Monday, February 28, 2011

Brilliant, immediate unstoppable traction in mud, also known as good horse sense, and farmer magic

Now this, in my opinion, is effing brilliant. It really no-shit works, and like nothing else possibly could to add traction that can't be stopped.

From http://thereifixedit.failblog.org

The website of "Stupid things people do to fix stuff" ThereiFixedit.failblog.com



Found in the first car of some young highschooler I bet... old cars didn't have cup holders I'm thinking... I never had anything made from 1973 to 1989, so I don't know. They aren't in my zone of interest.

I'm betting someone ends up in the emergency room

Sheesh these are lazy kids, is there anyone reading this that didn't put in years mowing lawns as a kid, before riding lawnmovers, self-propelled lawnmovers, and you think these kids could really use some time pushing a lawnmower?
real bad decisions caught on camera and shared with the rest of us to warn us of stupid ideas http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/

cool photos from Kombi rules

Isn't this a cool idea? Instead of painting your van, just add this cover to the front, and make faces on it.


from http://kombirules.blogspot.com where I recommend you go for more

The US Interior Secretary and Director of the BLM toured the Imperial Sand Dunes at Glamis

story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sand-dunes-20110221,0,4494274.story but in a nutshell they came to relate that motorized recreation fits into the Obama administration's "America's Great Outdoors " conservation initiative rolled out last week that is heavy on land preservation.
great photo by Allen Schaben, shows the secretary in a ranger's sand rail that got stuck when they went to go over a steep dune... nice new rail huh?

Trainyard



Trainyard is my favourite puzzle game for the iPod Touch! You have to solve hundreds of logic levels in different cities and departments. Get all the trains in the right order and colour into their places! There is also a free version available but I suppose to support the developers and buy the full version!

Screenshot:



So long!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

1967 Rebel station wagon regional models

The Mariner (600 units) in Barbados blue with panels trim of simulated bleached teakwood planking accented by narrow black horizontal stripes and a "nautical anchor" medallion. The interior featured anchors and stars decorating dark blue suede bolster panels of the seats, which also had white piping and broad horizontal pleated inserts of medium blue antelope grain vinyl and was sold along the coastal regions of the United States.
Above, the Mariner
Below the Westerner

The Westerner (500 units) in Frost White with plankwood trim side inserts and a "Pony Express" medallion. The interior featured stallion brown vinyl that simulated "richly tooled" leather on the seats and door panels in combination with white antelope grained vinyl and was available west of the Mississippi River.


The Briarcliff (400 units) in Matador Red with simulated black camera grain side panels and "regal" medallions, as well as its own black "antelope grain" vinyl interior. The Briarwood was marketed in major markets in the east and south.

Designed to spur interest in all of AMC's products and to generate increased sales for the company, the special wagons were limited for sale to geographical areas.

Info from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Rebel learned about it and got photos from
http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/2010/may/mariner-westener-briarcliff-rambler.html

One cool little camper, privacy from the back, great view from the front


the "NeverWas Haul" is the name of this vehicle at Burning Man

In the above the cow catcher is missing

http://www.neverwashaul.com/ to see and learn all about it
All three of these were from different sites, and I've posted two of them before, but never together. The middle one is new to me, and from http://megamoto.tumblr.com/
the guy in charge is Major Catastrophe, and is interviewed here about what it's about: http://etheremporium.pbworks.com/w/page/10454244/Neverwas-Haul

Jeep minivan prototype designed by Brooks Stevens


ultimate gamers chair


Shelby Comet. Never heard of that, have you? Did you hear of the Shelby Europa? 14 made



Shelby Europa were just getting started by Claude Dubois, who raced a Ford of Antwerp Shelby Gt 350 in Spa in 1967. They came directly from Ford as semi-finished and completed by Dubois. Now it was not very many, 1971 and 72 made a total of just 14 pieces, including two convertibles.

There are eight survivors, three of were in Sweden, then Norway, then to Finland.

Well, so was there a special European-Shelby prototype, GT250, a 1971 Mercury Comet that Claude supplied with a GT40 289 block and heads, that gave the car more than 350 horsepower. It was a couple of years as Claude's own daily driver before being resold.
Claude was in Dearborn when Ford announced the cessation of the Shelby Fords, and so bought the last 34 or 36. He sold them in Belgium, Paris, Istanbul, Geneva and Germany
Read his 2002 interview here: http://www.ponysite.de/sheleur_dubois3.htm
After 1970 Claude proposed a licensing deal, and bought Mustangs from Bob Ford in Detroit, the first was completed in January 1971 and went to the Brussels Motor show. The Shelby parts came from Shelby American. Some had 351's and at least one was a drag pack 429 http://www.ponysite.de/sheleur.htm

Burnelli airplane transporting a car in a underslung

I don't recall where I found this photo, for a bit about Burnelli aircraft: http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/2011/02/burnelli-or-northrop-flying-wing.html

World War one carrier pidgeon transport trucks


If you have a car shipped, I recommend inspecting the cargo container before they lock it closed and send it off

If you look closely, you'll the see above photo has 2 pieces of lumbar stacked on top of each other , both sides of the container, from the front to the back. Doesn't look safe to me.
Photos from http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/ becuase if I recall correctly, that blogger works at a recieving location where collector cars come into Sweden

Marten (http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/) tells me
Since the customs about a year ago raised their costs excessively for goods from the US, people shipped cars via the Netherlands and paid only 6% fees, but now they raised the fees to 20%, so what is done now is to take the cars to France which has a regular fee of ony 5% on the custom value. The reason for taking a midway landing is that when the car is brought here its suddenly a European car, and then taken into Sweden with no charges at all!

