petrolheads

LONDON GOT ATTACKED BY VETERANS

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OMG!!! Too much to report after such a long radio silence… So many events to write about and my apologies for the delay, but due to some personal issues it was way too quiet out here. Let’s go for the London Brighton Run today. As I had to go to the UK, which is yet another story and I will tell all about that next up, I was not far from London, just at the right moment. Some friends with an addiction for veteran cars were participants and convinced me to give it a try, because you know I am all about vintage swag, at least most of all… How does a day look when doing this crazy event? Well… Continue reading

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MILLE MIGLIA 2016: IN BOCCA AL LUPO! – 2

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Anyway the Amilcar made it, though the magneto gave some trouble due to the rain. Luckily we had a technical team following us for such circumstances. Mike Kastrop and Frido Roetgerink were following us in the van of Lammertink, fully prepared for anything that might happen…

Next up Sander Drijber and Fons Aarents were ready to start with the Salmson 2300 sport. Comfortable and dry at least, and enough horse power to keep up the speed. Myself, I left the starting line with Djuri Jambor in the Alpine A106, which had done the race twice before and also… Continue reading

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THE AMAZING STORY OF THE ‘BUICKATTI’ 57S

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Charles Chayne was one of the most famous early Bugatti collectors. He was a former chief engineer and VP at GM in the 50’s and 60’s, and was a true car afficionado. His first classic car was a Bugatti, and his last was the famous ex Dr Fuchs Royale by Weinberger.

But among Chayne’s Bugatti collection (Type 23, 41, 43 and 57S) there was a very special one, a 1937 Type 57S (57482) a Vanvooren bodied DHC that he bought in the late 50’s, originally built for a certain Mr Halphen. This 57S had been owned at some point by a Frenchman (the car was registered in the late 40’s with Parisian plates), and then was purchased by the legendary Jean de DeDobbeleer from Brussels, who… Continue reading

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MYSTICAL BARN FIND DISCOVERY 

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I must make a confession while it is still 2015. I found something hidden in a church, a church find! Who doesn’t dream about finding a sleeping beauty hidden under dust and behind broken windows. I know you are a barn find junk too, so I need your help. Who can tell me which car this is? I looked for hours at the photo, but I can’t discover what it is.

But let me first tell you a nice and exciting story which will give you so much adrenalin, like I felt that moment. I was doing a prep drive with a friend just before the 100 Miles of Amsterdam when the friend told me about a place he knew with a mass of barn finds… Continue reading 

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HISPANO WITH AMAZING DUTCH HISTORY

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This 8-litre Hispano-Suiza of 1929, with coachwork by Saoutchik, was ordered new by a Dutch gentleman by the name of Mr. Thurkow. He lived in The Hague, on Plein 1813 number 1, and here is the amazing story of his car as The Netherlands was invaded by the Nazi forces in 1940.

Apparently Mr. Thurkow’s chauffeur, an ardent German nationalist, had favored him buying a Maybach, but Mr. Thurkow was bent upon proving that Germany had no monopoly on motoring excellence.

Then Hitler came to power and the chauffeur became an avid Nazi sympathizer. After the invasion of The Netherlands in May 1940, the German occupying forces requisitioned all large and fast automobiles and the, by now former, chauffeur wanted to take revenge… Continue reading

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THE S-TYPE INVICTA 4-SEAT TOURER – AN APPRECIATION

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“… there are few of us really who do not admire something which carries a real suggestion of power and speed.” – Invictas sales brochure introducing the S-Type.

Looking at dozens of photographs of S-Type Invictas, I have often considered just what it is about such a precise and subtle combination of shapes that result in so satisfying a presence. The overall effect is a compelling mixture of tradition and originality, of an attenuated outline and an intense refinement of detail. And it does, in fact, carry “a real suggestion of power and speed.”

The strongest initial impression, most would agree, is made by… Continue reading

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THE ULTIMATE FERRARI IN EXISTENCE

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In any Ferrarist’s discussion there is one question that always recurs: “which model would you chose if you were a billionnaire?”

