Ever heard of a Talbot-Darracq? Story here.
Left: A family photo from 1937 of Malcolm Stern sitting on his father's Talbot-Darracq as a child. Right: Malcolm Stern sitting on the running board of the same car in 2023. (Family photo)
...Malcolm, now 94, recalled riding through London in the Talbot-Darracq during the 1930s with his father, Alec Stern. Years later, the Second World War broke out, and the British government evacuated the city's children to the countryside. [His son] Jonathan recalled Malcolm describing how he'd looked out the bus window and seen a familiar flash of yellow: Alec was driving behind the bus, following them to their new home...
...Malcolm, a mechanical engineer who'd served in the British Army's engineer corps, was up to it, Jonathan said. But he was around the same age as the car. ..
But he rebuilt much of the Talbot-Darracq himself, Jonathan said, even using his 3D printer to fashion replacement parts.
"He's always been this, 'I can design it. I can build it. I can get it done,' kind of incredibly resourceful guy," Jonathan said. " … He's probably put in 1,000 hours of work."..
Last week, three years after purchasing the Talbot-Darracq, Malcolm and Jonathan took it on its first drive. The nonagenarian car creaked and groaned, and Jonathan struggled with its ancient gearbox and lack of power steering, but it rumbled for 15 miles to a local pub.
"The two of us, I think our faces hurt from smiling so much," Jonathan said.
They drove to the pub to join a gathering of vintage car enthusiasts from a club that Malcolm had joined as he worked on the Talbot-Darracq. The other motorheads gathered in awe and took photos as Malcolm showed off his work.
"He was the star of the show," Jonathan said. "Ninety-four years old, driving around this great big yellow car."
Left: A family photo from 1937 of Malcolm Stern sitting on his father's Talbot-Darracq as a child. Right: Malcolm Stern sitting on the running board of the same car in 2023. (Family photo)
...Malcolm, now 94, recalled riding through London in the Talbot-Darracq during the 1930s with his father, Alec Stern. Years later, the Second World War broke out, and the British government evacuated the city's children to the countryside. [His son] Jonathan recalled Malcolm describing how he'd looked out the bus window and seen a familiar flash of yellow: Alec was driving behind the bus, following them to their new home...
...Malcolm, a mechanical engineer who'd served in the British Army's engineer corps, was up to it, Jonathan said. But he was around the same age as the car. ..
But he rebuilt much of the Talbot-Darracq himself, Jonathan said, even using his 3D printer to fashion replacement parts.
"He's always been this, 'I can design it. I can build it. I can get it done,' kind of incredibly resourceful guy," Jonathan said. " … He's probably put in 1,000 hours of work."..
Last week, three years after purchasing the Talbot-Darracq, Malcolm and Jonathan took it on its first drive. The nonagenarian car creaked and groaned, and Jonathan struggled with its ancient gearbox and lack of power steering, but it rumbled for 15 miles to a local pub.
"The two of us, I think our faces hurt from smiling so much," Jonathan said.
They drove to the pub to join a gathering of vintage car enthusiasts from a club that Malcolm had joined as he worked on the Talbot-Darracq. The other motorheads gathered in awe and took photos as Malcolm showed off his work.
"He was the star of the show," Jonathan said. "Ninety-four years old, driving around this great big yellow car."
