1600 miles in classic Italian Grand Touring style
Forget barbequing, I just spent the ideal car-guy weekend. I drove my 1967 Maserati Ghibli from Detroit to Atlanta for the Grand International Invitational of the Lambda Car Club. Nobody at home or in Atlanta could believe I'd actually entrust this high-strung vintage Italian beauty with transporting me over such a great distance. I, of course, had no doubt but that it would perform flawlessly (which it did). The air conditioning even kept us cool the entire way. I did, however, take the precaution of caravanning with a 997 Porsche Carrera, whose cruise control kept us both out of trouble during the high-enforcement weekend. Nevertheless, we cruised fast enough to average 70 mph going and coming. That is, of course, precisely the duty cycle the Ghibli was designed for.
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Don't get me wrong, it made sense in this instance because this car is a driver. She's won all the trophies she can, and I'm no longer sweating the stone chips (picked up two lulus). It had over 60,000 miles on the clock when I left, so another 1600 didn't affect the resale value a jot. And the one Achilles Heel these engines suffer--the crazy water pump drive via cable off the AC compressor--was just re-done last year. That, plus a thorough maintenance regimen right before the trip made this trip practical.
Highlights of the long weekend included a trip to the fascinating Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, Georgia, a little over an hour east of Atlanta. It boasts the world's largest collection of microcars like the BMW Isetta and Messerschmitt, and about a hundred other brands you've never heard of. I've never seen so many unfamiliar cars in one spot, and if you're ever in the area you must check it out. https://microcarmuseum.com/virtualtour.html
Later that day we visited three more collections including one in a warehouse/restoration facility with several Ford Country Squire station wagons in various stages of rebirth. The night was capped off with a visit to the Cofer Collection of 44 cars spanning the years 1911-1999, collected since 1951 by the late Gene Cofer and his family. The crown jewels include a pair of Duesenbergs. A 1935 SJ Convertible Victoria with Fernandez and Darrin bodywork was originally owned by John Jacob Astor's Titanic surviving widow Madeliene.
A 1935 Model J Rollston six-fender sedan that cost a staggering $40,000 when new was owned by Scarsdale Madame Annie Purcell who used to chauffer clients into the city for evenings at the opera. Collection curator Cecil McCall takes pride in keeping all the cars fully functional and indeed racking up a minimum of 45 miles on each car, each quarter, often in conjunction with concours events like Florida's Amelia Island and Michigan's Meadow Brook. He delighted the crowd by firing up what is perhaps the most original Tucker in existence (its air-cooled flat-six helicopter engine sounds for all the world like a Porsche 911's). He also fired up the collection's 1914 Cadillac Model 30A--the world's first self-starting car, while explaining the procedure, which is far more involved than today's key-twist. Visit https://thecofercollection.com
Saturday we divided into five small caravans and set out to visit and tour as many mid-century modern homes in north Atlanta, including pre-Brady-Bunch split-levels, Rat-Pack inspired ranches and one Frank Lloyd Wright/Eusonian-inspired design (my least favorite--too dark).
