News From Antique Automobile Club of America

Back in the days before a kid could get a full driver's license in Florida at age 16, there was a "Restricted License" available at age 14. This license allowed driving an automobile with an 18 year old present or operation of a motorcycle or scooter with less than 5 brake horsepower. A great rule at the time! I had spent my "wonder bread years" (age 5 to 15) in Princeton, NJ and learned to drive a car at age 12 in our own backyard. I would get plenty of good driving practice on the campus of the company where my father worked, but a real driver's license was for 17 year olds. I thought I'd have to wait to the middle age of 17 to be able to drive legally.

My father allowed me to follow in my older brothers foot steps in a 50/50 partnership in the purchase of an old motorcycle at age 13 with one big condition. "Restore it BEFORE you ride it!" What a smart father I had. He knew that if I had enough sweat equity and labor of love in it, I would be careful with it.

When my parents decided to move to Redington Beach, Florida only two months before I turned 15, I was in full agreement and my dreams of running away to Florida ended. Having visited my grandparents in Florida, many times, I knew all about restricted licenses, and my motorcycle was almost done!

After adapting to Florida's year round outdoor fun, I traded the finished motorcycle for a boat, restored it and sold the boat for more money. (I still had a Whizzer to ride) My brother and I were proficient at painting his car with an Electrolux vacuum cleaner (really), so we went looking for a joint project car.
We found a 1952 Renault 4CV that somebody had begun a radical customization project on. It was a rear engined water cooled 4 cylinder. We envisioned it as a sleek racy sports car of the "Cooper Climax" variety, later, it was dubbed "The Moon Machine".

With limited speed equipment experience and a limited budget, we decided to make it a two seat sports car. No doors or top just a sporty design. I've never been sure but I think the front fenders and the seats are old Ford parts molded into the fiberglass body that we glassed over chicken wire and cardboard. It always ran hot and smoked bad, so we kept adding scoops to the top, sides and front. It remained in primer most of it's life because of so many running changes, and we liked having a number painted on the side. I bought and sold other cars, but the Moon Machine stayed in the yard as an ever ready project.

We discovered that it ran hot because the head was cracked, so we transplanted a big Renault Dauphine engine into it. (Probably doubling the horsepower from 30 to 60) Now it was fast, it would lift the front wheels off the ground.

By the time I was 17 and ready for the military, the Moon Machine was done. We had picked only safe to win drag races, close to home. We laughed a lot when driving it and our house was the gathering place for other teenage boys because we always had something to do. I never even drove it to high school; it was a Gulf Beaches car only.

It finally got nice paint job in 1964 with our new Navy surplus, Crosley air compressor, 15 PSI (original HVLP). We used left over maroon paint from our 1956 Ford. (the one we drove to the Seattle Worlds Fair & back in the summer of 62, but that's another story) We hammered out enough dented moon disk wheel covers to dress it up. It never had a windshield and never felt real stable at speeds over 45 MPH, but we felt tremendous pride in our craftsmanship. We sold it in the summer of 1964, and watched it drive away.

About an hour later the buyer called and offered to sell it back to us for half price. I was in the Air Force by or we would have bought it back. After that neither of us ever saw it again. I don't understand why we both didn't become custom automotive designers, but we still have time.