Another addition to the fleet

[Gordie]

Are we going to be able to see this at Kingsport?

[joefrazer]

I will not be bringing the car to this year's meet due to other commitments both before and after the meet. The Brand X will be getting quite a workout!

[MarkH]

I took the Darrin out for its first run in 44 years yesterday. The engine ran well and it seems to track nicely down the road. The overdrive doesn't want to work...I think the relay is bad so that's today's work, and I lost an NOS hub cap 500 feet from the house, but other than that all went well.

Fortunately, my keep eyed wife found the cap this morning laying at the end of someone's driveway so the tragedy of a lost cap was averted.

Very nice! The carb guy made your carb look brand new too.

[HOA]

Here is a few pic's..

[joefrazer]

For the first time in 44 years, the Darrin traveled under its own power for more than a test drive. I took the car to a local show (250 cars) and it was a huge hit. Two different people stopped to tell me that they had a relative who was a KF dealer and neither ever saw a Darrin come thru the showroom. The show organizers told me it was the most photographed car at today's event. I didn't win an award...I'm no trophy chaser anyway...but I did enjoy talking with quite a few people about KF and the club. The Corvette guy next told me to park elsewhere next time because no one stopped to look at his car!

Today was proof that getting your car out and about is the best way to build awareness of our cars. I really enjoyed the day - I've included a couple of photos...one shows a small crowd gathered around the car.

[pjkaiser]

I was told by a Corvette owner, when I was still driving my Darrin,  that many years ago they (a corvette club, don't know which one)  had a "Fiberglass" event with hundreds of vettes and two Darrins.  No one looked at the Corvettes, they were all looking at the Darrins.   That never happened again, corvette meets are for corvette cars only.

When you get it painted, you will be winning award after award, especially if there is a peoples choice award!!!  Be prepared!!!

Maybe I could give my talk on Henry J. Kaiser at our National, I did it for one of our local meets and everyone loved it.   It'll take about a half hour with all the questions I usually get.  I've already done the research and would share with others for them to share at meets.

[joefrazer]

On Tuesday evenings a local car club hosts a car cruise. They've been doing it for about 20 years and the show draws around 750 cars. Barry Meguire (Meguire's car products) has been to the show and Jay Leno's promised a stop as well. I took the Darrin a couple weeks ago and they parked me near the front (I'm usually relegated to the middle rows) and the car drew lots of attention.

An interesting thing happened about half way thru the evening. A fellow parked a new Lamborghini next to me and every Millenial at the show gravitated to the car and everyone else bypassed it for the Darrin. I guess I now know what kids today like...

[joefrazer]

I recently acquired a rare accessory for my Darrin - one of the original style hardtops. It came from the estate of a long-deceased member and I was able to pick it up yesterday. It needs work but does include the impossible to find rear plexiglass window. What I need now are photos of the attaching points on the top as this one only has the rear center tab in place. There are no snaps or holes in the front of the top so I have no idea how to attach it to the car. I'm also looking for detailed photos of the rear side windows and how they mount to the top...I do have one piece of U shaped window channel still attached.

Any help is appreciated!

[MarkH]

That's pretty cool. I scored one for the Healey years ago, sans the rear plexiglass though. It used small turnbuckle hooks to attach to the studs at the corners of the windshield frame the convertible latched to, also to the ******pit edges at the rear.

There's a cleaner/polish called Plexus Plexiglass cleaner that would help your rear window. I used it on the clear roll-up windows in boat canvas. Not cheap but good stuff, I think originally an aircraft window cleaner.

Holy cow, I posted and immediately see I violated a language parameter. So be creative here and think of another word for...…… rooster...……… and add "pit". A term used a LOT in sports cars and aircraft

[pjkaiser]

What a find!!!

Don't you have pictures of that recently resort Darrin at the Prescott,AZ nationals with the hardtop or are they different?  If you don't, I do and can send them when I get home on Monday, I'm in Maine till then.  Just let me know.

[joefrazer]

I missed the car in Prescott by five minutes os yes, please send them when you can. Thanks!

[joefrazer]

Got the pictures, thanks. Next question for those with cars with a hardtop, what gasket did you use for the rear window?

[joefrazer]

While wandering the swap meet at Hershey this year I found a set of baskets for my wire wheel covers. They are a much closer fit than what I had before but the cap does sit a bit less than a quarter inch from the wheel rim. Can anyone tell me if the cap is to contact the rim and if not what the clearance is? I’ve attached a few pictures of the newly found baskets. They’re marked 87-4...if your car has wire covers, what number is on your baskets?