Saturday, June 30, 2018

June banners














Just rolling along on the job

Burt!

an older version of the Hurst Hemi Under Glass, before it got it's iconic paint job

straddle carrier


I forgot what these are called though, I only see a photo of one every couple of years

http://cncenginedynamics.tumblr.com/

machinists tools

keeping it off the rails, and able to stay in the race, is a graceful thing of beauty


http://cncenginedynamics.tumblr.com/

There's quite a few people on the infield I just noticed

coincidentally, if you saw yesterdays Life Is A Highway art, you'll get a kick out of this welding conglomeration


don't get so mad that you forget to get even.


Bondowoso Road Race 2017

river bank erosion control cars that have almost disappeared as the rivers moved

I just found an easter egg on the Demon... I hadn't seen it, or heard of it before, but they put a Demon logo in the ram air headlight



Friday, June 29, 2018

this artist, John Atkinson, is smart, and funny. Check out his art school of fish for something really clever that just doesn't belong here


I only found 2 I don't recognize from songs, Police Truck, and Karma Police.

https://www.gocomics.com/wrong-hands/2018/05/15

Art School of fish is damn good, https://www.gocomics.com/wrong-hands/2018/06/12 and if you dig that, you have to see the companion piece Another Art School Of Fish https://www.gocomics.com/wrong-hands/2018/06/26

Wow, the Midttrafick Bus commercials from Denmark are epic!







Thanks Kim!

have you seen the email scam that uses a free BMW 730 as bait? It actually has Beverly Hills BMW as the place it's trying to convince you is giving away a car


this is the photo in the scam email

BMW LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
5070 WILSHIRE BLVD
LOS ANGELES. CA 90036
NEIGHORHOOD: MID WILSHIRE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
EMAIL: bmwclaimfediciarydesk11@gmail.com


Hello,

This is to inform you that you have been selected for a prize of a brand new 2017 Model BMW 7 Series Car and a Check of $500,000.00 USD from the international balloting programs held on the 15th of JUNE 2018 in the UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.

Description of prize vehicle;
Model: 730iA Color (exterior): Metallic Silver Mileage: 5 Transmission: Automatic 6 Speed
Options: Cold weather package, premium package, fold down rear seats w/ski bag, am fm stereo with single in dash compact disc player.

The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection system (ESS) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world which you were selected.

The BMW Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also licensed by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). To begin the processing of your prize you are to contact our fiduciary claims department for more information as regards procedures to the claim of your prize.
Name: Mr. Moore James
Email : bmwclaimfediciarydesk11@gmail.com

Contact him by providing him with your secret pin code Number
BMW: 2551256003/23.

You are also advised to provide him with the under listed information as soon as possible:
1. Name in Full:
2. Residential Address:
3. Nationality:
4. Age:
5. Sex
6. Occupation:
7. Direct Phone:
8. Present Country:
9. Email address:
10. Pin code Number BMW: 2551256003/23

Please you are to provide him with the above listed details as soon as possible so he can begin with the processing of your prize winnings.

Congratulations again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

Mrs. Rachael Adams.

THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS
BMW LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA




They got the address mostly right

They got the name of the supposed person emailing this out Rachael Adams  different than it would show up in their email address rachaeeadams@gmail.com  Seriously? Add the "L" and make it look a bit more legit!

I wonder why they make such obvious mistakes that are clear indicators of a scam. 

A couple cool little items in the Dingman collection auction

a 1946 Silk City Diner just sold at auction for 336k... and it is loaded with everything needed to be in business, and serve food, from appliances and fixtures to pots, pans, and dishes


The Paterson Vehicle Company built what it called Silk City Diners. Just after World War II, several diner companies offered a "dinette" style to appeal to returning G.I.'s as a low-cost, easy-entry into the diner business as an alternative to their much larger 60-plus-seat diners.

Compared to the competition, Silk City Diners were known for their value, the result of mass production that rival brands failed to embrace. Already positioned as the lowest-cost diner on the market, Silk City Diners also offered a four-year payment plan, at a time when such financing was the exception and not the norm.

While other diner manufacturers came and went – some lasting just a year or two – the Paterson Vehicle Company continued to manufacture diners until 1964 (or 1966, depending upon the source), ultimately assembling around 1,500 of the gleaming monuments to culinary diversity.

After a decade with it's 1st owner it was “traded in” towards the purchase of a Mountain View Diner, much like a used car. The next owner was “Smoky” Wentzell, who set up shop off of Route 40 in  New Jersey until 1989, when the building (but apparently not the property) was sold to Dave Sickler, who relocated the Silk City Diner to the back of his land and proceeded to strip out its furnishings.


