Why I am Not Working on My Cars...Kerf

We are replacing the cabinets in our kitchen with some custom units from Kerf Design. They do some amazing stuff, we are utilizing only a small portion of what skills they have.

Kerf offers a complete, done option. Or, what we chose, a DIY kit. They build your cabinets then break them down and ship them. My small kitchen weighed 1,800lbs. Wow. You can see the huge boxes that prevented me from even opening my garage for a few days.

The instructions they provide are pretty good. But there are some things they missed. They say all the braces that need to be 'screw block clamped' are pre drilled. They are not.

Also, none of the bases were labeled. They give no instructions on how to attach cabinets to bases either. It is easy. But, it would be much easier if they just included these few extra steps.

And the drawers, their instructions are super confusing. It is far easier to grab a drawer rail and just put it up to the drawer to see how it works. And, you will see in the above photo there are lots of options for screwing the slider to the cabinet. They do not tell you which one to use. It took a while to figure out it was the rear most top one. At least this proved consistent across all drawers.

All the above are minor annoyances and do not mar my love of the cabinets. It is just that it would have taken Kerf five minutes to explain this stuff. I understand most of the DIY units go to professional contractors who might have a better understanding of cabinets.

It is not quite as easy as just glue and screw as they say. But it is not as hard as replacing the rear suspension on a 944 that is for sure.

A nice touch is the inclusion of plugs to finish off 'screw block clamp' holes. It is this sort of detail and finish that had us spend the extra money for these custom units over those from IKEA. That and they are truly custom and built with solid components.

A Weight off My Shoulders or Finding a Confidant

I know Porsches. How to fix them. Where to go when I know I am beyond my skills. With Jaguars, I am learning to swim all over again.

So, I needed to find a local confidant to help me maintain the MKII. A sounding board for repairs and a place to turn to in tough times. I got some suggestions from local Jaguar club members and settled on Jaguar Denver. I know, it sounds like a dealer name, but it is not a dealer. It is a shop run by a 30 year veteran of vintage Jaguar repair.

I dropped the MKII off this morning for a carb balance and a check over. I wanted to get a project list. The good thing. I do not have much of a list. The owner balanced the carbs in a half hour and pronounced the car good to go. The only suggestion, upgrade the cooling for Denver's thin, dry air. Something I had already thought about doing. Aluminum radiator here I come.

Notice in the pics the solid driver 2+2 XKE. I was contemplating getting one of these as my family classic until I saw the tiny back seat. Makes a 911 seem like a LWB sedan. Also there was a very mean looking RR. They yellow lights glowing like devil eyes. Very bad ass. Or, maybe I have been looking at BaT too much these days...Oh my god, its a black plate car...

My First Jaguar Repair (Bodge)

So, I owned the car one day without trying to fix/improve/modify it. But today was the second day of ownership and I just had to do SOMETHING.

First, I fixed the right rear vent window mechanism. It was too loose and would not hold the window shut when the door was closed. So, I disassembled, inspected and noted that an extra washer would allow me to get the proper tension on the unit. One fix. Free.

The other fix was mounting the main ashtray lid to the the base. The previous owner had installed a complete new interior and even redid the leather on the ashtray. Nice. But, I see why he did not reattach the lid. Originally riveted on with really, really small rivets it was a fiddly job. As I do not own a micro-riveter. I went to my local hardware store and bought some very small stainless nuts and bolts. I installed the lid with them, then Dremeled the ends off to make a smooth, almost rivet-like appearance. Not quite a bodge. Not quite concours. See the above pic. Not too shabby. And it is in an ashtray for God's Nightgown. (That last curse courtesy of Gone with the Wind.)

And does anyone else wonder why the words 'curse' and 'courtesy' are so close in sound but so far apart in meaning?

I loved driving the car today. Until it overheated when I got home. it was 94 degrees in Denver today and all I did was drive in stop and go traffic. Must be looked into...

New Cat Now at My Home & Classic Car Transport

After just 8 days, my 1962 MKII is now in my possession.

First Jaguar question, is it MKII or MK2(like on the bootlid) or Mark 2? Anyway.

I used classiccartransport.com. And I had a very good experience. My rep Lindsey was super nice. Even after I had to cancel a shipment last month when my deal fell through on the 420. My driver, Danny was accommodating, even driving his huge tandem trailer into my residential neighborhood. And even the unknown guy I spoke to in dispatch got back to me in five minutes when I called about my arrival date. All in all, well done. I have used the big boys before, Intercity, etc. And although the trailer was not as shiny looking, the car got to me on time, undamaged and for $400 less than their quotes. So yes, I highly recommend them.

Now, the car. I got it at 7am and drove to work around 7:30 having got my temp plates yesterday. Hmm, that moss box will take some time getting used to. But the car pulls great. Has a nice balance of restored and patina. I love it already.

