Last week the star aligned and a business trip had me near Midland, Texas on the afternoon that Jim Hall was scheduled to take the Chaparral 2E out for some exercise at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. It pays to get on the email alert list!
Before the event, I drove out to the Chaparral Cars compound south of town.
I got to the museum in time to walk through the Chaparral wing where the other cars are kept, then go to the garage where the 2E was ready.
Museum staff, the mechanics, and enthusiasts were chatting and taking photos when Jim Hall drove up. He was very friendly and accommodating, standing for quite a few photos with whoever asked. He mingled, talked with everyone, answered questions, and told good stories in a very informal atmosphere. I enjoyed his story of testing Corvair stability for Chevrolet.
He said that the 2E was his favorite, because it was predictable. They did have reliability issues with it – apparently bumps caused more stress on the wing supports than they anticipated, among other things. It was good to get up close to a car like that without a proximity alarm going off.
Unfortunately, rain moved in and got the museum road too wet to risk the car. Hall asked if the 2E had rain tires fitted – and it did! I suggested firing up the 2J “sucker car” so somehow dry off the road, even volunteering to drive. They declined. Eventually, the drive was moved to the next day, when I couldn’t be there. Shoot.
Oh, yeah, they had a neat pit bike, too, complete with light-up eyes and an air-powered snot slinger.
If you're anywhere near Midland, check out the museum.
