The Back Lot

Located out behind the shed, just a little bit further, at the back of the property. The memories of years gone past. I didn't have a camera or time to take pictures so these are what I have to show for that.

It's November 1955 and Dad's first car. I think it is a 1949 Vauxhal Velox. Suicide front doors and a track exactly the same width as the street car tracks. Dad would steer the car into the those tracks and take his hands off the steering wheel. The Auto-pilot was on even going around the corners.

I don't really know what year or model this was but it was a Vauxhaul for sure. I remember my father saying that it was a six cylinder and he was sure that 2 of the cylinders had wood pistons. We sure didn't have that car very long. I remember the aroma of the leather interior and that there was a centre armrest that folded down. I was in the lap of luxury.

That's me on the tire helping.

Dad's first brand new car. A 1957 Chevrolet Belair 2-door hard top. What a great car! 6-cylinder with a 3 on the tree (3-speed manual transmission mounted on the steering column) Black and white bench seats, a radio and everything. Super burnt orange metallic paint job. I sure wish we could have kept the rust from eating it alive.

There's me washing the 1963 Chevrolet Impala SS. 283 cu. in. high output with a 2-speed powerglide transmission. Bucket seats, centre console, a white cue ball mounted on the floor shifter. Engine turned aluminium dash & trim and, as we discovered later, aluminium front fenders, hood and bumper. The tires never seemed to last very long with me driving for some reason.

A 1964 Yamaha YA-6 a single cylinder 125cc Santa Barbara. 1st 2-stroke bike to feature "autolube" that mixed the oil with the gas as you drove. It ended up with a factory GYT kit which included an expansion chamber and magneto along with all the other go fast pieces. It had a short but happy life. They said I wouldn't walk very well for a while. I took up skiing that winter.

A 1967 Volvo 123GT. An excellent car for a whole list of reasons too big to fit here. I managed to amateur rally this one and keep the shined side up. I learned to change a clutch with the engine and transmission still in the car. The biggest mistake was fitting the car with Dunlop SP Sports tires. My vote for the absolute worst handling wet tire of all time.

A 1971 Yamaha R5-B 350cc twin. A 2-stroke twin cylinder. My first brand new bike. Quite quick and dead reliable. The handling wasn't too bad either. I put lots of mileage on this bike. It seized the first winter that I had it and Peter Hurst helped me out buy finding a factory GYT kit that turned it into one very rapid bike.

That's Tom securing his ski boots to the back of his Honda. Yes, we took the bikes spring skiing. It was 1972 after all. You could do just about anything back then, and get away with it.

A 1972 Yamaha Enduro 360 RT-1 I think. It was great for following the hydro lines, playing in sand pits, mud holes and Sandeelea speedway. It went just about anywhere. A single cylinder 2-stroke thumper that was happy just about at any speed. It was amazing the inclination this bike could climb. I had a lot of fun with this bike but I fell off on a regular basis, usually laughing. Lived up to its name while I was driving.

A 1973 Porsche 2.0. The 2 litre engine had more Porsche in it than the enemic base model with a 1.7 litre VW engine. It handled like a dream. 912's didn't stand a chance. Phoenix Red looked more like Orange than any red I ever saw. Luggage rack, ski rack, ANSA exhaust system, Koni shocks on all four corners. A terrific car. Biodegradeable.

The 4-season winter beater. A 1972 VW Bus. Ripped out the seats, constructed a folding seat-bed arrangement and it was a great camper too. Couldn't get a ticket because it didn't go fast enough. Cheap insurance. What more could you ask for? Starter problems were usually solved by hitting it with a hammer but that only worked for a little while.

A Porsche 914-6 during an autocross, racing time and cones. Fibreglass panels replaced the unsightly clumsy bumpers and Porsche branded side sills enhanced it's appearance.

Unfortunately someone else liked it much more than I did. It was gone in a flash never to be seen again.

A terrific car that I spent far too little time with.

A 1978 Ford E-150 Econoline van with a 300 cu. in.straight 6-cylinder engine, a 4-speed floor shifter, captains chairs, pop-out privacy glass in the rear and sliding side door and no interior. I ordered it exactly that way. Took me a while to insulate and panel the inside making it a very comfortable camper.

A 1978 Yamaha XS-1100. Lots of mods to the engine over time. One sweet power plant with modified induction and a 4 into 1 Kerker exhaust. Hannigan upper and lower faring, drop bars. Way too heavy for any serious fast riding, but did it ever go! It had a set of 45 litre Krauser hard bags when we went touring. I could tour as fast as anyone would want to.

A Dutton Phaeton kit car. I wanted a Lotus Seven but there weren't any I could afford. This was a bad choice. Something that took up garage space until I got rid of it.

Ever notice that things that don't move in a garage are quickly asumed to be horizontal storage space?

I truly admire people who build cars from someone elses kits. This car would still be in the garage. Only took Herb about a year to get it going. powered by a Mustang straight 6 and automatic transmission.

1986 Astro cargo van. 4.6 litre 4-speed on the floor. Another insulation and interior job to turn it into comfortable all weather camper.

This isn't a complete set of vehicles in my back lot. There have been many, many others. These are only the ones that I have a picture of and are set in chronologial order as far as I can remember. If I find any more they'll show up here.