EUROPE BY LOWRIDER

or England, France, Germany and Lilliput
on only $874 per day

Words and photos by Terry Cook.

Deep inside we all harbor a fantasy. For some it's on a golf course or race track; for others it's bagging an elk or a sailfish; or a winning streak at Vegas or Wall Street. It may even require a Jacuzzi, 5,000 gallons of Mazola and a Brownie troupe.

For years I dreamed of shipping one of my old cars to Europe for weeks of bumping around England and the continent, visiting car museums during the week and car events on weekends. It took three years to bring to fruition. It was worth the wait.

My automotive passions are twofold. Both focus on styling. Foremost are cars from the Paris coach building salons of the late 1930's (Joseph Figoni and Ovidio Falaschi, Jacques Saoutchik, Franay, etc.) Hence my craving to visit car museums.

Owning a Bugatti is not in my budget, so my other passion is American customs. I've always been a different drummer, a 24-volt guy in a 12-volt world. Many car devotees are way too serious. Some abhor taking their toys out in the rain. I feel collector cars should be fun, often designed with tongue in cheek. It was a prerequisite that the car involved in this junket had to be outrageous and, if possible, ridiculous. The tackier and wackier the better.

In high school in 1957 I'd sketch my ultimate dream leadsled, a '56 Lincoln with extended fenders and hooded headlights. Forty years later I purchased a mild custom 1956 Lincoln Premier two-door hardtop in Alabama. Then I added a continental kit and other modifications. We lopped the rear quarters off a boneyard Lincoln and grafted them on, extending the fenders 18 inches.

I also love lowriders. Any car, truck, or bus looks better when lowered. Chop it 'n drop it. The lower the better. Not a hopper, thank you, a pancake. I chose airbags over hydraulics because they provide superior ride. They're the current rodding rage. The setup is from Air Ride Technologies of Jasper, Ind., the industry leader in hot rod airbag R&D. We can drop the car to the ground when parked for "the right look," but touch a switch to bring it to normal ride height in a minute.

Seventeen years ago I started a fictitious club (no meetings, no dues; just a state of mind) called The Manhattan Lowriders. The only thing that makes less sense than a lowrider in Manhattan is taking one to Europe. Our motto is "Too much is better than not enough!" The car is "longer, lower, wider" stretched to wretched excess…automobiles as art…practicality be damned.

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