Friday, February 07, 2025

Death Way, just outside La Paz, Bolivia

 https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/dtbs8j/called_death_way_one_of_the_most_dangerous_roads

the Long Island Motor Parkway (also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway). 1908


Celebrated as the first road in the United States designed exclusively for automobiles. Stretching from Queens to Ronkonkoma, it featured innovative overpasses and bridges, making it a pioneer in modern roadway design.

Initially a private toll road costing $2 to use, it was largely frequented by wealthy car enthusiasts eager to race their vehicles. The parkway was eventually closed in 1938 and absorbed by the state, though parts of it remain today, repurposed as a scenic bike path in Queens.

scoria bricks, a material they made roads with, in York England, that I've never heard of until now! They weren't a success because they were found to wear unevenly and become slippery in wet conditions


In the mid-19th century, Teesside ironmasters faced the challenge of disposing of molten slag waste from blast furnaces, and used an ingenious method invented by Joseph Woodward in 1869 to transform this waste into durable, silvery-blue bricks.

Producing one ton of iron produced one ton of slag. As the furnaces of Cleveland, Hartlepool and Consett were producing 2.5 million tons of pig iron a year towards the end of the 19th Century, there was an awful lot of slag turning up everywhere..

At first, it was tipped onto the boggy marshlands around Middlesbrough to raise them up. When these were filled, the ironmasters then ended up paying the Tees Conservancy Commissioners 4d a ton in old money to take the slag away. The Conservancy Commission used it to good purpose, with over 20 miles of riverside walls and the North and South Gares built up on slag, a base still there to this very day.

But not only was this product a waste – it was a waste of money as well . The ironmasters did not want to pay to have their rubbish removed. They wanted to profit from it, to really show that where’s muck, there’s money.

 At its peak the company was taking 30% of the slag from the South-Tees works.

  These bricks became popular for paving roads and alleyways due to their strength and resistance to water and frost.

The bricks were also exported around the world and can be found in Canada, West Indies, Netherlands, Belgium, United States, India and South America



Millions of tons of pig iron were being produced in Cleveland in the North East of England at the time, generating much slag waste, a real problem for the ironmasters, as it was expensive to remove.

Scoria bricks were a kind of basalt, an igneous rock, very hard to break, very durable, completely waterproof, frost-proof and indeed chemical-proof, Eventually however the motor car destroyed the business, when it replaced metal-rimmed carriages, as people wanted a smoother ride, and tarmac started to follow in the 1930s. Steel and iron making ran down and by 1966 the Company went bankrupt

 York has around 16 miles (25 km) of back lanes, a third of which use scoria bricks.

In 1912, 62,881 tons of scoria bricks were exported from wharves along the Tees. Thirty-seven per cent of these went to Canada, and 36 per cent to the West Indies. Smaller quantities went to Holland (Rotterdam was an early customer), Belgium, the US, South America and Africa. I’ve seen them – lots of them in fact – in Dublin and other Irish towns. As the average scoria brick weighs 13lbs (or 5.9kg), this means that in 1912 alone, nearly 11 million bricks were exported.

https://northeastbylines.co.uk/region/north-east/scoria-bricks-history-at-our-feet/

Thursday, February 06, 2025

I'll be damned, I outlasted the Old Motor.com!

 

I'm not surprised. The original (oldest posts) direction was showing vehicles that a car restorer, David Greenlees, was working on. But he obviously was not someone that had the time to actually work on a daily or weekly website, and quickly opened it to anyone that wanted to submit photos or articles to, and it soon was nothing from David, just freelancers that needed the site for high traffic. 


 

For the most recent pages, there was no original content of any kind, just the " Four Fun Kodachrome Car Image Series" that had been posted 500 times. Yeah, that's slightly interesting but won't keep any audience returning to see what the lastest 4 Kodachromes were, and that is all he posted for the last 2 years (2022 - 2024) and they were simply lifted from https://www.facebook.com/AmericarTheBeautiful

one of those cars that i wish I could find more photos of

 

https://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/threads/some-more-classic-pictures.40139/page-198

Tim Flock, 1955 Chrysler


I wish I had a Morgan

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227973000690565&set=a.3254194073921

have you heard of the Faxon Engineering Illustrations books? Mopar assembly illustrations of the body parts and wiring


https://forum.e-bodies.org/cuda-and-challenger-general-discussion-roseville-moparts/2/70-71-assembly-manual/15800/#google_vignette

Carcross Desert, (just sand dunes) is about one square mile, and is the closest thing Canada has to a desert




The sand dunes were left by a glacial lake thousands of years ago, and the strong winds from nearby Bennett Lake continue to supply the area with sand today. The dunes are enjoyed by both locals and visitors, who hike up them, sandboard down them, and explore them on ATVs and with off-road scenic tours.

