Patching the convertible top on my XJS, the Better Beater Way.  Kind of Ghetto? Absolutely. Wouldn't have it any other way.

photo source: just look!
Hopefully it will look a bit better than this.

My XJS is coming right along. Smogged, the paperwork was cleared and it is now titled in my name, new license plates have been attached.

While there are many things that are wrong with the car, limited use appears to be on the horizon. One real problem was that the driver's window wouldn't retract, and it  does get warm in there even if its not over 90 degrees out side. I checked the switch and it appeared to be switching circuits someway. There were two positive terminals and one ground. Since there was power at the switches, I tried using a jumper wire to see if I could get any response. No dice. I figured that I need to gain access to the actual motor so I would have to pull the door panel. Interesting enough when I posted on the Jaguar forums a member advised me that the window motor was supplied with dual positive power and the ground was switched to activate the motor. That sounded interesting and explained some of the weird switch work I had observed. I only found two wires leading to the actual motor, and I felt around and used an extension mirror to take a look. I pulled the connections apart them reattached them, then I tried the switch and the motor complied. I went for a little ride with the windows down and it was much more pleasant. This afternoon I returned the door panel to it's place.

Of course now it won't work.

I found that there was a pretty good trans fluid leak which I found to be coming from the drain plug I had installed. I thought that I should have used some sealer on the inside of the pan. It seemed to be coming from the drain plug, a rather puny bolt that was supposed to be sealed by a cheap rubber o ring, which shredded as I tightened it down. I wiped around the entire fitting using a very strong solvent. I then loosed the drain plug, removed the remnants of the o ring, cleaned the threads and applied tome silicon seal to the threads then tightened it down. I then slathered the stuff all over the entire fitting and will pray for the best. I'm going to look for, or make, an aluminium washer that will better seal the drain plug. There will be years before I change the ATF again anyway.

Spray adhesive, canvas material and Rustoleum spray paint.
Can a fix be effected with these items?

My top is not in the best of shape. There is a tear that runs cross the top near the front bow. There are also some tears around the rear window. I know that it needs a top, I was concerned that the air passing over it would cause it to balloon up the faster I drove. That would cause it to tatter even more. I had patched up the small tears in my old Mustangs top with  black duct tape so I tried it on the Jag. Hot weather and duct tape don't mix. The adhesive melts leaving a gooey disgusting mess. That's why you cant patch up torn seats with it. I needed to find a way to patch the top so it would hold together until I was ready to pop for the replacement. I had considered asking the guy at the shop that did my Mustang top to repair it, but figured that he would charge me a couple of hundred bucks for something that wouldn't last too long anyway.

That tape is hiding(?) a crosswise tear in the top fabric. I will remove the tape then lay down a rather wide patch. I want there to be plenty of area for the adhesive to stick.

When I restored my 1940s console radio I replaced the old grill cloth. I removed the old cloth and glue then used a 3M spray adhesive to attach the new cloth. This glue would dry and I didn't think that it would melt with heat, at least that's my hope. I went to the fabric store and bought some canvas material, about as heavy as used in directors chairs. I cut a 10 in strip, I wanted to provide a large area for the adhesive. I masked the top, then sprayed the glue directly on the top. I then sprayed it on the strip of canvas, which  I had folded like a vinyl transfer, and sprayed and laid the canvas down a bit at a time. I pressed it down and straightened it while it was still a little movable. When it dried I sprayed it with some satin black spray paint, the kind that will stick to resin chairs.

Masked off the area and applied the glue.

The canvas has been laid down, the almost done spray painting the area black.
I allowed the paint to cover the cut ends of the fabric.

A smaller patch is being applied above the rear window on the left side.

This on the left side below the rear window. It had been patched with Gorilla Tape.
 It does seem to be holding up fairly well. This is the next area to attend to.

First I masked off the surrounding area. This was a pretty big tear.

Cut and fit the patch.

Painted and finished? Two more spots to go.

A similar repair to this side. Another up on the top bow.
This is it, no more patches. The top would be all patches!

