A Pair of Colts…

I’ve been off on another secret mission, folks, and this one was in Charlotte, North Carolina.   Lots of time in an airplane again, lots of thunderstorms, and boy oh boy, is the economy ever booming down there.   Good times.   But I’m back, and one of my first things after I returned was to swing by the plant and grab some photos….and the focus was on a couple of stunning Mustangs.   Steve has two original (and fully restored) Mustangs in his collection…and like the title of this blog says, they are a pair of Colts.  The first is an original 1947 Colt, the very first Mustang model…

With 10-inch wheels, a 125cc 2-stroke Villiers, and classy looks, that first Mustang model was tiny.  Villiers cut off the supply of engines after only a little more than a year of Mustang production.   That was a good thing…it mandated a complete redesign that led to the incorporation of 12-inch wheels and the Mustang format we know today.   It’s the one our CSC motorcycles are patterned after today, and it’s a classic look.

Back in the day, though, Mustang wanted to get back to a value-engineered version of their Mustang, which led to the introduction of a new model Colt in 1956…

Value-engineered to include undamped Earles-style forks and a centrifugal clutch rather than a transmission, I think the new Colt looked great.   The public didn’t agree, and word has it that the Mustang factory didn’t like it, either.   The new Colt had lots of problems and it was discontinued in 1957 after a short 2-year production run.   The colors were great, though, and Steve’s ’57 Colt really glows (as the photo above shows).

So, with today’s blog title (“A Pair of Colts…”), you probably thought this blog was going to be about six-shooters of the Old West.

Nope, not today, folks, although firearms are still playing a prominent role in my life.   We had our informal Mosin-Nagant match yesterday and it was a hoot. The Mosin-Nagants are those vintage Russian rifles I’ve written about before.   I’ll post some photos of the match later, but let me mention now that it was a blast.

My Old West thoughts have been on the passing of one of my all-time favorite actors, James Garner.   I’d say I liked him, but that would be obvious…everyone did.

We first were introduced to Mr. Garner in his role on the Maverick television series.   I never missed that show…a riverboat and western gambler making his way through life playing cards and talking smooth…my kind of guy.   In fact, as I write this, I can hear the music from that show playing in my mind.   It was a classic.   Then there were many more roles, including the ones Mr. Garner played in The Great Escape, The Rockford Files, and many, many more.   Rest in Peace, Jim.

That’s it for now, folks.   I’ll be swinging by the plant later today for more photos after having an absolutely dynamite weekend.   Our friend Pauly was down here and we sure had a lot of fun…but more on that later.  Ride safe and keep the shiny side up!