Bucket lists...

I've always wanted a yellow J3 Piper Cub... Preferrably with the 85 hp engine. Back in the 60's you could get one for $1200.00 but I never had the money. A good one costs a lot now.

I always wanted an Old Towne cedar strip canoe... they are so elegant. To be alone in one on a nice day on a quiet lake...

I always wanted a Ferrari... the elegant bodies and interiors, the sound, just the fact that they were a Ferrari is important. Even when I could afford a cheap one (That's an oximoron.) the maintenance costs scared me off.

I spent years attending the Ohio Gun Collectors show in Columbus and, then, Cleveland. Went there every two months for years. It was almost funny... Nearly all the heavy hitters would wear a Rolex. I had mine but I always admired the two-tone sport watches with the blue face. They were so elegant. I liked the Date Just model because they a tad smaller than the Submariner. Anyway... this item on the bucket list I can have... I just happen to have one car too many and a friend who deals in Rolexes and who likes my Porsche.

Who says that, in a while, you can't realize one of your dreams?

I'm too old and unstable on my feet now days... I can't get down the hill to our lake that is just outside my office door... I'll never get the Old Towne.

None of us geezers are the man we used to be, damn it.

Dave

You know, there was a time not too long ago when you could pickup a Ferrari, a 4 door, for a pretty reasonable price. I remember seeing the selling price of one at one of those big car auctions. Not sure what they go for now, but also not sure I want to pay the maintenance. The new Maseratis look pretty good too, but now sure what their reliability is. Anyone know? I am seeing more of them on the streets these days.
Peter

A few year ago you could get a
Ferrari Mondial or a 308 or the Dino predecessor to the 308 for something in the twenty thousands. Also one of the four doors... However, the first time you needed service it came with a very large bill. And you had to find someone capable of doing it... Good luck on that.

Time was I could have bought a 308 if it, maybe, only had one dent in the fender. I had a re-occuring nightmare of taking my 308 to one of the Ford and Chevy pickup mechanics we have up here in the Northwoods..."The engine is making a funny noise."

That thought kept me awake a lot of nights.

This is a true story... about twelve years ago I had the "Power of Attorney" for a relative I really didn't like. I was all that was available. Anyway, I had his half million dollars.

Being naturally devious and really not liking that prick I decided... "I'm gonna invest some of his money in a Ferrari I like and charge him to keep and maintain it whilst it appreciates."

Seemed like a win-win to me.

A dealer in Bay City had a 458 in stock that was available and very elegant. I fit comfortably in the interior and it was so elegantly furnished that I just wanted to stay and spend the rest of my life right there. That car was just breathtaking.

They started the engine so I could hear it run. That car is a DOHC V12 with either four or five valves per cylinder. I gotta admit... the sound of all that machinery runnning just intimidated the 'ell out of me. I decided that, "this is too much... I can't handle this."

I passed. My lawyer told me I was asking for trouble. The prick relative died and his kids got all the money.

True story...

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Wright:

A dealer in Bay City had a 458 in stock that was available and very elegant.

That car is a DOHC V12 with either four or five valves per cylinder.

The 458 has a V8, not a V12.

I bet the Japs could design and build a V 12 that would last forever!
Peter

Todd,

The car was a 456, not the 458... my mistake. The 456 s a 2 + 2 with a V12.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
I bet the Japs could design and build a V 12 that would last forever!
Peter

Yeah... and the engine wouldn't be that noisy at idle.

Now that is an comment interesting Dick. Many years ago I was standing next to a Jag V 12, admiring it, and did not even know the engine was running. Had a similar experience with a Mazda rotary engine car, except in that case I was sitting in it and tried to start it!
Peter.

Years ago I bought a new RX-7. One day friends were over and he was a Chevy salesman. We went out to the garage, started the RX-7 and popped the hood. Her put his drink on the air cleaner... not a ripple.

"I don't believe it."

The rotary is one hell of an engine. However, the mileage really sucks. I got around 19 - 20 mpg's.

Mazda won a lot of races with the rotary.

If memory serves,the Weinkel (sp) was a German design from war 2.

The inefficiency of the Wankel engine as implemented by Mazda, amazed me. One would have thought that eliminating the reciprocating parts would have given immediate efficiency gains. Then there was the problem of maintenance of the rotors! Oh well!
Peter

The only Maserati's worth looking into are the Levante- the new SUV. I was looking at one last year for my wife, but she said it ain't such a good thing to get a car that just came out, especially an Italian so I passed. I was recently reading the reviews of the new Levante V8 GTS and one in particular, from a British car journal hit home. What really struck me was when it came to the expected knocking of Italian car reliability, there was none. The author said the car has been out for a few years now and there is nothing at all out there on the internet calling it a dog & slamming the reliability (unlike all the known electrical and mechanical gremlins that accompany the Range Rovers). He complimented Maserati for really having done their due diligence in entering the SUV market. I believe they've also worked out the kinks in the Quattroporte and Ghiblis. For me, the perfect car is the Porsche Panamera Turbo. A roomy, sporty and very, very fast 4 seater.

One of our docs has a black Panamera. Beautiful car.

I have decided to modify my seats so they look like the Porsche seats in the pic on top of page 3. I have seat covers here (to cover already perfect original seats) and have ordered enough plaid material for the inserts. There is a really good interior shop nearby and they will install the plaid inserts as soon as the roads are good enough to get Baby out of the garage.

I spent half of last week going thru available plaid upholstrey material and being very wishy-washy re: what to get. I finally found one that I thought would work well. I'll post a pic when it gets here.

I was amazed to find that both Porsche and Mercedes will sell you truly elegant plaid upholstrey material... for anything from $200.00 to $400.00 per yard.

Springs almost here... it's going to be 60ish Thursday. I really want to get this car back of the road.

My VW KG with a RX4 rotary and Hewland trans won a lot of races.
I "personally" think the Jag V12 was a piece of shit.

In the early 60's my cousin worked for VW in Colorado + I still remember the totally chrome Porshe engine he put into his Type 3 VW.Ran like a stripped ass ape or as well as a type 3 was capable of.

RIP Mr Wright........you were a class act.

My condolences. He seemed to be a gentle soul as well as a Gentleman.