Ah that smell

Last night hit the British invasion for the local car show.

No love for the Triumphs, but a Jag and 2 MG's took top honour.

The fun part was taking my father in law in the GT6. He has not been out for a drive with me since either 2001 when it was old and un-restored or maybe just after I got it back on the road in its un-tuned phase.

I took the long route and we had a great time going around the bends and tight turns.

At the end of the run he commented on the oil/fuel smell. My wife calls it o'd du Triumph. I recommended he shower or I'll face the wrath of my Mother in-law.

Sadly I can feel the lock ticking on drive time. Starting to get colder. Pretty soon the GT6 will be going for a long winter nap.

http://www.gt6.ca/09/0902/index.html

Ah, the smell of Castrol and short circuits. Love it.

Valvoline VR1 and a venting oil catch can baby.

No electrical faults in my cars.

A.

I well remember the smell of my old TR3.

Old airplanes have a certain smell too.

Yep, it's eau de Triumph in our family, too. Doesn't matter whether it's the Spitfire, the GT6 or the TR3--I could sit in any one of them with my eyes closed and know I was in a Triumph. I can also tell when Tim's "been with" one of his Triumphs; they leave their smell on him worse than any woman ever could. Come to think of it, they take more of his time, too...

Margie

I love the smell of my MGB. The new leather seat smell seems to complete the package somehow.

When I was a kid that was one of the first things I noticed about British sports cars. Also that weird smell of air cooled VW products...Whats up with that?

Lastly, UH-1 Hueys have a smell all to their own as well...You know, that smell...like victory. Well, more like an old friend, but you get the idea.

Leo

Air cooled VW smell is largely from the stuffing they used in the seats. I've heard horse hair, but I don't quite believe it. Older water-cooled VWs can have it, too.

I will add I have a fan in my garage to aid with the "fresh air" issues.

I'm going to use a bathroom fan next year.

A.

Horse hair or excelsior was thin shaved/strips of wood and was used in furniture and packing. Could be the wood used had an odor. I just recall the heater vents leaking a bit of exhaust into the car. The real thing was used to make a cloth for furniture but I don't recall cars using it. I had an antique chair covered with horse hair and it had a nylon cloth-like texture or weave and was shiny and very long wearing.

Cheers Ron

The Mini has a decided British odor to it. Pleasant.

When I went to look at my '65 Ford pickup, it was raining. When I opened the door, my smell sensors immediately took me back 15 years to the old beater truck I had that started my love for these things. I was sold on the truck at that moment. Didn't even matter what it drove like. It's a unique smell of vinyl, rubber, seat stuffing, cardboard (headliner) with just a dash of old oil and exhaust. Awesome.

Tim Baxter wrote: Air cooled VW smell is largely from the stuffing they used in the seats. I've heard horse hair, but I don't quite believe it. Older water-cooled VWs can have it, too.

I always thought that the air cooled cars got their musk from a combination of being air cooled, push rod tube leaks and heat exchangers that brought that aroma into the compartment.

When I put headers on my 914 and plugged the heater ducts, the interior was a lot more pleasant.