Columbia Classic Cars

A Day With Jay (Leno, That Is!)

by
Michael J. Fiori
Columbia Classic Cars

When you mention the name "Jay Leno" to most people a smile will come over their face. The comedian turned late night talk show host and heir of the Tonight Show invokes many enthusiastic comments among his fans and devotees of the nightly show. Most collector car enthusiasts think of him in a different manner. To them, Jay is the owner of the "Big Dog Garage" somewhere in Southern California loaded with performance cars, steam cars, Duesenbergs and a whole lot more they would just love to see and drool over. To them, Jay is an avid collector car fanatic, just like themselves, or at least that is what they have heard. Whether you are a fan of his comedy, the Tonight Show, or Jay's infatuation with anything on wheels, all would agree that a day with Jay Leno would be high on the charity ball's auction list if it existed. It would be a "chance in a lifetime" as they say, and certainly a moment to cherish. Well, guess what? I am one of those lucky individuals who have had the experience and I want to share it with you.

For years I wanted to meet and chat with Jay Leno. A couple of years ago I had a chance to spend an evening at an event with Conan O'Brien. I gave him my card to pass on to Leno stating, "Tell him you met this Italian- American guy from New England that is his age and owns a 1947 Packard Custom Super seven passenger." (I figured that would get his attention as Leno often spoke of his same model Packard with affection.) Darn! It didn't work as I did not hear from him. "He must be too busy," I thought, but I did not give up hope. Last summer while talking to one of our good customers back at our restoration shop in Maine, I learned that he knew Jay Leno! In fact, he had helped him on a fire engine project and had visited with Jay several times. After a bit of begging (okay, so I have no pride) he said he would try to arrange a meeting for me to visit his shop when I went to California for the CCCA Annual Meeting. Hooray! So that is how it happened.

I arrived at the Big Dog Garage at 9:00 a.m. as instructed and was greeted by Bob who was available to give me a tour of the facilities. If I tried to describe everything I saw and the stories shared about the cars in his collection, it would fill a newspaper. However, thanks to Jay and his staff, you can make the same visit right on the internet by going to: www.jaylenosgarage.com. This wonderful website pro- vided by Leno is his attempt to share with everyone interested his fabulous collection and the incredibly interesting work they do at the garage. You will find yourself spending hours on this website and going back often to check the updates. Visit it often as it changes nearly daily.

At just a little past 10:00, Bob gets a cell phone call from Jay who is coming to the garage. Bob tells me that Leno will arrive in a few minutes and that he is uncertain as to what Jay's schedule will be for the day. It is clearly his way of telling me not to get my hopes up for a prolonged meeting. There he is just driving in with his black McLaren F1! (number 15 of only 65 street versions built) He backs it into the appropriate place in his garage and pops out of the car dressed in denims with his shirt open and white t-shirt. "He looks like Jay Leno," I think to myself, and by the time I come to my senses, he stops by and says "Hi, Michael, I'll be right with you." I was instantly at ease with just those few words and his easy going mannerisms. A moment later he says to me, "Michael, have you ever had a ride in a Doble Steam Car?" I was wondering how to answer that question without sounding like a beagle that just spied a rabbit when he said, "Let's go" and we headed over to the actual garage where the big impressive Doble sits prominently.

The Big 1925 Doble Series E-18 Steam Car

Jay explains in detail how the Doble operates and shows me its boiler under the hood. Now I begin to appreciate the man for much more than how many might perceive him. He is an articulate historian of his auto-mobiles and as much a "mechanic" of his own cars as anyone I have known. He details the philosophy and mechanical genius of Abner Doble, the car's inventor and refers to him as if he was a friend just down the street! "You know, Abner recognized the problems the Stanleys were having with the time it took to create enough steam pressure." "With the Doble I can get in, and in approximately ninety seconds have enough steam to drive." He further explains that the Doble heats up only about two quarts of water at a time as opposed to the Stanley needing 15 gallons heated. Doble used over 500 feet of coiled piping and just one spark plug, a carburetor, and an electric fan. When you turn the Doble on, the fan blows gasoline over the top of the carburetor that proceeds through a venturi, into a burner ("Abner called it a generator.") that is ignited by the spark plug which creates a 2 million-BTU flame. This intense flame heats up the two quarts of water almost instantly and as it goes out as steam more water continues to flow in.