Well it doesn't look too bad, kind of a twenty footer. I will patch the area around the rear window next. Kind of ghetto? Maybe, but it's not like I've got the cash to just take it to a shop for a new top. I had the top on my Mustang replaced for a grand, but that didn't include the head lining. I've heard guys on the forum complaining about four thousand dollar replacement estimates! Why? Just because it's Jag? You can get the top and headliner itself for around 500 bucks, it should cost no more than 500 bucks to install. I saw a post on the forum of a guy trying to replace his XJS top, but he never posted the finished result, not a good sign. There's  video on you tube of a XJS top replacement also. I think I could do it myself. I once replaced the rear window in my '64 Cadillac convertible and the entire top on my '65 Chevy Impala Super Sport. It's not magic, but it takes careful work.

This nice looking replacement Hartz cloth top for my XJS is offered for 350.00 on EBay with free shipping.

This is the headliner offered on EBay for 150.00 with 15.00 shipping. So for around 500.00 the new top materials can be obtained. Obviously you wouldn't want to spend too much money on a kludge fix. I only spent 4.00 for the adhesive, 4.00 for the paint, and 12.00 for the canvas, of which I used very little. (I'm donating the remainder to my Wife's crafting stash,)  The big question is how much will the top shop want for the labor of the job? I plan on approaching my top guy and see what he says.

Some pocket change and a little lint.

I have been trying to drive the XJS to work as a shakedown run for several weeks. It is only a round trip of about twenty two miles on surface streets. Unfortunately I'd been out of town on the weekends and hadn't really had the time to prep the car.

After patching the top I decided to just take the car, even without the window working. It wouldn't be bad in the morning but I knew it would get pretty hot in there on the return trip. For some reason British sports cars are famous for having a hot cabin. I had driven the car for up to half an hour around the neighborhood, then let it idle for another fifteen. It hasn't showed a tendency to overheat which is a good sign. I know that the front suspension is kind of sloppy and needs to have the bushings replaced. The steering pulls a little to one side but it's not so bad that I'm concerned to drive it.

When I bought the car it didn't have a battery installed so I had purchased a good used battery from local vendor, Bobcat's Batteries for twenty five bucks. It has held up well, even after running down completely flat a couple of times while sitting. The overrunning cooling fan would place a lot of strain on the battery especially in this heat. I was concerned that it might fail on me requiring a jump or tow so I decided to replace it with a new battery. A hundred and forty bucks got me a new battery, I traded in another old battery I had sitting alongside the garage as a a core. I kept the used battery to use in my Mark VII.

So I finally get to actually drive my XJS like a real car!

What were my impressions of the XJS after using it to drive to work for a few days? I had owned the car for almost two years and it had never been a runner. I will admit that my Jaguar expectations have been formed by driving my XJ6.

First of all the car is quite low, but not too hard to get in or out of. The seating position is fine with plenty of leg room and a firm but comfy seat. Visibility over the long hood and to the sides and rear are very good. I do sit quite close to the windshield compared to my XJ6 or '96 Mustang. The dash is shallow and somewhat dainty looking. The car feels quite heavy, very low and long, although it's not really any longer than my '07 Mustang.

The engine has plenty of power. It is very smooth but it needs your foot in it to get moving. The transmission is quite responsive and downshifts without any drama. On the freeway it needs about 2,500 rpms to cruise at 65 mph. Higher than I expected, but consistent with the road tests articles that I have read. Redline starts at 6,500 and continues to 7,000 rpms. This engine is not a chuffer! I can't say that it's particularly quick but I can see how it could cruise at very high speeds. Well over a hundred miles an hour! Very impressive for a car from this era, though not that impressive compared to a more modern car. My '94 Cadillac Seville STS felt much more powerful and aggressive. I drove a new Hemi powered Dodge Challenger this weekend, and that was the most powerful car I have ever driven to this point. That thing was ready to run, but I can't say that I was left lusting for one. It takes more than speed to appeal to me now. Besides I wouldn't want to have to make those payments! I would probably opt for a later model XK8 or XK if my love affair with the XJS fizzles out.

My XJS will need the suspension rebuilt, window operation squared away, a/c repair, seat repair, new tires, top replacement and a myriad of problems and gremlins attended to. Just the usual old Jaguar story. So what does this leave me with?

A car worthy of an enthusiast!

The sense of occasion I experience when driving this car. The best part of driving it, is looking at my reflections in the store windows as I drive by. It is still a dramatic looking car with a ton of presence and mystique. "The poor man's Aston Martin" I will joking say, but I couldn't really imagine myself driving an actual Aston. This car is much easier to relate too, and honestly it has been financially accessible to me. Something well worth cherishing and holding onto. Let's see if I'm smart enough to take my own advice!

