by Mike –
Have you ever missed something after it is gone? We all have at some point.
I have had sellers remorse for several cars over the years and it has hit me again with the recent sale of our Iso Grifo.
The new owner, Ivan Ruiz, will take good care of this Grifo as he does all of his cars. I can see from the questions he asks that he is going to make it even better. I like that.
These are my last photos right before the transporters arrived.
The Iso Grifo is the epitome of automobile beauty. It goes like a bat out of hell, sounds like a fast car should sound and is as reliable as a brick.
Below is a short video of the Iso Grifo leaving, narrated by my wife. “Goodbye my beauty she says”. It is being picked up in the same place where it was dropped off three and a half years ago.
Below is a longer video of the Iso Grifo arriving and my first drive.
Mike, I think that if you are even a tiny wee bit interested in cars, there will always be cars in your life that you wish you still had. I have several. 1968 BMW 1602 which was my first real love affair with European cars in general and with BMW in particular. Oddly, or perhaps not really, a 1984 Audi 5000S comes to recollection as the car I should have enjoyed much longer than 6 months I owned it for. Scare tactics by the mechanic and a decent offer by the buyer led me to cut it loose – I guess I was just too young at the time for such a wonderful car. I still remember the 2 tone cream and brown leather, orange glow of the dash and the overall quality of the interior. It was almost like getting into a cockpit of a plane )). That was back in early nineties… Most recent one would have to be my 2001 Jaguar XJR. Perhaps one of the better European saloons out there for the money. A real beast inside yet a beautiful looker. Anyway, got to go before I short out my screen with tears :..)
P.s. I am very grateful though for having had the opportunity to own and drive these and other wonderful and not so wonderful cars…
Mike, ultra-cool scrapbook video! I’ve never seen anything like that before–love the software!
Hey, if I ever decide to sell my Grifo (it’ll be 25 years that I’ve owned it next month), you’ll be the first to know.
Darren
Hi Mike, Im from Mexico City and my english is not good sometimes, so forgive me. Your love to the Isos, Grifos, Rivoltas, Bizzarrinis, Etc. is so great and powerful that I can’t imagine how you could sell your three & half son Iso. Sometimes we have to do erratic things like I did the last year, I sold my two sons; My Datsun 240/280 Z and my 1954 Arnolt MG prepared for the Carrera Panamericana Race. My 66 yrs. in this world have showed me the love for cars, any type of them, but both of them broke my heart. I pray that the sale is not your case. I hope you’ll find a good replacement for your loss.
I don’t know your size, I can imagine you are tall, but if you can take photos near the ground, I’ll aperciate. They are good, but we only see the roof and sometimes part of the wheels. Thanks for everything. Jaime Rivas.
Jaime Rivas- please email me about your Arnolt MG. Email is jagsandmgs@gmail.com