Most of us will reply that the 250 GTO is the one, others will say that the 250 Testa Rossa or the 250 California or the legendary 330 P4 are for sure the perfect cars to match the ideal. I noticed that few (even among the real Ferrarists) will chose the 335S… Continue reading

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POTW-TRAVELING 1950s STYLE

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It is mid winter (at least in Europe), although it looks and feels like spring this year. Normally this is a time when people start making plans for their next summer holidays. This German couple traveled to their holiday destination by Messerschmitt KR200, a lovely period shot. Note the Goggomobil in the background.  And note the almost… Continue reading

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GOOD INTENTIONS AND TARGETS FOR A SUCCESFUL AUTOMOTIVE 2016

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“Today we can enjoy the story of an interesting CHB reader, who has the aim to involve the youth in this wonderfully mad car world. CHB totally agrees with CSR, let’s make 2016 an outstanding year with new chances. Let’s especially give the youth a place on the vintage and classic automotive stage. To me it was not that hard to earn a spot in this lovely car world and to get access to an incredible little vintage racer. Unfortunately not everyone can achieve this in such a short time, so let’s make sure every petrol head gets chances. That sounds perhaps a bit arrogant and charitable at the same time… haha, forgive me it’s Christmas and you know, I always have nothing but good intensions : )”

When I pick up a classic car magazine, I either turn to the events section, or to see what has been… Continue reading

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CHB WISHES YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS, PERHAPS ON THE ROAD?

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Especially for you a fine design of an artful Christmas card by CHB’s NYC correspondent. The car shown is a Bugatti Royale with chassis number b, the Weinberger cabriolet. The buildings are on rue Robert Mallet-Stevens, Paris 16.

The magnificent #41121 was painted very dark green or black at the time and to be honest, it was never… Continue reading

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS ON THE ROAD WITH A RACING CAR 

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“Let’s enjoy a great story told by our hero, legend Denis Jenkinson. This incredible man gave us petrol heads so many lovely stories, so let’s honor DSJ. With that said, I don’t mean CHB’s DSJ obviously ; ) Thanks Robin Batchelor for this great Christmas suggestion.”

I began to think about doing something appropriate to wind up the year at Christmas time. Other magazines were doing Christmas road tests of unlikely vehicles, with esoteric things like measuring the acceleration of a pogo stick, or the maximum speed of a steamroller. For Motor Sport my thoughts were totally on Grand Prix racing, though I occasionally helped the editor by road-testing the more exciting vehicles. For this purpose I plotted out a figure-of-eight route that pretty well covered the whole county of Hampshire, where I lived, and did timed runs in the faster road-test cars, There were no motorways in those days and, more to the point there were no… Continue reading

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THE 100 MILES OF AMSTERDAM, DITCH DANGER… – PART 2

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As we drove over some typically Dutch dykes, without any light (the headlights were ‘a bit’ weak), we almost hit the water when falling half into a ditch! Well, okay that might be a bit exaggerated… Those narrow dyke roads were the best ones, but also the most difficult as we drove into some black holes full of surprising bends.

After many spooky dykes there was a checkpoint in the famous walhalla for shopaholics, the Chopard store (sponsor of the 100MOA) in the PC Hoofdstraat in Amsterdam. As I am not addicted to shopping we raced down the luxury street, off to more of the city centre and some more spookiness… Continue reading

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THE 100 MILES OF AMSTERDAM, DITCH DANGER… – PART 1

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Driving 100 miles thru Amsterdam and surroundings at midnight with an out of date roadbook (on purpose)… can it get any better? Most of us petrol heads will probably have the Mille Miglia on their bucket list, if not already completed! Please add this 100MOA rally to your list as well, it is something you just have to experience once or more in your lifetime.

Last Sunday/Monday was THE day! And I can ensure you it isn’t about chilling in the sun… Although it was not cold at all and no snow whatsoever, YEAH! I was probably one of the few who was happy with a normal view without white flakes all over.

