Welcome & Introductions

Well, hello. Welcome to In The Garage. This is a blog to document and share the experiences of James and Derrick (and Shake and Bake, if they're interested) in dealing with the trials, tribulations, joys and excitement of buying, restoring and enjoying motor vehicles. It will, hopefully, be a fun thing.


So to kick it off, let's introduce the vehicles:

James' 1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6
I mostly use the GTV6 for nice-day cruising and Autox. Upgrades are not aimed at achieving 'maximum attack', but she still managed to perform respectably in STS. This is really a fantastic vehicle. I've driven just about everything from Porsche in that era, and while some are probably just as, if not more, capable, none were more engaging. Actually none were even close except the mid-80's 911, that's a nice vehicle. Anyhow, the Alfa really captured my interest, so I got one. I think that decision sparked the vintage Italian car spirit in my friend Bob and my brother-in-law Rick. It took longer to ignite Derrick's interest, but I think this car had something to do with it.

1976 Lancia Scorpion (Black)

Turns out I don't have a solid photo of Black without Derrick in it. So you get Derrick modelling the lovely '76. This Scorp is pretty well restored. It hadn't been run in 10yrs so we're working on getting it to run well, but the cosmetics are pretty solid. The interior has been converted from the original red to a subdued black. It's nicely done. There are also a host of mechanical upgrades which were done by either the PO or the fellow who owned it before him. I think there are relatively few things we know we want to do on this car. Euro bumpers would be a top candidate. The Ansa exhaust needs a restoration, and we might contemplate moving this car away from the Weber 32/36 to a set of dual Weber 40 DCNFs. It's all notional at this point.

1977 Lancia Scorpion (Gold)

So apparently neither Derrick nor I took a decent shot of Gold while we were picking it up. So I'm posting this shot Derrick's fiance Sarah took. Anyhow, the Gold paint is nice, except for one or two areas where the PO was eliminating a spot of rust. Overall though, very solid. The interior is a bit rough, as the seats are shot. Aftermarket wheels are neat. It also seems like the PO was in the midst of disassembling everything in the engine bay. Currently there's no carb, exhaust, thermostat, etc. The documentation we got with the car indicates that there were some planned upgrades, so likely the process to install those had begun.

1977 Lancia Scorpion (Silver)

Silver is interesting. It seems mostly complete, interior, exterior and mechanical. The PO seems to have stripped the car down to the metal and resprayed it in the OEM color (or close). The car needs to be reassembled now, but should be looking good once that's done. The interior is the oh-so-awesome Lancia red. This photo is of us loading her up and getting ready to haul her home.

1977 Lancia Scorpion (White)

Ahhh, white. Such a fantastic color. The base color of most Lancia Martini rally weapons. What's that? Unfamiliar? CLICK ME AND WEEP. Anyhow, the white '77 is solid, but there are a number of surface (non-structure or so we think) rust spots to address. The interior looks whole and fan-freakin-tastic in blue. I believe there's been some tuning work done on this one by the PO as well. We'll have to scour the documentation and get it all sorted out.

1976 Lancia Scorpion (Blue)

Blue is on the cusp of being a parts car. It seems like a lot of the structure is OK, but there are major areas of rust that will need to be carved out and replaced. Derrick believes this is less a problem and more an opportunity to create our own 037. If he or I had any of the required skills, I'd be completely on-board. Oh hell, I'm completely on board, who am I kidding?

1976 Lancia Scorpion (Red)

Red is likely going to be a parts car. It seems as though there are large portions of scructural rust and there's almost no major area that appears completely solid. I'd love for us to save it though, but it may be a bridge too far.

Well, those are the Derrick and James cars. Hopefully Rick and Bob will join in and post about their vehicles too. Similarly Derrick, if you want to chronical the WRX or the million BigFoot repairs...