Category Archives: Inspiration

Car Movies: Pas de problème!

Leave it to the French to create the most wacky and entertaining car chase scenes! Like the Dukes of Hazzard, but without the tough American iron to absorb the landings, the stuntmen and European tin in this 1975 film take a beating. The leading man in his Fiat 131 tries to get away from the baddies in their VW K70, leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake.

It is surprisingly hard to find much information about this film online, but famous stunt driver Remy Julienne is credited as a driver. He later went on to do stunt work in many of the James Bond films. It turns out a Citroen DS makes a great ramp, french roads are full of talented stunt drivers, and a Fiat tends to fly better than a VW. This just makes us want to go buy an old Peugeot and make drift!

[via Retro and Classic Cars]

Cobras and E-types and Mustangs, Oh My!

Racing was an entirely different world back in the 60’s. This 8mm film, complete with its clacketing projector reel soundtrack, really has a neat feel to it. Just a bunch of people hanging out by the bay in NorCal, watching a stream of SCCA Production A/B/C warriors battle and bump it out on the streets of Candlestick Park in 1965. The 1.9 mile temporary road course was used from 1963 until 1965, using the parking lots and roads surrounding the relatively new San Francisco Giants stadium. Frantic flagmen, haybales for safety (kinda), and lots of excitement! Keep your eye out for the #7 Cobra driven by legendary Phil Hill, and the chequered flag taken by Don Wester in his yellow Porsche 904(?). [Video link via The Chicane]

”]The track layout as it was in the 1960’s.

Ford-based Russian car is a real GAZ

By Nigel Matthews

The Russian car Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod — translated from Russian, “Gorky Automobile Plant,” or simply known as a GAZ — was a product of a joint venture between Ford and the Soviet Union which became the largest auto plant in Europe.

The first model off the line was based on Ford’s new Model A, and was called the GAZ-A. The Canadian equivalent likely would have been the GAZ-EH.

The first GAZ I encountered was in 2006 at a Barrett-Jackson auction. It was a 1974 Gaz-13 “Chaika” Limousine used by a Kremlin official. That car surprisingly sold for $43,200 at this all-American show.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a photo of a smaller version cross my desk and wondered how this car, which looked almost brand-new, ended up in Canada. What was the story?

The only way to find out was to call the owner, Mikhail Molchanov. He told me he had owned the 1959 GAZ-Volga in Russia for many years. He left it behind when he immigrated to Canada but planned to have it shipped at a later date.

He purchased two other Volgas to provide a sufficient supply of parts so the car could be restored in Russia, which took three years. When completed, it was shipped to B.C.

This second-generation model has a different grille, with horizontal bars and a large star in the centre. The story goes that one of the Russian generals disapproved of the first-generation grille.

So the designer thought that, if he placed a big star in the centre, the general could hardly disapprove of that and they got away with it. The third-generation cars had the leaping deer removed from the hood, because it was not very pedestrian-friendly. Not many cars are.

If you see this magnificent car — which looks like a cross between a Studebaker and a Ford — on the streets or at a car show somewhere in British Columbia, take a good look at it, because I doubt you will ever see another one in Canada.

Nigel Matthews is the sales and marketing executive for Hagerty Canada

Victorious Delage looked a vision in white

By Nigel Matthews with Philip Powell

For the first time in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance’s 60-year history a white car won the best of show award in 2010.

A 1933 Delage took the honour at the prestigious Carmel, California, event and to be perfectly honest, I did not think the white colour scheme was going to pull it off. However, the car looked stunning and simply glistened all day on the 18th Fairway with a non-stop crowd milling around it.

A car that was born in the depression and restored in the recent recession, the Delage D8S certainly gives a new meaning to the phrase elegance.

In January of this year, at the request of Jim Patterson of Louisville, Kentucky (not to be confused with Jim Pattison of B.C.) I flew to Blenheim, Ontario to the RM Restoration workshops to view and document his one-off 1933 Delage D8S de Villars Roadster.

Patterson had purchased the car at the RM auction in Monterey during August of 2007 for $3.74 million dollars. The car was very nice and had undergone a recent restoration but it was not up to the exacting standards of the Patterson collection, which consists of numerous curvaceous French automobiles, filled with outstanding examples from Bugatti and Delahaye, as well as Delage.