Sadly Amillion, my Amilcar CGS, wasn’t ready yet to perform, so I had to… Continue reading

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THE ITALIAN ALCHEMISTS – WHEN GENIUS AND VISION CAN CHANGE STEEL INTO GOLD

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Changing base metal into gold has always been the ultimate quest of any alchemist, but after centuries of studying and trials, no one has ever achieved this goal. So, let’s forget Nicolas Flamel and any so called philosopher, for there have only been two men who succeeded in transforming steel, aluminium and magnesium into precious metal.

Each was born in the north of Italy and I know that you have already guessed whom I’m speaking about… Continue reading

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BUGATTI IN A BARN – ARE THEY STILL LANGUISHING OUT THERE?

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Three months after I was born, I probably missed out on my only chance ever to buy a barnfind Bugatti. At least Sotheby’s thought so, when they took this beautiful T57 Atalante to auction in 1987. The auction catalogue literally said: ‘This must surely be one of the last Bugatti barn discoveries’. Boy, were they wrong! And every time a new Bugatti… Continue reading

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SMASHING BARN FIND DELAGE D8 DROPHEAD SOLD FOR 25 POUNDS! 

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“I like to present you again a very fine story from one of our CHB readers. After yesterday’s D8 Fernandez et Darrin (only details shown) we will now take a look at a true barn find D8. Is it the same D8 as yesterday’s…? Sadly not. There was no photograph attached to this story, but I found a stunning D8-120 roadster Devillars, a one-off, that might come close to the D8 of today’s story. If you know the car of the story below then please let me know in the comments”. – RAV

When I was a high school boy, in the mid to late 50s, we lived in a town called Stanningly near Leeds in West Yorkshire. In this town, there was a local auto wrecking yard and they had a… Continue reading

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HOW MUCH CASH IN OLD SOCKS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

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A number of articles ago, CHB presented a special one-off concept car for those who still have hidden socks with cash. On December 10th RM Sotheby’s held their NYC Driven by Disruption auction. Our NYC correspondent Walter Jamieson was present and noted down for you the hammer prices of his favorites, which he dealt with in a previous article about great dashboards.

The following prices are… Continue reading

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THE BEST BOND CAR EVER, OR JUST A COINCIDENCE?

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I have never missed a Bond movie, if only because of the fierce cars that are acting so well. In addition to the explosions and many gunshots, the real thrills are the chases.

When it comes to choosing your fave Bond car, most of us will say the DB5. Some will go for the one-off Toyota 2000GT Spyder. Most youngsters definitely fell in love with the DBS, but very few will answer that the best Bond car ever was a… Hispano-Suiza! Something that… Continue reading

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A TOW TRUCK THAT PROVES THAT EVEN THE BEST IS FUGITIVE

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My grandfather René has always been a very open minded and active man. After the war, money was really hard to earn, that is why my grandpa decided to start a business with rental cars with chauffeur, in addition to his antiques dealing business.

In Switzerland there were plenty of rich people who were looking for that kind of rental car service. My grandpa’s best client was the son of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. To please his clients, René purchased some prewar cars since they were very cheap, classy and comfortable. His rental ‘fleet’ consisted of a Chrysler, a Packard and a Lancia Astura drophead by Pininfarina. The Pininfarina Lancia was particularly… Continue reading

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THE REUNION WITH AN ICON OF A FERRARI…

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In 1953 Ferrari was preparing to show new road cars at the 1954 Geneva and New York Auto Shows. One of those chosen to represent the still up-and-coming marque would be built on a 250 Europa or 375 America chassis by Turinese carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale.

Since 1950 Giovanni Michelotti had been the designer responsible for much of Vignale’s output, Ferraris mostly, but on other marque chassis as well. He had already designed more than 80 Ferraris bodied by Vignale, one of which had been called The Most Beautiful Car in the World by one of the American car magazines. His 1953 design for S/N 0313 was strikingly different from any of the others. When an almost identical one was… Continue reading

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PREWAR-STYLE DRIVING LESSONS FOR THE YOUNG BUGATTI DRIVER

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Although some of you may have had their first driving lessons on an empty airfield strip, most of us will remember these moments as a never ending hour with an inexhaustible number of nerve-racking moments. I suddenly felt great respect for my mother, who could easily practice French with us, while parenting my brother during the daily drive to school. She and Juan Manuel Fangio must have been from another planet.

