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The Talbot Lago Makes it to Pebble Beach
Overcoming challenges to finish the T26 engineI started working on this project back in 2016 in Colorado, the start of a long and circuitous path. In a previous post, I explained some of the issues that helped make it a five year engine build… One of the few upsides of a worldwide pandemic is that some events get postponed, which gives…
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Get to Work Ya Bum!
There has been a notable drop in the rate of new content being posted here at travelingwithtools. That’s because I’ve been back at work for a few weeks, and despite thinking I would be able to do two things at once, I have not. I’ve landed at the same Northern California shop that I worked…
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An Alfa Romeo 8C Project
Fixing a big leak on a new restorationThis Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 came to me in 2008 with a badly leaking rear main seal. As I recall, it was a very fresh restoration but there had been some sort of assembly issue. The normal procedure at work was to thoroughly document the car with photographs before disassembly, so I have a stack…
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A Note From the Desert
I’ve been parked out in the Nevada desert for a few days now, since finishing my look-back series on our trip to Africa in 2016. I’ve been poking through my photo archives and infrequent journal entries, looking for the path forward for the blog. I have a pretty good idea what I want to do,…
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The Talbot Lago Saga
Progress as the T26 engine comes togetherFour years ago, I went to work in Colorado as an independent contractor, the first gig I arranged after quitting my long-time job in California to shake things up and spend more time traveling. The projects included a couple of Bugattis, a Talbot Lago, and a Lamborghini, so it was an interesting and at times…
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Making Your Mark
This will go down on your permanent recordI worked for a long time in one location, almost ten years, taking apart cars and putting them back together. Any old car shop has shelving storing parts, and some shops have bits from jobs that were done twenty or thirty years ago. Parts may sit for a week before going back together, and some…
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Back to Work
After spending the last year gallivanting around the country, it’s time to get back to work. I’ve landed in Reno, Nevada for a stretch to clear up some unfinished business… the Austin Healey that’s had a happy home in Mom’s garage needs to move on. It’s always the last few percent of a job that…
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A Bad Day of Fly Fishing is Better Than…
I spent Tuesday afternoon on the Firehole river in Yellowstone National Park. It was reputed to be “on fire” (yuk yuk) by the West Yellowstone fly shops, and I’ve long wanted to fish the stretch where geysers are steaming away stream-side. I walked and waded for about five hours, but the afternoon started with me…
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Bananas!
Some automotive design innovations last (Otto cycle 4-stroke) and some do not (Bugatti Brescia cam box design). Today I dove into the cam box of a 1923 Bugatti Brescia, a model with which I had not previously been introduced. I had heard of the “banana tappet”, but not held one in my hands. For some…