Jay climbs aboard the big Doble and just like he said, it is ready to go within a couple of minutes. We pull out of the garage onto the street and I remind myself to close my mouth (that has been gaping open for the past several minutes in utter amazement). I am heading down the street somewhere in Los Angeles with Jay Leno in a 1925 Doble Steam car, one of only 43 Dobles ever made and probably one of only 3 known to be in operating condition! Jay tells me that his Murphy bodied Doble Series E18 was owned by a family in the Midwest who obtained the car in the 1950s by trading a shotgun for it! The widow of the owner utilized the knowledge and abilities of a noted Doble historian to get it in running condition and when the widow passed on, Jay obtained the car. Boom, boom, boom..."What's that!", I ask, not wanting to sound too alarmed. He explains that Dobles have a draft booster to blow gas into the generator. This is basically a steam turbine, almost like a supercharger, that is heating the water just as fast as it gets in there. Outside of the periodic boom, boom (which I grew fond of hearing) I cannot hear a thing except a clean whooshhh as the car accelerates. The ride is so smooth and with no vibration or hesitation. The Doble has a unique 4-cylinder compound engine that turns no more than 900 rpm at speeds of 60 or 70 mph. There is direct drive to the rear wheels. Hey, this is a blast! We are cruising effortlessly down the highway in a 5,500 pound luxurious steam car keeping up with traffic and people gawking at us from every angle.

Jay explaining the mechanical genius of Abner Doble to the CCCA crowd.

Somewhere along the route, I look to my left and notice we are just beginning to merge on the highway along the railroad route. And there is a long freight train with its massive diesels just now charging down the railway at high speed. "There's your chance," I say to Jay, "Doble and Diesel, side by side." He accepts the challenge, and for a few moments the Doble and Diesels make an impressive sight on the horizon — the best of man's engineering feats side by side on rail and road. Jay pulls a lever as the route begins to diverge and a long steam whistle blasts from the Doble. What a video clip this would have been! I tell Jay that the CCCA Annual Meet Grand Classic is going on over at the Sheraton Universal. "Really, I didn't know they were meeting," he tells me and he immediately routes us to the event. At the meet judging area people are eager to see Jay and the Doble and those who know me are surprised to see me get out of the car. People who don't know me seem to think I am some celebrity in my own right! Shucks...the celebrity image doesn't last long once a couple of friends discover me. If only I had worn those dark glasses. Meanwhile, there are many questions and Jay fields them all taking his time to talk with the participants and sharing his complete knowledge of the Doble — a rare sight for all to see.

After all, Dobles were not only mechanical marvels, they were expensive automobiles with the chassis alone selling for nearly $10,000 in 1925 and a complete bodied vehicle for as much as $25,000! The Doble spews a little heavy steam oil under the car on to the clean pavement and as we prepare to leave Jay tosses me a rag from the trunk to clean up the mess. Hey, I feel proud that I am learning so quickly the routine obligations of traveling in a steam car. (Learn more about the amazing Doble at www.steamcar.net and www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/automo.Html)

