Posting car pictures in my journal on Saturday mornings is becoming something of a tradition.
Last night my friend Tony and I went to see Pa, who was starting up his 1936 Fiat 500C - "Topolino." He had is going earlier in the week, but this was the first Tony or I had seen it, and we've all put a lot of work into the thing for a lot of years.
Here's a side view. As you can see, we still have to do bodywork, but there's not a whole lot left to do.
Now we have an angle view from the front. Notice the exhaust - we're going to have to keep moving if we don't want to suffocate while we're out driving! And our beautiful headers are already discoloring.
Next is a close-up of the engine in this beast. It's a 327 small block Chevy, cammed, and all sorts of crazy. I think a person could probably hear it at my house, a mile or two away from Pa's; it roars. It doesn't idle below 1500 rpm, and when you get on the accelerator the whole car twists; I think it's going to be a challenge to keep the front wheels on the ground.
Check out the interior. It's not finished, but I wanted to give you all an impression of what it's like to try and fit in there. Pa is 6'4". I'm about 6'2". Getting in the driver's seat requires some pretzeling. Your head also sticks out the top. We have a challenge with the 5-point harnesses: we bet no one can get in and strapped properly in less than 5 minutes. So far no one has.
Here's a view from the rear: gas tank and battery. And I made that rear deck lid! God, I hate working with fiberglass. But it turned out great. Also, you can't tell from the scale of the photo, but those rear tires are probably about 10" wide. Aluminum racing wheels. Nice.
Last we have a photo of Pa making some adjustments. You can see how he might have some difficulty fitting in the car. For the record, he's actually Tony's dad, not mine, but I'm extremely close to both of them.
Oh, and the car will not be yellow, but some scheme of red, white, and blue. I did all the red paint on the frame; another job well done, if I may say so myself!
Have a good weekend, darlings!
Last night my friend Tony and I went to see Pa, who was starting up his 1936 Fiat 500C - "Topolino." He had is going earlier in the week, but this was the first Tony or I had seen it, and we've all put a lot of work into the thing for a lot of years.
Here's a side view. As you can see, we still have to do bodywork, but there's not a whole lot left to do.
Now we have an angle view from the front. Notice the exhaust - we're going to have to keep moving if we don't want to suffocate while we're out driving! And our beautiful headers are already discoloring.
Next is a close-up of the engine in this beast. It's a 327 small block Chevy, cammed, and all sorts of crazy. I think a person could probably hear it at my house, a mile or two away from Pa's; it roars. It doesn't idle below 1500 rpm, and when you get on the accelerator the whole car twists; I think it's going to be a challenge to keep the front wheels on the ground.
Check out the interior. It's not finished, but I wanted to give you all an impression of what it's like to try and fit in there. Pa is 6'4". I'm about 6'2". Getting in the driver's seat requires some pretzeling. Your head also sticks out the top. We have a challenge with the 5-point harnesses: we bet no one can get in and strapped properly in less than 5 minutes. So far no one has.
Here's a view from the rear: gas tank and battery. And I made that rear deck lid! God, I hate working with fiberglass. But it turned out great. Also, you can't tell from the scale of the photo, but those rear tires are probably about 10" wide. Aluminum racing wheels. Nice.
Last we have a photo of Pa making some adjustments. You can see how he might have some difficulty fitting in the car. For the record, he's actually Tony's dad, not mine, but I'm extremely close to both of them.
Oh, and the car will not be yellow, but some scheme of red, white, and blue. I did all the red paint on the frame; another job well done, if I may say so myself!
Have a good weekend, darlings!
venice:
I love whiskey, actually. It's my favorite thing to drink. But it turned out they didn't manage to get to the liquor store and I got drunk on Brandy instead. Is that better?
sophie:
excellent pictures!