Post by Mike B on Mar 11, 2009 2:40:42 GMT -4
He loves Morgans, and Geos, too
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
March 7, 2009
NASHVILLE — Don’t be fooled by all of those scrappy Geo Trackers parked in Fred Sisson’s driveway.
He calls them necessary, and perfect, for maneuvering Brown County’s muddy and rutted gravel roads.
But his true automotive love is hidden inside his giant garage.
There resides a fast and shiny handmade British Morgan F-Type sports roadster, circa 1938, with a Ford V-8 engine.
The F-Type is a rare three-wheeled car — two wheels up front, one in back. The Morgan Motor Co. has been manufacturing the luxury cars on Pickersleigh Road in Malvern Link, Worcestershire, for 100 years.
Sisson, and a friend who owns a 1951 Morgan F-Type type, are shipping their cars over to England. The men will join them in July for Morgan’s big 100th anniversary celebration. He intends to do a lot of driving while there, touring the English countryside.
With the top down. “No one puts the top up on a Morgan,” he declared.
“We are going over, and expect to have a jolly good time,” Sisson said. “There will be 1,200 cars converged on this little town the size of Bedford.”
Morgan is the oldest family-owned car company in the world and it still is in business. “They are all handmade by 117 employees there in Malvern Link,” Sisson said. “It’s the last car in the world still coach built, with a wooden frame with steel over it, just like they used to make cars.”
The three-wheeled F-Type was popular in England for decades because of high luxury taxes placed on cars. It was officially a motorcycle in Europe, and was licensed that way.
Sisson not only drives his Morgan, he’s been competing since 1985 in vintage races around the country. His top speed: 107 on the straight stretch during the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. He’s got two races scheduled in the Midwest this summer and one in the fall.
He has taken apart and reassembled several Morgans, learning so much in the process that he published a repair manual now available in 17 countries. His 1938 was dug out of a crawlspace in pieces; there wasn’t much left. He remade and replaced everything.
The blue roadster, which has a polished aluminum hood, currently is missing its’ side panels, which are at a body shop in Columbus being painted oxblood red. “It sits real low,” he said, describing his car. “You could drive it right under a semi truck and come out the other side.”
Courtesy photo - Fred Sisson works on his 1938 Morgan F-Type three-wheel roadster.
When I drove out to Sisson’s log house near Nashville to retrieve some photos of his car, he and his wife Ronnie were not home. I was tempted to peek inside the garage and approached the door, thinking it might be unlocked. A hand-written sign stopped me cold in my tracks: “Open Door Slowly — Look For Falling Snakes.”
I grabbed the pictures and fled.
Sisson has been a collector of vehicles much of his life, and his tastes have changed through the years — Saabs, Porsches, Morgans and, yes, Geos, which he became interested in about six years ago.
He’s owned hot air balloons, too, if you count them as a mode of transportation.
And what about those Geo Trackers? He defends them, says you can’t have too many.
“They are one of the neatest little Brown County cars going,” he said. “Cheap, 4-wheel-drive, easy to start, a tin box that goes anywhere. If you get stuck in the mud out in the woods, you can just lift it up and out if you want.”
Sisson claims he isn’t the only one with multiple Geos in the driveway.
“I had a friend here this morning and he has two very expensive Audis. And four Geos.”
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
March 7, 2009
NASHVILLE — Don’t be fooled by all of those scrappy Geo Trackers parked in Fred Sisson’s driveway.
He calls them necessary, and perfect, for maneuvering Brown County’s muddy and rutted gravel roads.
But his true automotive love is hidden inside his giant garage.
There resides a fast and shiny handmade British Morgan F-Type sports roadster, circa 1938, with a Ford V-8 engine.
The F-Type is a rare three-wheeled car — two wheels up front, one in back. The Morgan Motor Co. has been manufacturing the luxury cars on Pickersleigh Road in Malvern Link, Worcestershire, for 100 years.
Sisson, and a friend who owns a 1951 Morgan F-Type type, are shipping their cars over to England. The men will join them in July for Morgan’s big 100th anniversary celebration. He intends to do a lot of driving while there, touring the English countryside.
With the top down. “No one puts the top up on a Morgan,” he declared.
“We are going over, and expect to have a jolly good time,” Sisson said. “There will be 1,200 cars converged on this little town the size of Bedford.”
Morgan is the oldest family-owned car company in the world and it still is in business. “They are all handmade by 117 employees there in Malvern Link,” Sisson said. “It’s the last car in the world still coach built, with a wooden frame with steel over it, just like they used to make cars.”
The three-wheeled F-Type was popular in England for decades because of high luxury taxes placed on cars. It was officially a motorcycle in Europe, and was licensed that way.
Sisson not only drives his Morgan, he’s been competing since 1985 in vintage races around the country. His top speed: 107 on the straight stretch during the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. He’s got two races scheduled in the Midwest this summer and one in the fall.
He has taken apart and reassembled several Morgans, learning so much in the process that he published a repair manual now available in 17 countries. His 1938 was dug out of a crawlspace in pieces; there wasn’t much left. He remade and replaced everything.
The blue roadster, which has a polished aluminum hood, currently is missing its’ side panels, which are at a body shop in Columbus being painted oxblood red. “It sits real low,” he said, describing his car. “You could drive it right under a semi truck and come out the other side.”
Courtesy photo - Fred Sisson works on his 1938 Morgan F-Type three-wheel roadster.
When I drove out to Sisson’s log house near Nashville to retrieve some photos of his car, he and his wife Ronnie were not home. I was tempted to peek inside the garage and approached the door, thinking it might be unlocked. A hand-written sign stopped me cold in my tracks: “Open Door Slowly — Look For Falling Snakes.”
I grabbed the pictures and fled.
Sisson has been a collector of vehicles much of his life, and his tastes have changed through the years — Saabs, Porsches, Morgans and, yes, Geos, which he became interested in about six years ago.
He’s owned hot air balloons, too, if you count them as a mode of transportation.
And what about those Geo Trackers? He defends them, says you can’t have too many.
“They are one of the neatest little Brown County cars going,” he said. “Cheap, 4-wheel-drive, easy to start, a tin box that goes anywhere. If you get stuck in the mud out in the woods, you can just lift it up and out if you want.”
Sisson claims he isn’t the only one with multiple Geos in the driveway.
“I had a friend here this morning and he has two very expensive Audis. And four Geos.”
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.