The Mark of Excellence?

Kind of like the Bible for my old Jag.

I post a lot on the Jaguar Forums, and I'm documenting the running story of my Jaguar obsession there also. On this blog I have a greater freedom of subject matter and I discuss my history with cars and motorcycles. Sometimes there is going to be some overlap. But my Jaguar story is a big part of my blogging identity. So I'm always going to cover it here. It's not like there is anyone reading this stuff anyway.

Surprisingly, there wasn't as much room as I would have thought.

I started working on the Mark, because I really think that it will turn out to be a runner. I found that the front carb was stuck shut. I thought that the throttle valve was stuck somehow. I decided to pull the carbs to see what the problem was and unstick it. Even though the motor is a straight six, it wasn't as easy to take off the eight bolts holding the carbs on. I could see that the auxiliary starting carb was attached to the front carb and had a solid pipe that connected it to the intake manifold. Of course it wasn't as easy as it looked. I decided that it would be best to remove the rear carb first, and this did free up more space and access to the front carb. I removed the carb and saw that the throttle valve looked okay, and it must be the throttle shaft that was stuck. I soaked it with Liquid Wrench for a couple of days then moved the shaft carefully with a vise grip. It was stiff but moved a little I added more penetrating oil and worked it back and forth gently until it was free. I cleaned all the caked on crud. As I set the carb down a piece fell off the bottom. It is from the bottom of the carb called the needle jet bushing. How did I know that it was called that?

That little cap had been cracked for awhile.

This is what it should look like.

I had been preparing for this work by reading over what literature I could find. While on vacation in May I found a book in Oregon that gave me some insight. Glenn's book of foreign car repair. It is like an old Motor Manual or big Chiltons book that covers numerous models and years, but not with too much detail. This was how I learned about the aux. carb. I decided that I was going to need a real shop manual. Last year while in Oregon I had found a Haynes manual for the series 1 XJ6.I looked through that book to pick out any additional info. Now whenever I am out antiquing with my Wife I'm primarily looking for old car books. It was on a visit to Powell's books on that same Oregon trip in May that I found the official Jaguar ROM, Repair Operations Manual for my XJS. Even used, it cost me 75.00 but it was worth it! How often will I stumble over that book?

I looked on the Net and saw some brand new repair manuals for the Mark. These were available from Brooklands Books. These were combination manuals that included the old XK series also. I was looking for something cheaper and lucked out and found an official ROM for the Mark on Amazon. This is the actual book used by mechanics in their shop. It was in great shape and only 30.00. This book is very clearly written, with great pictures and diagrams. Just a delight to read. Which is just what I did. I spent a couple of hours reading through the book familiarizing myself with the mechanicals of my old Mark. Since I had already spent several hours looking at and crawling under the car the info really had a chance to gel.

Lot's of good reading inside. I've got a whole collection of these road test books.

Of course I also wanted the Brooklands Books road test anthology for the Mark VII. I love reading those old road tests and you can learn a lot from them. A lot of times the testers will smooth over problems, but generally they treat the cars just as cars, not the icons that they later became. Those darn Brooklands Books, they started this whole Jaguar hysteria for me when I picked up their anthology for the XJS!

Back to the broken piece. It appeared that this had been cracked for a good long time. Twenty six years maybe? Maybe I hit it when I was using the rubber mallet to encourage some cooperation upon removal. Now I was kind of bummed, I thought I was just going to clean things up and fire the car up. Now I had a 65 year old carb part that I needed bad. I put out an inquiry to SNG Barrett and they said that they didn't carry it. What now? I was quite concerned that I would have to find some one with an old carb that would be willing to sell me the part. With the continuing popularity of the XK series I figured that there had to be parts available somewhere. I searched the web, looking for the manufacturer of SU carbs and found a bonanza of a website. Every part was available, and for a fairly reasonable price. I ordered the parts and  a couple of carb rebuild kits.

