This afternoon we spent some time at Nino & Paulo Epifani restoration shop in Berkeley California - as has been the case at the vast majority of the higher quality resto shops we’ve been at, this one was exceptionally clean, neat, well organized and filled with amazingly beautiful cars. What I wasn’t expecting was the three generations of Epifani’s around the place and the utter lack of any American Chopper aesthetic. This place was quiet and peaceful.

Hanging around the Epifani shop really got me thinking about what has become a new personal fantasy - my own personal restoration project. Obviously it will never be at their level or the level of cars that they work on, but I believe it would be both fun and perhaps relaxing. So all day I’ve been ruminating over what might be a fun future project to undertake. Unlike some of the classic car collectors that frequent Pebble Beach, I’ve got no theme to work from (Only Zagato bodies or Lampredi engines, etc…) so I sort of feel this strange freedom in the choice. Granted this is all hypothetical, but it’s fun to think about…

When I started thinking about what might be a fun restoration project, I was thinking of an old BMW R69S simply because a) I think a bike would be both relatively simple to work on, b) takes up less space and c) because the R69S has a great shape to my eye. But after hanging around all these cars I find myself thinking more seriously about cars instead of bikes. So now I’m thinking about perhaps kit cars (Shelby Cobra perhaps?)…

Of course I have no real idea about what I’m talking about, so I’m thinking that a list of fantasy requirements might be a good idea… So here’s the first draft of this hypothetical exercise from this afternoon;

a) no fuel injection - I want to play with the engine
b) simple electrical components - I don’t want to be running wires all over hell
c) something sporty - not 70s muscle
d) large horsepower that actually gets to the ground
e) fast when finished
f) perhaps a convertable
g) easy to reach all bolts, brackets, and mounting points for various pieces
h) manual transmission
i) 8, 10, or 12 cylinders
j) relatively light weight
k) nothing that’s 1 of 1 or 1 of 1 million - somewhere inbetween

So that’s my ramble for tonight…