October 2005
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Volume 2,Issue 4/October-December 2005 A WORD FROM THE In This Issue: A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT CURATOR Jeff Drives the LARC, Part 2 The summer has been a whirlwind of Many exciting things are happening at activities for Susan and me. We finished Bill Pryor Drives the Lane Motor Museum. One change you have the Great Race in a respectable 33rd Targa Florio probably already noticed is the new place out of 100 cars. The race was filled masthead on this newsletter. It was with miles and miles of beautiful roads designed by one of our members–Donnie and the opportunity to meet many new Whiteman. We appreciate the many ways friends. The McQuay-Norris ran very well our members enrich the Museum. with not a single breakdown -- a tribute New arrivals to the Museum include: to Greg Coston's great preparation and 2000 David Austin Hillclimber (a new constant maintenance. autocross toy for Jeff); 1966 Honda S600 Our next adventure was the Peel Meet Roadster (complements the S600 coupe); on the Isle of Man. I was more than a 1956 IFA (East German make); King Midget little worried about shipping the car in a (U.S. microcar) and accompanying crate minus a few pieces and then arriving microboat; 1967 Morris Mini Minor Traveler on the Isle of Man to reassemble it. Of (a nicely restored “woodie” wagon); 1930s course, I worried about nothing except Mochet Velocar (both pedal and 50cc motor the leaking gas tank. Yes, when I scooter powered); 1960 Morris “Mini” Mini reinstalled the gas tank on the Isle of (a custom Mini with the back seat removed Man, it leaked. Panic set in for a few and chopped to half the length); Peugeot moments until I realized our host Sam Above: The McQuay-Norris in Louisville Tri-puter (three-wheeled, right hand drive Knight was not going to let this little Below: The Peel Trident on the Isle of French make); 1937 Praga Baby (another problem keep us from the rally. Sam Man Czechoslovakian make); 1970s Renault 4 said, "Take the tank off my lawnmower." Savane (demonstrates the progression from And so I did. The car ran beautifully the the 4CV to the Dauphine); 1948 Skoda whole time and everyone was so nice to (Czechoslovakian make); 1980 Tatra T-613 us that it turned out to be a very special Ambulance (fully outfitted with a stretcher weekend. in the back, blue lights and siren!); 1967 Magic of the Machine on July 30th Willam Acoma (3-wheeled fiberglass let us spend the day demonstrating microcar). vehicles and giving rides. I believe Activities at home and abroad kept us everyone enjoyed the LARC-LX busy this summer. Lane Motor Museum demonstration. I think it would be fun to hosted the Willys-Overland-Knight do it again next year and try crushing a International Meet in July. A gathering of car. over 60 classic W-O-K enthusiasts came Lane Motor Museum attended the from as far as California, Florida, and Donelson Bike Show on Sept. 10. We Canada. brought the famous Wind Wagon to The Peels to Peel Rally saw 20 Peel attract the Harley Davidson crowd. Also automobiles from UK, Scotland, Austria, and in the show that day, we had a 1975 the U.S. return to the Isle of Man. Seven of Hercules WR200 and a 2004 Honda “the world’s smallest cars” completed a lap CB50R. around the famous 37 mile TT motorcycle 702 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37210 (615) 742-7445, 742-7447 FAX 702 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, course. continued, pg. 2 continued, pg. 2 ....President, Continued from pg. 1 The Helicron is finally resting comfortably in the middle of my workshop. I have removed the engine cowling and the bent front axle. Some rudimentary inspection shows more than a few deficencies that we will have to correct before it is roadworthy. I have a feeling that the completion date will be the coldest day of the winter . but stay tuned. The Museum has acquired a host of new cars in the last three months. One of the most interesting is the "Stationette" which is a small 3-wheeled car made entirely of wood. It was James Martin's last attempt at making a small production car. It was a failure, as only one Stationette was built. We are now restoring it, and when it is done, it will join the Martin Aerodynamic Sedan on the floor. See you on the road driving your classic car! Jeff Lane 1950 Martin Stationette ...Curator, Continued from pg. 1 We attended the 4th Annual Tatra Registry UK Rally in England. A 1932 Tatra T-57 was waiting for us at the host hotel. The Museum recently purchased it from a UK club member. We completed the weekend rally across moorland fields and rolling hills in the oldest Tatra participating. We then boarded an overnight ferry to the Netherlands and dropped the car off to be shipped to us in the near future. The Museum’s first completed restoration project, a 1965 Matra D'Jet 5, was presented to the public for the first time at the Lexington Concours d’Elegance. This rare French sports car is important as it was the first mid-engine production car. The Can-Am Caldwell D-7 made an historic appearance at The Rolex Vintage Festival at Lime Rock Park presented by BMW. Driver Sam Posey delighted the crowd with demonstration laps as designer Ray Caldwell commentated. 