First upgrade will be a Kenlowe fan to take care of the rising temperature when not moving. At speed the temp is fine, but I am worried if I get stuck in traffic. And with the American Recovery Act there is always traffic these days.

Side note, the rest of the trailers were filled with Corvettes, a 442, Porsche and T-bird going to Monterey for the auction next week. I for one, will not be buying anything soon. Much broke now that the car is here. But, the debt is worth it.

New Cat at Home.

After a long, tortuous and intense search for a family classic car I finally found one.

I thought I was priced out of MKII Jaguars, but was able to find one for sale in Mass. that fit the bill. And am over the moon about it. Even though I have not even seen it in the flesh. My brother taking care of the transaction as I am in Colorado.

It is a 3.8 manual with overdrive. Restored over the past decade. New interior from BAS. New wiring, motor overhauled, etc. All done to nice driver standards, not concours standards. It seemed that all the other MKIIs that I looked at were rusty piles or over-restored show cars. I didn't want a project and I didn't have $50,000. Or more, for something from the MKII gods JD Classics.

In opalescent blue with blue interior it looks the part. Like a boxer in a suit. Much, much more to come on this.

Meals and Wheels Another Porsche and Food blog...

The above photo is from a German blog titled Mealsandwheels.com

It is the work of a female 911 driver and racer who is also a food nut like myself. Most of the posts are in English so you can read about her and her hot schnitzel photography.

Worth checking out.

When Toyo RA-1 Start Getting Fast

Just raced on July 3rd at PPIR. We raced it backwards so we were all rookies on this track.

I don't know if it was confidence in the car, the even playing field or what, but I did very well. Was in the top 4 of the RM SPEC 944 group all day. Was nice to be up front and competing for FTOD and the win. 

But what I do know, is that my tires are just coming into their sweet spot. No one ever showed me what RA-1s should look like when they start being fast. But the above pic shows them just getting there. I am about 18 heat cycles in. All the tread blocks are just worn down. What a difference. They are now so much stickier and more progressive. I think they will be great for me for the last two races on my calendar.

Family Fun Car - What is it?

My lack of posting as of late has been a result me being completely and utterly sucked into looking for a replacement for my sold 911SC. Not a replacement actually, but a family car.

And after several weeks of probably four hours a day trolling the US and UK for a car, I have come to the conclusion that a parent with sporting persuasions and a $20k budget does not have too many options. 

There are the beautiful Rolls Royce Mulliner Coupes from the late 60's but they are a bit slow. Then there are the Astons, too expensive. Bristol's, too elusive. Interceptor's, too fussy. 

Really, there are Jaguars. They kind of sum it up with the maxim, "grace, space and pace.' No other cars fit the bill.

So, I think I found my car. It is a Jaguar. 4.2 litre. Four speed with overdrive. Four doors. Wire Wheels. Lots of leather and wood. My brother will go look at in a couple of weeks and if as advertised, it will be mine. I already put a small down payment on it to hold it.

A hearty harrumph to anyone who can guess what model it is from the above interior shot.

Memorial Day Race Weekend Recap

Sorry, this took so long, but I was waiting for pictures. Am still waiting. I will add them when one of the photogs from the race posts them up. 

Now, on to the recap. First, on Saturday during the warm-up I ran a 2:21 lap. Not bad, and not pushing too hard. So I decide on a goal of 2:17 for the weekend.

In the qualifying race. I ran a 2:19 and this put me in 9th out of 18 cars. I finished the main race in the same place with a time of 2:17.

Goal reached. So set new goal. A 2:16.

Hit that on Sunday qualifying and the ran a 2:15:02 in the main race. Sweet. This was the fifth fastest lap time even though I finished the race 8th. 

It was great to be really in the mix. Lots of banging. Three of the four corners of the car got some other color paint on them. That is how close this racing is. It is incredible. Sure there are faster cars, but none that run as close as us.

Finally, on Monday in the enduro, my co-driver Chris Mosera of Garage Films and I managed to finish 9th out of 21 cars. And third out of the six or seven 944s. What a weekend. 

The only carnage was a set of wheel bearings from having a grease seal fail. But after a total of 5 and a half hours of hard racing to only need $40 in repairs was great. Engine was solid, brakes, suspension all doing well.

And for the next race, my RA-1s are just coming into the sweet spot, so they should be fast when we head to PPIR over July 4th.

Death Creates Life

To bring a new classic into the house, I had to sell one.

And what I sold was the Porsche I owned the longest. My 83SC with only 63k miles. Totally original and well-preserved. I looked after it for 6 years. I felt as if I was its caretaker the car was so nice.

Pictured is the new owner. From a Porsche loving family in SoCal. I am sure the car will be loved. He drove it from Denver to SoCal over a blazing hot weekend. The car ran fine. He said he ran a bit hot though.

I miss you White Chocolate.

But, now I have the funds to buy something older, and gasp, not a Porsche. Stay tuned. The Hunt is on....