Wrapped Beautifully

Jaguar E Type - Nothing Will Ever Hold A Candle To A Timeless Cat

 
This past Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.  And, I always look forward to it.  Why?  It's not so much the great football that you MAY see.  But, it's the fact that it marks the half way point for winter. 

Once the snow melts, one of the things I get ready to do is  drive my  1972 Jaguar E Type.  Absence does make the heart grow fonder.  And, when I tuck her in for the winter every November, it's hard to believe I could become even more fond of this car by the time we get to spring.

 You might  be saying to yourself,  "What is she talking about?".  Well, let me share with you a story that I wrote over a decade ago.  And if after reading it, you are at all intrigued, I encourage you to get your hands on anything relating to the history of and specifications for this special vehicle.

I was a young child in the 1960s. And it was then that I first saw it. How is it that one could be so struck, so much in awe of this?

By the time I was seventeen, my first reactions had long since turned into absolute conviction that the Jaguar E Type was very special, exquisite.

In August of that same year, 1978, a friend, knowing how much I loved the automobile, took me to a Jaguar meet at the Transportation Museum in Boston. How great it was to see this masterpiece up close. I was positively breathless. A European contingent of Lotuses and Ferraris were in attendance, paying their respect. They were very nice.

Twenty more years have passed. Nothing has changed. Yes, there are new names, bodies and engines. But nothing will ever hold a candle to a timeless cat.

I didn't have to have one. I'd see them once in a great while, usually in the summer. Before the rest of the world had awakened for the day, as a fog blanketing the road would be burned off by the heat of the early morning sun, I'd first hear that incredible sound - huge amounts of raw power being harnessed so masterfully, yet civilly. And, then, I'd see it, that devastatingly gorgeous thing, flash before me as if it were part missile and ballerina. It would pierce through the air so quickly and precisely with amazing beauty and grace. It was enough for me.

My manager at work and I had one thing in common... we liked cars. We we each liked in cars was at opposite ends of the spectrum. Let's just say he was a fan of strange custom work and hot rods.

One day, John found an "E" advertised for sale in Queens, New York for next to nothing. He, of course, said I should get it because it had a V8 in it. I said someone should get it to save its life and put the V12 back in!

That person ended up being me.

The engine was just one of many problems. The car was in deplorable shape. It suffered from several botched restorations, very poor maintenance work, and tons of neglect.

Without hesitation, I decided to launch a ground up restoration effort. It took two years to complete.

And then, something wonderful happened. Just one day shy of owning it two years, I drove my Jaguar E Type home for the first time. I still can't believe I can listen to it and gaze at it whenever I want, never mind be the one at the wheel those summer mornings.

Here is video footage from my first test drive which was taken during the ground up restoration.  And here is video footage from the final body work and paint inspection.

 

 

Helicopter Flying Lessons- Autorotations Are Not For The Faint of Heart

I'm up for trying out different modes of transportation.  But, did you know that when you are learning to fly helicopters, you have to do autorotations?  I'll let wikipedia explain what they are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorotation

So, you basically have to turn the ship into a pinwheel.  Nice huh?  Here is some helicopter autorotation landing footage from a lesson my friend took the other day:  

The Seduction of Steam Locomotives

Have you ever been on a train?  How about a steam locomotive? 

I first experienced  steam locomotives as a child in eastern Massachusetts. Those of you who live near or visited Boston or Cape Cod may be familiar with the place that has them.  It's called Edaville Railroad.  It's one of the oldest heritage railroads in the country.  It's a 2 ft narrow gauge line which operates excursion trains around cranberry bogs.

 Even in a standing position,  a steam locomotive with its engine running  over powers the senses.  You become completely enthralled.  Somehow you  sense the raw power of the thing.  When you think about when it was invented, you realize  the sheer magnitude of the technology.  It  had played a very major role in changing (and improving) the way human beings  live.   

The US had started to  use steam locomotives in the late 1820's.   The South Carolina Railroad was the first commercially successful railway. In December of 1830 the inaurgural train was hauled by The Best Friend of Charleston steam locomotive.

Diesel electric locomotives appeared in the mid 1930s. Diesel reduced maintenance costs dramatically and increased locomotive capacity.  A new diesel locomotive could provide perhaps   350,000 miles a year vs. approx. 130,000 for a  steam locomotive. The switch over to diesel was slow in the 1940s because of World War II.  The rate of replacement increased in the 1950s. 

The Grand Trunk Western used some steam locomotives on regular passenger trains through 1961.  The Union Pacific is the only remaining Class I railroad in this country that hasn't totally  dieselized. It has one operational steam locomotive, Union Pacific 844.  The Silverton branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western (now Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad), uses steam locomotives still and has since it began in the early 1880s.

Here are some pictures from  the most recent time I saw a steam locomotive (Winter, 2009).

Steam locomotives are  very special, truly wonderful things.  Seek them out to see for yourself!

 

 

 

 

Jaguar E-type Restoration- Would It Be Worth It To You?

Some people believe the Jaguar E-type is the most beautiful car in the world, even 50 years after its introduction.  I happen to agree!  These pictures are from the ground up restoration done on my  E-type.  A picture is worth a thousand words! 

Here's the full story: My E-type and Me

This 1961 E-type Is Mighty Fine & Look At Where She Is!

Isn't this 1961 E-type pretty? This past Sunday I was at my Jaguar club's (JANE- Jaguar Association of New England) annual polo event at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, MA.  It was essentially a combination Jaguar meet and Polo match.  I was really looking forward to this day.  Jaguars and horses are two of my very favorite things!

This was actually the first time I have seen a live polo match.  Man was it a blast!  I was told that these polo ponies can gallop upwards of 40 MPH.  Thank goodness they can stop on a dime!  Its relatively easy to spot where the ball is at any given time.   And, interestingly enough, you also have a fair amount of time to socialize.   We brought our picnic chairs and baskets. And sipped on champagne with strawberries!

There was more than one ocassion where the action came very close to where we were sitting. We almost felt that we were  instantly converting from spectator to a kind of goaly (in our minds anyway), trying to keep the  ball, horses and riders off our kitty cats (Jags). Here's an example of one of those moments:

The shot of adrenaline you'd get was like a shot of espresso!

How Lipizzaner, Andalusain and Lusitano Horses Are Related

My mom just saw the Herrmanns' Royal Lipizzan Stallions at a demonstration in Middleborough  Massachusetts last month.   Having seen the Lipizzaners from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna Austria at the Worcester Centrum years ago as well as having ridden some wonderful Lusitano horses  myself recently, I decided to see exactly how these types of horses are related.

The earliest lipizzan ancestors are from between 600 and 700 AD.  This is when the Moors had taken Barb horses into Spain and crossed them with Spanish stock.  This resulted in the Iberian horse breed which the Andalusian and Lusitano  horses are a part of (which are now considered separate breeds). 

The Habsburgs ruled Austria and Spain. And, by 1600,  it was determined that strong nimble horses were needed for military purposes.  There was also some interest in having them for the riding schools that were gaining in popularity by the nobility.  In 1562, the Habsburg Emperor Masimillian the 2nd  decided to bring the Andalusian horse to Austria for breeding at Kladrub.  In 1580, his brother established breeding at Lipizza (now Lipica), located in  Slovenia.  This is where the Lipizzaner breed obtained its name. 

Spanish, Barb, and Arabian stock were crossed in Karst (Kras), and subsquent generations were crossed with the Neapolitan from Italy and spanish Baroque horses  obtained from Germany and Denmark. Kladrub was known for its  heavy carriage horses.  And Lipizza, its riding and light carriage horses.