Intrigued by the restoration process, Patterson thoroughly researches each vehicle’s history, and then ensures that the restoration is correct in every detail. In this instance, the vehicle’s provenance is both distinguished and brief, beginning with first owner Aurelio Lerroux, the son of Alejandro Lerroux, then Prime Minister of Spain. The second owner was a Sr. Rico, friend of Aurelio Lerroux and the brother of the mayor of Madrid.

The car then passed to the Gran Hotel Velasquez in Madrid where, oddly, it served as VIP transportation for several years. Later, it was put into storage, hidden from curious eyes for some 40 years, having had just three owners. For sheer glamour, few could have matched the 1933 Delage D8S Roadster, which was the star of the 1934 Paris Auto Salon, it then went to the Delage showroom on the Champs d’Elysees where it was advertised for over 100,000 francs, an exorbitant price in those years.

That the car was a prototype is confirmed by the Coachbuilder concept drawings, which are still with the car. Clearly, Carrosserie deVillars seized a one-time opportunity to showcase their daring concept on the new D8S chassis -the most exclusive and powerful Delage had to offer. The result is a masterpiece, the finest work presented by two of the most innovative French companies of that era. Fortunately, the car’s designers were given an outstanding platform on which to apply their artistry.

The D8S was a marked improvement of Louis Delage’s D8 masterpiece, with a lightened and lowered chassis, a shorter 130″ wheelbase, and an upgrade of the D8’s in-line, 4-litre pushrod overhead valve straight eight to 145 bhp @ 4500 rpm, enough to make it quicker than a blown Bentley of the period.

During the early stages of development, the engineering team was also designing a new military aircraft engine. Deciding to link the two, Delage asked his staff to produce a cylinder head with specially made short springs located next to the valves to help prevent breakage. Even the D8S carburetor was an aviation type, surrounded by heated oil to avoid icing. Interestingly the coil and distributor are from Delco-Remy rather than French supplier Marchal. The brakes are cable-operated although, unusually for the period, they’re vacuum assisted. All of these unique engineering features remain as originally installed and have now been restored to as new condition by the skilled RM craftsmen.

One of the design objectives was to make the hood as long as possible, allowing nothing to interfere visually with the unbroken sweep from radiator to windshield. Typical cowl vents would have marred the effect and so vents were slotted in under the hood, opening into the cowl area to supply fresh air to the cockpit.

A foolproof system assured that the vents aligned with the hood opening mechanism to prevent damage. As a further example of attention to detail, the jack is mounted securely to the steering box. A handy wrench is attached to the fuel pump. Even the headlamps are a work of art, with diffuser lines worked into the silver-plated bowls.

However, it seems likely that they succeeded in designing a car equally impressive with the top up as well as down. Inevitably not everything is what it seems in a restoration of this kind. For example, when Don McLelland, the Project Manager first examined a photo from the Paris show it became apparent that the body chrome mouldings were originally concave in shape. Yet the current mouldings were convex. As the crew disassembled the car, they noted that the structural wood below the surface of the steel skin actually had cut-outs and grooves placed by the coach-builder to fit concave mouldings. RM removed several fill-in wood pieces and repaired the steel door skins to allow sufficient room, then accurately reworked the mouldings.

Patterson’s Delage D8S has now been returned to its original white colour scheme though the finish is extraordinary, even for a renowned classic.

Writing this story and having it published in my name prior to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance presented a problem. I judge at the event and had to distance myself from any conflict of interest, despite not judging that particular class or having a best of show vote, it was simply the right thing to do. Philip Powell and I worked on this project and article and I’m happy to bring this to you today.

Philip Powell is the host of Marque1.com and Nigel Matthews is the sales and marketing executive for Hagerty Canada

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Tank that nearly stole the show

Words & Photos by Nigel Matthews

The Steamworks Concours d’Elegance, which stretched from Gassy Jack Square to the west end of Water Street in Vancouver on Sept 4th, was protected by a tank! It was all part of a very well planned display of vintage military vehicles supplied by the Canadian Military Education Centre in Chilliwack.

As you might imagine, the organizers had to answer some serious questions from City Hall before the 36,000 kg (39.7 ton) tank was permitted to place one link of its rubber tracks onto the city street.

The T-55s lineage dates back to the T-34 and World War Two. More T-55s have been produced than any other tank; production figures vary ranging from 42,000 to as many as 57,000 used by 50 countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain. It is estimated that 39,000 are still used in military service today.