But how could you learn to drive your dad’s Bugatti in the… Continue reading

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MY KIND OF OFFICE!

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Whether you call it the dashboard, le tableau de bord or even The Office, as some serious petrol heads do, it can be one of the most appealing and attractive parts of any fine Vintage or Classic car. Dials and switches, some of which have functions long ago replaced by more modern technology, proliferate in impressive array. The numbers and letters are handsome; the knobs and handles often suggest that some heft might be needed to… Continue reading

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WON’T STOP ROCKING, CHB IS EVOLVING…

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Wait! We start with a mini quiz. I am sure you noticed this many times, as it has been sitting there already for the past 8 months since CHB popped up on the world wide web. Guess what the marque is of the spooky-like automobile in the banner above every page…

Dear readers, this article will be about you! We, RAV and DSJ, want to thank you so much for visiting and reading our stuff, we appreciate that truly so much. As I, RAV, am writing this, I thought today would be a good time to… Continue reading

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THE AUTOBAHN KURIER, ANOTHER LAKE FIND… – PART 2 

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CHB stands corrected – the Mercedes 540K in yesterday’s article is a 1936 Special Coupé by Sindelfingen and not an Autobahn Kurier… Of the original Autobahn Kuriers only 6 were built, 4 on a 500K chassis and 2 on a 540K chassis. The car in the Arturo Keller collection, chassis 408336, ex prof. Barraquer, is believed to be the only remaining of those 6, although …? (read on). That doesn’t make yesterday’s article less fascinating and in this part 2 we continue this amazing story, still calling ‘our’ car an Autobahn Kurier for the sake of the great story!

My uncle and father definitely fell for the charms of the Autobahn Kurier, without knowing that it was one! They were impressed like they had never been before by any other car. They both began to convince their father to buy the car. Saying that my grandfather was interested, is an understatement! He simply was shaken by this apparition. He asked if the cars could be started… The Colonel told them that they… Continue reading

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THE AUTOBAHN KURIER, ANOTHER LAKE FIND… – PART 1

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Get ready for a fine barn finding story from a great CHB reader! It is just awesome to see stories from my precious readers. Thank you so much Simon for this intriguing story! : ) If you also have such a great story, don’t hesitate to share it with CHB.

When I was a young boy (that was a long time ago), I was always waiting for the weekends, because on Sunday we used to go for lunch at my Grandparents’ home. After the meal my beloved grandfather, a great car enthusiast, always liked to tell us some fairytale-like car stories. I remember those moments very well. My father, my uncle and I suddenly got sparkling eyes when it came to listen to grandpa’s marvelous stories. Such as the story of his 16 valve Bugatti Brescia, that he owned for just one week, the Rolls Silver Ghost converted into a towing car, but the most appreciated and sought after tale was for sure the story of the Autobahn Kurier near the lake… Continue reading

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AN UNEXPECTED 8C ADVENTURE THANKS TO FB…

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My dad always tells me to plan and organize or prep a bit more, not really my kind of thing… The best days are when I get in my car unprepared to experience some great adventures! To name some very nice examples, I went to Denmark on my own, to join that great Bonhams auction of the Frederiksen collection. You can read those reports by clicking here for part 1, or here for part 2. Unexpectedly I left for Denmark, without any plan but getting to the auction in time. Where to stay? Just see how it goes, no commitments, just total freedom and fun. This adventure crossed my path thanks to a great friend who knows a lot about the fine art of Saoutchik and Figoni & Falaschi. That reminds me, I still need to write that article about Figoni… Expert Peter Larsen and his companion Ben Eriksen invited me to come to the action and that is what makes this blog so rewarding, these unexpected encounters! Peter Larsen is author of a number of magnificent books, so make sure to check them out via the Dalton Watson site.

The second example of a great day was when I… Continue reading

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HOW TO SHOW OFF? DO IT THE AMERICAN WAY

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The sole goal of my stories is to show that the vintage car hobby is very attractive, even if you already have another hobby. Many youngsters are crowding highways, speedways and London, to ‘spot’ supercars of today’s playboys. Both the spotters as well as the playboys in their supercars should read this story and should realize that their hobby is not new at all. Why would you crowd up around a Ferrari while you could have a Morgan for yourself? So become vintage supercar spotter or a playboy in a prewar (super)car!