I decided to check out the distributor and points. The vacuum canister was as I would have suspected DOA. The rest of the stuff looked okay. While up in Oregon, I had contacted a company named British Parts Northwest. They are having a close out on many old Jag parts, many which are common to the XK series. Ignition points, other distributor parts,  a clutch set, coils, and oil filters are being closed out at what appears to be bargain prices. I checked the prices against Parts Geek and Rockauto and they are noticeably cheaper. I imagine that they would be quite a bit cheaper than SNG Barrett but it's good to check.

An oil change was next. I noticed that the previous owner had installed an additional canister oil filter. to the left inner fender. It looked like the one that was in my '56 Cadillac. This was plumed from a fitting in the lower rear of the block and drained into the cam cover near the filler cap. This seemed like a good idea, more oil means a cooler running engine and longer engine life. The canister was mounted with one small old bolt and a bent nail! Even better was what was inside.

There's that added filter. I should have taken a picture of the nail.

Toilet paper, a can and a home made spacer.

Nothing like ingenuity.

Instead of the filter element I was expecting to find I discovered what looked like an inverted tin can. Because that was exactly what it was! Inside that can was a very dirty roll of toilet paper. The owner had made a wavy spacer and screen to fit under the roll. I remember that back in the day, there were a lot of people ( mostly very cheap people) that thought that toilet paper made a better, less costly replacement for the original canister filter elements.  I guess that over time, the proper filters got harder to find at the discount auto stores, though my local small chain auto parts store, Winchester Auto, had no problem ordering one for my '56 Cadillac. I guess saving a couple of bucks was kind of important to folks back then too. 

The previous owner was an engineer, and he got older he had his own ideas on how to improve his car. I have found many little modifications that I will have to figure out. I may own this car now, but it will always be HIS car!

I will work on the brakes while I wait for the carb part to show up from Great Britain. It is amazing to me that those old tires are still holding air. They are totally cracked and weathered but the tubes are still standing proud.  Antique tires to fit this car are not easy to find. What I really mean is that they are not cheap to find! Usually I would just find a modern  tire that could be used as replacement. They are 6.50 x 16 inchers. The rim is rather narrow, five inches. The current tires have those super tall, pie crust sidewalls with a very narrow tread. I'll bet those squealed going around corners. A modern tire will have a much shorter sidewall, and my biggest concern is whether or not they would clear the rear fender spats. 

I have found  several good suppliers of proper radials for my car advertised in Jaguar World magazine. These would be the proper modern replacements, but a set will set me back around a grand, more than I paid for the car. 

I will keep my eyes open on Craig's List, maybe I can find a used set of suitable tires. 

The brakes were locked up so I disassembled them and tried to take apart the wheel cylinders. I tried putting them in a vise to compress them a bit a break free the pistons. That didn't work. I tried placing it in my press and that did succeed in depressing them about a quarter inch. I doused them with Liquid Wrench and let them sit. I then tried to use air pressure to get them loose. There is only one piston on these wheel cylinders, that's why the system uses two wheel cylinders. There were some early 50's Chrysler models with a similar setup. Dual leading shoe brakes. I remember this system was used on many high performance motorcycles before disc brakes were adopted. Each shoe is pressured, this results in greater shoe friction and better stopping power. At least when proceeding in a forward direction, rolling backwards they were not so effective. The rear brakes were the conventional design. The previous owner told me that his Dad had removed the vacuum booster, I'll have to take a look at those later. He included two different type boosters with the car. The system is similar to the HydroVac system used on my '56 Cadillac.

I tried the old compressed air method and found some success with one cylinder. I tried to turn one piston with a wrench and it moved a bit. A bit of working back and forth, more Liquid Wrench and then the air popped out the piston. Inspecting it I didn't find the pitting I expected, instead it was more like the piston had been stuck with mucilage.

I had read that it was possible to use a grease gun to remove the pistons. If a grease fitting can be screwed into the line port or the bleeder screw than it could be pumped full of grease forcing out the shoes. I've read that up to one thousand psi could be obtained. My cylinders have rather large line fittings, 3/8 ths of an inch, much bigger than any available grease fitting I found. I have considered drilling out a bolt and tapping it to allow for the grease fitting. A lot more work than I really need, but I might have to try it. There are four more cylinders waiting for me. 

