'So the guy who's doing the pin-striping shows up with his box of paints, and a bottle of whiskey. He takes one swig and does a whole stripe in a single pass. Then he goes around and does the other side. I come back a few hours later and he's passed out. When he wakes up, he goes home and then he comes back the next day to carry on. But just look at the job he did! It's incredible!'
You can't walk past a single vehicle in Jay Leno's garage without the man himself telling you a story about it - he knows every one intimately - and a bright-red fire engine, beautifully decorated with gold-leaf and (perfect) pinstriping, is a natural candidate. As Jay recalls with a grin: 'I pulled up next to a Ferrari at a stop light, and there was a small boy crossing with his mother, and she pointed out the Ferrari and he went "Wow, a fire truck!"
The story of how Jay discovered this 1941 American LaFrance fire truck is pretty remarkable, too. 'When the truck had outlived its usefulness maybe 30 years ago, it was parked at the end of the runway at Burbank Airport as a kind of windbreak, to stop dirt and trash blowing across the runway. But then 9/11 happened and you weren't allowed to have anything near a runway that people could hide behind. I saw it about to be hitched to a tow truck and said, "Where are you going with that thing?" "I'm taking it to the scrapyard." "I'll pay you double whatever the scrap value is!" It was nothing, a couple of hundred bucks. And it only had 11,000 miles on it!'
Denne historien er fra 253 - July 2024-utgaven av Octane.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra 253 - July 2024-utgaven av Octane.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
Jem Marsh
The hard-bitten Marcos boss was driven like few others and never knew when he was beaten. Thankfully
Vandamm House
A Mid-Century Modernist masterpiece that was immortalised on celluloid - despite never actually existing
Making light
Alfa Romeo's post-war renaissance began with the 1900 saloon - and matured with Zagato's featherweight coupé version, as Jay Harvey discovers
FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE
Is burgeoning classic car interest in the Middle East good for the global classic market? Nathan Chadwick investigates
Before the beginning
This rare Amazon Green pre-production Range Rover is Velar chassis number 4. James Elliott charts its historically revealing factory restoration
Ben Cussons
As the outgoing chairman of the Royal Automobile Club hands on to his successor, Robert Coucher quizzes him about the evolution of this great British institution
BULLDOG & THE PUPPIES
We gather five motoring masterpieces by avant-garde designer William Towns - and drive all of them
Below the tip of the Audrain iceberg
As the Audrain organisation grows, we take a look behind the scenes at the huge car collection that feeds it
Flying the Scottish flag
Young Ecurie Ecosse driver Chloe Grant gets to grips with the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar C-type at Goodwood. Matthew Hayward is Octane's witness