2006 is the 40th Anniversary of Can-Am racing, and the D-7 hopes to make a few more public appearances. The Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles invited the 1934 Aero roadster to participate in its 11th annual Concours d’Elegance held in Canton, Ohio. Show organizers presented Above: Sam Posey in the the stunning Czechoslovakian car with the James A. Conant Can-Am Caldwell D-7 at Award for Outstanding Tour Car after it completed a 75 mile Lime Rock Park. countryside tour the day before the show. Our next event is a 10 day driving tour through France. Right: Jeff and Susan We will be participating in a pristine 1963 BMW 3200S. Jeff is were dressed to the excited to rally in this beautiful saloon with flowing lines and nines as they showed the V-8 engine; I’m excited about the overnight stays every evening Aero at the Glenmoor at a chateau. Gathering of Significant With the beginning of Fall already here, be sure to take Automobiles. out your favorite car and enjoy the cooler driving weather! Susan Lane HOW I GOT TO THE TARGA FLORIO, PART I After a recent visit to the Museum, I was particularly intrigued by the magnificent new addition to the Lane Motor Museum, a 1932 Lancia DiLambda Dual Cowl Phaeton, an extraordinary car in extraordinary condition. My interest in Lancias goes back to the first car I ever raced, a 1963 Lancia Flaminia Zagato 3C 2500 Sport. In 1962, I met Toly Arutunoff in our little sports car club in Nashville. He was a student at Vanderbilt University, the son of a Russian aristocrat industrialist who barely escaped Moscow during the 1917 revolution, came to America and struck it rich. Toly ran club races in his Porsche Carrera, two-liter Alfa Romeo and Lotus Seven. (This should have been a clue perhaps Toly had a little more money than most of us.) When he graciously offered me his new Lotus to run in a driver’s school in Florida, I jumped at the chance. In the late ’50s and early ’60s motor racing was highly fashionable, a glamorous pastime for young gentlemen, the envy of the beautiful people, the jet-setters. Drivers with noble titles such as Baron, Count, Duke, Earl, Marquess or Prince raced wheel-to-wheel with flamboyant international playboys such as the Italian film director (and Ingrid Bergman’s lover) Roberto Rosselini; Peter Revson, the handsome American heir to Revlon Cosmetics; Augie Pabst, whose family owned a Milwaukee brewery; and the dashing Lance Reventlow, the son of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress. In the mid ’50s, motor racing ruled. English racing driver Stirling Moss got press coverage throughout Great Britain second only to the queen. He is likely the most celebrated sports figure England has ever had. He was the idol of every teenage sports car enthusiast I knew. Moss’s career ended in a crash at the Goodwood circuit in England on Easter Monday, 1962. He spent a year in hospital, came out, tested himself at Goodwood in a Lotus 19, decided his skills were impaired and announced his retirement. In this era, the World Manufacturers’ Championship endurance road racing series for sports cars was more popular than Formula One. The International calendar had one World Championship race in the United States at Sebring, Florida. To college boys of the day, Sebring in March was a holy pilgrimage. Toly and I had to do it. Once there, it was a week of sensory overload. At night famous teams actually worked on cars in downtown gas stations. We came face to face with glamorous international drivers and their exotic girlfriends. We actually got to see Stirling Moss in person and watch him drive. It was impossible not to fantasize about being one of them. I, however, entertained no serious thought it could ever happen. Then, in late 1962, Toly bought a Lancia Flaminia Zagato 3C 2500 Sport, a proper exotic dual purpose sports car to race at Sebring, but it was delayed in shipping. “It’ll be too late getting here for Sebring in March, so I’ve entered it in the Targa Florio in Sicily in May.” “Great.