TCG Stories

I had finally resolved with myself that I was going to hoard some cash and get serious about the cars I truly want: my Cosworth 190E and my '89 Isuzu Trooper RS. Downsize, sell off cars you don't love, fix the rust on the Cossie and the Trooper, and drive them. That's the mission, no deviation from course.

Then I go on Facebook and see some guy trying to unload a Mitsubishi Delica 4x4 with "rust issues" that of course means nothing to someone living in the snow belt of New England but look like joy-killing cancer to someone living south of the Mason-Dixon. Yes, this is one of those vehicles I have had an on-again, off-again desire to own, but I know it'll be back into the rabbit hole of importing parts and waiting weeks for a repair.

....but as far as Delicas go, this one is cheap - $13,000 - and there's perhaps some more room to bargain if you make the rust out to be something abhorrent that you can't stomach the thought of living with. 

What needs to happen is the LX450 should be (quickly) refreshed and used for an inaugural camping trip on the beach before Labor Day so I can vanquish these demons immediately and finish two projects that have been on the proverbial back-burner since 2018. Not that I've been successful in that mission to date.

You don't have to look too far to see that anyone who has been snatching up modern enthusiast cars at auction and sticking them in a field or giant warehouse is pretty goddamned brilliant. In a few years, when cars like the Porsche 944 and first-generation Toyota Celica are near unobtainable and even harder to find in good shape, a former parts car may, in fact, be deemed worthy of restoring. 

Every now and again, I flag eBay sellers who have seen the winds shifting and begun stockpiling enthusiast vehicles that are still dirt cheap to buy off of Copart but can immediately yield big-time value in terms of the parts they contain. For years, J&J Auto Wrecking out of Ohio has been the clear leader in this arena, seemingly equipped with a sixth sense about which cars and trucks to buy while they're cheap. They definitely saw the trend towards Ford Excursions and H2 Hummers getting a second shot at life and began yanking those things off of auction lots left and right. Then it was the Impala SS, another car that was dirt cheap to buy when found in a state of neglect. The list goes on, and I actually grabbed a minty Recaro interior out of a rusty Mercedes-Benz Cosworth they had (which was ironically in better shape than my own car. 

Now, there's another player on the field, with the name goldat out of Houston, Texas. I just came across this outfit as their eBay page shows several first-generation Celicas, an Alfa Romeo Milano Verde, Porsche 944 Turbo, a second-generation Toyota MR2, and an early Volvo 242 Turbo coupe, among many others. Thinking about how much they likely paid for these cars and the treasure-trove of parts within each one makes me wish I had grabbed some acreage at some point long ago and started hoarding like these shops have done. 

The Great Race is one of the last major cross-country events catering largely to pre-WWII cars. Typically running from West to East but occasionally going the other direction, this weeks-long speed-controlled event is one of the last of its kind, as it even outlaws GPS and other helpful devices to help you get from point A to point B. It's described as, "....a test of a driver/navigator team's ability to follow precise course instructions and the car's (and team's) ability to endure on a cross-country trip. The course instructions require the competing teams to drive at or below the posted speed limits at all times."

So, it's not a speed competition, but it is an event designed to test your navigational skills and ability to follow directions, all while managing the unpredictable nature of a pre-war car. That being said, the rules have softened in recent years, now allowing for any classic car up to 1974 to participate. These leaves the door open for lots of desirable muscle cars, and the photos from this year's kick-off - which happened right in my own backyard of Warwick, RI - reveal plenty of Shebly Mustangs and Pontiac GTOs in the mix. 

I wish I had known about this with more advance warning, as 10,000 car fans swarmed Rocky Point Park and even Governor McKee came down to wave the proverbial green flag. Hagerty is a sponsor, as is Hemmings, Coker Tires, and McCollister's Auto Transport, a very respectable list of corporate supporters. The teams left Warwick on Saturday morning, en route to Connecticut with plenty of stops planned along the way, including Wayne Carini's F40 Motorsports.

To drive a pre-war car anywhere is likely a watershed moment for most automotive enthusiasts, but to take one from Rhode Island to Fargo, North Dakota, deserves a lifetime achievement award. 

