Jay Leno’s Garage is keeping busy with its Brough Superior, steam car, and Sprite
Great ready for some motivation to get back to work on your winter project car, as Jay Leno’s garage has a new installment of their Restoration Blog. This series highlights items needed to keep the vehicles in Jay’s collection in top form, or shows details into how vehicles are restored back to their former glory.
This episode starts strong, as Jay’s Brough Superior motorcycle sidecar—which was supposedly 100 percent restored—apparently needed a reality check in the quality of the previous restoration. The Brough’s frame needed a new section of tubing, repairing a patch crafted (as it were) from chunks of metal and finished with JB weld. Apparently this “fix” ensured the frame cracked while under load, so Jay’s crew made a proper repair.
Jay’s 1910 White Steam car is getting a new steam engine, fully reconditioned with new parts, and when complete it will be featured in a future video. The Lotus roadster that Jay profiled previously is switching from a sequential gearbox to a more conventional five-speed manual, while his 1959 Austin-Healey Sprite is getting a mild restoration to make it fully functional but keep it as original as possible.
This episode covers far more vehicles and components than we could (should?) cover in this article, as what makes this show so special is the fact it preserves the in-depth analysis of the tasks involved and the parts needed for upkeep on Jay’s collection. Watching Jay’s Restoration Blog takes you deep into a world many of us cannot experience, with the facilities, industry connections and the wherewithal to keep antique vehicles running and not collecting dust. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to ensure the cars are also beautiful to behold, as craftsmanship and attention to detail is present in all of Jay’s builds.
Make no mistake about it, none of the vehicles in Jay’s collection were engineered to last as long as they have, a problem made worse by many manufacturers going out of business over time. What truly exacerbates the situation is that the talented people who developed these machines behind the manufacturers’ corporate curtain are as difficult to track down as rare parts. With that in mind, it truly takes passion, determination, and someone with the deep industry connections of Jay Leno to keep these classics from turning into static museum pieces. With that in mind, watch the Restoration Blog and feel like a part of a very important process: Preserving history and driving it for future generations to enjoy.