Sport lovers descend on the sands every weekend, creating a multi-purpose adventure playground. In summer, exposed dunes are used by quad bikers, hikers and sand-boarders, and as soon as enough snow falls, the desert is reclaimed by ski-tourers, tobogganers, snowshoers and snowboarders.

Potential dune erosion from those activities prompted the government to seek out environmental protection for the "desert" back in 1992, but that measure failed due to pushback from community members.

Human activity is good for the Carcross Desert, as dune fields in the territory need such disturbances to help fight off encroaching boreal forest. Natural disturbances come in the form of strong winds or fires, but nowadays, human recreation is also a large contributor. A concrete example is when ski trails were put into the Carcross Desert, as that broke lichen crusts and reactivated the dunes, says Bruce Bennett, who acts as conservation data centre coordinator with the Yukon government.


Fed Ex, UPS and large commercial airlines ship horses and other animals as cargo, but the Tex Sutton company and the Kalitta Charters Co use a dedicated aircraft to do so.





Ferrying Kentucky Derby winners and other prized horses began by air in 1969, now moves horses for the Olympics, Belmont Stakes, dressage championships, etc

Rodeo horses never fly because the professional circuit schedules its events so that horses can be transported economically by vans the relatively short distance to the next stop on the tour. And, perhaps surprisingly, horses used in polo – a sport supported almost exclusively by the mega-wealthy – rarely fly.

Horses are loaded into specially built stalls that can be arranged two or three across inside the airplane. While the owners of some “celebrity” horses may charter the entire plane, Air Horse One can carry 18 to 20 horses per flight.

To accommodate their special cargo, the pilots of Air Horse One make wide turns and extra-gentle ascents and descents to try to keep the horses from getting spooked or losing their balance.

"Air Horse One," is operated by Kalitta Charters II. 

Doug Kalitta, owner of the charter company, is the nephew of Connie Kalitta, who is equally famous in the air cargo world for his pioneering use of aircraft – from little Cessnas to giant Boeing 747s in specialized chartered air cargo operations.

the Lincoln Blackwood, is the worst selling model in Lincoln's history, only 3.383 units sold of the luxury Ford truck




this Repo Guy wasn't stopped by the Mercedes getting parked behind another car, up against a garage... he went sideways at it, and pulled it out really smoothly


 

See the video at https://www.instagram.com/1_eben/reel/DEV4z_5uOAi/

Wednesday, February 05, 2025

I spotted another one of those interesting plates, the ones chosen in hopes that they will result in fewer tickets, by being easy to confuse by having a lot of similar looking letters or numbers


and look how similar it is to this other one I spotted last year! 



Here's two others I came across in the last couple of years that seem to be made in order to get the cops to make a mistake in the paperwork, so the car owner can get the ticket thrown out in a technicality

check out this sweet Mustang... cool interesting take on the classic Mustang rim

 

coincidence? I don't think so. I had a job at 666 Upas St today, and the license plate of the car I parked behind?

 

Wow, some collector just liquidated a collection of about 100 Honda 3 wheelers, and one of the units, an 86 ATC250r, is STILL in the box, and instantly got a 200 thousand dollar offer!


imagine hearing the sound of brakes slammed on tires that locked up and squeal to a stop, like tv shows or Hollywood movies. Why? That's what I imagine happened when Ford cancelled a contract they'd had with a vehicle transport company for the last 40 years, and 2000 employees of that company are likely to get laid off. From Teamsters Union jobs.

Senators Roger Marshall of Kansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri – wrote a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley demanding an explanation for the automaker’s decision to terminate its contract with Jack Cooper, which wound up closing one of its plants and laying off 89 workers as a result of that move – with more fallout expected to occur at other locations, too.

“We expect Ford to address this matter with the seriousness it warrants and provide a detailed explanation for its actions, not only to the affected workers but also to their families and communities who are now burdened with uncertainty and hardship,” the letter reads.

 “This abrupt decision threatens the livelihoods of nearly 2,000 dedicated union workers and their families, casting a dark shadow over Ford’s claimed commitment to ‘serving all of our stakeholder groups.’

Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Do you remember the 61 Econoline in season 4 of Friends? Monica and Phebe buy a van with a mural painted on the side, of a woman riding a dragon







Phoebe has a copy of Hemmings Motor News when she leaves Monica's apartment to meet with the guy about converting the van. Pretty good attention to detail, considering the typical fan of the show probably wouldn't recognize it.

