Good to see you back Sled. Update this thread once in a while when you find something cool. There is tons of cool stuff down there if you can find it
Hey fellas ,haven't been posting here for so long ,just busy on many levels but this last find deserves to be shared Mexico proves to be really unique in some ways and finding a rare 1936 Airstream Clipper was really the last thing I could imagine to get Anyway ,it's a miracle that this thing is still alive ,but I have it rescued and it's mine currently ..it has a great story behind as well ,stay tuned
Hi Sled.Nice to see ya back.Please keep the updates coming as you are able.Neat old Airstream. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
I'm still trying to study lots of details on this rare thing .. The chassis is tubular and made of steel tube of aircraft specs ,plus there is still an inspection sticker still on wich proves the high end construction ,very interesting Airstream slogan for the Clipper was an aircraft without wings ,its 19" long and kinda light As some of you probably that it was made after a 1935 Bowlus went bankrupt and Wally Byam bought the plans and some of the skilled Bowlus man to keep going with his vision Note in one pic it has been painted Circo Mundial ( World Circus ) wich still exists in Spain The grandfather of the seller was workin back in the day for this circus and touring for long time with the,,as far i've been told ... But some other intesting info came up from somebody from the Airstream family recently and it could be the same Clipper special custom ordered and sold brand new to former Mexican president Lazaro Cardenas in 1936 . Only wealthy clientele could get such model ,never been build for the general public . Of course I cannot prove it yet but I'm workin on it Estimate is that there are 15/20 Clippers still around ,never been many since new anyway
All the uplodead pics plus the rescue history are on Facebook A page has been created recently ,check : El Circo Clipper ,1936 Airstream Have fun
Just found this thread. So cool! Some awesome stuff down there. I might have missed it, I haven't read all 76 pages yet, but @sled how did you get started doing this? Buying and selling in Mexico I mean? Just show up with a pile of cash and go to town?
Hey rijones35 ,it's a long story but being Italian by birth I notice on a very early age that we almost never had american cars there. So,I got bored and wanted to live in certain places where I can find my beloved Mercurys to and a more adventurous lifestyle Not much money was needed ,just determination and persistence and a lot of hard work made the Mexican adventure practically a lifestyle .. Im arrived in Mexico randomly in December 2004 for a week and realized immediately that there were a ton of old american cars just sitting in the streets .. In the next coming years I started to be in Mexico more and more often and dedicating full time to rescue old cars ,mostly but also some motorbikes ,jukeboxes and certain antiques Im still here and being close to the US is kinda practical to go to shows,swap meets and pickin sometimes as well... Just can't get enuff of it ,have a great satisfaction doing it
From the pictures and what you've described, you are finding all kinds of rare, or at least hard to find cars, and special made cars, like the pan American ones! I can't imagine. So cool!!
Tryin to rescue as much I can ,yes ..I can't get enuff of it Of course after many years of pickin I'm more selective but still I'm limited on what arrived down here from the States ,I lack many things but some rare stuff come up for sure For example big blocks cars were never imported in Mexico officially ,so the few ones around were privately imported
Hi Sled.Good to see ya posting again.Please keep us updated as you are able.Hope you make it through the bad weather forecast ok,along with all your friends. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
I'm ok,last night was shaking hard here downtown Mexico City ,8.4 Richter but luckily very little damage at list here in town,could be a lot worse Actually was the highest scale earthquake ever but being oscillating only reduced the effect We are prepared for replicas today ,fingers crossed
A little update .a friend told me about this early 60s 21w bus so went to see it right away and what caught my attention how rust free it was wich is very uncommon So,it has to have been stored in a dry place for long time Original ragtop and all stamped Temperit window glasses still on Seller didn't had the two VIN plates at hand ,they were off the car and i told him I need to see them to prove the papers .He was probably in the middle of buyin it and did not paid in full so no papers in his hand yet I didn't wanted to risk and I waited his answer but he sold it quickly locally to somebody else ,oh well
They're making new reproduction of the Bowlus Road Chief... https://www.bowlusroadchief.com/ I wish that I could afford one. Pure work of art.