Someone linked a review by Steve McQueen in Sports Illustrated, where he drives a 1966 XK-E, Alfa Duetto roundtail, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette, Porsche and Cobra, and gives his impressions.

http://www.mcqueenonline.com/sportsillustrated66.htm



There's no dream like the first ones you had.......

 

Nice find. The guy was too cool, loved bikes too.

That 427 could do 0-100-0 in 13 seconds?? Holy crap!

 

The "0-100-0" became something of a benchmark once it was achieved with the 427 Cobra. Few cars since have reached that level of performance even to this day. Of course, the car could turn the hair white out of anyone actually doing it, but that's another story.

 

I saw the movie LeMans when it came out. I knew LeMans, but I didn't know Steve McQueen. I sure did after that.

 

My best friend from high school is a Seattle attorney now, and has a fully restored '64 XK-E type. His "weekend" fun car, puts about as many miles on it every year as I put on my 8 (about 4-5K). We've both loved the E-types since we first laid eyes on one.

 

One thing that will never be repeated in automotive history is the impact this car had when it was introduced. It became a cultural icon for Great Britain's place in the world. It just blew away everything like other cars were from the ice age or something. It's styling STILL looks right today.

BTW, that's Blodwyn Pig, not Jethro Tull, in that avatar.

 

mcqueen was and still is the man. my favorite movie he did was the getaway, oh and tom horn. great movies

 

It was 20 yrs after WW II and Britain was still recovering from the war. I believe it was 80% of those were exported to the US. Now, they are trying to buy them back.

 

Yep, I realize that. I have had the text "Blodwyn Pig" under my username periodically- I change the text every so often. Mick Abrahams (B.P. founder) was also a Tull charter alumnus, so I don't feel the pig is too out-of-place. A recent B.P. release, "All Said And Done", features a complete remake of Tull's first album, "This Was". I like Abrahams' version slightly better.

There is one other 8club member who uses the Blodwyn Pig for his avatar, but he uses a pink background.

 

A couple of years ago I researched just what it would cost to restore one. Restorable chassis with most major parts were going for $15K-$20K, drivable condition could fetch $30K, decent restorations were in the $60K-$80K range. It's probably more money today.

 

I was eyeing an E type 2+2 ('73 series 3) which are by far the cheapest of the lot, about $20000 Canadian in decent but certainly not concourse condition.

...one day...

 

Best to stick to the Series II E-Types. The later ones are cheap since they are Leyland products, with all the attendant issues, although by now, a lot of those issues are sorted out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/au...es&oref=slogin

 

Getting off topic here, but I can't help recall I was at what was probably Jethro Tull's first US concert. "This was" was something of an underground hit, when albums still mattered, and they appeared in an outdoor concert in New York's Central Park. This was the Schaefer Summer Music Festival, hosted by the beer company. There were no seats. There was an inner ring to stand in for $3.00 and an outer ring for $2.00. The beer was a little cheaper.

There was a flash thunderstorm during the concert, and to Ian Anderson's apparent surprise, everyone just stood in the rain listening. I think he was quite surprised the band had this kind of following here. He remarked about the "celestial light show by God" and the crowd loved it. That was some concert series, which is another one of those things that just can't be done today.

 

^^A thread hijack I have no complaints with.

You're a lucky person. I didn't discover Tull until the Benefit album, but that was enough to hook me for life.

 

Great find MP3 Guy! Thanks for sharing!