Other Car Cultures

[Mike Goble]

So how do you rate the danger of the event?

Can you do it and drive at 7/10s and not be disqualified?

I love the idea of doing it in a Nova or Falcon or maybe an Alfa Giulia Super

It's really not that dangerous. The safety requirements are more stringent now, and there is no requirement that you compete at any certain level.
The first year for the Nova it was pretty much stock. When we won with it I had applied what I learned in previous years to make it much more competitive.
We knew one guy who drove a 64 Chrysler down from Canada with all his stuff in the trunk and raced in that condition.

I returned as a navigator with a guy in a Falcon in 2017 but he crashed it on the first day. We got passed by a Porsche on a speed stage and he suddenly got into the serious racing mode and missed a turn...

 

[Mike Goble]

It can be dangerous. Here's a video of the end of the Nova in 2005. I was working in Singapore and missed this. This section of road is referred to as La Bufa and is outside Zacatecas. They were leading their class by about 5 minutes and only had to keep the shiny side up for a couple of days to win the class. The Nova was a very fast car as they were about 8th overall.

 

[craterface]

It can be dangerous. Here's a video of the end of the Nova in 2005. I was working in Singapore and missed this. This section of road is referred to as La Bufa and is outside Zacatecas. They were leading their class by about 5 minutes and only had to keep the shiny side up for a couple of days to win the class. The Nova was a very fast car as they were about 8th overall.

Yikes. Hopefully they were all ok. Full cage, harnesses, helmets. window nets.

Looks like they just got light coming over that crest, put two wheels off, tried to correct. and rolled.

I wont show that to my wife!

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

La Carrera Panamericana has been on my bucket for a long time...Not as a team member (I'm not skilled like Mike), but as a spectator.

I have a good friend in Aguascalientes who is very familiar with the race, the cars, the drivers and navigators and the course (which changes at least somewhat every year). He invited me and a few of my US friends down a couple of years ago to take in some of it. I've attended lots of major motorsports events, but this was by far the most interesting and exciting. As a spectator, you are right in them midst of the activities. Be it the actual racing, transition legs to the next speed section, the makeshift pits for lunch time adjustments, nightly major fixes and engine changes, and the parties that seem to go on all night in the host cities where the cars stop for the night. The teams are always available and eager to answer questions and tell stories. The logistics of putting on the event are flawless. The old colonial cities are beautiful. The locals are warm and friendly.

We stayed in Morelia for two nights to catch some speed sections in Mil Combres which is probably the best mountain sections.

Nightime activities for the mechanic crews while we partied...

We were in Guanajuato for the arrival of the cars from the day of racing. This is Angelica Fuentes who is a world famous rally navigator and probably the best representative of the Carrera.

Later in the week we attended the noon turn around in the little town of Congoja. They race up the mountain, have the cars serviced. Then race down the mountain. The whole town is on the streets. School is out for the day. The drivers' association brings and donates a ton of school supplies to the students. The women are cooking lunch on the sidewalk for everyone. Very cool!

 

[JFENG]

he suddenly got into the serious racing mode and missed a turn...

he suddenly got into the serious racing mode and missed a turn...

The red mist …

 

[Mike Goble]

"We were in Guanajuato for the arrival of the cars from the day of racing. This is Angelica Fuentes who is a world famous rally navigator and probably the best representative of the Carrera."

Such a gracious person and an incredible navigator. When I arrived as a newbie in 2001 she and other navigators like Araceli Ramirez took very good care of us. Made sure we got to the proper place in line and answered all our questions on how to be a navigator.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

Such a gracious person and an incredible navigator. When I arrived as a newbie in 2001 she and other navigators like Araceli Ramirez took very good care of us. Made sure we got to the proper place in line and answered all our questions on how to be a navigator.

Although folks were lined up to talk to her or to get their photo with her, she spoke with us like we were the only people there for as long as we had questions

. These are my friends Javier, Tom, and Larry.

The same with all the drivers, navigators and crew members. Here is Tom with a French team that brought an early 356...

BTW, Tom recently sold his all original 58 Speedster that he has owned since we were college roommates in 1967. I think it was the video I took of it that sold it.

 

[Mike Goble]

Terry and the Pirates! Argh!

One of my best memories - a young lady with two perfectly filled cups had some beer for us...

 

[CSL177]

Trying to comprehend a Baroque Angel doin' La Carrera... mmmm, LS swap by any chance?

Here's where our little collection lives, gets attention when needed, from disassembly to resurrection. Decent sound system and climate controlled, very fortunate to have it.