As in many cases, the Americans were the first to do outrageous things, and it is thus not surprising that… Continue reading

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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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BARN FINDING FOR DUMMIES   

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Years ago, when Bugattis were still to be found in junkyards and barns were for sheep, nobody had heard of barnfinds. Nowadays the world has changed, and the word ‘barnfind’ is growing in popularity every day. In the past year I have seen ‘barnfind wines’; cars at auctions with fresh hay spread over the roof; cars that are clearly in a garage but sold as barnfind; barnfind classes on Concours d’Elegance; barnfind museums; and most strikingly you can even buy dust to turn your over restored car into a proper barnfind. And you know what, I understand it all. When done in a proper way, barnfinding is the new city safari!

For all of the new guys who join the vintage car world, I have some simple rules to make it a real adventure. Furthermore… Continue reading

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VOTW-WHO DOESN’T REMEMBER ‘THE GRADUATE’?

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Specially for the babyboomers among CHB readers, here is the final scene from that Oscar winning 1967 movie THE GRADUATE, starring Dustin Hoffman in his shabby Alfa Duetto 1600.

He also races into a black tunnel, just like the Miura in THE ITALIAN JOB, but this time he is not alone on a deserted mountain road and… Continue reading

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JAMES BOND EAT YOUR HEART OUT – THE SPECTRE CAR BEING REVEALED TOGETHER WITH ITS PREDECESSORS

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To prepare for this day, before this joyful event, I already paid a visit the Aston showroom in Wommelgem near Antwerp the day before. I can say that this Aston Martin dealership truly is a great place. The sales team are very nice and take time for their customers. I was impressed by the wall of color options that you can choose for your new toy. Both paint swatches as well as leather for your interior.  There is such a great diversity to create your personalised luxurious and elegant environment. Especially Mariana black, which is a very deep dark blue, so when you take a closer look with the sun shining on it, you can see that it actually is blue. The Astons can also be delivered in two tone. This is something that I love to see, as I am quite a fan of two tone colored cars. Without doubt, this is a great place to visit if you are looking for an exciting, fierce and fast ride.

Many of us will soon go or have already seen the latest Bond movie Spectre, which as usual is full of excitement, new Bond girls, action, fierce Astons and gun shots. I had an even better Bond experience! To get in the mood, the Aston Martin… 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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A WORKSHOP- SHOP… THE BEST WAY TO SPEND MONEY

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During my apprenticeship at ERK Automobiles, I will visit many wonderful workshops. It is great to see the differences between different workshops and of course to meet the people who run those workshops. This week I visited a great place near Amsterdam, Track Motortechniek (engine technique).

This workshop is specialized in engines and they are dedicated to digging deep into the mechanical aspects. They write about and explain many… Continue reading

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‘DANS SON JUS’, THE NEXT GENERATION

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Sometimes you have to be lucky. In my daily search for a ‘digital barnfind’ I encountered a very special find: CRANKHANDLEBLOG. Probably most of you have found this great blog in this way, but for me it was a special day. After visiting automotive related events and people all over the world, since I was eight, this was the first time I realised there are youngsters like me with exactly the same love for the weird, the dusty, and the rusty. Many times I was asked where my dad was when I asked if this was a Briggs and Stratton or a Smith Flyer. There are not too many girls and boys in their twenties who share this crazy hobby. All of a sudden I found one, Rose Atalante. Although not as patinated as vintage cars, she jumped the subject with the fanaticism of a Bugatti Brescia.

I contacted her and she soon… Continue reading

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THE AMILLION JOURNEY CONTINUES

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Most of you know that the first step towards my goal was to purchase a lovely Amilcar or other cyclecar. That first step has been accomplished, but it is just the beginning of great adventures which are yet to come! Every vintage car has its own issues or things that can be improved and so has Amillion (that is the nickname I have given to my Amilcar CGS). To make sure you can hit the road safely and have lots of fun you need to make sure you check the car thoroughly and go for mechanical perfection as far as possible. Later you will probably still find new things that can be improved. This is a part of the journey/adventure and you should enjoy it because it is a great experience to get to know your car.

