American Chrome

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(Spotted this last weekend at the Key to the Hills Rod Run, in Boerne, Texas – where the participating classic autos had to be from 1948 or earlier)

12 thoughts on “American Chrome”

  2. The cars were absolutely splendid, and the paint jobs and chrome on them were a wonder to behold. My late dad would have loved the event, and been drooling over each and every one of them. Everything from a Model-T, to roadsters, a Willys jeep, a fire engine, a number of pick-up trucks, and even a hearse, all done up for Halloween. More pics here – for the vintage motorheads among us.

  3. We quite often get classic car runs around here. I’m not a car nut but I do enjoy these events. In particular some of the old vans, lorries, and buses with restored advertisements promote a warm feeling of nostalgia – often for an era that I never knew.

    I’ve also enjoyed an exhibition of old farm vehicles: seeing 19th century steam-driven tractors puffing past is an eye-opener. But not too open: beware smuts from the coal-burning.

  5. Sigh. I think there is nothing much left of Hellenikon that I remember – not even anything of the base facilities. And nothing of the area around. I’ve looked on Google street view; the apartment building where I lived still looks the same, but nothing around it looks familiar in the least.

  7. Mike – why you don’t see as many or what went away? For awhile they were a favorite to wear on a chain. Had mine stolen 2x.

    Sgt Mom – saw the funniest picture the other day – the same greyhound (different car) with a little knitted sweater on him. Too bad we can’t post pics here.

    Dearieme – you would love this museum we have out in Woodland http://www.californiaagmuseum.org/

    Did you know that Caterpillar Tractor actually started in Stockton CA? There is a Benjamin Holt drive there.

    Sgt Mom – every Summer the California Auto Museum sponsors a drive for car enthusiasts – and you talk about an eclectic group – everything from Ferraris to old Cobras to 23 t roadsters to … anything with 4 wheels.

    The Porsche 356 group is big there – picture seeing 30-50 Porsche 356 cars.

  8. “The Porsche 356 group is big there – picture seeing 30-50 Porsche 356 cars.”

    My wife’s grandson and his uncle run an incredible classic Porsche restoration business in LA.

    If you see a restored 356 they probably did the restoration.

    This is their web site.

    They spent last week moving the shop from one building to another, larger one. I was there last spring and they had about 30 classic Porsches in the shop in various stages of restoration plus a wall full of large body parts hanging and waiting to be used.

    I’d hate to see their insurance premium. One of their cars is worth $ 1 million.

  9. Mike – it wasn’t until I was about 40 to put “practicality” on 2nd burner and get interesting cars. Life’s too short.

    In 1972 about to graduate from UVA I turned down a friend’s faded red 1962 356B for a new…..Ford Pinto. He wanted $1200 for it, and I didn’t like the quarter sized bit of surface rust on the rear fender.

    Today, restored, that car is worth about $200,000.

    I know because God, or somebody – made sure I got to talk with the owner of a nice red 1962 Porsche 356B in a parking lot at the market a few months ago ;-)

    Don’t know if it would have made a difference though – 6 months later I was drafted and in the Army.

    Speaking of which – wish I could post a picture here – but I just got back from Oregon and saw on I5 someone driving a nice ~1960 (single rear grill) Cabrio up to WA. Pretty cool driving your 60 year old car on a big trip!

  10. “The Porsche 356 group is big there – picture seeing 30-50 Porsche 356 cars.”

    When I was in high school, a friend’s brother-in-law sold a 1952 Porsche- with a VW engine.

  11. “When I was in high school, a friend’s brother-in-law sold a 1952 Porsche- with a VW engine.”

    Although the Porsche purists will deny this, that’s pretty much what the very early ones were. With a few slight changes. In fact, when I test drove that 1962 356, I was not very impressed. I was used to my 275hp 327 Camaro for performance.

    But if your friend had the original numbers-matching engine….

    Speaking of which, the hot engine swap for a VW bug in the 60s was to install a later 356 engine. Had a school friend whose Bug sucked a valve on the Grapevine – a small mountain on I5 that rises 4500′ – in the old days you’d see steaming cars off to the side – anyway he found a 356 engine in a wrecking yard and fellow Bug drivers couldn’t understand why he was flying up that grade ;-)

  12. Speaking of which, the hot engine swap for a VW bug in the 60s was to install a later 356 engine. Had a school friend whose Bug sucked a valve on the Grapevine – a small mountain on I5 that rises 4500”² – in the old days you’d see steaming cars off to the side – anyway he found a 356 engine in a wrecking yard and fellow Bug drivers couldn’t understand why he was flying up that grade ;-)

    Love it! So you don’t need a Hot Rod Lincoln to navigate the Grapevine. I’ve been up and down the Grapevine as a passenger a couple of times, though the last time was in ’82.

    The father of a childhood friend drove Porsches for 40+ years. When the time came for my friend to get some driver training, her father took her out in his Porsche. One time. The first time on any gearbox can be a problem for a novice driver. From then on, she learned to drive on her mother’s Buick. He was a kind, tolerant sort, but not when it came to proper treatment of his Porsche.

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