We usually keep two cars at home, but with the CSL and CSA gone, it's a little less crowded. Currently hunting for a nice Euro M635csi to occupy some space.

My latest finished project is a highly optioned '67 911S that really is special for us. My birthday is 9/11, this car was built 9/9 and delivered 9/12. A birthday gift.
It's been shipped to Monterey twice (beats a rental) and British Columbia to rally. Never misses a beat, found in a warehouse after 28 years of slumber, driven hard for
12 years and just returned to it's original Slate Gray. The interior has the patina of a well-loved leather jacket and smells like it should.

 

[tferrer]

Very special car, Russ. Looks fantastic in the original slate gray...

 

[Mot27cars]

Trying to comprehend a Baroque Angel doin' La Carrera... mmmm, LS swap by any chance?

Here's where our little collection lives, gets attention when needed, from disassembly to resurrection. Decent sound system and climate controlled, very fortunate to have it.

View attachment 123343

We usually keep two cars at home, but with the CSL and CSA gone, it's a little less crowded. Currently hunting for a nice Euro M635csi to occupy some space.

My latest finished project is a highly optioned '67 911S that really is special for us. My birthday is 9/11, this car was built 9/9 and delivered 9/12. A birthday gift.
It's been shipped to Monterey twice (beats a rental) and British Columbia to rally. Never misses a beat, found in a warehouse after 28 years of slumber, driven hard for
12 years and just returned to it's original Slate Gray. The interior has the patina of a well-loved leather jacket and smells like it should.

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Very blessed….

 

[Rex Kapriellian]

My two old cars, collecting dust at the back of my shop :-(
I've had the Porsche for 45 years, and the BMW for almost 30 years.

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[Rex Kapriellian]

My parents had VWs until I was 7. My dad owned a 1970 Orange Wagon, Mom had 1968 Light Yellow Karmann Ghia, last ne was Dad's 1973 Blue Super Beetle. The had horrible American cars until the New Beetles came out. My mom bought a Bright Yellow Beetle which died a horrible death when she was T-boned, she walked away somehow. Then a Light Green Turbo Beetle was her last car.

I also grew up with Prewar cars & going to car shows almost every weekend. The first ones I remember were around 1970. My grandfather collected cars.

He owned this 1932 Twin Six Victoria by Dietrich from 1962-1979 when he sold it to a man in Atlanta Georgia who repainted it shown at the Packard Centennial in Warren Ohio & he sold it to "Chip" Connors who had RM restore it and took Best in Class & was in the running for Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 2017.

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When he sold the Twin Six he received a 1933 Packard Twelve Convertible Coupe Roadster in partial trade. I inherited the car from my grandfather & sold it in 2017. It's currently being restored to perfection in Connecticut & will make its way to Pebble Beach.

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in 1959 My grandfather bought this 1914 KisselKar 4-40 Touring in Old Saybrook Connecticut. I inherited it in 1999 & still own it today. It's currently in the Hartford Auto Museum in Hartford Wisconsin. There are only 2 of these cars in existence & were first together in 2016 at the Kissel 110 Anniversary Meet at the museum. The other one was owned by Coker Tires' Anne Klein for 60+ years. In 2006, Lynn Kissel bought the car & resides in Cameron Park California.

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I also own 8 BMWs. Veronika-1968 1600 Cabriolet, Vern-1973 2002Tii, Athena-1973 3.0 CSi, Rodney-1988 M5, The M3-1997 M3, Julia-2007 Z4 Coupe,The Unincon-2007 X3 6-speed & Ophelia-2014 X3.

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Wow

 

[Tim M]

Trying to comprehend a Baroque Angel doin' La Carrera... mmmm, LS swap by any chance?

Here's where our little collection lives, gets attention when needed, from disassembly to resurrection. Decent sound system and climate controlled, very fortunate to have it.

View attachment 123343

We usually keep two cars at home, but with the CSL and CSA gone, it's a little less crowded. Currently hunting for a nice Euro M635csi to occupy some space.

My latest finished project is a highly optioned '67 911S that really is special for us. My birthday is 9/11, this car was built 9/9 and delivered 9/12. A birthday gift.
It's been shipped to Monterey twice (beats a rental) and British Columbia to rally. Never misses a beat, found in a warehouse after 28 years of slumber, driven hard for
12 years and just returned to it's original Slate Gray. The interior has the patina of a well-loved leather jacket and smells like it should.

