Warbirds, Wings and Wheels 2011

The Estrella aviation and car museum in my town has begun to host a car show every spring.  I attended for the first two years, but this year I decided to enter my in-progress car to enjoy the experience and talk with people about electric cars.

I had to re-attach the wheels, drop the car off the jackstands, winch it up on the trailer, drive it over, maneuver it into position, winch it off the trailer and roll it into position with no steering wheel.  Setup officially opened at 7AM but I didn't get there until about 8, and the place was virtually full.  I had to park way out at the end, but it was a good location because people seemed to do a loop down the main road and back again, and I was at the far end of the loop.

As you enter the grounds, they were taking pictures of each car.  Here's mine, not the most glamorous shot, but you can see the potential...

This was the main row, with the limit of 300 cars packed into the airplane display area.

Here is the car in position, with an informational sign I made and had laminated and the battery boxes sitting in place.  The electric motor was in plain view and was a good conversation starter.

I really lucked out later in the day when this rare and beautiful Jaguar XK120 parked next to me.  The restoration was impeccable and both cars had nearly the same dark gray metallic paint color.

I talked with at least 50 people about the car and electric cars in general.  The most popular question was, of course, how far can you go on a charge.  Most people seemed happy with the expected 60 mile range, only one person said they needed to go further than that each day.  I think that's a pretty good statistic for the potential for widespread adoption of electric cars.  Most people were very surprised that the car can go 85+ miles per hour.

Next year I'll definitely enter the car again and get it there and back under its own power.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by and took the time for great discussion.  To the person who stole my car polish, microfiber cloths, winch gloves, car exhibitor goodie bag and $40 quart of POR-15 - I hope you die of syphilis.

Avila Beach Concours 2010

This weekend is the Avila Beach Concours car show, and unfortunately it was cloudy and drizzly, so attendance was down but there were some great cars nonetheless.

I saw this in the parking lot as I was walking in, the new Honda CRZ hybrid.

 Here are a couple of Lamborghinis and a Porsche 911 GT3 RS

CXC Simulations had a tent, giving demos of their incredible racing simulator.  There are 3 large screens and the driver's seat is on hydraulics to mimic the feel of the track as you drive.  They have hundreds of cars and courses available.  They had pictures of famous drivers using the sim, including F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

This is the Ariel Atom, hand built in Virginia.  This car is insanely fast, and Jeremy Clarkson just gushed over it on Top Gear.  That's him in the second picture; you have to keep your mouth closed as you drive...

Here is a favourite of mine, an Acura NSX, and one of the most beautiful body styles ever, the Porsche Turbo whale tail:

This is a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC.  It's as good from the back and the front, and one attendee said it was valued at $4 million.

This is a rare mid-60s Toyota sports car, designed by Toyota but built by Yamaha, including Yamaha piano builders for the woodwork.

And this one is for my Dad, a 1953 Jag XK120, hot off a frame-off restoration and several upgrades such as an E-Type rear-end, a 5 speed synchromesh transmission and a more-recent paint color.

Concours in Avila Beach, and The Engine Is Unhappy

Yesterday I drove the 914 down to Avila Beach for the 2009 Concours show.  My buddy Gary from G-Rides exotic car performance workshop sponsored the show and had a booth, so I couldn't resist.

The first thing that hit me when I walked onto the golf course show grounds were a pair of Tesla roadsters.  I got talking with the guys about my modest electric car project, and the J1772 new recharging connector that was just approved by the standards body last week.

 Just beyond the Teslas was the brand-new Porsche Panamera, the first 4-door sports car from Porsche.  Up close it's not as ugly as in pictures, but it is really, really big.  Can't say that I'm keen on it.

There were Ferraris everywhere, with a nice selection of classic American and European cars.  This Porsche GT caught my eye ($440K?  Pocket change!)

The local Central California branch of the Porsche club had a tent.  I told them I joined the national Porsche club on the web last week and my information should be forwarded to them soon so they can keep me up on club activities.  The lady was very sweet, telling me they didn't care if my car ran or was in pieces, they would still take me.  I told her I bought an 914 and I could see her face drop just a bit, but now that Volkswagen has purchased Porsche, we're all one big happy family!  I did buy a Porsche key chain for $10 , so now I'm official.

The downside of the trip was the engine has developed a habit of randomly stalling while driving down the highway...  It starts as a shudder, the power coming in and out rapidly.  If I beat on the gas pedal it will sometimes re-fire but I had to pull to the shoulder of the highway twice to restart.  Once it restarts, it seems fine, but it happened again several times on the way home.  The 914 forums say it could be anything from vapor lock to the fuel pump to cracked vacuum lines to the fuel filter to bad gas.  I just needed it to run nicely for a couple of months until I start the teardown for the electric conversion, but I don't trust it and I don't feel safe driving it far from home.  I don't want to put a lot of time, effort and money into fixing the issue when I'll just be pulling the engine soon, so I think I'll live with it and stay near home.  I've got 2/3 of a tank of gas to burn...

I'm refining the project task list, and researching additional parts and repair techniques.  Stay tuned!