Anyone else remember the few cool cars in the 90s? The twin turbo Stealth and 3000 GT were 300Hp and 300ft-lbs with a 5 speed.... that's pretty damn good for the early 90s. This one has only 6k miles, and it's current high bid is 11k



proof that kids can secretly get their bus drivers infected... I kid you not, the Coventry School District in Summit County Ohio announced that classes were canceled because the bus drivers were sick. All of them.


 https://fox8.com/news/local-school-unexpectedly-closes-due-to-illness-bus-driver-shortage/


HOW did MY classmates and I NEVER think of this?!!? We only had 2 bus drivers to take out! We could have done THAT! 

69 Torino Cobra fastback

 https://en.wheelz.me/conquering-the-streets-the-1969-ford-torino-cobra-fastback/#google_vignette

It's official: Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has completed its acquisition of Goodyear's off-the-road tire business in an all-cash transaction of approximately $905 million.

The agreement, announced in July 2024, includes the transfer of all shares of Nippon Giant Tire and Goodyear Earthmover in Australia, along with other global assets.

Yokohama expects the deal to enhance its product lineup with a range of mining and construction machinery tires and bring in advanced technologies, professional services, and “strong brand power”.

Goodyear plans to use the proceeds from the latest transaction to “reduce leverage” and invest in its Goodyear Forward transformation plan and enhancing the focus on our core products and services.

the fascinating stories behind Jay Leno's best 15 motorcycles in his collection (including the Vincent that Rollie Free rode to set the record at Bonneville on) Thank you George!

Roush had two F-150s stolen from the their facility in Allen Park, Michigan back in 2023, and finally the FBI was able to find and arrest a crew that was responsible for some of those thefts recently.



According to The Detroit News, The FBI was able to track down the crew of high-tech thieves who stole a number of vehicles throughout Metro Detroit recently after an extensive undercover operation.

The pair of Ford trucks were stolen directly from Roush back in late 2022 at its headquarters in Livonia, both of which were taken as vehicles were being loaded on a trailer.

 The thieves swapped out VINs on many of these stolen models, but thanks to the presence of connected vehicle technology – combined with some old fashioned sleuth work including video surveillance – the FBI was ultimately able to track them down and arrest the perpetrators.

Hyperfuels is now making an Ethanol free unleaded gas for marine applications on the East Coast

this ethanol-free gasoline, branded PurFuels e-free gasoline, is made with isobutanol, is endorsed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and meets all state and federal requirements for reformulated gasoline.

www.hyperfuels.com

Monday, February 03, 2025

Why aren't they selling some of this at gas stations and filling it with 100 octane?

 

https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2025/02/i-need-little-rpm-this-monday.html

just adorable!

 https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-pack-is-ready-for-road-trip.html

someone and/or copycats, has been visiting truck stops and puncturing tires, destroying more than 1,000 tires since the spree began almost two years ago, across Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas

The most recent spree involves two attacks on 18-wheelers between September 2024 and January 2025. According to Fox16, both occurred at the Southfork Truck Stop along I-30 outside of Gurdon, Arkansas. Forty trucks were targeted, resulting in damage to 296 tires.


https://www.thedrive.com/news/ice-pick-bandit-punctures-296-semi-truck-tires-in-third-linked-slashing-spree

Seriously... it's really weird to spot a 90s wagon with 60's slotted mags. But... they do look good on this Buick




Ok, isn't it really weird to have a car driving around with Bahrain license plates? In San Diego!



how the hell is anyone so enamored with Windows XP that they paid to have that as their license plate? !


spotted today while commuting




Using a Volvo station wagon as a cable guy work truck? That's got to be a first.... the hell is that about? Did this guy inherit the wagon from his grandma? 


Duct tape solution! 


Odd to see a Honda Van dolled up with aftermarket rims, low profile tires


Beautiful truck! 


and this highly professional CHP officer who is unaware that he's parked between lanes at the intersection while waiting for the light to change. What a dweeb

the other way coal affected a century of transportation - it was the trade off, on top of pay, to get an engineer to design the BMW opposed cylinder motorcycle engine!


In Germany after World War I coal was scarce, forcing city dwellers to live in their kitchens as farmers did in winter. 

BMW, forbidden its former role as aircraft engine producers, accepted any production work, including building job lots of inferior motorcycle engines designed by outsiders. 

Irked by this, the company asked aircraft designer Max Friz to come up with a better engine design. Friz was a German mechanical engineer specializing in engine design, who had just made major contributions to the design of the racing engine for the 1914 Mercedes Grand Prix car (that won the French Grand Prix.) Friz also designed the first practical German aircraft engines in 1912-1913 while at Austro-Daimler. 

 Friz disliked surface vehicles, but changed his mind when offered coal to heat a bedroom which he could use as a drawing office. 

He applied rational aviation design, canceling vibration by choosing the self-balancing flat-twin as his engine architecture. He oriented it with its finned cylinders projecting right and left into undisturbed cooling air—not in the “wind shadow” of the front wheel. His basic design has now endured for over a century.