RENO, NV (Oct. 3) — While cruising season is coming to an end by fall weather there are plenty of meets for car people. The first weekend of the month is when Reno Cars & Coffee has its meet at the Kietzke Starbucks.
This time there weren’t the usual McLarens, or Lambos bit it still was an eclectic mix of cars. However in the mix the the unusual, common but not rare and very rare fresh from the UK.
Probably the rarest was a 1972 Citroen SM owned by Charles Morse.
“It was the flagship of Citroen Cars and the first truly French GT car since before the Second World War,” he said. “They were made from 1970 to 1974 and it didn’t last very long due to the gas prices in the mid 1970’s.
“It was not particularly fuel efficient with its Maserati engine and three vapor carburetors. They were very expensive to build and difficuclt to maintain. Probably the most complex car ever made.”
He explained due to the systems one needs to use a special hydraulic fluid called LHM. He laughed and added it’s something you don’t get at Pep Boys or Kragen. Morse thinks power steering fluid, since that is mineral oil might work as a substitute.
“I’ve had this car about 15 years so I’ve fixed a lot of things on it. The interior on this car is mainly original and you can see some of the upholstery is cracking,” he said.
In the future he hopes to have that restored but due to the construction, using good leather with stitching, it is very expensive and would cost several thousand of dollars.
Asked how much he uses the car Morse replied, “It’s not a daily driver but I drive it around at least once a week. I did not buy it to be an exhibit in a museum.”
In the groups of car there were three muscle cars parked together. One was a Mustang, in the middle a Camaro and on the other side a Pontiac Firebird.
The next car at one time was pretty common but now one will be hard pressed to find or see one. That is unless one attends vintage car races.
T.J. McPherson showed up with a 1969 Austin Healey Sprite, they used to be called Bug Eyed Sprites due to where the headlights are. This particular one has a long history with his family.
My Grandpa bought it new in 1969, toured around England in it, he rally raced it and brought it back to the states os it’s been in our family ever since,” he said, “I only got it about two years ago. My dad gave it to me as my Grandpa was getting older and couldn’t work on it.”
He explained while his father was working on it the car really wasn’t ready to be driven on the street. So except for some time going around the block, the car hasn’t been street worth since the 1980’s.
Asked how is grandfather, who was in the military, used it to tour England with three kids McPherson explained how that was done.
“The cut out the rear deck to allow seating so they could fit five people in a two seat car,” he said.
This allowed the youngest to see between the parents while the other two older kids sat sideways behind the two seats. The car also has market lights, small yellow ones on each corner for rally racing.
Due to someone not paying attention while pulling out of a parking space, the cadr has a bit of damage on the left corner. Now the effort is to find a custom body shop that can fix the damage and restore that part of the car.
Once that’s done he has plans for the car, “It has a five-speed transmission in it and I got a new 1275 motor. I’m going to try and drive it quite a bunch. I’ll drive it to work as I don’t live very far from there.”
In the mix there was a short front engine Corvette row with a red Cobra at one end. Beside this there was a pretty good mix of various types of cars.
One car, while very rare here in the U.S. was probably very common in England where it was made. Nick Moretto brought his newly acquired 1982 Austin Mini 850 Pickup ot the meet. Turns our he has a history with at least one of these.
“I believe they were made from ’61 until ’83 and, if I remember right, 58,179 were produced,” he said. “My uncle actually grew up working on cars and had a classic Mini 850 he restored himself and I did a little work on it. Then he eventually got one of these,his was a ’72 or ’74 to work on with my little cousin. Unfortunately he passed away so there is a lot of sentimental value for these kinds of trucks for me.”
He did ask his aunt if she would see that truck but seems his younger cousin wanted to work on it.
“So I spent a few years trying to find one and eventually found one in the UK so I imported it,” he said. “I picked it up and put it in a trailer I use for my side-by-side then towed it to Reno. Monday I got it registered so this is its first legal outing.”
REPORTER’S NOTE: The next meet for Reno Cars & Coffee will be Sunday, October 17 at the Human Bean. This is located near the corner of Moana and Kietzke Lanes, close to the freeway.
There are other car meets as well. Next Saturday Fallon Cars & Coffee will meet then on Sunday Sparks Cars & Coffee has a meet. A good group to follow on Face Book is Carson Cars & Coffee as they have pop up events and have met on Friday, Saturday and even Sunday.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show is on the air from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoons. In Northwest Nevada it can be heard over the air on 1060 AM.
There is also a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm or the show can be seen live on Face Book. The program is focused on all things automotive like trends, new developments and trivia.
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We now have eight very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they support your sport and help nvracingnews continue. Please let them know you heard about them through this site.
•Tread Connection is our newest sponsor and Blake Sobiloff owns the local franchise. The business brings the tire store to the customer so they don’t have to take time off work or even leave home.
Once the tires are ordered Sobiloff picks them up, and in a van loaded with state of the art equipment, arrives where the customer’s vehicle is located. Tires can be ordered and paid for online and he observes all safety precautions.
Another service is scanning tires to check wear and if any alignment is needed. A useful service for fleet owners as they can tell in advance if tires need to be replaced.
There are discounts for First Responders, Active Duty Military, members of the National Guard and Reserves as well as Veterans. His primary area is Reno and Sparks and one can contact him at 775-870-3600, or through the Face Book page or the national website at, www.treadconnection.com.
• Next sponsor is G.I.S.L. Land Services that, while having a global client base, has a western US focus. Among the services offered are Surface and Mineral Title Reviews as well as Cartographic Services.
Owner Greg Ekins is a long time off-road motorcycle racer competing with MRANN and the AMA National Hare and Hounds series. The website is, www.gislandservices.com.
• Next sponsor is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists owned by former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School.
The shop services older and new transmissions and now has a section for high performance units as well as those used in towing. Phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is, www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
• Racing photographer Melissa Coker is another sponsor. If you raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock Speedway, Rattlesnake Raceway or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photo of you on the track.
Besides photos she produces hero cards and memory books. Her website is, www.melissasoutonalimb.smugmug.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
• Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need but they also have a full service shop.
Their location is 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the website is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
• The next shop is Moto-Source located at 3180 Mill Street. They have a full service shop and the showroom has about anything a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and their website is, www.moto-source.com.
• Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno is another sponsor. The shop does quality collision repair for cars and trucks.
Owner Brian Saul is a car enthusiast himself and is committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net
• Hungry, want a great place to eat then try our next sponsor, PJ&CO. They have breakfast, lunch as well as dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round-about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and the website is, www.pjandco.net.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or car enthusiasts? This site is a great way to expose your services to those groups. Sponsorships are very reasonable and one can contact us either through the comment section of this site or through our Face Book page.