We continued to drive "around town" casually chatting about anything that comes to mind from other automobiles, to our individual upbringings, our folks and families, politics, social issues, career paths, you name it...the conversation flows easily. I am developing a perspective of this man well beyond my original perceptions. As we enter the compound where the garage is located he asks me if I had ever been in a Stanley Steamer. I tell him I had a little better understanding of these cars since I have known owners of Stanleys and also had a chance to meet Raymond Stanley, the son of F.E. Stanley, back in the early 1970s. Besides, the Stanley brothers were from Kingfield, Maine, and being a Mainer allowed me some knowledge on the subject. We park the precious Doble and as I remain standing admiring the car, Jay is already running around the garage readying a 1922 Stanley Steamer sedan for a tour. "Can I help," I ask, as if there was some specific task that I might be capable of performing to ready the car and earn my stripes. Jay motions "Sure, pull that water hose over here so that we can fill the tank." I attempt to perfectly perform this task by not tripping over the hose or turning on the faucet before instructed to do so. Jay is already under the Stanley on his back with a butane torch trying to light the pilot on the car. He tells me it is important to get it very hot and that the gas I witness shooting out of the port needs to vaporize properly. Endeavors utilizing torches and gas make me a bit nervous and Jay jokes that good steam men seldom have hair on their arms or eyebrows! The pilot ignites and every so often I see a flame flare-up under the car but Jay doesn't seem bothered by it. It's my turn now and I am ready. Without a hitch I turn on the faucet. I can now add "Steam Car Technician" to my resume. Ready to go? Not so fast, it will take over twenty minutes to get the Stanley up to 500 psi of steam to get the 2-cylinder engine to respond. "Jump in," he says, and then he says, "Jump out." The Stanley cylinders are stopped at dead center and the car needs a little push to get going. We head out of the garage and down the road to a gas station to fill 'er up. I attempt to pay for the gas at the pump with my credit card and Jay shakes his head amused that I do not know that the station accepts cash only. "You'll have to learn how to pay for gas in California," he says, "Do you have 39 cents?", allowing me an opportunity to pay the change portion of the tab. While I'm fumbling around for change, everybody walks by and says "Hi, Jay!" as if he is just another kid on the block that stopped at the station. He is polite to everyone who speaks to him and waves to all. Filled up, we are now ready to go but the Stanley needs a little push again and I oblige instinctively. "Now you know why I brought you with me," Jay laughs as I jump back in the car. The Stanley heads out into heavy traffic with ease and we are chugging along when a car rolls along the driver's side with people frantically pointing to the underside of the car. They believe that the water rolling out of the Stanley from the steam is a dangerous fuel leak of some sort. Jay rolls down his window and hollers, "It's a steam car, it's a steaammmm carrr..." Not convinced, he sends them a stronger signal with the steam whistle. The car's concerned people now understand, smile and wave, and fade back into the lane. A few minutes later, the episode is repeated with other people believing the antique vehicle is in some sort of jeopardy. Again, the whistle and wave and we continue on . . . at a fairly good clip, I might add. "Hey, Jay, how fast are we going?" I ask. "Take a look at the speedometer in front of you," he says. Jay uses his cars in a way that makes them seamless in modern traffic. He is in nobody's way on the highway. The only difference is that his car is a 1922 Stanley! He tells me that this Stanley was restored in England where "people love steam vehicles." The Stanley is a totally different automobile than the magnificent Doble. Jay offers many facts which distinguished the two cars and the differences which would cause discrimination amongst owners. Fortunately with only 3 or 4 Dobles in existence today that are running versus approximately 600 Stanleys, there are not too many arguments between owners! (Learn a lot more about Stanley Steam Cars at www.stanleysteamers.com and www.stanleymotorcarriage.com)

Jay "Blowing down" his 1922 Stanley Steamer.

Every moment of our conversation is fascinating and fun. "Do you like cibatta rolls?" he asks, "I know a good Italian deli." And so he phones ahead and we head to a deli to pick up fine cold cuts and rolls. Of course everyone at the deli knows Jay and he exchanges pleasantries with everyone on both sides of the counters. The Stanley is patiently and faithfully puffing curbside while we are inside the deli. You get the feeling that the Stanley is just one of Jay's 93 automobiles and over 60 motorcycles he uses daily for routine transportation. Watching the car unattended with people wandering around it made me a bit nervous but not Jay . . . what a guy! As we ready to leave in the Stanley, a pleasant looking woman approaches Jay and hands him a fistful of freshly minted million dollar notes from an evangelical group with a church ad on the back. She smiles and Jay smiles back and hands the stack to me. I tell Jay, "She took a look at the car and is trying to save our souls." He nods in agreement and I sit silent for a moment thinking about that occasional flare up I keep hearing under the car — pop!, spoofff, spoofff!

Back at the garage, he offers lunch to his staff and friends who are there. Everyone seems to be comfortable to just "dig in" so I do the same. The kitchen at the garage is fully stocked with appliances and food. Jay tells me that "Martha Stewart did a program here, at the garage" and I tell him that I will send him some Italian cookbooks that my cousin and I wrote; La Cucina Semplice Del Nord Italia for the kitchen. He jokes that he will give a copy to Martha when she stops by the garage! For a split second I imagine me and Martha doing a program together at the garage but then I see Jay digging in a baker's box in the refrigerator. So here is a little secret I will share with you. Jay loves a nice cake loaded with fresh fruit...and so do I!

