Rob's mom and dad owned a 1954 Austin Healey, which they drove for a few years, and then stored in the garage. For those of you (like me) who aren't car aficionados think British sportscar and James Bond. But since the Healey hasn't been driven in many years, it needs an overhaul and restoration. Rob found a fellow in Ontario who lovingly restores this type of car, so all we need to do is get it out there...but it doesn't run, so what do you do????
Thank goodness for the Internet. Rob googled car transport companies, and believe it or not, there are custom trucking firms that have enclosed semis that transport cars all over the country. So he called, and one happened to be coming through Regina on Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. We prepped the car the night before (air in the tires, car off the blocks, checking to see it rolls, because we have to push the car onto the truck) until midnight.
Then lo and behold, here's what appeared on our quiet little street early Saturday morning:
And here is the Austin Healey, all ready to go:
The truck driver was Len and he was amazing. He's 63 years old, been a long distance trucker all his life, and a car transporter for the last three. He's been all over North America, taking cars from one coast to another. He also transports fancy (and very expensive) sports cars from their rich owners to car shows, or from transport ships to dealerships. Len told us about Ferrari's, Lamborghini's (he calls them Lambos), Porsche, etc. He had a load once worth $5 million. On this load, he had a $220,000 Porsche--the Healey was riding in good company. Len even let us climb up and look at it! He had amazing stories and entertained us for two hours as he loaded the car. The car, since it is so narrow, stumped Len for awhile as he tried to make it fit in the tracks and strap it down--can't have the Healey bouncing around, taking out the Porsche or T-bird that it was riding with!
The truck has a lift at the back, and can stack two cars high, and three cars long.
Here's a peek at the Porsche. I tried to trade the Healey for the Porsche, and I think Len was tempted!
Finally we had the Austin Healey all snug and secure, so we bid farewell to Len and wished him safe travels. We just heard on Tuesday that the Healey arrived in Ontario, and now it will get some TLC. We should see it back at the end of summer....hmmm...will we have Monster Garage ready?
