Most liked posts in thread: My ride for the day..

This is a 1960 Triumph Herald. The owner performed most of this restoration himself about 10 years ago as his first and last restoration.
With a small 848cc engine the car is by no means fast, but it makes great Triumph sounds when running it thru the gears. The cable attached throttle is a bit sloppy, but the shifter and brakes are really nice. The car gets an extraordinary amount of attention from women at car shows, and it is primarily used by the owners wife.






Click on this picture below for a short driving video..

2021 june drive video by Ernesto Vumbles, on Flickr

 

This is a 1951 Singer. It is interesting that it is both similar and different than the 1949 Singer. They are both right hand drive. The seats and seating position of this one is a little different and there is more room for both the shifter and your left leg when in 4th gear.
This car has less wood in the frame, the interior is a little better appointed, and the driving experience is a bit less raw and less sporty than the 1949. This car is more comfortable for cruising around, but to me the other one is a bit more fun.

 

This is a 1961 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite.
I had a love/hate relationship with this car. The owner didnt have the car very long.. He took it as a package deal to get a different car. There were some hood fitment issues that were never quite resolved so it spent a time in the shop getting sorted.
This was a very popular car among the guest drivers, so I only got a couple of drives in it.

The interior of the car is very snug and spartan. Door pulls are just an interior string to open the latch.. nothing on the outside. I believe this car was set up for racing at one point and converted back to a street car. The engine sound was loud and raspy and the feel of the pedals, shifter and steering is among the best of what I have ever driven. The car is a hoot to drive. It isnt especially fast but the steering is right-now direct and the small size made even speed limit driving an adventure. This particular car had constant sorting out issues.. I believe something broke or fell off every time we took it out.. We were always able to get it going again and make it home, but it was a hassle.

My adventure with the car was a longer drive to a large car show in the city (Chicago). The drive down was fun and uneventful. Midway thru the show it started raining, so we put the tops up on all the cars.. We seldom do this and each car had it's own complications doing that. The Sprite has a very low top and fixed plastic side windows so it is a tight fit top up. As we started to leave the show I went to make the first turn out of the parking area and the steering wheel turned but the car wheels didnt turn.. Fortunately I wasnt moving fast and not yet on the streets, I was at the back of our caravan and the rest of the group left without me. I was able to push the car to a safe out of the way area, but was not able to determine the issue on my own. Fortunately there were a few people still at the show with tools and one person familiar with Sprites. The issue turned out to be the nut behind the steering wheel (for real.. not the typical joke).. Turns out this aftermarket wheel was not splined and just held on with tension from the large nut that is accessed after removing the center cover. I was able to make my way back solo, but it was a bit intimidating with limited visibility, poor wipers, fogging windshield and constant drips on my leg from the leaking top and the nagging worry that the steering would loosen up again on the road. The Sprite was sold not too much longer after that. I both miss and not miss that car.

 

Yep.. that article was before it made it to the current owner.

 

This is a 1953 Sunbeam Talbot Saloon.

It was an elegant car, and it included a really nice interior with a rare factory sunroof and radio (which I never tried using) but the driving experience was less than the open top cars. Being a four-door the doors are smaller and it was a bit of a squeeze getting in and out with the large steering wheel. The gearshift lever is small and far forward and it tended to slip out of 3rd gear when gently rolling off the throttle.
Visibility was also reduced due to poor mirrors and the door pillars. All and all, it was interesting, but less fun than most of the other cars.