[Sotmoigma]

I'm not trying to bump Fabrizio's interesting post about dream cars here, but I just had one of the most remarkable car experiences of a lifetime and I had to share it with the WNY car enthusiasts.

I went to high school at a private school-- The Manlius School-- in upstate NY. When I graduated, I put the school behind and never looked back. Over the years the alumni association sent me bulletins and letters about reunions and get-togethers, but I never persued any of them. Then, a couple weeks ago, one of the graduates called me out of the blue and said that we must be the ONLY Manlius alumni in the Ocala area, and he asked if I'd like to attend a picnic being held for Florida resident grads over on the East Coast.

It sounded cool, so off I went.
When we arrived, another grad was pulling in behind us, driving a Ford GT, the latter-day reissue of the LeMans-winning GT40. Being a dyed-in-the-wool car nut I immediately struck up a conversation with him and we discovered that we were classmates, graduating only a year apart from one another; as the day progressed, he said that he was showing one of his cars the very next week at the Amelia Island Concours d'elegance, a MAJOR international car show. My daughter and I had already made plans to attend the event, so I said that we'd probably run into him there.

We did.
(One of the first things that happened was an unexpected meeting with The NASCAR King, Richard Petty, near the ritzy Ritz-Carlton hotel, the venue for the Concours. We ran into him on a secluded path near the entry and he spent a few minutes with us, patting my granddaughter on the head and signing autographs for us. Whew!!!).

Then we toured the show, which was filled with hundreds of the most amazing automobiles on Earth. That's another post.

Eventually, we found my classmate.
He was showing a pristine 1929 Packard, which won its class at the show. He invited me to his home to see the other cars in his collection, and yesterday I drove up to the Jacksonville area to visit. I had NO idea what was in store for me!

His home is on an inlet of the St John's River. It's literally a mansion, a brick Georgian. (He designed it himself). After passing through the gates, I went down a two-hundred yard brick drive to a forecourt that was flanked with twin, eight- bay garages. He was busy in one of them, tinkering with his Ferrari 250 California. A 1955 Mercedes Gullwing was sitting outside, wings out and basking in the sun.
He gave me an extensive tour of his collection, starting with a beautiful 1912 Cadillac. He showed me how to prime the carbs, how to advance the spark and how quiet the hundred-year old motor ran.
THIS garage had a lift at each bay, allowing him to stack his cars.
We toured the meat of the collection, starting with the first fuel-injected Corvette, a 1958 Ram Jet.

There were three other 'Vettes in this garage, one of EACH body style--a '62, a '63 split window coupe and a '70 Stingray.
There were also:
> a Triumph TR4
> a '62 Tri-powered, 4-speed Pontiac Bonneville
> a '66 Chevy 409
> a pristine, original-condition '67 Olds 98 with 6,600 miles on the odometer
> a '68 Plymouth 440 Roadrunner
> an original-condition, 1966 Olds Toronado, production #5, once owned by Tom McCahill, a respected car reviewer for Mechanix Illustrated. It had McCahill's personalized 1967 California license plate, "TESTCAR" attached on the rear.
> a Jaguar XK8, a daily driver
> a Cosworth Vega
> the Ford GT

He popped the hood on each car, pointing out any unusual or interesting mechanical things.

If I showed more than a passing interest in a car, he'd let me start them up...
Then we crossed the brick drive to the other garage, the one where he kept the "Classics".

>Did you know that Rolls-Royce once produced cars in the USA? They did, in Springfield, Mass in the 1920's-early 1930's. He has one of the first ones made.
He also owns:
> a 1932 Lincoln KB Dietrich Convertible Sedan
> a 1937 "coffin nose" Cord 812, front-wheel drive, electric shift, hidden headlights
> a Packard 120 from 1936
> his '29 Packard, which I had already inspected at Amelia
> a 1939 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
> a Duesenberg Model J roadster, 1930. It sounds like an airplane when it starts up
> a 1958 Ford Thunderbird, the very first 4-seat "Squarebird" convertible made, serial # 1.

He also has a bunch of motorcycles, including a Zundapp, some early Triumphs and a German sidecar bike from WWII along with a couple ancient Harleys: there's a massive Rolls-Royce Merlin engine on a stand (from a WWII bomber) and a huge assortment of vintage posters, signs, gas pumps, chrome logos and radiator caps, etc. He has a complete machine shop in this garage. He does most of the work on his cars himself.
The rest of his collection, around 15 more cars, are in a warehouse on the other side of town. He invited me back up to go see those cars, sometime in the future. He has another machine shop there, where he restores and/or repairs his cars.

My head was spinning. Outside of museums and car shows, I have NEVER seen such gems. I sat in most of his cars, started up any of them that I felt like. ALL the cars mentioned were in perfect condition, all were licensed and were driven frequently by he or his wife. After awhile, we went into his home for a drink. The attached 4-car garage Held a '54 Corvette, under restoration, a Porsche 911 Cabriolet and another of his daily drivers, a Ford F-350 pickup. His OTHER daily driver, interestingly, is a VW TDI sedan. He drives that a lot--it gets 40 MPG, he said.

After awhile, we went out for lunch in the Gullwing Mercedes. I drove it to a BBQ joint where we had a couple of beers and some ribs. On a stretch of country road, he invited me to open it up, and this 55-year old classic went from a cozy GT to a screaming monster in the flick of a gearshift...

I have been a car nut all my life. I have owned and driven some amazing cars over the years and I have gone to every museum and car show that I could get to, but I have NEVER had an experience like this. As the day went on, we discussed a universe of topics, from our backgrounds to our school experiences to our love of cars, then made plans to get our families together for a picnic next month.

Anyway, Monday was one of the most intense, car-related days I have ever had.

From this day forward, the phrase "Dream Car Garage" takes on a whole new meaning.

[8IhGpvH0]

Oh my.

And a 1937 Cord 812.

A day like that would be the high point of my life.

I'd probably commit suicide when I got home.

[Assauraarguck]

...

[happyman]

Hof, what a great day.

Thanks for telling us all about it.

Following your eventful 2009, I'm glad that something so enjoyable came round.