View attachment 123345

I never knew they had a rear wiper in 1967.That is a very special car and thanks for sharing your shop as well!

 

[Rex Kapriellian]

Neither me or any of my family members owned these cars growing up, but I am always drawn to them. 60’s and early 70 cars.the BMW’s are in the lead right now, not by design.

2002 auto at paint
2002 tii
190SL at paint
The Polaris coupe
1968 911L RS tribute

 

[Oldbmwcoupes]

Here are a few pics of some of my other vehicles. Obviously there is a huge disparity between these two goofy toys. I hope to trailer one of my coupes (or other old Bmws) behind the 1976 Airstream Argosy Motorhome. It is in a slow restoration process which includes polishing the exterior aluminum to a brilliant chrome shine, the addition of more windows, a complete interior revamp as well as fuel injection for the 454 Chevy big block. My light sport airplane is at the other end of the spectrum. It weighs 475 lbs with a full tank of fuel.

 

[CSL177]

I never knew they had a rear wiper in 1967.That is a very special car and thanks for sharing your shop as well!

First year for Porsche rear wiper option was 1965... always thought it was cool AND useful, so when a complete NOS dealer kit was offered, I took it.
Not original to the car... neither is the Talbot mirror, and after about 6 months, I swapped a set of Deep 6" Fuchs over the 4.5s. Engine is hot rodded too.

@tferrer I had no idea you still had that Jag, kudos! Last projects your dad was working on that I remember was a flat radiator Mercedes... 1933 290 perhaps?
Had twin side-mount spares and was white IIRC. The fact that he was having so many unobtainable small bits fabricated in Argentina left quite an impression!

 

[tferrer]

First year for Porsche rear wiper option was 1965... always thought it was cool AND useful, so when a complete NOS dealer kit was offered, I took it.
Not original to the car... neither is the Talbot mirror, and after about 6 months, I swapped a set of Deep 6" Fuchs over the 4.5s. Engine is hot rodded too.

@tferrer I had no idea you still had that Jag, kudos! Last projects your dad was working on that I remember was a flat radiator Mercedes... 1933 290 perhaps?
Had twin side-mount spares and was white IIRC. The fact that he was having so many unobtainable small bits fabricated in Argentina left quite an impression!

Yea, you know how it goes. Memories of Dad (so glad you got to meet him) and the desire to not let it get the best of me. It's finally running good after a full mechanical/drivetrain rebuild. Some goof dropped his bike or something against it a couple months back and the paint is lacquer so the cost to fix it was pretty healthy (considering it was just a few scratches and a small dent)...to the tune of 13k from the insurance company, so I'm now looking for a reasonable shop to paint it. Its the original dark blue on dark blue so should look good after it gets done....

 

[Bmachine]

La Carrera Panamericana has been on my bucket for a long time...Not as a team member (I'm not skilled like Mike), but as a spectator.

I have a good friend in Aguascalientes who is very familiar with the race, the cars, the drivers and navigators and the course (which changes at least somewhat every year). He invited me and a few of my US friends down a couple of years ago to take in some of it. I've attended lots of major motorsports events, but this was by far the most interesting and exciting. As a spectator, you are right in them midst of the activities. Be it the actual racing, transition legs to the next speed section, the makeshift pits for lunch time adjustments, nightly major fixes and engine changes, and the parties that seem to go on all night in the host cities where the cars stop for the night. The teams are always available and eager to answer questions and tell stories. The logistics of putting on the event are flawless. The old colonial cities are beautiful. The locals are warm and friendly.

We stayed in Morelia for two nights to catch some speed sections in Mil Combres which is probably the best mountain sections.

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Nightime activities for the mechanic crews while we partied...
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We were in Guanajuato for the arrival of the cars from the day of racing. This is Angelica Fuentes who is a world famous rally navigator and probably the best representative of the Carrera.

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Later in the week we attended the noon turn around in the little town of Congoja. They race up the mountain, have the cars serviced. Then race down the mountain. The whole town is on the streets. School is out for the day. The drivers' association brings and donates a ton of school supplies to the students. The women are cooking lunch on the sidewalk for everyone. Very cool!

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What great pics! Thanks for posting.
It seems to be Studebaker central over there. Always thought they looked really cool.

 

[CSL177]

With no E9s remaining in our garage, and the perfect E3 not presenting itself in a month's-long search, we did the only thing we could: bought a Euro M635csi.

It's sort of like my old CSL's more refined and better dressed nephew. Can't wait to take delivery.