BUGATTI

Bugatti related articles

WATCH OUT FOR THE BULLS WHILE BARN FINDING!

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It is great to see some action caused by a CHB article. Barn finding is something that is so intriguing for most of us, a special dream we are all looking for. Sometimes this dream becomes reality, but the next question will be, will your dream actually come true, or will it become one of the most disappointing experiences in your life. I suppose this last possibility will have been experienced by many…

My father used to look for barns a lot, with the hope of finding that old rusty and dusty treasure, mostly Buagttis. Like the story I shared with you titled ‘La clinique des chocs and the Russian princess’ (the very first article on CHB). To find that special sleeping beauty is just the jackpot in a lottery, especially in the time we live in now. I very much believe that unknown barn finds don’t really exist and if they do, it is a real miracle on earth. Most of the time there are people who know about the barn find, but their lips are sealed ; ) Once… Continue reading

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UPDATE ON MY APPRENTICESHIP

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As promised, I will keep you posted about my apprenticeship at ERK. I must admit, every day this work gets more and more fun! We even have a barn find section in the garage, just to relate to yesterday’s article… ; ) The diversity of cars that come in is large, pre- or postwar, patinated like a Brescia, finely restored like a Hispano H6C (the gorgeous H6C with Kellner coachwork shown below is mostly restored by ERK, also the special Chromos bumpers), or sporty like a Lambo GT400, all great to work on.

A job I really enjoyed, was installing the overhaul sets of the 6-double Weber carburetors for the Lambo GT400 V12. When assembling 6-double Webers you soon find out how they are put together and what every part means for the function of the carburetor – fascinating. With an excellent manual, which had every part numbered, it was almost as simple as assembling an Ikea closet… ; ) While dong the job… Continue reading

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WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO GET INVOLVED WITH THIS OILY AND GREASY HOBBY? 

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As said before, I find it my task to light the automotive fire in the hearts of youngsters, and today I think I can do that with a very interesting video. Step by step I will teach you how to do it and energize you to join us! Even without grease on your face and inhaling oily fumes you will sense the excitement of an era almost 100 years ago now. I advise to also watch the video if you have already joined our hobby – it will remind you why you started all this… Continue reading (vid included)

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CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE WORKSHOPS!

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Sorry for my radio silence again… As I already announced, I am in my learning process about mechanical things, restoration and revision. One of the jobs I also have to do is to make sure some car parts are delivered at special workshops for modifications or specialized work. This is one very interesting thing to do, because I get to see so many great places where real craftsmanship is delivered. So for now I will send a series of POTWs about workshops that are specialized in a specific field.

The first workshop I visited was Nuyts, located near Antwerp. They are an engine overhaul/repair company and have some very impressive and monstrous machinery! Their workshops looked just great and I was lucky enough to get a tour around the premises. They showed me some very special engines they are now working on, like a Delage, a Bugatti T37 and a Rally… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

THE INTERCLASSICS BRUSSELS PREMIERE WAS…!

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For those petrol heads who missed the 2015 edition of the Interclassics Brussels exhibition on November 6-8, you might wonder was this first ever exhibition in Brussels a flop or top? Judge yourself after reading my report! : ) I always love to go and see some nice events and to make a report about it. It sounded very special to visit the first Brussels Interclassics exhibition, so let’s take a look at the first day of this new event! I also had the mission of finding the weirdest car of this event, commissioned by PreWarCar, so make sure to check out PWC frequently!

Friday was the first day that Interclassics Brussels opened their doors, a good day to have look at the cars they had collected and see some nice stands! The entry was already GREAT! The original T35 Bugatti of Luc Slijpen was your host while entering the arena of brute HP! : ) This Bug was also a good teaser… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

POTW PHOTOREPORT – THE AFTERGLOW OF THE BCN RALLY!

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Last report I told you about the magnificent BCN weekend and to raise those great memories I thought it was a nice idea to do a POTW photoreport as addition to the extended report! I took some nice pics of details that I like. So enjoy my artful photographer skills : P The afterglow is for those that can’t get enough of the Bugattis, like me! Stay tuned because some highly interesting stuff is on its way! Click here for more stunning pics!
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THE DUTCH BUGATTI CLUB RALLY, THE PLACE TO BE

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As announced on CHB the BCN (Bugatti Club Netherlands) held its autumn rally this past weekend and it was MAGNIFICENT! So sit back and relax, here is the full report of this very enjoyable long BCN weekend. I call this a rally, but in fact it isn’t an official rally with strict rules to get from A to B in a certain time… it is more a relaxed tour, but you know those Bugatti people…!

