun, talking about my "Mr Magoo" car, etc.
The border stuff took about 30 minutes in all....it was no big deal (as long as your car is 25+ years old).
I won't have much time to work on it right now, but I'm building a 1275 engine that I have on hand (and I have a spare ribcage too). I have a home for it's original 948 and smoothcase too...eventually.
I have access to stuff I need to build the cage. Sprites are based on A-35s, so I already have lots of intechangeable parts. For '09 I will probably just run Sprite disks on front, But I'd like to make it properly VSCCA legal with some "trick" front drums eventually.
There is some surface rust and a little "hanger rash" but it's very solid. I'll make the body repairs and a friend of mine will paint it (probably a light grey).
I'm keeping the race-Spridget. The Escort is for sale. Until this gets done, I'll race the Spridget and after that, I decide what I want to do with two British race cars (plus the MGB). I think the best solution is a bigger garage.I will try to keep the A-35 street legal for now (with classic plates), but I may change that idea later on.
The Car:
Alone on Rt 81 on the drive north
Lake effect snow
Driving up the skinny, windy Thousand Island Bridge (scary!)
Barely wide enough when a big truck comes the other way. Built in 1932.
This is my goal (an A35 at Goodwood)
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