James Bond Museum closed and sold

[Lee Mannering]

Nice read above.

More pictures from the museum in 2010

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

There is a non-profit organization here in the USA, The Ian Fleming Foundation that has a large collection of James Bond film used vehicles (cars/boats/etc). Back in 2008, they acquired one of the three Mercury Cougars that were used in On Her Majesty's Secret Service from a car collector in Sweden/Denmark (I forget which). They had the film's production sheet that listed the cars VIN numbers to verify that the car was legitimate. The man who owned it was aware that the car was used in the movie but he had no interest in that aspect of it, he was only a car collector.

The Ian Fleming Foundation had the car shipped to the USA. When it arrived in Newark New Jersey, a friend of mine who was friends with one of the foundations board of directors, went down to Newark NJ and had it flat bedded back to his house, where it sat for a few days while waiting for the foundation to send a truck to bring it transported to someplace near Chicago where it was going to be restored. While it sat here in NJ, we all got a chance to play with it. The pictures below are me sitting behind the wheel.

You can see the restored car on the Ian Fleming Foundations website by clicking HERE. If you click on "Inventory" on the top of the page, you can see what they have film by film.

Many of the foundation's vehicles were loaned to the Bond In Motion exhibit in London. I guess they are coming home now.

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

A Bond In Motion exhibit is opening in Los Angeles later this month.

Bond In Motion Los Angeles

[Steve Klare]

I almost bought a white Cougar convertible like that one: 390V8 and all. The only thing that stopped me is it was circling the drain in every last respect!

Still: It's always the ones that got away!

(Let me tell you about the women I almost dated!)

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

Steve, let me tell you about the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk that I almost bought for $250 back in 1974. That is my "one that got away".

I did for many years, from the mid 1970's to the early 1980's own a 1971 Mustang Mach 1. I clearly remember that when I first saw Diamonds Are Forever, when Bond got the car up on 2 wheels, thinking if I tried that with my car, the wheels would probably snap off. I loved the car, but great engineering and manufacturing it was not.

[Graham Ritchie]

The highlight for any James Bond film for me was the opening titles. Scottish girl Sheena Easton was the only girl to ever appear in a James Bond film during the opening on screen credits, with this outstanding "hit" number from the film "For Your Eyes Only"

I understand she came down from Glasgow on the train and did the whole thing in just one day .

For me Bond films means stunts, lots of them, and good music. .

and you cant get better that this...

[Lee Mannering]

So true!

Also in the BRITISH MUSEUM

I'm just glad we went back more than once it was fun