| My Cars
I bought my first sports
car, a used Daimler SP-250, when I was in school. It ran well but
it'd been wrecked, poorly repaired with a non-standard body, and otherwise
abused by previous owners. I drove it until multiple problems sidelined
it
| Me at 21. College
guy in his first SP-250, #101232.
Compare post-wreck non-standard
bodywork to tailfins on #100127 below.
#101232 became a parts
car for my second SP-250, #100127, which was my daily driver for two decades.
My Daimlers
were fast, pretty much reliable, but very flawed. The doors could,
and did, fly open. The steering column was a spear pointed right
at my heart. And the brakes once failed completely when a single
brake line cracked. |
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Beautiful scenery, so-so
car.
That's me with my second
Daimler at Montana De Oro State Park near San Luis Obispo.
Look closely, you'll see
the bungee cord holding the door closed. This fix "kind of" worked.
Video!
See an SP-250 at speed at Santa Barbara in May, 1962. |
I moved to the L.A. area
in 1995. Driving my manual shift Daimler in traffic was bad, but
when a truck pulled up next to me, its exhaust pipe 18" from my face, I
knew I had to make a change.
Link to
Christian Demler's beautiful SP250!
Link to
Paul Richards' memories of the SP250
| I sold my Daimler and
all my spares to a restorer in Australia and bought a 1984 Porsche
928S. This ultimate luxury cruiser was, contrary to reputation,
dead reliable and a joy to own and drive in all ways.
My 928 on the Big Sur
coast, Spring, 1997. Note "Ziegelrotmetallik" paint.
I could scare myself pissless
in corners without getting near its limits, and cruise easily at 125 mph
on cop-free desert highways.
I sold the car in August,
1999, and I still (even in 2011!) wish I hadn't. |
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