We arrived in Manchester without incident under cloudy skies and 30ish temps. We made haste to Rye, knowing that bad weather was incoming. Sam Smith at Brit Bits had really given the car the once over. They really went out of their way to make sure our chances of making it were as good as possible. What a wonderful thing to have expectations exceeded! (Thanks Sam, Ben, and Norm!)
The instant I put the key in the ignition, it started to snow. We drove down to the ocean to take a few pictures, and by the time we made it back to Brit Bits, (10 minutes) it was really coming down. The sky was falling! A snowy, rainy, sleety mess was descending upon us. Good thing the TR-6, although not cosmetically perfect by any means, drove and ran very well. The drive back to Manchester was very treacherous, and I'm no rookie to winter conditions having grown up in Illinois. 101 was a icy, slippery, sideways driving mess. Poor Rennie, the South Florida boy must have been cursing his decision to join me on this adventure. He was plowing along in front of me in the understeering Corolla rental car. We did make it back to the rental agency amid horrible driving conditions. At least the TR's heater sort of works, and it is predictable in a slide. Braking wasn't confidence inspiring to say the least! The drive was kind of fun though, in a completely terrifying kind of way.
Once we left Manchester, the ice turned to driving rain, and the road became a bit less slick. The windshield wipers on the TR-6 actually work, as do all the gauges, and lights! (hope I didn't just jinks myself there!) We started to make decent progress, and our speed increased from 40-45 to 55-60 or so. At least we were reasonably dry, and the car was running well.
Cobra Automotive is located in Wallingford CT. They prepare Shelby Cobras, Mustangs, GT-40's and other neat cars for Vintage racing, and road use. Carl Vogt was nice enough to brave the pouring rain, and stay open long enough for us to stop by. What an amazing place! They had a naked original GT-40 undergoing race prep, a couple of real 427 Cobras, and an incredible barn find 289 dual-quad early Cobra (worm and sector car!) It looked like it had been parked in 1965 and not driven since. It even had it's polyglass tires still on it! Wow! (thanks for staying open Carl!)
After out visit with Cobra Automotive, we hit the wet road again and headed for Rennie's brother's house in Norwalk CT. Tod, and his wife Marija, were incredibly hospitable, and this morning began with coffee, and bagels. Their friend even came by with a beautiful Lotus Elan S1 for some great conversation. What a beautiful car, and great start to the day!
So far so good! Today we are hitting the Merritt parkway for some scenic driving, and then continuing South. Images to come!