This week - for the first time ever - I had three vehicles up for sale. My 1991 Saab 900 Turbo SE convertible; my 1990 Audi V8 Quattro; and a 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde, a non-running project car. Long and short of it? Two sales and one no-sale. Here's what went down:

Saab 900 SE: With three minutes left, it was sitting at $9,000. Over the course of three minutes, it went slightly nuts and bidding ended at $23,750. The winning bidder, a woman from Massachusetts, won the car and quickly fell apart over several phone calls. She wanted the car but clearly was surprised at what it took to win it. I never heard from her in the hours after the auction, a very, very bad sign for any seller, and my phone call that night did nothing to inspire further confidence. She cried. She cried some more. She asked for more time. She refused to send a deposit of any sustenance. She wanted me to bring the car to her. The whole thing reeked. Thankfully, the runner-up bidder contacted me the next morning expressing his interest should the first bidder flake out. Within three hours, the winning bidder had conceded she didn't have the means to store the car (which is something you should know before you enter a single, Goddamn bid) and the second bidder had wired funds within two hours of my confirming with him the car was his for the taking. A win, but one that was hard-fought. 

Audi Quattro V8: This one stung a bit. There was seemingly a good amount of interest in this obscure luxury sedan early on, easily outpacing where my Euro-spec E21 was a few years back. However, the mad rush of bidding at the end never happened and the auction stalled out at $7,400. In some respects, I wish this car had sold, as it was the perfect car for Bring A Trailer: a real-deal survivor with very little in the way of flaws and in completely original condition. That's the audience for a car like that, and it will be a slightly harder sell (I think, who knows) without an educated audience that knows how few of these Autobahn cruisers are left in this sort of condition. I am in conversations with the high bidder and if we can land on a compromise number, I will likely sell it just to have the space back in the garage. 

Alfa Romeo Milano Verde: This was the surprise of the week, as the Milano was a non-running project that hadn't run in at least two to three years. The sale was very quick, with a deposit received within 48 hours of listing it here on The Common Gear. The car was a good one, as it was completely stock and still had its original Recaro interior in very good condition. I sold it with a fairly generous assortment of spare parts, but that not only helped to seal the deal but also gave me some much-needed space back in the garage and got rid of parts I will no longer need. I will miss this car as I really wanted to own an Alfa with that gorgeous Busso V6 under the hood but I will need to find one that doesn't need nearly as much love given I have limited local resources for Italian car restoration. Perhaps I will buy this one back down the road when it is a runner once again. 

So, there you have it. Bring A Trailer still works well when it does work, but it's by no means a guarantee of a sale. They do very little to support you in your goal of closing the transaction out successfully, which does strip away some of the magic that many of us seem to assume is part of the BaT equation. However, with the resources that The Common Gear brings to bear, I feel far more comfortable losing an auction these days knowing that my work and time invested in a given car will still be easy for the next owner to find, understand, and appreciate. I'm confident we'll find a new owner for the gorgeous Audi V8 soon. 

The Isle of Man TT went on a two-year hiatus like so many other spectator-driven events following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. This event - this spectacle of unreal proportions - has captivated attendees for decades and thrust the tiny island community into a spotlight of discomforting dynamics.

Sadly, its return to primetime in 2022 was marred by five deaths and multiple serious injuries. The fact that death is a part of the TT has been quietly accepted over the years, but in the bizarro world we find ourselves in where feelings count double what they used to, the social media chorus to ban the TT has become quite vocal. 

However you look at it, it's tragic what happened. But if you ask the drivers if they know what they signed up for - that is, they're aware that death is likely and the only way to escape it is to be exactly as talented as you proclaim to be and then some - they will resoundingly tell you yes. The Isle of Man TT is one of those few events left where you can dance with death of your free will, content knowing that whatever the outcome is, you'll have done something that many of us - nay, 99 percent of us - would never have the gumption to do.(Read more about this year's event here at motorsport.com)

Rust Cohle, the deadpan detective from the first season of True Detective, says: "The world needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door." In the same vein, we also need those individuals who yearn to live in the extremes, so that we may see what's possible when you go to the edge and return to tell the story. To take that away leaves us constantly falling short of knowing how to survive on the other side. 

