This morning, headed out to a car show. And the XJ6 decided to die on the way. Current suspicion is the fuel pump wiring going bad. Terribly sorry, local resident, I’m blocking your driveway with my Jaaaaag.
I know that a lot of the earliest cars were sold via mail-order, traveling salesmen, and often came with extensive service manuals. I’ve read a little bit about the 1950’s car dealerships in America, and I’m curious about how different it is from then until now. Have high-pressure salespeople and managers always been part of the process?
Flew out of Anchorage today, got to the airport early enough for some planespotting over dinner. One of four Dreamlifters in the world! So many 747, and I’ve never seen one before going to Alaska. A DC-3 landed, and taxied around a 747.
If you’re in Anchorage, the aviation museum is across the street from the airport and is also worth a visit. Their screen showing flights at the airport tipped me off about the Dreamliner.
Almost three years ago, I towed this 1972 Jaguar XJ6 out of a parking lot and said I could fix it. So much work, so much learning, and I got it running again last spring. Today, we went to a Jaguar Club Concours d’Elegance, and won a prize in the Preservation class.
Getting a rare and highly original old car back into show condition is so much work and was so worth it. I spent about 25 hours detailing over the last week, learned how to polish, improved my wax technique, so much chrome polish, glass sparkling. Good enough to be with other cars that are nearly perfect. And got to show off my hard work to people who loved seeing the journey.
When I saw that Fifi was coming to Massachusetts, I had to get a ride. What an incredible experience, seeing history up close, crewed by such dedicated and passionate people. While in the air, the Mustang was flying around us! The PT-13 and PT-26B were also flying passengers all morning. What an incredible experience!
I did save a bunch of old original carpet from my 1972 Jaguar. I thought it was too disgusting to reinstall, husband stored it, I brought it to my detailer and they worked a miracle.
About half the old carpet survived, as well as the trunk upholstery. So that’s all reinstalled. Yesterday I took out the seats and replaced some of the new carpet with the old stuff, and wow. Old carpet is vivid red after all these years, and its stains, fading, and cigarette burns are part of the car’s story.
I finally got the chrome trim strip reinstalled around the windshield. If anyone else does British classic cars that have that strip, it’s a massive pain and you will get covered in rubber residue and cut your fingers a few times. It looks so good! At the end of the month, we’re going to Concours d’Elegance and competing in Preservation since this car is so original.
Not just talking about Stephen King’s Christine. I think I have a haunted car, and I bet it’s not the only beloved classic car whose former owner stuck around.
I own a 1972 Jaguar, rescued from a former coworker when I found out he wasn’t trying to fix the cool old car that had been parked outside for a year. I found out that the car had been part of an estate, sold after the late owner’s passing, and rather unceremoniously dumped into the hands of this kid who hadn’t tried to get it to run. After some research, I found out it had been in one family since new and locally owned, and was a rare original survivor.
When I brought my new project home, I could feel some sort of weird and very unfriendly vibe from it. I’m usually skeptical but have noticed I’m sensitive, and I was getting a lot of angry energy from this car. So I sat down in the garage, addressed the deceased former owner, reassured him that his car was safe and I’d restore her. Over the next few months, the vibe went from hostile to cautious to friendly.
I get whiffs of cigarette smoke from time to time when I’m in the car. I quit years ago, no one in my house nor my neighbors smoke, and stale old smoke smells different from fresh smoke. The late former owner was a heavy smoker. My husband got a strong whiff of smoke after I got the car to start for the first time, and then I told him about my suspected haunting.
Old mechanic’s notes say the horn doesn’t work. It didn’t work for me. But sometimes, I get a random honk, often just before I find out about something like the brakes being bad, the carburetors needing work, the battery being too low, something else important. If I drop a screw or a tool and can’t find it, and ask the late owner to help me look, the missing part will be waiting for me when I return to the garage.
Maybe it’s coincidence and I’m imagining things. But I think I have a haunted car. My mom and best friend are both sensitive, and both have mentioned that my car feels haunted to them. Has anyone else heard of haunted cars?
Finally made an appointment, pleasantly surprised to find out that my anatomy works for a rook. Conch was placed high so it won’t be in the way of earbuds. Rook wasn’t super painful to pierce but the jewelry hurt to insert, conch was surprisingly painful. Now for a year or so of healing!