le TR8….ready for fun in the sun!

So wayyyyyy back in the C/D monthly subscription days, the Vector was always one of my two “halo cars” when it came out (the other being the b+b Cw311 which became the Isdera Imperator when it actually went to short-lived production). The Vector never really got that far though, acc. to this video, only 20 ended up getting made. And like so many of these era cars, while I’d love to try and drive one (with of course the $1M insurance policy in place before I started it up and broke a window switch or something stupid), a lot of it hasn’t aged well.

in the example seen in this video, it has more air dams and that stupid back spoiler that the original W2 car didn’t have at debut time (link below to that C/D article) and to me, (like when comparing the Lotus Esprit Turbo vs. the S1, S2 or S3 that don’t have them) all that extra crap detracts from the appearance – I doubt it makes much difference functionally in the end, though.

And given my far-overly-analog approach to cars these days, that instrument panel would drive me nuts after one drive (if not before the first drive was over – nope, I’m NEVER owning a Tesla or anything like that, NOPE) but it wasn’t the interior I was crazy about with this car anyway, it was the looks and the whole ‘concept’ of the car as the original 1980 C/D article had (that was the Vector W2, slightly earlier than the version seen in this video) and in the actual C/D road test a bit later.

in the end, I suspect the Cw311 would be a far easier car to live with (the Cw311 was virtually a production car even at the prototype stage, whereas the Vector could be argued was *always* a prototype in many ways…) but still, I agree with Doug DeMuro – this is still arguably the craziest car ever built – Somewhere, 75+ year old Jerry Wiegert is smiling…

BaT Visits GT-R Mecca: Garage Yoshida, Osaka

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How fun!

BaT Auction Success Story: Family Adventures in a 2003 Volkswagen Eurovan Weekender

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too funny….

Our Old Pal the Low-Ass 11-Foot-8 Bridge Dishes Out Hard Street Justice to a Red Light Runner

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Thanks to mein vater for the tip on this one – what a great episode and sure wish that car had been mine (barring that it was a ’73 – I like ’74s a bit better due to the back scoop)…be warned – this link will likely open a number of popups on you, that you’ll have to minimize or close….

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So this has been a bit of a slow summer for TR8 driving, mainly because of tech issues not long after I got it out of storage (had a flat when I got it out – got that tire patched; then had an overheating problem that with some ancillary help and a couple repairs, i was actually able to fix myself) – and then we’ve gone out of town a bit recently too.

So…finally had an ‘event’ to use it in – a Poker Run with the local Tyee Triumph club. We met in Issaquah next to a pub and Top Pot Doughnuts, probably about 15 cars total? Couple photos of us waiting below, my TR8 is in the very back of the first one before the truck, a bit hard to see:

so we took off, I followed the couple in the white TR6 as I had no ‘navigator’ with me – great, country drive through back roads towards Black Diamond (with bakery stop), then a Cidery:

at this stop, I had a chance to admire some of the other cars in greater detail, including the beautiful black Spitfire in our group, and Tom Eller’s TR250:

but then, back on the road we went. We also stopped in Maple Valley in a retail parking lot as a ‘rest’ stop. As a Poker Run, each stop gave us a poker card to write down, then at the end, when we were back in Issaquah at the pub, we compared ‘hands’ and weirdly enough (with only a pair of Kings) – i won! So I got my choice of the 3 prizes, I picked the Triumph Parking sign:

What a fun event! Hopefully they will have something else similar before i have to put the Wedge back in storage likely in Mid-Oct, depending on the weather…..

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So, it’s that time of year again, when much of the car-loving tri-county area descends upon our neighborhood for the annual end of June Greenwood Car Show.

Bit of a different vibe this year, while still pretty crowded, I think the overcast, “i’m not sure if i’m going to rain” weather scared some away, and it was definitely more like early chilly spring than summer, to be sure.

Still, several cool highlights (view these in the Gallery linked on the left side)

– two black early 50s Porsche’s, likely Kerewin’s fave cars;

– great showings from the local vintage Mini, Datsun, VW, MG and other misc vintage British clans;

– not as many muscle cars as past recent years (to me, good – I’d seen enough Chevy Nova’s and Mach 1’s back in high school to last me several lifetimes) but if you liked even older Chevy Impala’s (making me always think of Adam-12) – this was your show. I’d have to guess that specific car model was definitely the most numerous, or at minimum in the top 5;

– two Panteras this year, nice!

– only a couple Kei cars, an Autozam and a Figaro (there were several last year)

– and one other big highlight for me – a Volvo Valp! Haven’t seen one in person for years, but there it was. Not restoration quality but it sounds like he’s been having a lot of work done on it – will be cool to see if it shows up next year too.

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I get scared just watching this, especially the part near the top where he’s shading his eyes in the direct sun – yipes!

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