my first disgusted spectator

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Wow guys ... quite a thread!

Well, I don't have any Cobra stories yet ( my ERA is still under construction ) but I do have an observation.

I think many on this forum would agree, one of the greatest car collectors of all time was Bill Harrah. For any of you that went through his collection (as I did in the early '70's) before it was broken up, can attest to the amazing quality and quantity of the cars ... all of them as best I know were 'stock' and operational. Evidently Harrah was a stickler for having each car correct.

Some of the collection still exists at the National Automobile Museum and what really caught my eye when I visited a few years ago was one of Harrah's personal cars, the 1977 Jerrari Wagoneer. He also had a Lincoln with a Chrysler motor in it, if I recall correctly.

I went through that collection many times when I would be working over in that area. Even got to know the machinists that worked on the cars and they let me sit in the GT-40 that won Le Mans in 1966. He had started collecting World War 11 fighters and such also. One he had just gotten still had grease and gunpowder on it from the firing of the machine guns and a couple of holes in it where a German fighter had shot at it. That was the greatest collection ever I think and I wish Nevada had stepped in and taken it over to keep it intact. I even rode the old two decker busses they ran downtown that had came from England. That was a great place to spend a day or two when you were there.

Ron

So here is someone that clearly knows cars, can have pretty much any car in the world and chooses to have some one of a kind cars. In a similar fashion, Jay Leno certainly knows automobiles too and he has a few 'different' cars as well (the Leno Toronado for example), along with his 'correct' cars.

What's the point ... people like what they like, and sometimes the more knowledgeable the person, the more unusual the car.

Just my .02

That was a great collection and I spent many days there when I would be working in that area. I got to know the machinists that worked on the cars and they even let me sit in the GT-40 that won at Le Mans in 1966. But they refused to let me drive it in the parking lot. Never could understand that. HA!!

Ron