The Collector

If you are a car enthusiast, then you already know California is the place to be There are probably more collector cars, supercars and every other kind of motor vehicle in California than any other place in the world Almost every rare or unusual machine I own I found within 50 miles of Los Angeles – including a ten-ton 1906 Advance steam tractor

The biggest attraction is the weather I’m from New England, and there, if you had a collector car you took it off the road in October, put it up on blocks and retrieved it in spring If you were lucky, you had a garage I did not, and I was stunned by what the elements had done to my 1954 Hudson Hornet. I parked it behind my parents’ house, covered itwithatarp,andleftitwhenIwent off to college in the fall When I returned in spring it was as if I had been gone for decades

In LA, they have summer and winter vehicles The difference between the seasons is maybe 15ºC Anycarwitharoofisawinter car; anything open is a summer car I really enjoy the big American classics from the ’20s and ’30s –Duesenbergs, Packards, PierceArrows and so on – but these vehicles, with their enormous cast-iron engines, can be hard to enjoy in blistering summer heat. Early cars did not have pressurised cooling systems, so tended to overheat The bonnet on the Duesenberg in the summer gets so hot you can’t even touch the handle to open the engine compartment. On a chilly day in California, driving a V12 Packard or a 7.0-litre Duesy with the windows rolled up and feeling the engine heat coming off those massive blocks is one of life’s simple pleasures.

I have a motorcycle called the Scott Flying Squirrel. It’s a water-cooled British two-stroke, built in 1927 with a beautiful copper radiator right underneath the gas tank. There’s no water pump. It works on the thermal syphoning principle, employing the motor’s natural convection and conduction. Hot water is less dense than cold water and thus more buoyant, powering a current through the system without a mechanical pump.

Because there’s no fan, you have to keep moving to keep the air flowing. On a crisp winter’s day, the perfect balance of engine heat and ambient temperature makes forawonderfulridingexperience.Restingaglovedhand on top of the radiator transfers just enough heat to keep your fingers nimble. It’s too much for summer.

My 1913 Mercer Raceabout – two seats, no roof, no doorsandawindscreenforthedriveronly–isafantastic summer car It has a 4.8-litre T-head four-cylinder engine, about 55 horsepower, with a four-speed nonsynchromesh transmission It is capable of 70mph-plus The Corvette is often called America’s first sports car, but I believe that title truly belongs to the Mercer You’re isolated from the engine heat by the dashboard and the firewall Youalsohaveanexhaustcut-outthatallowsyou todumpheatwellforwardofthepassengercompartment

The winter car that may surprise many is the Bugatti The Type 37A and 35B are racing cars, so creature comforts are at a minimum Your feet are always touching something hot. In the winter it’s tolerable. In the summer, not so much. Another great summer car is the Tatra T87. Americans think such a big deal about the Tucker, but the Tatra was there first by almost a decade. The reason it’s such a good summer car is that the engine is aircooled and rear-mounted. It’s a 3.0-litre V8 with a magnesium blockandoverheadcams.Thenyou have a firewall and the luggage compartment and then another firewall and then the rear seats. The driver and passengers are isolated from engine heat and noise. Plus, you have a giant sunroof.

The best winter car I own has to be what I call the Tank Car. Built around a Korean War-era 1790ci aircooled hemi tank engine, this is one of the building blocks in the design of the famous hemi engine of the muscle-car era. In stock form, it puts out around 810 horsepower and some crazy amount of torque.

This engine was meant to push an 80-ton tank but was put in a hot rod sleigh with a wheelbase of 190 inches, which wound up weighing five tons. We added Bosch fuel injection and twin turbochargers plus an Allison transmission. There are also two massive cooling fans in the valley of this enormous V12 engine. Thanks to my friend and famed hot rod builder and racer Gale Banks, horsepower is up to 1600.

Imagine a hairdryer powered by a 1600-horsepower engine. That’s what it’s like to drive this ridiculous automobile. Even on the coldest day you are out in short sleeves and still sweating. Whenever Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to my garage this is his favourite car because he thinks it looks like the Terminator.

Would I leave California? Not a chance!

He is also a true petrolhead, with a huge collection of cars and bikes (jaylenosgarage com)

Jay was speaking with Jeremy Hart