A while ago I posted a fun tour of the workshop of a true professional near Amsterdam. I know the very nice and relaxed man of the workshop and his wife from the Bugatti Club Netherlands and decided to… Continue reading

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CHB IS BECOMING FAMOUS THANKS TO PREWARCAR/POSTWARCLASSIC 

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Have any of you noticed my first article on PostWarClassic? Make sure to check it out by clicking here! Luckily the owner of Prewarcar/Postwarclassic appreciates my youthful and fun way of writing, so he challenged me to start writing some articles for his amazing site, I feel honored to do so. My first article was about the Brussels Interclassics exhibition earlier this month. Joris Bergsma, the owner of PWC, wanted me to look for the weirdest car at the event and the result can be found here.

From now on I will write an article each week for him, which will mostly be published on Wednesday. I suppose most of you already know the website – if not, shame on you! PWC has also played an important role in my life… Continue reading

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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

I AM IN MECHANIC’S CLASS AT A SPOOKY BARN!

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If there is one thing that you need to experience… Driving on a dark rainy evening in a open racer, like in a Teal! This is the best way to spend your evening, especially when it is followed by a highly educative private class about all things mechanical! As you will see I had a GREAT evening with a great petrol head friend! Initially Hans, the owner of the Teal, didn’t want to pick me up with the Teal because of the rain, but before starting work on it that evening it needed a warming up… For me rain, thunder, darkness, etc. no problem at all! In all circumstances I love to drive such cars, no matter what. Even better because it is a bit spooky and adventurous, right? ; ) Even better when the FUN ride ends at a barn, not just a ordinary one… 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

THE AMILLIONCAR HAS ARRIVED! MEET MY RED AND MOST ELEGANT DRAGON/UNIKORN ; ) – PART 2

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Off we went again to Austria! This time to collect, so a somnolent slow journey towing a trailer… No hanging around ‘en route’ in workshops, just GO GO and GO, because the next 2600 km had to be covered as quickly as possible! After a very long drive and a stay 70 km before Salzburg we arrived in Carinthia again.

We secured the ‘Amillioncar’ in the trailer, after having visited a friend of the seller. The seller is a great enthusiast who owns many great Puch motorcycles, a modern 300SL and even an Abarth Monomille GT! The seller loves Mercedes and so does his friend, who owns a… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

THE AMILLIONCAR HAS ARRIVED! MEET MY RED AND MOST ELEGANT DRAGON/UNIKORN ; ) – PART 1

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Sooner than expected… my goal of snatching up a nice cyclecar has already been achieved! : ) After some initial orientation and looking and enquiring around, it transpired that I had to take a quick decision! Sometimes you just need to have faith and believe in miracles! The next day after having contacted the seller my dad and I left to start our journey to Austria to see the CGS and to get things sorted out. I must admit that before we left we already had seen a lot of details and pics of the CGS. It looked perfect and that made us decide to be madhatters and just GO… Continue reading http://crankhandleblog.com

MY MECHANICS APPRENTICESHIP!

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A lot of good news to tell you! To start with my learning process of becoming a mechanic! As mentioned before Erik Vandalon from ERK Automobiles is one of the mechanics/restorers of our cars. He does some fantastic work on exclusive cars, like Bugatti Brescia, Delahaye 135, Lamborghini GT400, Hispano-Suiza H6C, etc! I am lucky enough to have a chance to learn from him since I started my ‘apprenticeship’ with him. This is a good way to start at the bottom of the ladder and first of all to gain a good knowledge of the basics.

Some time ago, when I was driving back from Chantilly with my dad in the Delahaye, we discussed… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS! ONE LIKE YOU HARDLY EVER GET TO SEE! – PART 2

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As I promised in my previous article, I will continue the story with some technical highlights! Because the TRUE specialist had some unique and interesting secrets! This great Salmsonist is capable to restore everything himself and for that he obviously needs good tooling and machines…

Let’s get to the point, the journey of the Salmson D-GSS-GS with twin overhead camshafts (2act) to a state of absolute perfection!

