The Summer Cars are out

Spring has arrived, and the "Summer Cars" have hit the streets. Or at least some of them have. In recent days I have seen several intriguing machines on the streets of Duluth. There are the usual assortment of domestic machines, the same ones you see at all the car meets. Some are kept as original as possible, others have been modified, all are works of automotive appreciation.

I must confess, I am not impressed by the low grumble of V8s (nor by the gargle of Harley-Davidson twins, but that's another whole story), but prefer the high-revving song of a well-tuned six ala Triumph TR6, Porsche 911 or Datsun 240Z. Those were the cars of my youth. Okay, I could never afford any of those cars when I was a youth, much less today, but I am more likely to go to an import car show with wire wheels and wooden steering wheels than to a domestic show with lots of fins and chrome. There are a few older sports cars around Duluth, but many of them are hidden away. You don't often see them at the hot rod shows, probably because there are always a few boors who've had too many beers making negative comments.

Jetsonen Mobile
Jaguar XK-E getting ready for a summer's use at Foreign Affairs of Duluth.

This is the time of year that import specialist repair shops like Foreign Affairs on East Ninth Street or SVS on West Superior Street will see several older sports cars arrive for the annual once-over. The owners usually have the funds to let someone else (someone with automotive experience) do the maintenance, rather than get their own hands dirty. But there are still plenty who like to do their own maintenance, or even complete restorations.

It's been a while since I've owned a summer car. The last one was a Saab 99 that I bought in Colorado twenty years ago and kept alive with annual touch-ups at the body shop. It had a few personal modifications, had been lowered and repainted to be a sweet boulevard cruiser. It was parked under the maples a few years ago with badly worn tires and a leaking head gasket. In addition, Minnesota's ubiquitous rust continues to devour the undersides, to the point where major reconstruction would be necessary. It is unlikely to be resuscitated.

On a visit to Colorado (home of non-rusty cars) last September, I picked up a tired 900 hatchback for a few hundred dollars. I was told that 4th gear was gone, but that it could be driven by skipping from 3rd to 5th. It worked well enough that I was able to drive it to Duluth. It has issues in addition to the gearbox, but I can see the potential as a fun driving machine. I have already done some small repairs and put some personal touches on the car, but there are many hours of dirty fingernails and skinned knuckles ahead. The rough plan is to do mechanical work this year, and look at possible paint and interior improvements next year.

Because it has not yet seen winter roads in Minnesota, the strategy is to put it into hibernation each snowy season to preserve its sheet metal. While most people would question why I would want to rebuild a plain Swedish sedan, it is what my budget will allow and it is where I have mechanical experience. Plus I find Saabs fun to drive because they offer feedback to the driver that isn't available in most cars. I may be one of very few who can visualize the cubic zironium under the rough exterior.

I do nearly all the work on my own cars, partly for the satisfaction, partly for the economics. I am not a fast mechanic, and repairs that a real (i.e. paid) auto technician can do in a few hours might take me weeks. Over the past three decades I have collected a good selection of hand tools, and have an air compressor and engine hoist in my garage. Unfortunately for my cars, I spend too much time at the computer and not enough in the garage.

While I am willing to tackle nearly any mechanical problem, I have no experience at body repair or paint. This is an area I would like to learn, but have made no hard effort in that direction. Maybe one day soon if I see an evening class in auto body restoration.

In the meantime, my winter beater Saab will have to continue as the daily transport until I can get to the work that needs to be done on the latest acquisition.