Rest in peace to those who perished, who died a far more valiant death than the legions of us who face our final days hooked up to a machine in a dirty, state-run nursing home. 

Every now and again, I'm reminded that my two biggest restoration projects - the Mercedes Cosworth and the Isuzu Trooper RS - are far from the most extreme anyone has ever attempted. 

They are massive by my standards, yes, but not all compared to what some enthusiasts have done. I stumbled across the Instagram account for a user named limoncellaprojekt, who apparently found an exceedingly rare Porsche 993-chassis 911 that was one of a handful of paint-to-sample cars when it was new. After a series of bad events and bad weather, the rare 911 was swept away into a river, where the owner barely escaped and the car then sat for five years.

Fast forward to the present day and the current owner - after negotiating the purchase of the mangled carcass after the river receded and the car became visible - has undertaken a massive restoration project to repair the heavily damaged body, rebuild the waterlogged engine, and restore the completely disgusting interior. It's an absolutely insane attempt at rebirth, but as his interview with Hagerty confirms, some projects aren't always about the bottom line:

"Paolo is under no illusions about the absurdity of his project. The process has involved multiple trips to Germany and at this juncture remains far from complete. As he explained in the Rennlist thread, this is not a project about financial gain, but rather something he enjoys just for the love of it."

Read more here: https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/this-river-find-porsche-911-restoration-is-the-definition-of-project-insanity/

As a kid, I spent most Memorial Day weekends at Lime Rock Park, the so-called road racing center of the East. This was certainly the case 25 years ago, when the typical opening weekend of summer was mobbed with people and the racing was non-stop. Neon Challenge Series, Trans Am, Grand Am, GT2 - you name the racing series, it was there. 

I felt nostalgic this year as I was bringing my son for the first time. In celebration of this, I wore my Realtime Racing polo shirt, as the owner of this Acura-powered team, Peter Cunningham, absolutely made my summer one year when he signed a huge 24x36 poster featuring his championship winning NSX. That was what the Lime Rock of old was like, with the paddock a veritable red carpet tour of winning drivers and teams, with huge semi trucks packed nose-to-nose with competition cars stacked six deep. 

Well, blame it on the rain, but Lime Rock was deader than I have ever seen it this year. Trans Am was still alive and well, but that should come as no surprise - these are basically NASCAR racers that can tackle a road course. The paddock was quiet; there were no lines at the beer tent or other concessions; and despite arriving four hours after the gates opened, I still had just a short walk to the main viewing area. 

In a weird way, the gift shop was symbolic of the vibes at Lime Rock as a whole. The original "Driving Impressions" gift shop was like walking into Skip Barber's basement, with display cases full of model cars, racing memorabilia, signage and stickers, all of which represented a wide range of eras in professional racing. No longer - the current "gift shop" is the same store, with its footprint cut in half and a dozen variations on the same T-shirt design. Meaningless, I know, but as a kid, the original store was Heaven on Earth. What happened? 

I'm not sure what experience Lime Rock is trying to capture these days, but in my first visit since Skip Barber sold it, I now know that my memories are more meaningful than ever. And when reading about the new ownership team that's running the park these days, I can't say I'm surprised at the end result:

"For the last 37 years, Skip Barber—he of eponymous racing-school fame—has owned the Lime Rock, but today, a new group of investors, Lime Rock Group, LLC, announced it has acquired the track." Road & Track, April 2021

And another experience implodes at the hands of an investment group. From now on, I'll be pinning my hopes of a traditional track experience on Sebring. 

Here's something pretty cool: Hagerty, as we well know, is getting into the car enthusiast community in a pretty big way. Hiring Sam Smith from Road & Track, buying Radwood, going public - it's been a big couple of years for the boutique insurance company. 

Of course, you're always worried the other foot is going to drop. When are they going to pull the rug out from under us and say, "Surprise! We're just Liberty Mutual, disguised as a good guy, and we secretly hate all of those modifications you've been making. Claim DENIED." I'm one of those people, as I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the Radwood show after Hagerty took over. 

Thankfully, my fears haven't been realized just yet, and with Hagerty's UK division hosting its first hillclimb event at the historic Shelsley Walsh course over the holiday weekend, our reassurance meter just jumped a few pegs. If nothing else, even if there is a finite horizon in place, Hagerty is using its time embedded with the enthusiast community to exceed our expectations. 

