Loved the seedy tales from the Australian TV series Underbelly? Loved playing Cops and Robbers as a kid? On the hunt for a BA Ford Falcon that you can’t actually register and drive to work?
If you answered yes to any of those, boy have I lined up a Facebook found beauty this time around!
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It was a busy day at my son’s primary school today – a local business day full of craft stalls, dance and martial arts demonstrations, a World’s Greatest Shave Event (where my wife lost her locks) and right before you walked up the drive to the big hall, there was parked the happiest little panel van around… allow me to introduce you to Bella.
For a tool I bought out of sheer necessity one arvo (long story short: my battery died, I needed to get it out of the clamp and my local 7-11 was the only place that sold anything looking remotely like a tool) my multi-tool has been an effective piece of kit recently. It turns out my $17.95 tool of all trades, master of none does have its uses and here’s a few reasons why like a solid breaker bar, it’s handy to have one tucked away in your car somewhere.
Once again the local auction house down the road is hosting an ‘abandoned vehicles’ auction this morning. And once again I find myself looking at the couple of offerings and asking the question ‘Exactly who would buy that thing?’..
Seriously, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I’ve taken a week of work to move house twenty clicks down the road (and if you want to read about the torture involved and learning how to work with something French, you can check it out right here) and on my first day back at work the Stagea died an idle death at a busy roundabout right in the middle of school drop off time…
Look it’s a non-essential tool really but after seeing it in action via Youtube and then giving it a whirl in my own garage, I’m championing the brass wire drill bit/brush..
Color me confused today internet as I’m not sure what to call this combination of ‘Japanese rotary technology’ meets attempted ‘Italian Super car Ferrari F40’. Is it a now an F47, an RX40, RX407, Ferrotary or just a terribly strange idea from the get go?
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Look, it’s going to be another case of ‘this guy has zero clue when it comes to the entire Holden model range and wouldn’t know the difference between a VN and a VIP.’ But lack of Holden letters aside, I’m getting good at spotting something out of the ordinary when it comes to the brand…
Ahh the things you find on Facebook…(although as backyard paint jobs go, this one’s an absolute winner!)
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Well not all of them on show at Warner Brothers Movie World on the Gold Coast on account of the kids who couldn’t give two squirts of anything about anything with wheels, far preferring a photo with Wonder Woman.
Actually come to think of it, so would I. But since this is a car blog..let’s get on with the show..
It must be coachbuilders celebration week at the local auction yard or something. A few days ago we got confused by the Porsche that wasn’t a Porsche and today we’re admiring a Maserati Biturbo Spyder, which being the Spyder model means it hailed from the workshop of legendary coach builder Zagato.
Look, I know what an Intergrale is. It’s a Lancia I’d swap a testicle for (okay maybe not a complete testicle but something of equal worth). What about an Intermeccanica? Okay that’s a new one. Because coming face to face with one at the Llyods auction yard today, I could have sworn it was an old Porsche with different badges..
Now here’s something you don’t see cruising around much anymore (I think my last sighting on one was circa a couple of decades ago..) – a Citreon SM.
Hopefully someone buys this one soon from the local auction yard before the bush behind it completely obscures it from view and history..
(This is a long long loooooooong term rx7 post of two parts and it will probably help a lot if you go back and read the first part linked below. The first part is a bit of a lengthy read but really paints the picture of this car’s background and misadventures.)
Over four years ago now through this site in its infancy, I managed to track down the location of one of my previously owned (and one of the funnest of the bunch so far) cars, my 1989 Series 5 Mazda Rx7. I was very proud that the 80’s beast lived to Brap again.
Incredibly now in 2018, I’ve managed to find it up for sale once again. New owner, new location. Only this time it looks to be in its best and fastest condition yet!
There were slim pickings in my favourite car yard today. Not in terms of numbers, no there were over one hundred cars to peruse on the lot. More in terms of things I hadn’t seen in the metal yet and cars that would have well and truly picqued my interests.
Yes there was the glorious Scarab Tribute parked in the corner. There was a Citreon SM attempting to become one with a bush. There was also a flawless looking 70’s Celeica flashing away in the sun. But the thing that captured my attention in the midst of the glinting lavish metal?
The greatest barn find in the world of…Taxis.
Meet a Datsun 280Z Scarab Tribute.
No I had no idea what a 280Z Scarab Tribute was either but a quick Googling allows me to share my new found knowledge with you. God bless the internet’s digital socks..
Okay confession time: I was actually searching Gumtree for bad replicas. Replicas that looked so god awful and completely off the mark that even if you squinted, they wouldn’t come close to looking like what they were supposed to.
The last thing I expected to find was a hilariously fun and classy looking hill climber with a pair of spinning triangles helping it brap madly around corners, especially with this marque attached..
It’s a deceptively simple plan too. I’m going to come up with something that no one has ever even contemplated, make squillions of the idea, retire at 40 (roughly 1.5 years to go) and then I’m going to buy something stupidly nimble, fun and low to the ground to race around in to keep myself amused.
Something like this Lotus Exige perhaps?
Now the only thing to do is work out exactly what this idea will actually be…
Wow, where does the time go? While removing quite a few pipes, covers, plugs and bolts to change over my spark plugs in the Stagea over the weekend (an occasion that made me miss my 1JZ for the simple 10 minute job that it was) I realised I hadn’t posted here for a while. And what better way to get back into this page than by falling in love with a completely mental 1980 Mini who goes by the name of….Binky.
Yep, Binky.
If you’re familiar with the film The World’s Fastest Indian starring the incredibly good Sir Anthony Hopkins then you’ll know of the rough time the character in the movie goes through while chasing his racing dreams. If you haven’t seen it, go out and watch it right now because it’s bloody brilliant and you’ll be cheering on his efforts the entire way through.
And once you’ve done that, come back and I’ll tell you about one of the most badly thought out and incredible humorous races the world has ever cobbled together. A race so bad, it make’s Burt Munro’s trip overseas look like the greatest getaway holiday ever.
Actually I’ll do better than that, I’ll point you in the direction of three amazing story tellers who will do a far better job than I ever will..