This weekend was the last event of the season at the Owlshead Transportation Museum and the headline feature was old Volvos. Anyone with an old Volvo gets in for free.
Well dad has an old 1962 PV544 he has been playing with for a few years now.
http://www.vclassics.com/pv_od.html
So yesterday we ran up to Freeport and borrowed it for the day. Took a bit of coaxing to get it going as it had not been run since July. I had to clear out a mouse nest full of mama and babies and replace a couple chewed wires, but once she fired up and warmed up, the battery started charging, it was good to go. So we got a late start and after an hour and a half ride up RT-1 fighting the usual traffic jamb in Wiscasset we made it to the front gate about half past noon.
And we got placed at the head of the pack. As soon as we arrived we were mobbed. I suppose it is one of the advantages of arriving late. Folks had drooled over all the other earlier arrivals and were hungry for more, so they pounced on us as soon as I shut it off. Some of the insiders recognized the car and gave me the evil eye for a few minutes figuring dad had sold the car from under them to some unknown scoundrel. But as soon as I made them aware it was still dad's car, they all got cozy with us. It was good for a laugh anyhow.
There was a PV444 that came all the way from Rhode Island
With a slick looking velvet interior
And another PV544 that had been sectioned and lowered taking about six inches out of the side of it. The fenders had been welded on and bondoed.
A nice looking Duet was there
With a pristine interior
A bunch of P1800s made it as well
The sporty Volvo . . .
. . . in assorted flavors and colors
And the wagon version of the P1800
Of course it was not only Volvos. There was a nice Jaguar XK140
With its big engine on display
An E type Jaguar
A Triumph Bug-eye sprite
And an old Citroen that was an even later arrival than us
They even let in the Rif-Raf like my friend Marty and his Ford Escort powered Mini Cooper
My favorite of the show has to be the 1962 BMW R60/2
Another XK140
With a very tired Scottie taking a nap
As the wind picked up the museum stared moving a few of the panes back in doors. A 1923Fokker C-IV might have even been worked on by my great grand father once the chief mechanic for Fokker.
We took a quick run through the museum.
1929 Rolls Royce
1905 Panhard Levassor
A Big 1930 racing Bentley
A big string of early MGs on display
And a neat four seat cabriolet MG
1912 Fiat Racer
1907 Renault Vanderbilt
1919 Model J Harley
1913 Excelsior
1922 Royal Enfield
And a Steam-Punked BMW-R series
And this one lacked identification other than the ABC emblem on the tank. But I am told it was the first horizontally opposed twin cylinder boxer engine on a motorbike. According to Wikipedia the ABC stands for All British Engine Company, and they were manufactured between 1919 and 1923. The engine had a displacement of 400cc.
1918 American LaFrance fire engine
1918 Standard J-1
1916 JN-4D Curtiss Jennie
1913 Etrich Taube whose wing is patterned after a Zanonia tree seed pod
The 1930 Pitcairn Mailwing
1912 model D Curtiss pusher
1917 Fokker Triplane
1917 Spad
1930 Curtiss Travelair
1913 Deperdussin racer
The Wright brothers diorama with a replica of the 1903 Wright flyer and the 1963 Gemini space capsule
Bob Weymouth's Piper J-3. Bob, aka "The Flying Farmer" was a feature at all the Maine airshows and events doing the drunken flying farmer skit. Those of us who used to hang out at Merrymeeting field had the chance to meet him on several occasions.
1935 Chevrolet straight six cutaway
1946 28 cylinder 3000 hp Pratt and Whitney
1895 Corliss 600hp steam engine with a 16 foot flywheel
VERY cool!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed that Gorges
DeleteHermoso museo! Que suerte tienes, cuantas cosas lindas hay por allá -y que bueno que pudiste hacer el viaje pese a tus achaques de viejo.
ReplyDeleteSi es un lindo museo, visitamos cada tanto cuando hay un evento. Era una buena escusa para pasearnos el cacharro de mi viejo. Curiosamente me molesta mas manejar mi carro que el volvo debido a la posición de asiento con respecto al volante.
DeleteWe have "classic car" events in our county a couple of times a year. The bank sponsors them. Mostly, they are cars from the 40's, 50's and 60's. They always have a blue grass band and free hot dogs and cokes.
ReplyDeleteSure do like the Fokker. Wish I could have been flying in those days, when you really were flying.
The Owlshead museum has events just about every week end through the summer. Be it cars, motorbikes steam engines, or airplanes. Its always a good time. The Fokker was rebuilt from literally nothing. There was only one four foot section left of the fuselage when they dragged out of the wilderness in Alaska. They have done a real nice job of rebuilding it. It is neat to think that perhaps my own great grandfather's hands touched that pane. Certainly must be fun to fly, and they actually do fly all the planes at the museum including that one.
DeleteI get a little weak in the knees over old motorcycles....especially BMWs.
ReplyDeleteThat R60/2 definitely caught my attention. Pretty much any pre-1975 R series would do it for me.
DeleteThat's a beautiful blue Jag XKE!
ReplyDeleteIt was in immaculate shape. The long nose on the E types never did much for me though, I am more partial to the XK140.
DeleteI seem to remember that the PV544 made a surprisingly good rally car.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd go home with the British Racing Green Jag 140 (if they'd allow me).
Hi Cro, The 544 was a popular rally car in its time. With the right suspension and a bit of engine work it really goes well. Dad has all the fancy racing suspension in his. The engine is the larger B2000 modified with the fuel injected higher compression larger valve head and over drive gearbox. The XK140 was really nice but they are quite pricey. The advantage with the more plebeian Volvo is you don't mind driving it as you are not in constant fear of damaging it as you might be with the Jag.
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