FREE: Drama Button 2



Drama Button 2 is a funny app to fuck up your friends! It plays different sounds for every situation! Different buttons in the topics Drama, Triumph, FAIL and TV plus 2 version of each one. Go get it!
Screenshot:



So long!

Ettore Bugatti's runabout for inspection tours of his factory

Called a type 56 Bugatti, if the translator program on Google hasn't mangled it, and it was an electric buggy.
found on: http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/2010/june/en-dag-i-illinois-1964.html

1922 touring body by Smith & Waddington in Sydney, Australia ... real unusual, it's called a charabanc


This is built on a truck chassis from White vintage 1922 and the huge body built by Smith & Waddington in Camperdown, Sydney, Australia.

But this body type is called a Charabanc, the same name is also used for buses with open bodywork that was common at this time. This White charabanc had room for 15 people and had been ordered by Mr Day. He used it for New South Wales Tourist Bureau excursions and adventures in the wild Australia.

found on http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/2010/october/fyrfaldigt.html

bridging the eras of horse drawn carriages and the first engine driven vehicles

Above is an electric coach built for the Queen Mary of Spain in 1896

from the Thrupp and Maberly coachbuilders in 1913 on a chassis from Thames Iron Works

The Old Man

The "Old Man" was Juan Manuel Fangio's nickname in the 1950s when he achieved his five world championships. He was 45 in 1957 when he won the last one, and anyone who has read about his stunning drive that year at the Nürburgring will recognise his greatness.

Anyway, he is my favourite post-war driver (though I have a big place in my heart for Mike Hawthorn) in respect of his staggering talent and ability.

Here I have a couple of videos for you. Pertinently the first one happily in colour, shows Fangio at Monaco driving the Lancia D50 - OK, "Lancia-Ferrari"... The noise! EDIT: I have just this minute discovered this thread on the Atlas Nostalgia Forum. It appears that this film was made in 1970 and Fangio (at 58 years old) is driving a D50 - doesn't explain though why there is a Ferrari badge on the front of it, instead of the "shield and flag"




And here at the Modena Autodrome in a 250F - great car control and more wonderful noise. As a (English) Lancia Club friend observed to me, once the engines went above about 10,000 it became difficult to relate to the noise. I agree.



For all you youngsters, I should point out that in 1957, a 250F Maserati, running on the special fuels permitted (for the last time that year) produced from its 2.5 litre engine, around 295-300 BHP. Doesn't sound much today does it? But these cars weighed about half a ton and were very quick. Maximum speed was probably around 170 mph, and with drum brakes and those skinny cross-ply tyres, required a great deal of skilled input from the drivers. And a Grand Prix in those days was 300 miles...

Until the next time.

Still Alive

Just in case you were wondering!

I was browsing the excellent fora on Atlas today; these really are excellent for those interested in Motorsport. Apart from the "Racing Comments" forum which is concerned with current events in F1, there is the superb Nostalgia Forum and also the Technical Forum. The contributors to this are very well informed - at least most of them - and some of the contributors are obviously in the highest echelons of the Motor Industry - or perhaps Motorsport industry. The expertise and breadth of knowledge to be found there is quite simply breathtaking.

And it was a thread there that prompted this post.

Those of you who are "hands-on" Fulvia owners who cannot resist taking things apart may have been distressed to notice the sad state of your rocker shafts... Yes, Lancia in its wisdom (or perhaps they let the cost accountants out for a breath of air) chose to run the forged steel rockers directly on the hardened steel rocker shafts. If you have removed the valve gear you will probably have noticed the depressing wear in certain places. I should add, that had Lancia bitten the cost bullet and lined the rockers with bronze bushes which would be the normal engineering procedure (oil retention) amazingly the shafts would have worn probably just as much. In the 1930s, Lancia produced the wonderful Aprilia, a car years ahead of its time - like so many Lancias. The engine, a narrow-angle V4 of course, featured duralumin connecting-rods. These had no bearings, the dural ran directly onto the steel, and it was the crank that wore - not the rods!

Well here's a thread from the Atlas Technical Forum that is concerned with the subtleties of rocker shaft design and manufacture. Should appeal to the engineers and mathematicians amongst you!

Meanwhile there is a chance that I shall finally be in a position to offer you proper Fulvia (mechanical) attention if you live in the Geneva area or perhaps if you are on a pilgrimage to Turin! I may well be operaitng at a garage in Evian les Bains directly on the shore of Lake Geneva. If my expertise fails to attract you, then surely the view will!


Watch this space.

A bientôt

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Model A's may be the most versatile vehicle ever made, nothing else was a delivery truck, railcar, firetruck, racecar... infinite variety





I'm thrown... Never seen a cross between a conestoga and a Ford
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