The second cylinder is still stuck solid.  Today I tried putting it in the press without any success. Then I dot the great idea to place a socket over the piston and strike it with a hammer, maybe a little shock would break it loose. I initially held it in my hands and used a small hammer. Then I placed it on the concrete and used a small sledge. Bad Idea, The impact cracked part of the mounting system. It looks like it isn't critical still will hold with the broken rim, but the cylinder will need to be replaced.

I've tried to source some new or rebuilt cylinders from Worcester Classic Spares in GB. The price is 600 Pounds with a 400 Pound core charge, refundable only if the cores are rebuilable. Rear wheel cylinders are sold outright for 94 Pounds each. I'm going to contact SNG Barratt customer hot line to inquire about availability, through their company.

Over the time I have been reading Jaguar World magazine I have seen an English brake component company advertised. I contacted Coopercraft, about their disc brake conversion. It will cost about 1,500 dollars but is very complete and compatible with the original booster. This will probably be the best way to go as everything at the wheel would be new. 

I placed a WTB add on the Jaguar forums and will see what might show up. 

Oh Well. I really didn't think that it would be that easy.

I know that the car looks pretty scruffy, The remaining paint is quite oxidized. It is quite chalky looking on the sides, if the paint was in better shape I might just try to buff it out for now. So I did. I hit it with liquid rubbing compound and some areas came out looking pretty good. The majority of the rust is on the top surfaces of the roof, hood and deck. I'll also polish up all the chrome and stainless trim. It's kind of a fun project when I'm tired of messing with the mechanicals. Cheap too, just rubbing compound, cleaner wax and chrome polish. I also hit those dried out tires with some vinyl/rubber protectant. 

It's about time to get my XJS on the road. Is it ready? Let's see.

Registration, check. Smog check, likewise. Insurance coverage started, yes. The plan will be to start using it around town a bit. I still have to get both windows to open, among other things. Time to get moving- again.

Why is this car considered a "White Elephant?"

Opinions may vary, but I think this car is just amazing
photo source: Jaguar cars ltd.

I guess that would depend on how you define the term. Not all value should be expressed in dollars and cents. The value of this car to me, exceeds any auction results.

It's a lot easier to buy cheap unwanted cars then it is to sell them. If something "fantastic" comes up for sale, you've got jump on it while you can. You can always sell that other car some other time, right? Sure.


This old, forgotten Jaguar sedan called out to me from the automotive "personals" column commonly referred to as Craig's List. So what made that Mark VII so attractive to me?

Well first of all it IS a Jaguar. That alone gives it a lot of appeal and interest to me. Secondly it is a pre smog car, in this case a really, really,  pre smog test required car. As I've stated before, it's not that I don't care about the environment because of course I do. It's just that the requirement that it pass the smog test before the transfer of ownership is completed can sometimes delay things. Thirdly, it is a manual transmission model. Manual transmission cars are easier for the hobbyist to repair, I wanted to learn how to rebuild an auto transmission but haven't got there yet.

As it has always been, sedan models don't command the interest that the sport cars do. Four slams, no clams. Therefore they don't command the dollar values that the sports models do. Jaguars from this era that are of interest and value are the XK models: the 120,140, and 150.

I am cheating a bit. These FHCs are not as popular as the roadster.
 But the Classic Jaguar design cues are shared with the Mark VII.

Open cars rule. That's why my XJS is a convertible.

This is a Bentley Continental. It was released after the Mark VII was introduced.
Who was influenced by whom?

But the Mark VII is interesting. It is actually a cut rate Bentley competitor. The front end styling and flowing bodywork, capped off by the distinctive Jaguar signature curved rear roof treatment, are obviously meant to be aristocratic. In size, accommodations and luxury appointments it was conceived as a alternative to the Bentley or more conservative Rolls Royce. Upon first seeing it most people would mistake it for a Rolls. RR kept this same type of old fashioned, traditional styling until 1966, when they decided that the Checker cab look was an improvement. Jaguar had abandoned this type of pre war design by 1961 when the Mark X debuted. That design was a complete break from the earlier style and was controversial and not completely well received. During the Sixties, an even well into the Seventies, the pre '66 Rolls appearance was the definition of the atmosphere of great wealth and privilege. Movies and television programs would set the scene by having a chauffeured Rolls pictured on the screen. This was even spoofed by the unforgettable commercial and question, "Do you have any Grey Poupon?" Most viewers of a certain age have a clear recollection of that commercial.