After lunch we take the Stanley for a good long ride to visit a bookstore in Los Angeles that he enjoys — it is primarily books on automobiles! Here he recommends to me the commemorative edition of The Stanley Steamer published by the Stanley Museum in Maine. Five minutes into it, I am hooked on steam car history! Hmmm...my thoughts turn to my Packards. "I wonder if they ever attempted to make a Packard steam car ...my collection seems lacking without at least one steam vehicle..." I shake my head and try to come to my senses while I am being lulled by the Stanley's magical repetitive boiler moan and puff puffing. (Hear the addicting sound of a steam car at www.stanleysteamers.com)

Back at the ranch Jay "blows down" the Stanley to make sure the steam oil is cleared from the boiler.

We talk and visit some more and Jay explains a few projects in the garage. I couldn't believe I was in store for more excitement than this, but I was. It is obvious he wants to play with his cars all day and he asks me "which Duesenberg would you like to go out in?" I glance over at his now famous all original 1927 Model X discovered in 2004 that had been in storage since 1947. Model X Duesenbergs are very rare and according to Randy Ema, the country's top Duesenberg authority, only 13 Model X's were built. They fit in between the Duesenberg Model A and the famous Models J and SJ, which were built from 1929 to 1937. Only four known X's survive and here is my chance to take a ride in one! Jay talks about the Model X and recalls the story about finding it. (You can see it on his website.) I am amazed at the beauty of the original interior and the effort that was made to preserve the car. I am absolutely mesmerized by the car and from my vantage point it is akin to having found something as ancient and rare as Tyrannosaurus Rex — alive! Jay snaps me out of my trance, "Let's take the coupe," he says.

The 1933 Duesenberg Walker bodied Aerodynamic Coupe

A few minutes later, we are trying to start his 1933 Walker bodied Aero-Dynamic Duesenberg Coupe. It doesn't want to start and the battery is a bit down (it has not been driven in a month). Jay walks out, and in a moment he is back with a charger and he asks me to hold the cables at the starter terminals. This guy does it all . . . he doesn't ask for any help from his garage crew for anything! The Duesy is flooded but we coax it to start and Jay pulls it outside to warm up. As we head back to the Grand Classic he tells me that he found the Duesenberg converted into a tow truck "but all the parts were there." The car was restored to its original condition in a little over 18 months by renowned expert Randy Ema. Originally owned by the Eli Lilly family (of pharmaceutical fame), it was sold at the height of the depression since it was considered too ostentatious by some members of the Lilly family during a time when many folks found difficulty in making ends meet. Eventually it did meet the fate so many of the big powerful classics did in the 1940s and 1950s — a tow truck! (to learn more about the mighty Duesenbergs see www.classics.com/acdmus.html )

We are on the highway somewhere in Los Angeles and it is easy to forget you are riding in a 1933 Duesenberg. Jay remarks, "You see, you can drive this car anywhere, just like a modern automobile, and keep up with the traffic." It's true. The Duesenberg cruises along smoothly and with plenty of passing power — just interview the people on that highway who said "what's that?" as a glistening blue streak thundered by them! As you might expect, at the Grand Classic the car receives plenty of attention and Jay obliges each and every question with a passion such that one would believe it was the first time he was asked it.

It is getting later in the afternoon and Jay has the show to do in Las Vegas this Saturday evening. Back at the Big Dog Garage, we park the Duesenberg and as I chat with one of the staff I ask for a number to call a cab to take me back to my hotel. Jay overhears my conversation and says, "Oh, no, I'll give you a ride. I've got plenty of time." Moments later we are heading to my hotel in his beautiful black 2006 Corvette.

The end of a perfect day, with Jay!
(left) Michael J. Fiori and (right) Jay Leno, with the 1933 Duesy in the background

People ask me now, "Exactly what type of guy is Jay Leno? Is he as funny in person?" and a whole lot of other questions. This I can tell you. In my opinion, Jay is everything that is good about a person who came from middle class America and became a huge success. He is intelligent and articulate and enjoys talking about the big issues facing all people, our country, and the rest of the world. He is sincerely kind and accepting of all points of view and found something positive to say about every person whose name came up in our conversation (especially if it was about somebody he had interviewed!) And, yes, he is naturally a fun guy to be with, and no, his chin is not as prominent as he jokes about! Without question he is a superb historian and person with tremendous mechanical ability for the vehicles he loves. It is easy to figure out what Jay Leno will be doing in retirement after he leaves the Tonight Show in 2009. I will be the first to fill out an application to work at the garage – without pay and in any menial capacity – just to be around such a great team. "Thanks, Jay. It was truly a memorable day spent with you!"