Great book
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Moderator Alumnus
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Great book
Not sure if this is the correct forum. If not I apologize and if someone could move it to a more appropriate forum.
Has anyone read "The Cobra in the Barn" by Tom Cotter? If not, I highly recommend it. Just received it from Amazon a few days ago and its nearly finished. Basically its about people who find automotive treasures in various states of disrepair sitting in barns, garages, and fields throughout the world. It goes on further to tell how the individual acquired the car and what happens to it. Of course there are stories of Cobras, Shelbys, and corvettes locked in houses and garages, but also more "common" cars such as old pontiacs and fords are documented as well. And of course stories of ferraris and other exotics found rotting behind shops and in garages are discussed in detail. The final chapter shows photographs of a secret location where Bugattis, pre-war Alfas, Bentleys, Cords, and even a priceless Tatra 600 are left to rot. They will never be restored as the owner doesn't have an interest but refuses to sell them either. Anyway, a great read and just thought I would pass it on.
Has anyone read "The Cobra in the Barn" by Tom Cotter? If not, I highly recommend it. Just received it from Amazon a few days ago and its nearly finished. Basically its about people who find automotive treasures in various states of disrepair sitting in barns, garages, and fields throughout the world. It goes on further to tell how the individual acquired the car and what happens to it. Of course there are stories of Cobras, Shelbys, and corvettes locked in houses and garages, but also more "common" cars such as old pontiacs and fords are documented as well. And of course stories of ferraris and other exotics found rotting behind shops and in garages are discussed in detail. The final chapter shows photographs of a secret location where Bugattis, pre-war Alfas, Bentleys, Cords, and even a priceless Tatra 600 are left to rot. They will never be restored as the owner doesn't have an interest but refuses to sell them either. Anyway, a great read and just thought I would pass it on.
Last edited by teranfon; Nov 7, 2006 at 09:59 PM.
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Lakeway, TX
Originally Posted by teranfon
... The final chapter shows photographs of a secret location where Bugattis, pre-war Alfas, Bentleys, Cords, and even a priceless Tatra 600 are left to rot. They will never be restored as the owner doesn't have an interest but refuses to sell them either. Anyway, a great read and just thought I would pass it on.
The story of Tatra is one of innovation, repression and vindication. The company got its start in the 1850's in Moravia (then part of the Austrian Empire, later Czechoslovakia) making buggies and railway cars. Auto production began with the Präsident in 1897.
A brilliant young engineer named Hans Ledwinka joined the company around that time and introduced innovations like all-wheel brakes, air-cooled engines and a central tube chassis with independent rear suspension. The Tatra's design and construction were years ahead of their time, strongly influencing Ferdinand Porsche, who was developing the Volkswagen Beetle on orders from Hitler; Porsche appropriated several of Ledwinka's ideas for VW.
"Porsche admitted he was basically looking over Ledwinka's shoulder," Mr. McCoskey said.
By the early 1930's, Tatra was testing aerodynamic design elements by a Hungarian designer, Paul Jaray. Many of these were incorporated into the design of the Tatra 77 of 1934. The air-cooled V-8 engine was placed behind the rear axle, allowing a spacious, quiet interior, and the car had a top speed of 90 miles an hour.
Ledwinka continued to tinker and produced a more graceful and compact model, the T 87, in 1936.
To keep the car light, much of the Tatra V-8, an advanced overhead-cam design, was made of aluminum. Like its predecessor, the sleek T 87 had an airplane-type central fin at the rear, air-intake scoops along the sides to direct cooling air to the engine and a third headlight that turned with the front wheels to cast light around a curve - as the Tuckers did years later.
After World War II, Communist central planners shifted production to a rival carmaker, Skoda, where the Tatraplan T 600 was made. But in 1957 car production returned to Tatra with a new streamlined model, the T 603. A descendant of the T 87, the first 603 also had three headlamps, an air-cooled V-8 and the same innovative chassis, although it traded the distinctive tailfin and louvers for a normal rear window.
https://acurazine.com/forums/automotive-news-6/east-european-tour-de-force-often-copied-but-still-unsung-295610/
A brilliant young engineer named Hans Ledwinka joined the company around that time and introduced innovations like all-wheel brakes, air-cooled engines and a central tube chassis with independent rear suspension. The Tatra's design and construction were years ahead of their time, strongly influencing Ferdinand Porsche, who was developing the Volkswagen Beetle on orders from Hitler; Porsche appropriated several of Ledwinka's ideas for VW.
"Porsche admitted he was basically looking over Ledwinka's shoulder," Mr. McCoskey said.
By the early 1930's, Tatra was testing aerodynamic design elements by a Hungarian designer, Paul Jaray. Many of these were incorporated into the design of the Tatra 77 of 1934. The air-cooled V-8 engine was placed behind the rear axle, allowing a spacious, quiet interior, and the car had a top speed of 90 miles an hour.
Ledwinka continued to tinker and produced a more graceful and compact model, the T 87, in 1936.
To keep the car light, much of the Tatra V-8, an advanced overhead-cam design, was made of aluminum. Like its predecessor, the sleek T 87 had an airplane-type central fin at the rear, air-intake scoops along the sides to direct cooling air to the engine and a third headlight that turned with the front wheels to cast light around a curve - as the Tuckers did years later.
After World War II, Communist central planners shifted production to a rival carmaker, Skoda, where the Tatraplan T 600 was made. But in 1957 car production returned to Tatra with a new streamlined model, the T 603. A descendant of the T 87, the first 603 also had three headlamps, an air-cooled V-8 and the same innovative chassis, although it traded the distinctive tailfin and louvers for a normal rear window.
https://acurazine.com/forums/automotive-news-6/east-european-tour-de-force-often-copied-but-still-unsung-295610/
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From: Swansea, MA
Originally Posted by teranfon
The final chapter shows photographs of a secret location where Bugattis, pre-war Alfas, Bentleys, Cords, and even a priceless Tatra 600 are left to rot. They will never be restored as the owner doesn't have an interest but refuses to sell them either.
It's actually a feature of mental illness...the obsessive collection of "treasures". A schizophrenic bent to fill the Maslow absense of basic human relationships. The grocery-cart of accumulation provides a sense of self-worth and accomplishment in a meaningless and pitiful existence. At least that's what I tell myself because my local crazy guy won't sell me any of his entombed Vespas.
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