On Friday my dad (who is a long time BCN member) and I left with our black beauty, the 1950 Delahaye 135MS cabriolet Chapron (of course not on a trailer!). The adventure started right away as everything went wrong that could go wrong… Continue reading                                

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HIGH CLASS FROM VANVOOREN

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As we continue with the Parisian coachbuilders, today is the turn for Vanvooren who was located with his workshop in the north-western Parisian suburb of Courbevoie. This coachbuilder was one who built on high class chassis like Hispano-Suiza, Bugatti, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Delahaye and Delage. A great example of one of his creations is the 1939 Bugatti 57C Atalante that won an award at Chantilly. Vanvooren is best known for his work from the 1930s on those grandiose chassis of the era, but the company had already been active from 1910 and persisted until 1950. Vanvoorens style could be described as advanced with a conservative elegance, combined with very high standards.

Achille Vanvooren did good business with those expensive marques… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

THE BUGATTI 101C EX-CAGE SUPER STAR!

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Today’s article is about the very special and rare 1954 Bugatti Type 101C two-seater fixed-head coupé with unique coachwork by Antem, which was one of the last 1950s Molsheim built Bugattis. Only seven of these evolutionary T57s were ever built, one prototype and six production cars!

This 101C, chassis and engine  #101504, once belonged to American actor Nicholas Cage of Carmichael in California. Can you remember his Miura of an earlier article? It seems that he collects cars and not just young supercars! I must say he has a GREAT taste concerning cars!The Bugatti will be actioned at Bonhams’ Chantilly Sale coming Saturday! If you bring between €1.5 and 1.8 million then here is perhaps your chance to become the owner of this fabulous car! I say perhaps, because you never know where the bidding will stop, especially… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

THE ART DECO LOVING DANDY MAHARAJA YESHWANTRAO HOLKAR II OF INDORE – PART 2

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http://crankhandleblog.comYeshwantrao had a deep understanding of the automobile. He knew exactly which car to buy, how the car’s lines should flow and how the body was to be fabricated. Unlike his dad he was a true patrol head who knew almost how to build a car by himself.

Every car that Yeshwantrao owned had the ‘Holkar Hallmark’ – an outstanding sense of design and proportion with individually designed interiors. Attention was paid to every single detail of the car and even the door handles were specially designed with Art Deco motifs. Correction, a true perfectionist patrol head!

His cars were all painted in sunglow and black and had black ebony dashboards with orange dials and white lettering. The cars were famed by… Continue reading

THE ART DECO LOVING DANDY MAHARAJA YESHWANTRAO HOLKAR II OF INDORE – PART 1

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http://crankhandleblog.comFirst some background! Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar III (1890-1978) ruled the Princely State of Indore (9,519 square miles with 19 gun salutes) from 1903 to 1926. He was already quite an unconventional Maharaja and one of the first in Central India who, around 1906, acquired an automobile! He always purchased (lots of) cars for a reason… for some kind of a utilitarian purpose. He was just more of a practical collector than a petrol head.

Now about that futuristic master dandy, which he really was… Continue reading

CALL 9-1-1! A TALBOT-LAGO T150 C FIGONI-FALASCHI TEARDROP IS BEING SLAUGHTERED!

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We have all seen the sleeping beauties, barn-finds and perished cars, passing by, but this? You might wonder how it is possible that anyone destroys such stunning cars on purpose! A Talbot-Lago T150 C – or CSS – with Figoni-Falaschi teardrop coachwork, an exceptional Delahaye 135 M – or MS – with Saoutchik coachwork and a Bugatti – probably a type 44, that definitely didn’t survive. Many other special cars have been sacrificed like this at stockcar racing events. If only they had known what there were doing… Continue reading

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LA CLINIQUE DES CHOCS AND THE RUSSIAN PRINCESS

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I would like to introduce my blog with a great story written by my father, a year after I was born. The English version of the story was first published in Bugantics (1992), the magazine of the Bugatti Owner ‘s Club.

It was some time the mid-seventies when I met a Mr Wartelle in northern France who told me, among lots of other interesting things, about a Bugatti in the cellar of a house belonging to an old lady.

http://crankhandleblog.comAt the time he refused to give me any further details, so I decided a few years later to try again.

This time I got the full story. The car was a ‘Petite Royale’ drophead… Continue reading