By Pete Vack
Aldo Zana is a remarkable gentleman, a superb scholar, and a very conscientious historian. We at VeloceToday are very fortunate as he has contributed many fine articles, but he is also an author of several excellent books.
Aldo Zana at the Monaco Grand Prix, 1968
The beauty that didn’t fly: the Eagle 1G Weslake by Dan Gurney. He qualified 16th and last, 1.32.9, and lasted 9 laps only in the race.
Story and photos by Aldo Zana
From the VeloceToday Archives, May 2020
If you are suffering from Grand Prix abstinence you might be interested in remembering the Monaco F1 Grand Prix from so many decades ago, now akin to a fictional tale of times bygone. It was May 1968 when France and, later, the whole of Europe, were on the verge of profound social, economic, and cultural changes: students in Paris had started what went into the history books as “La revolte de mai”, the May revolution. The whole country was either on strike or shut down.
Wilson’s 6C 2500: Will it Fit?
This is number 10 in a series of articles about the design and construction of Paul Wilson’s very special Alfa 6C2500.
Story and photos by Paul Wilson
I wrote this, looked at it the next day, and nearly threw it away. Who needs to hear about picky mechanical issues in restoring a rare car? If after reading it, you share this thought, I understand.
But then I realized that such a narrative fills an information gap. All most owners get is a gigantic bill, with hard-to-believe specifics: “At $150 an hour, you took two days to fit the hood???” The other side of the story rarely appears in print. I’m haunted by the feeling that True Experts aren’t delayed or puzzled by issues that I struggle with. But it’s likely that my experience is typical. So here’s more about what kept me awake at night.
Not only did I promise to bring my Alfa roadster to the Lime Rock show, but I also agreed to give a picture/talk on how I made it–logically concluding with its triumphant completion. It was far from finished, of course, but I still had a month. Four whole weeks. It shouldn’t take that long, I foolishly thought. [Read more…] about Wilson’s 6C 2500: Will it Fit?
Panning for Gold Part 2
Ken Miles. Riverside, Porsche RSK
Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn
As we begin Part 2 of Panning for Gold, the above shot defies explanation, from me anyway. I have four other similar shots that look like normal car pictures. Here, it looks like the car is in pan motion with those streaks. And, what about that wheel? I have never seen one like that before. We recently showed this picture to Pete Stout of Excellence magazine. His art director asked me if I did that in Photoshop. I said I hadn’t, but that I had a theory on why this happened.
Robert F. Pauley explores the SCCA parking lots
Allentown Convair Race, Oct. 20, 1951. Bob with Siata Daina, photo probably taken by his brother Phil.
Story by Pete Vack
Photos by Robert F. Pauley
Robert Pauley: engineer, photographer, enthusiast, author
Over the years, we have featured the work of Robert F. Pauley. His color photography has graced our newsletter leads, and enhanced many articles. His contributions to VeloceToday began in 2011 when published a series of articles about “Gilda,” the 1955 Ghia showcar designed by the Italian Giovanni Savonuzzi. This prompted an email response from Pauley, who told me a remarkable story about working with the famous designer while both were employed at the Engineering Building in Chrysler’s Headquarters in Highland Park, Michigan. It was the beginning of a long, fruitful relationship.
Lou Fageol’s Twin Engined Porsche
Porsche Fageol on the grid for the C-Modified SCCA event a Westover, Massachusetts AFB, June 13, 1954. Photo by Robert Pauley.
Story by Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, September 2021
Born into a family of entrepreneurs and engineers, Louis J. Fageol (pronounced fadjl) would take over the family’s Twin Coach bus and tractor business as planned, but at the same time was hell bent for leather to satisfy his need for speed despite the wishes of his wife Caryl. Already famed for his speedboat victories, Fageol would push the envelope of all-wheel-drive race cars with his ultimate creation, the Fageol Porsche sports racer. In doing so, his life would literally hang by a thread.
Panning for Gold
No, Richie Ginther is not t-boning that massive pylon at Riverside in 1957. Note the nose of Richie’s Ferrari is visible through the pylon, another case for the beauty of panning.
Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn
To pan or not to pan, aye, that is the question. Whether it is nobler to read the manufacturer’s name on the tire of a Ferrari going 247 kilometers per hour, or to sense the illusion of speed when your camera is set at 1/60 of a second. That is what a pan shot does best, to relish that vision of speed with focus and clarity.
PBS, Kuhn and Paramount Ranch: Showtime!
On January 6th, catch Allen on PBS SoCal. Photo courtesy PBS.
By Allen R. Kuhn
I was interviewed for a show on the PBS SoCal station for a show called Lost LA. I spoke about my experience photographing races at Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica mountains in the 1950s.
The episode I’m in is going to air this week. It’s Season 8 of Lost LA, Episode 1 and called “The Fast and Forgotten.” You can watch it on LA PBS station KOCE this Tuesday, January 6, at 7:30 PM if you’re local, search for it on your local PBS station website, or watch the full episode directly on Youtube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEgE7qBT1kw&list=PLWu5ajp6Zk8c22IbTTF49HITJLuOM8HMv
Here is a description of the episode. [Read more…] about PBS, Kuhn and Paramount Ranch: Showtime!
VeloceToday: In the Beginning
VelocePress (also still in business) preceded VeloceToday and by 2002 was reprinting books from Dick Merritt, Hilary Raab, as well as the Abarth Buyer’s Guide.
Story by Pete Vack
VeloceToday.com was born in a time of massive change and turmoil as the publishing industry came to terms with the digital age. The motoring website, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, was the result of a phone call in 1999 from out of the blue. “Hi, I’m Stephen Glenn calling from Reno Nevada. My partner Allison Reed and I are establishing a business and a website called VelocePress. We’ll scan out of print books and reprint these and sell them online via print on demand. We liked your Illustrated Abarth Buyer’s Guide, and wondered if you’d like to see that republished.” [Read more…] about VeloceToday: In the Beginning
And the Winner is…
Watkins Glen, September 15, 1955. Bob Pauley in white hat, no doubt wondering what kind of car this was. Photo by Robert F. Pauley
Going through the Robert F. Pauley collection, we found a car we didn’t quite recognize. On the slide were the words, “Facel Vega” and noted that Bob was in the white hat. The location was also noted as Watkins Glen, 9-17 1955, the shot probably taken by Bob’s brother Phil.
Bob Pauley rarely got his cars wrong. In over one hundred slides taken in the fifties and sixties, no car, no matter how rare or exotic, was misidentified. But on a closer look, though this had the lines of an early Facel Vega, the grille was not right. Nor did it have wire wheels. The badge on the front, although not clear, did not match up with the typical Facel badge. And then there was the crazy “Z” on the side of the badge itself. But it was not a Zagato Z. Finally, there appeared to be a coachbuilder insignia on the side of the body, but totally out of focus. We were stumped. We didn’t even know where to begin to look or for what.
Goldberg’s Tribute to Gordon Barrett
The late Gordon Barrett with the 1914 Grand Prix Sunbeam engine. It was a copy of the 1913 DOHC Peugeot Grand Prix engine that revolutionized the racing engine.
Story and photos by Geoffrey Goldberg
From the VeloceToday Archives, April 2025
A good friend and a great car guy passed away in September 2020. There was little notice, but he was well known to a number of people as a very special person. The following is a memorial story about Gordon Barrett, one that was written back in 2021 but got sidetracked, and is now being published. May Gordon, and other good folks like him, not be forgotten.
Gordon and I first met in 1990. I had driven a Jaguar E type to the races at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and was busy retorquing the head on its fresh motor.
Shuttleworth in the Air
A formation display made up of a DH88 Comet Racer, a Spitfire Vc, and the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Spitfire XI.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
The Shuttleworth flying display was scheduled to start at 2 pm but the tail end of storm Amy was still causing problems, with a very stiff breeze blowing across the Old Warden Aerodrome. Intermingled with the occasional stronger gust, it looked likely that many of the aircraft scheduled to display would not be able to get airborne, but soon the flying display commenced with a mock air race with the collections Polikarkov Po 2, Blackburn B2 and Parnall Elf.