On top of that, they're shining a light on some of the lesser-known aspects of the hobby. Most of us have the basics - autocross, track days, LeMans, Lime Rock - but to get into hillclimbs and stack the deck with numerous priceless and historic open-wheel racers is just a whole 'nother level. Kudos to Hagerty for bringing more enthusiasts into the fold who gleefully pay their premiums every year, all while showcasing the intricate layers of motorsports, car collecting, and the enthusiast lifestyle. 

Check out the full photo gallery from this weekend's event here: https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/events-articles/the-only-way-is-up-you-meet-all-sorts-at-a-hagerty-hillclimb/

NOTE - THIS IS WORK-IN-PROCESS as the site is in Beta.

TCG is a site configured to allow users to be social in storing data that is useful to document ownership, as well as treat vehicles, project chronicles, maintenance chronicles, and receipts as digital assets.  The idea behind the site is that your receipts and ownership records, as well as project documentation, is a value-add that can be used to substantiate your ownership, as well as interact with like-minded enthusiasts.

TCG is currently in Beta.  This means there will be occasional changes and updates, and we'll do the best we can to be transparent with these changes so that there are no surprises.  While in Beta, the data storage and For Sale areas of the site are currently free.  The plan will be to keep document storage and vehicle chronicling free to registered users, and possibly charge a modest fee for For Sale listings and advertising.  We want to be up-front with our stakeholders, as we do not want you to be reluctant to do the work of chronicling your ownership, and then later have to pay for it.   

TCG will not resell user data, and may have the occasional ad or two to help pay for things.  We are not trust-funders (not that there's anything wrong with that in any way...!), so we have to pay for running the site.  If and when the site grows and matures, we're sure to have bills to pay, so we want to be as transparent as possible as to how we plan to do this.   We realize that a site is only as good as its stakeholders and constituents, and on this note, we're also planning on adding a Q&A and Suggestions Box to the site.  When that's ready to go we'll let you know. 

So how does this site work?  Site functionality and understanding how you can utilize the site for yourself will be documented below.  

• Vehicles as Unique Content
• Background Docs by Vehicle
• Vehicle Projects
• Vehicle Maintenance
• Vehicle Receipts
• Access Control

Over the last several months, I have been looking for an FJ80-series Toyota Land Cruiser. It was to be our beach vehicle, as it has three rows of seats and is also an appreciating model that shows no signs of slowing down. 

My friend Jeff, who was the mechanic that spent a fair amount of time on the blue 1986 Isuzu Trooper and allowed the white Range Rover County to live at his house for a spell, has connected me to a seller with my preferred variant of the FJ80: the Lexus-badged LX450. 

Now, I pointed this truck out to Jeff when he told me he felt the Range Rover wasn't worth working on, a noble gesture considering I was going to pay him too much to bring it back to life. He may have decided he didn't want the money that bad, which is also sort of what happed with the Trooper. I ended up feeling like the shop just wanted to be done with it, so I quickly sold it and a project-grade 1985 Toyota Cressida I had dropped off there a few months beforehand. It just felt like everyone was burnt out. But as I was preparing the Range Rover to get picked up by its new owner, I showed Jeff the picture of the dark blue/green LX450 parked at the shop and asked him about it.

Turns out it was a good customer of theirs, someone who lived outside of the U.S. half the year and whose son was using the truck in Newport. Jeff promised to inquire about it and indicated he felt it could be had for a good price. Fast forward a few weeks and Jeff indeed confirms he can make the deal happen, with the owner dropping the truck along with the title at his house in the coming weeks while he prepares a new vehicle for his son to drive around in.

The price is really good - well below current valuations for a Land Cruiser of this vintage - and the whole thing just seems too easy. I'm a firm believer in "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." But there's also a part of me that believes Jeff feels bad I sold the Trooper and that he never did any real work other than diagnostics on the Range Rover, so maybe he thinks he owes me a good truck. I don't know how strong his moral compass is.

Regardless, I'll find out in the coming days if this is all going to come together, and then I'll hopefully know for sure which end is up.