2016 Northern VA Sunday Cars & Coffee Events

[rcollum]

Not what I would call a good turnout in either location this morning, almost certainly due to the rain/very light snow overnight. No accumulation, and the roads were mostly dry this morning, but it was cold and overcast. Not a typical "first day of spring". We will do better next week.

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

Today was Easter Sunday, so Cameron's at Fairfax Corner was closed. Dulles Landing had a pretty good turnout, though - only one Lotus there today, mine. Alas, no Sevens there today. We did have a brand-new, flat-plane-crank V8 Mustang GT 350, and several other interesting vehicles.

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

I have not attended any Sunday morning cars & coffee since the first week of April, since the weather has been very bad in Northern Virginia this spring. It was nice to get out on a nice Sunday morning, which just happened to also be Mother's Day. I drove out to Dulles Landing, the large shopping center near the junction of 50 (Lee Jackson Memorial Highway) and 606. That cars & coffee event starts around 7:00AM, centered around the Dunkin Donuts. At about 8:30AM, myself and several friends drive back in 50 towards 66, and drive to Fairfax Circle, where another cars & coffee takes place. At this location, we grab coffee and baked goods at Cameron's Coffee. Nice people and cars at both locations.

 

This morning, at Dulles Landing, I first noticed a detail on my Caterham. (How have I missed this?) I have parked in the exact same parking place, every time I have attended, since mid-August last year. Today, the sun was in the exact position for me to see the word 'Caterham' embossed on the lower leading edge of the nose. I had not noticed that before.

 

At Dulles Landing, Dino brought out the Baldwin-Motion Corvette he just bought. Baldwin Chevrolet was a dealership in New York, and they did what has to be described as extreme customization and tuning of Chevy products. Their customized Chevies were called Baldwin-Motion Corvettes and Camaros, with mechanical tuning done by local shop Motion Performance. What Baldwin did was similar to other dealers, like Yenko Chevrolet. Baldwin-Motion produced cars from 1967 thru 1974.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

I did not make it out to Dulles Landing on Sunday, but I did show up at the later-starting Fairfax Circle cars & coffee. It was chilly and windy, but some hardy souls made it out.

 

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

A beautiful morning. As you'd expect, a good crowd at both Dulles Landing, and at Fairfax Corner, later in the morning.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

A beautiful morning for a drive. A perfect day for a quick stop at Dulles Landing around 6:45AM, and a drive over to Fairfax Corner at 8:15AM.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

From today...

[rcollum]

A gorgeous morning - I used two Cars & Coffee events as a 'warm-up' to our drive to lunch in Upperville, VA.

 

 

--Bob Collum

[coffee break]

Tell us what the red 7ish looking car is. Details please!

[rcollum]

This one? It's a Moal Torpedo. Custom-made hot rod, with a Ferrari 550 V12 and gearbox. The owner has 5 (very) different hot rods by Steve Moal.

 

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/when-worlds-collide-eric-zausners-torpedo-blend-classic-ferrari-and-hot-rod

 

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

Other Moal hotrods that we see at our local Cars & Coffees -

[rdymond]

This one? It's a Moal Torpedo. Custom-made hot rod, with a Ferrari 550 V12 and gearbox. The owner has 5 (very) different hot rods by Steve Moal.

 

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/when-worlds-collide-eric-zausners-torpedo-blend-classic-ferrari-and-hot-rod

 

 

--Bob Collum

 

Reading and googling about the 12C 5.5 TS Torpedo was fascinating. Is there only one? How come it is on the east coast now?

Love how he took so many great elements and created a unique vehicle. Fit and finish look stunning.

Robin.

[rcollum]

If there are more of the Torpedo, Zausner's was first, as I understand it. Eric was a Ferrari-collector, years ago, but decided his real love was hot rods, or more to the point, 'customs'. He liked the idea of using the potent V12 and trans from a Ferrari 550, and he had Moal build the Torpedo around that. Each of the Moal creations starts with a seminal idea - one was the front suspension from an old Indy car. Another was inspired by WWII-era planes. Eric lived in the DC area, years ago. When he semi-retired, he moved back here from SF. Here are some pictures I have taken of his Moals.

 

--Bob Collum

[rdymond]

Amazing cars. Have to admit they are just as nice in their way as any exotic. The concepts and the craftsmanship are stunning.

 

Hoping with the new low volume manufacturer law we see more artistry and innovation like this.

 

Robin

[rcollum]

A nice Sunday morning, though foggy. I was surprised to see the first car below - it was even smaller than my Seven! (I don't know what it is.)

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

It was pretty hot today, so attendance was down a bit, in both locations.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

The original weather forecast for today was rain, but it did hold off until about 9:45AM. Naturally, attendance at the C & C was light.

I made a quick stop at the grocery store, and got caught in a pretty good shower on the way home. Luckily, I had the tonneau over the passenger side. I followed a Saab up the main road towards our house, with my tiny windshield wipers going at 'ludicrous' speed. I was lucky to get home without incident, and no real soaking of the cloth seats!

 

The white Buick looks really good; it was a shock when the owner popped the hood, to show us the Corvette LS3 engine!

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

A cool, clear morning, with a fair turnout today. That's a modern Shelby American Daytona Coupe. The Beck Spyder owner just installed new Aluminum seats by a company called Runge...

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

We made a quick trip over to Fairfax Circle, to see Dino's new car - a 512BB.

On a chilly day, with some gusty winds, there was still a nice turnout there.

 

--Bob Collum