This is the last traditional Rolls. As you can see they all kind of look similar.
Actually many British higher end car look like this, during the Fifties,
the Alvis, the Armstrong Siddley among others.

This was the contemporary Cadillac Fleetwood . These had the 133' wheelbase. This is actually a '53, which was the last year of this design, which started with the 1951 MY.  The earlier models had smaller  "bullet over riders."

Despite it's dignified and traditional styling, the Mark VII was the repository of the legendary Jaguar XK engine. In fact, the engine was designed specifically to power this sedan. The XK sports model, the XK120, was originally just supposed to provide "good press" for this power plant. This motor made the Mark VII one of the fastest sedans available the time. It was immediately used in competition. Then Mark VII placed 4th in the 1952 Rally of Monte Carlo, finally winning overall in 1956.

Overall Winner
1956 Rally of Monte Carlo

So this car had a legitimate performance and racing heritage. There are lots of new videos on you tube of Marks being raced at recent Goodwood events. It's not like they were racing contemporary Cadillac Fleetwoods!

The XK 120 used a shorter version of the Mark VII chassis, brakes, and suspension. The Mark uses torsion bar springing and as I was surprised to see when I looked underneath, ball joint suspension. As well as the drive train; motor and four speed manual transmission are shared with the sports model. The low values of saloon models and interchange of components has led to so many Marks being used as donors for a sports car restoration, or replica car builds.

The unfortunate truth is that these cars are really very much "White Elephants." They cost many times more than an XK Type to restore, and even when properly restored, are worth far less. From an economic standpoint then, most "investors" (speculators, flippers, etc.) will avoid putting any money into them. That makes a lot of sense, it's easy enough to lose money even when dealing with popular cars.

My particular car had been offered on CL for over a month before I stumbled upon it. The original ad didn't include any pictures and the seller later e-mailed them to me. What really caught my eye was that it was a manual transmission example. The best thing was that the car was complete and unmolested. All the parts were there attached and that it had been a running car before it was parked. My first encounter with my future car was in the seller's backyard, it had been covered with a car cover and several tarps. The last registration year was 1991! Now I don't know if it had spent all those twenty six years out in the yard and I didn't ask. I'm thinking (and hoping) that it may have spent some of that time in the garage, then driveway, then curbside, being being banished to the back forty.

It has a great story. The seller's father was a British car guy and bought this car brand new. It was used as an everyday driver until the 1990s,  The seller told me that this was the car that they took family vacations together, he had learned to drive in this car. The seller told me that his Dad drove this car until he found the effort of operating the clutch and unassisted brakes uncomfortable. Assuming that his Dad probably bought this car when he was at least thirty years old, and drove to for at least forty years, that would be understandable. The next car to replace the Mark, was a Bentley! (an automatic, I imagine). So I get to be the second owner!

Overall the car looks pretty good, I've only found some moderate rust in the rt. front door sill. Some of the door bottoms have some bubbling which isn't unexpected. The car had been repainted and reupholstered in blue vinyl when the original leather wore out. Interestingly, the original owner has added a bunch of little improvements, transistorized ignition, extra gauges and a cassette stereo. I discovered a switch box and  various toggles placed under the dash. I will have to discover what their various functions are.

The car has a lot of surface rust and of course it was filthy. My first job was clean it out and wash it. I pulled the plugs and put some Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders and let it sit overnight. I hooked up the battery from the XJS and pressed the starting button. The motor spun over eagerly! Now I have to clean and flush the fuel lines and tanks, change the oil, and rebuild the brakes and clutch hydraulics. My plan is to get the car running and further evaluate it's condition. It needs lots and lots of things, but I'll take it one area at a time.

One thing is for certain. Not only am I a custodian of a bit of British automotive history, I have a deep well of content for further blog posts. More to come.

Visiting the Petersen Museum, Part Two.

Of course there are movie cars.

My favorite Batmobile.

Christine and Herbie, a match made in Heaven?

Upstairs was the "70 years of Ferrari exhibit." I remember reading in a magazine column once, that car enthusiasts can have two reactions  to viewing these exclusive, hyper expensive cars.  One ( the Lover), will find them amazing, and they are glad to have the opportunity to just see these cars close up. The other (the Hater) will grumble that that these have no relevance to the average car guy and they are just owned by snooty rich folks. I will admit that for many years I was lined up behind the Hater. Now, I have softened my attitude towards these machines. Yes they are exclusive and will always be way beyond my reach. But so what. There are architectural and artistic treasures that can be appreciated by all, even if only possessed by a very few. At least they are shared with the rest of us. These cars usually debut performance and styling features decades ahead of the mass produced hordes.

