Posted on 13/10/2006 at 13:29

Juan les Pins, 1977



Juan les Pins, March 1977... Looks more or less like nowadays... You probably didn't miss the convertible Karmann-Ghia on the left, hum? icone smiley wink
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Posted on 12/10/2006 at 21:09

Juan les Pins, 1959



I love those old pictures... Here are 2 postcards found on eBay, both written in May 1959.

This street is almost identical today, but the atmosphere has changed... Obviously, cars are not the same, but above all Third Millenium tourists are way more soaking of solar cream and silicon, and wants more out of his money... He becomes more and more demanding, which draws him not to respect the environment anymore (already highly impacted in the area), treating everybody like sh...

As a fair return, local restaurants, making their annual revenue over 2 months, are proposing not-that-fresh meals, as they don't need the client to come back later... One way or another, the client won't come back anyway!

That's sad, that's very sad.
Architecture is still the same, but the spirit is a bit gone... Strange feeling to miss a period I did not even know myself, uh? icone smiley wink

Click on the pictures to see them full size...



Edit 2008-03-20 : same place, nowadays, on Flickr...
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Posted on 06/10/2006 at 21:22

Hot Rod Magazine, Août 1949...



Here it is, nothing more to say, pictures are speaking by themselves. HotRod Magazine, August 1949, found on eBay in great shape... Pure collector! icone smiley laugh


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Posted on 29/09/2006 at 01:39

Albatross 1959 : rescue operation!

Here is how the story began...
A friend of mine, Fred, owns this boat for years, moored in the Monaco harbor, right below the Prince's palace.

But time is running short to find a new house for it (the boat, not the Prince), because the harbor got recently privatized, and a typical Monaco privilege has disappeared : freeness for boats under 4 meters long.

Now, the Albatross could end up on breakage... Which would be a pity!
So I bought the little boat, as Fred did not have enough spare time to take care of it, but moreover to prevent it from being crushed in a breakage...

September 29th 2006, I'm off to retrieve the beast in Monte-Carlo...


Here we are, the Albatross is safe... Next step, get it back up and running, and go play with it as soon as the weather allows it!
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Posted on 23/09/2006 at 01:14

Result

First drive test

The engine doesn't run smoothly, I feel like it has to much fuel... Plus, after 500 meters, the throttle cable breaks!! Argh, gotta push the beast back home...

I change the throttle cable for a Teflonized model... The "too much fuel" issue looks like coming from the needle valve on the carburetor that doesn't close correctly... With some patience and polishing paste, I adjust it, looks like it works... I reassemble it back.

Second drive test

The engine starts first kick, and runs smoothly... I'm a bit scared to go too far from home... but finally, everything goes fine!! I still have some gas leaking from the fuel tap, the speedometer cable that broke... But it runs fine, and I go for a fifty kilometers of pure pleasure cruising!
The beast is relatively comfy (well, gotta admit that after 1 hour driving on bad road, it becomes very relative! :-P). The gear selector is a bit delicate to use, but I got used to it quickly (I now understand the need for that needle indicating the selected gear on the gearbox!). Feels unstable at first try, but this is a false sensation due to the spring-mounted saddle and large diameter wheels...
Obviously, it doesn't drive fastly : given for 75km/h in 1954, but I don't think I drove faster than 60 or 65 km/h. Cruising speed only!
And the beast is a preu eye-catcher : people are either interested, curious, mocking, or envious, but everybody turn their head when it passes!

And voila! One more is back on the road... It deserves a new paint, but for now I want to drive it a few kilometers!! icone smiley smile
Posted in : 1954 IFA
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