In the current issue of R&T, Peter Egan thinks back on the 50th anniversary of the MGB and had this about one of the three he has owned:

The 1970 roadster was beige in color, and I sold it to a friend who drove it from California back to Wisconsin and then used it to commute to work for two years. He later sold it to a Madison police detective who told me it was a wonderful car and he’d never had a moment of trouble with it.

I took this news as well as can be expected. It was like hearing your ex-girlfriend is more beautiful than ever and just won the Boston Marathon.

That my friends, is writing.

I just read his column a couple of days ago and missed that part somehow!

Now I have to re-read it all.....

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I still enjoy motorcycles, but the only reason I renew my subscription to Cycle World is "Leanings."

No doubt that I'm clearly a fan, so unashamedly recommend the June issue, but not for the Side Glances column . . . But for his feature on driving the AMG SLS Roadster in So Cal.

This baby has a window sticker that says $242,675 at the bottom. The base price is a mere $196,100, but there are nice little upgrades (the AMG carbon-ceramic brakes, for instance) that cost almost as much as a Chevy Cruze.

The piece isn't much about the technical aspects of the car as it is about great driving roads on the lower "left coast.". It's a Randy Newman song.

Peter Egan is the reason why I subscribe to Road and Track.

I also have a signed copy of his hard cover book Signed Glances.

Here's an excerpt from one of his articles on Laymen Terms for Automotive Tools:

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as
a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we
are trying to hit.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard
cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes
containing seats and motorcycle jackets.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their
holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting
holes in fenders just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle.
It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more
you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they
can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable
objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a
brake drum you're trying to get the bearing race out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and
motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2
socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal
bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your
beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you
were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the
workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and
hard-earned guitar calluses in about the time it takes you to say, "Ouch...."

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering a motorcycle to the ground after you
have installed your new front disk brake setup, trapping the jack handle
firmly under the front fender.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used for levering a motorcycle upward off a
hydraulic jack.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor to see if he has another hydraulic floor
jack.

SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading
mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog-doo off your boot.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is
ten times harder than any known drill bit.

TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup.

TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength
of ground straps and brake lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that
inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the
handle.

BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulfuric acid from a
car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery
is dead as a doornail, just as you thought.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop
light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not
otherwise found under motorcycles at night. Health benefits aside, it's main
purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm
howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle
of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style
paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the
name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power
plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by
hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last
tightened 60 years ago by someone in Springfield, and rounds them off.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you
needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

He is great. He and I are born in the same year and have owned many of the same cars including Bugeye sprites, Formula fords, BMW motorcycles and 53 Caddys.

He has no children and more interesting cars than I do but I beat the britches off him on children and grandchildren.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I have read that list of definitions before. It doesn't matter haw many times I read it, some of them just make me smile, " yeah, that's right..."

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I have been getting Cycle World magazines since I was in high school in 1992. I recently started getting R & T also. Egan is a pure literary genius.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Peter Egan ROCKS. On my very short list of people I'd love to meet one day.

I keep thinking i will run into him one day at some car event. I'd love to shake his hand.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

We have one of the largest motorcycle rallies on the east coast right here in my home town. I have been wanting to invite him. I would even offer one of my bikes for him to ride. Two of which he once owned the same make and model.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

good idea!

he might be intrigued by the flood history too. i would be.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

"SIDE" Glances.

(But my copy isn't signed.)

I also have his collections from the bike world, "Leanings."


What surprises me most is that from time to time I'll see a letter to the editor in Cycle criticizing his column and wondering why it is still in the magazine. Certainly everyone has different tastes, but I have trouble conceiving of anyone actually disliking Egan's writing.



If you like Egan -- whether or not you like motorcycles -- you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of the first volume of Leanings (cheap enough on Amazon). His writing there is even better than when he's writing about cars. If you like it, you can buy the second volume, too.