The first Barchetta. These early Ferraris are my favorites.

Nothing like a Red head.
The exposed front wheels were  a design theme explored on many late Fifties dream cars.

My favorite car in the entire museum. How could a car from 1961 still look so good?

                                         Bueller? Bueller? I hated the movie but loved this car.

Its like looking at a fighter jet. I can't warm up to these, yet.

There were only three Jaguars on feature display. Being a Jag fan I had to include them. The poor XJ220 suffered from being powered by a twin turbocharged V6. Buyers in this price class wanted an actual V12, like the first prototype.

1930's Jaguars are amazing. I guess it's no wonder that these have been reproduced as kit cars.

This was Steve McQueen's D type. The man knew how to have fun.
Personally I think the competition C type has better lines.

This was the first street car capable of 200mph. The styling has grown on me over the years.

                               These have just started to develop a strong collector following.

The NieKamp roadster. A classic hot rod.

I decided that I wasn't going to try to do a whole running documentary on the museum. Enjoy the pictures. You can enjoy the actual cars during your visit.

There are enough different displays to satisfy almost any auto enthusiast. There were things that I found fascinating and other just as worthy things that I kind of glossed over. One of the best things is the mix of people that came to the museum. Like LA in general, people of all ethnic, social and economic strata will find themselves rubbing elbows, just like on the LA freeway system. You could say that the freeway is the great equalizer, it is shared by the late model Ferrari, the Lowrider, ( I was actually passed by a '39 Chevy Lowrider while negotiating the East LA interchange) the beat up over loaded mini truck, tired Camry, immaculate vintage car, and any other vehicle you could imagine. Mercedes and BMWs are so common they don't even rate a second look, actually not even a first look.

As I was looking at Gypsy Rose,  I got into a conversation with a middle fifties aged Chicano fellow who was there with his twenty something year old son. It turns out that this gentleman had been acquainted with Jessie Lopez and had even been a member of the Imperial car club back in the day. We spoke of the difficulty of hanging onto our cars over the years, and how our interests were likely to change as we aged. It was obvious that Lowrider cars were more than a styling affectation to him, they were a part of his identity.


While looking at the Ferrari display I made the acquaintance of a young fellow in his late twenties. He was very impressed by how advanced the cars were for their time.  I told him that it was interesting to see if you can pick out the influences that filtered down to the mass produced market over time. We talked about currently available, affordable cars that would be worth holding onto. He mentioned the Honda S2000 and I heartily agreed with him. He told me that he had an Acura RSX and that he was looking for a second car, the S2000 might be it. He said he wanted to learn to fix his cars and was hoping to buy a house someday with a garage he could turn into a workshop. He had a young family and I knew that it would be a real challenge for some years, but to try to hold onto something that he loved. I wished him well.

While checking out that blue hot rod I had a conversation with an affluent older gent. I mentioned that while I had grown up in the mid Sixties I never remembered seeing any hot rods on the street. This guy was about five years older than me and had grown up in Southern California. He said that he had owned several old hot rods in the day, and some of his current neighbors had built up some Offy powered rods. We were discussing some high buck, hot rod building. Still, he said that he couldn't see himself actually driving one of these traditional hot rods anymore.


At the Jaguar display I spoke with a gentleman in his late Thirties who was there with his young son. He was surprised when I told him that Jaguar was building a continuation series of the D type. When I said that I remembered when you could find a running E type for a grand in the early to mid Seventies, he was quite surprised. When I mentioned that there were still fixer uppers available for less than ten grand, he mentioned that in his experience starting out with a better example was usually more economical. He was right of course. He told me about some of the muscle cars that he had restored and how it was easier to get a loan to buy a finished car, than to get any financing for the restoration.

There are lots of people there with their own stories and experiences, Don't be shy, start up a conversation with the person next to you.

I hope you get a chance to visit the Peterson Museum, soon. Enjoy the cars and take the time to talk to your fellow enthusiasts, it's nice to get different people's viewpoints.