Friday, September 02, 2011

best caption I've read in a long time, "She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis"

Ann Margaret, if you aren't familiar with who she is, once a long time ago, she dated Elvis, had a Vegas act, and more recently, was the love interest in the movie "Grumpy Old Men" with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.. Trivia, she had a billboard top ten song at age 20, it reached #4, she was discovered by George Burns, starred with Elvis at age 23, invented the phrase "Sex Kitten" and was nominated for an Oscar at age 30 after starring opposite Jack Nicholson, Steve McQueen, and got her 2nd Oscar nom after starring with John Wayne and Anthony Hopkins, and was in the Who's rock opera "Tommy" and toured with the USO through Vietnam. Hellava career.

who is Tura Santana?

found on http://tiberiusloft.tumblr.com/

Tura was the daughter of a Japanese dad, and Cheyenne Scot-Irish mom. Hit puberty at 8, and was a target of male hormones the rest of her life.

Silent film star Harold Lloyd didn't know she was only 13 when he was photographing her nude, and told her she was a natural beauty that would make it in Hollywood films.

 This image is from the movie "Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill" and she also was in a variety of TV and movies, more famous of them The Man From UNCLE, and Irma LaDuce (Jack Lemmon and Shirley McLaine)

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Betcha never heard of an Aerial Truck!

The 1st aircraft of the Fire Dept. Used for recon, but probably not water drops. Cool though, I've never seen of heard of it before, and a first of anything is damn interesting, much less a 1920's one of a kind aircraft

What did Joe Namath do with the Charger R/T he was given as MVP for winning the Super Bowl?

According to some, it was a bronze with black stripe, according to another the centerfold of the "Post" had the photo of Joe recieving a B5 blue with white vinyl top.

one reason the Hemi Barracuda is a legend

Chevy didn't put a ZL1 into a Camaro convertible, Ford didn't make a Boss 429 convertible, the Firebird convertible wasn't available with a Ram Air IV.

But Chrysler made the pony car convertible with the best engine they had available.

Chrysler owes GM a big favor

If GM weren't such run by inept idiots, Chrysler would no longer exist.

GM could have bought Fiat a couple years ago, but changed their mind, and had to pay 2 billion for some reason because they backed out in 2005.

That gave Fiat the cache it needed to buy Chrysler and keep it afloat. 

Oregon makes the ATV riders under 40 take a test online and get registered. Why does Oregon need to know who rides ATVs?

because the Consumer Product Safety Commission data show that 92 percent of all ATV-related fatalities are the result of warned-against behaviors...  duh, it's called human behavior

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The RP-4, dual supercharged big blocks, dual props - contra rotating variable pitch props



built by Eric Hereth, master machinist, fabricator and welder, built all components of this remarkable aircraft from scratch, with the exceptions of engine long blocks, wheels, and hydraulic components. Jerry Baer assisted in all phases of construction. The RP-4 is the brainchild of David Rose

Found on http://alternateissues.tumblr.com/ but for any information, see http://www.coonfield.net/blog/2007/06/tomorrow-record-breaker-rp4.htm

Starting July 1st, solo drivers of hybrid cars in California will see their special pass to the car pool lane disappear.

85,000 were issued to hybrids. Prius and Honda Civic and others.
Since 2004, hybrid owners with a special permit were allowed entry into California’s High-Occupancy-Vehicle (HOV) lanes even when driving alone. 

The special yellow key-shaped decals that denoted access quickly became a must-have for traffic-weary hybrid owners, and added up to $1,500 to the resale value of the hybrid that sported one against its more mundane siblings.

read the whole story at

Why is it called a dashboard?

What we know as dashboards, not the one on your computer, in cars- are evolved from the early dashes in horse carriages and buggys. The dash board was the boards or material dropcloth that kept the horses back feet from splashing mud and muck onto the driver and carriage... the carriages became motorized and the dashboards were the best place for the first gauges, so the dashboards became the instrument panels
from the above splash guard behind the horse, to
Sparked by an article http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-is-it-called-dashboard.html

and because the "Trunk" is also a leftover description from the early horseless carriage transition to modern cars, I thought you might appreciate the "Trunk" as it was on early 1920's and 30's cars.



are just two examples of the origin of the "Trunk" http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/trunk


and "Floorboards" is from 100 or more years ago, when cars were little more than horseless carriages


What the? Ever seen long upswept headers like these? I haven't

weedburners I get, but the 3 cars with zoomies up to the drivers head height.... never seen them before

Batgirls motorcycle and the catmobile


ridiculous props, but somehow that generation loved the Batman tv show.

"Not in the Bike Lane" another Public Service announcement from Casey


In a nutshell, Casey was ticketed by NYPD for not riding in the bike lane, and he made this video to prove that the bake lane isn't safe, because NYPD doesn't enforce the laws that are in place to keep the bike lane free of obstructions, constructions, cop cars, trash cans, etc etc. Bravo Casey!

No chain. An exercise in expensive rolling art, not really comfortable to ride, or affordable.. but it's eyecatching


different seats and tire sizes


The inner city bike was designed by JRUITER + studio as a project asking questions about ultra short inner city travel. What is needed, who is riding, and how far are they going.

As it evolved, the design triggered a shift in time, spurring the questions, “Is there an opportunity to change a timeless product?” “Can we go back and try something new?”

The inner city bike rethinks what a “frame” is, getting rid of basic key components, and creating a new type of urban bicycling.

The positives are easy quick turns, huge power to the rear wheel to go over curbs and up hills, and great start / stopping / sitting situations.

http://bikerscafeblog.com/2010/10/27/inner-city-bikes-icb-36/

new innovation in bicycle innertubes, Michelin Protek Max

The company's Protek Max tube not only contains a sealant, but is designed to compress when punctured to assist the self-sealing process.  Thanks to its uneven design, the MICHELIN Protek Max has a "compression" reaction in the event of piercing or nipping (the hole closes up naturally) whereas a classic inner tube has an "extension" reaction (balloon effect). The self plugging effect is increased by adding the sealant at the origin.

The two things you'll notice about the Protek is that it has a square cross-section, and funny little bumps on its surface. The square shape helps align it within the tire casing and against the rim well, which Michelin says eases mounting and eliminates the twisting problems that can occur with traditional sausage-shaped tubes.

When the tube is fully inflated within the tire, its textured surface causes the rubber to compress instead of expand when under pressure. This means that the internal air pressure actually closes holes off, giving the sealant a better chance at taking care of them for good.

The tubes also are claimed to hold air longer – when tested against Michelin's self-sealing AIRSTOP tube, the Protek was said to maintain proper pressure for twice the amount of time. Text from thttp://www.gizmag.com/michelin-protek-max-presses-punctures-closed/18333

Recent barnfinds recently located, a Briggs Cunningham C3 and the Ak Miller "Caballo II"

Tom Cotter found a 1952 Cunningham, the 1952 Vignale bodied 2nd prototype of Cunninghams 25 C3s in Greenville South Carolina

Tom Shaughnessy found the Caballo II:  the 1957 Kurtis 500X "El Caballo II", built with a 354 Hemi power, a Frank Kurtis-built chassis, and an aluminum body.

Above image is the Caballo II during the Mille Miglia, found on the H.A.M.B. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160931

Sunday, August 28, 2011