In fact his garage is not large… but everything just fits in there perfectly! He owns vintage machines to restore everything in style! Such as the… Continue reading http://crankhandleblog.com

COUNTLESS GREAT PETROL HEAD FRIENDS AND MY DEBUT DRIVING A TEAL!

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For now a little newsfeed in-between… I like to share with you the great atmosphere in petrol head world! It is not long ago since I became very active in this scene, but from the very first moment I noticed something fascinating… It seems to be a world that is so nice, with people who are very happy to become friends with you, share the same great interests and mostly have fun with each other and the cars! So far I haven’t seen any envy or unfriendliness… Perhaps because I am a nice young girl? ; )

Also on FB there were some surprising developments! It almost looks like… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS! ONE LIKE YOU HARDLY EVER GET TO SEE! – PART 1

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I discovered something you will LOVE to see and get to know more about! First of all sorry for my radio silence. Being an active petrol head has been a bit overwhelming lately – so much to do and so many visits including something very special, which will be revealed soon! It is just one big delight! : )

Let me start where I stopped after the previous article. I visited a small private workshop of a TRUE Salmsonist. Not just anybody, but a VERY special person, a REAL specialist! This Salmsonist has only recently restored his own Salmson to the finest details and has now embarked on the restoration of an… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE SAMILCAR – YOUR AMBITIOUS BLOGGER ; )

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To give you a personal update, which is also about that surprise I announced before… First of all I am looking for my very first own vintage car! After driving those two GREAT Delahayes, I can’t wait to also have a taste of a fierce little cyclecar-racemonster! Nothing better than driving all different kind of cars! The Bugatti drives made me really excited to acquire a fine and manoeuverable little racer, but a bit less expensive than a Bug… So a ‘poor man’s Bugatti’ it should be! : )

I have already seen quite a few charming cars like the Amilcar, Salmson, Riley and Rally… BNC is also very nice. I don’t mention Bugs, because for now they are unaffordable for me… The first experience was an Amilcar while on our way back home from Martin Waltz’s museum near Freiburg. It was the first time I saw (and drove in) an Amilcar in real life and I was impressed! One thing I kept in mind was to… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com

POTW – A FAMOUS FRENCH AUTOMOTIVE MOVIE-STAR ; )

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This time a POTW session of our 1938 135M Delahaye Chapron cabriolet. As you may already have seen, our Delahaye has a role in an upcoming Dutch war movie with my dad as the chauffeur! : ) So today will be all about this automotive actor! The 135M is already getting the manners of a famous movie star, so it demanded to be featured in a POTW of its own… (in a special scene as a kind of dirty trials racer) ; )

As you can see, after recordings, the Delahaye needed a beauty treatment as it was very DIRTY! This is how stars want to be treated… Like I said before, some classic cars need to shine like a diamond, such as this piece of eternal elegance designed by that master coachbuilder Henri Chapron! So remember this face, it will be on screen as of next year 5th of May, the day of the première of this movie! Click here for more POTWs!Schermafbeelding 2015-10-13 om 21.02.49

A FUN PORT-TOUR WITH THE 135MS DELAHAYE AND THE WORKSHOP OF A SPECIALIST!

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Life with all those great events doesn’t get boring! Last weekend we had again a nice tour with friends of the BCN (Bugatti Club Netherlands). My dad and I drove some 105 km to the location in North-Holland with the 1950 135MS Delahaye Chapron cabriolet.

A very nice man, the owner of the Silverstone party center at Halfweg near Amsterdam, organized this event which included two local tours. Everything was very relaxed and quite a few cars turned up, such as modern supercars like Aston Martin, but also many Lotus/Caterham/Donkervoort…, MG, Alvis, Cobra replicas, Ford Mustang, etc. For us there wasn’t enough time, but in the Silverstone center there were plenty of entertaining activities to do, such as laser gaming, karting, bungee football and bowling.

Our friends of the BCN live almost next door, so we were happy to visit them and see their large workshop and… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com