If mechanical specs interest you here are a few. Torsion bar suspension, five rubber-tire road wheels are mounted per side. Unlike other tracked vehicles there are no return wheels for the tracks; the track runs across the top of the road wheels on its return.

The V-12 diesel engine is mounted transversely and drives the rear sprockets, just like the Lamborghini Muira! The dimensions are as follows, length 6.4 m (21ft), width 3.3 m (10.8 ft) and height 2.4 m (7.8 ft)

The modified VW Bus with a Cadillac V-8 engine on display half a block from the tank (pictured above), produces 20 horsepower more than the T55s 580-hp. The tank’s top speed is 50 km/pH (30 mph) with a range of 600 km (372 miles). The amour plating is 203 mm thick so door dents are not a problem, but the very small shopping mall spaces of today would be.

As I made my way down Water Street, I met two police officers patrolling their beat and asked them which vehicle on the street they would like to take home? They both replied in unison “the tank”.

Where does one find a second-hand tank? Try tanksforsale.co.uk! You might find a ‘one owner, driven only on Sundays by a little old lady’ example for sale.

Nigel Matthews is the sales and marketing executive for Hagerty Canada

Vancouver ABFM Video

With over 630 classic cars on display, the 2010 edition of the Vancouver All British Field Meet was one of the best yet. Held in the beautiful VanDusen Botanical Gardens, this year’s show featured the Jaguar E-Type and British-built Fords. The first in the Classic Car Adventures video series, we check out a few of the highlights, including an AC Ace, 1934 Aston Martin Ulster, and a Jaguar E-Type.

Volvo so good it couldn’t be true, but it was

Not only was he our trusty sweep driver for the 2010 Spring Thaw, Nigel Matthews is also a regular contributor to Vancouver daily newspaper, The Province. This article appeared online and on Page C21 in the Friday, May 7th edition.

Click for Larger Version

The three-day 2010 Spring Thaw Adventure tour along the scenic route from Hope to Squamish, via Osoyoos, Sun Peaks and the Duffy Lake road, attracted around 65 classic cars from all over B.C., Alberta, Oregon, Washington and one from as far afield as Lake Worth, Florida.

Last weekend’s run, staged by classicaradventures.com,featured some wonderful automotive gems — Aston-Martin, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Datsun, Fiat, Intermeccanica, Jensen-Healey, Lancia, Lotus, MG, Mini, Mercedes, Opel, Pontiac, Porsche, Rover, Saab, Triumph, Volvo and Volkswagen.

One of the Volvos caught my eye, it belongs to John Chattin-McNichols, of Seattle, he spotted the 1967 Volvo 144S on Craigs List for an asking price of $500. He asked all the usual questions of the seller, using his knowledge of the particular model’s, shall we say, peculiarities. Queries relating to such matters as rust and that vinyl dashboard top, which has a tendency to crack? The owner responded in the negative to each question and stated: “It’s in mint condition”.

Chattin-McNichols was now becoming a little agitated, thinking he was getting the usual exaggerated sales talk. Knowing that most Volvo rear seats of that age are often in poor condition he asked the final question. “Hang on, I will look,” said the seller. A few moments later the out of breath owner, returned to the phone: “Perfect . . . I don’t think they have even been sat on”.

The only downside was a fuel tank full of pinholes; a simple fix.

Photo: Tony Latham

The 144 series was the first of the boxy body style Volvos to us the tridigit nomenclature that designated a series 1-four-cylinder-four-door, the “S” model was fitted with the more powerful B18B engine used in the 1800S sports car.

Small numbers of this model made their way to North America. This example was a factory delivery car, meaning that the original owner took delivery of it at the factory in Sweden, drove it around Europe and then had it delivered to the USA. It still had the decal indicating this on the side glass

The 144S had spent the last 18 years in storage, its original female owner had given it to her son and he had little interest in using it, so he did not.

Photo: Tony Latham

A 1966 Volvo 1800S owned by Irvin Gordon of East Patchogue, New York, USA holds the Guinness world record for the highest mileage in a Volvo, using the same engine as Chattin-McNichols 144S. Gordon has driven it for more than 40 years. It has covered 2.7 million miles and the owner is now targeting the three million mile mark.

Nigel Matthews is the sales and marketing executive for Hagerty Canada– hagerty.canmatthews@hagerty.com