Five years later, the neglected diner was discovered by Steve Harwin, a diner expert who runs a diner restoration business in Cleveland, Ohio. Harwin purchased the diner from Sickler, hauled it to Cleveland and carried out a comprehensive restoration.

From there, the diner was acquired by the Dingmans, who enlisted the help of Boston, Massachusetts, rigging and transportation company O.B. Hill to ship the building cross-country and set it up at their New Hampshire estate. Never a commercial enterprise, “Betsy & Mike’s Diner” saw limited use, presumably during family gatherings and parties, though it remained stocked with pots, pans, dishes, and commercial-grade appliances.






https://rmsothebys.com/en/home/lots/DM18

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Ford LevaCar, the 1960 concept exhibit was destroyed in a fire, floated a few inches off the ground on three air jets, but only while tethered over a glass floor within the Ford Rotunda


Ford spent millions developing the Levacar Mach I . Though the tiny, single-passenger bubble was restricted to gliding around an indoor glass track, the Jetsons-styled coupe actually did levitate.

In the car above is Andrew Kucher, the VP of Ford Engineering and Research




http://midcenturymodernfreak.tumblr.com/post/72987865185/1959-the-ford-levacar-mach-1-concept-at-the-ford
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/permalink/1459004630912815/
http://www.curbside.tv/blog/2018/4/22/when-cars-flew

have you ever wondered what it was like for a vet coming back from WW2, and starting a garage? I have, and I just learned from a great guy who wrote it all down. Chad Johnson, from US Army 1942-'46 to Chad Johnson Auto Repair, Burbank



Chad wrote:
"On February 1, 1946, I was released from the United States Army Air Corps. I was given $300.00 along with an honorable discharge.

I am now on my own, in a strange town, the first time in my life. About the third day, I decided I needed a job, and I started looking at various auto shops. The owner of “Fritz Auto Shop” hired me.

I am now a full-fledged auto mechanic. I believe I was paid 40% of the labor charged. I did pretty well, and was the second highest paid mechanic there.

Arriving in July, and renting a room in a “boarding house” on Peyton Place in Burbank. My uncle had a service station in Burbank, and needed to rent out three stalls in his station for an auto repair facility.

The station was built for Lockheed during world war two. There were three pump islands, with 9 pumps. There were 2 lube bays, 3 mechanical bays, a wash rack, and an 80-car parking lot. Lockheed used this facility to park and clean all of their company cars, busses, trucks and trailers.

After the war ended, Lockheed no longer needed this large facility, so it was closed down. Lockheed also didn’t need the employees that operated the place. So my uncle and another man, Marshall Collins, who were no longer employed by Lockheed, made a deal with the oil company, “General Petroleum”, who held the master lease on the entire property.

My good friend Pat was a mechanic before the war and I decided to rent the shop from my uncle. At the boarding house where I lived, was another renter by the name of George Ewing. He was also a mechanic for a Studebaker agency in North Hollywood.

About a week before we were to take over operating the garage, Pat backed out of the deal and left me high and dry. George and I discussed my situation, and he went in with me on the station deal. George was a lot older and had a lot of experience in the business. I refinanced my car for $500, and he put in the same, and we became “Empire Motor Service”.

Our partnership lasted about 3 months, and he decided we would split up. I made him an offer he couldn’t resist, and now I was the proud owner of “Chad Johnson Auto Repair” at “Lincoln and Empire”, Burbank, California. I moved out of the rooming house to a trailer, then a converted garage, and finally an apartment in North Hollywood.

But I did have about 3 months experience working with George. I had to learn how to deal with the public, diagnose problems and repair their cars, be honest and fair, be a bookkeeper and janitor, learn how to budget my time, and on and on.

I had a contract with Lockheed to wash ALL of their company cars, trucks and busses. Also lube and oil changes. The large parking lot was used to store vehicles that were to be washed over the weekends.

The year 1947 was one of gaining experience as an auto mechanic, but also learning how to treat my customers, and the art of not spending more than I made. The first couple of years I operated on a cash basis. I was a one-man shop and my hours were what ever it took to get the jobs finished, be it nighttime or weekends. Within a year or so, things started to slow down in the station part of the property, but my business remained good. The station still had the contract to wash the Lockheed company equipment.

I made some changes to the property, refacing the front of the building in stone, add a waiting room for customers, an air-conditioned office to conduct business, (entry from either side of the office), and removed the 3 pump islands, and all of the very old gas pumps. I installed 2 new gas pumps on the Lincoln street side of the property, where they could be seen from the mechanical bays of the building.

So why did I decide to keep 2 gasoline pumps, when there was not much profit, in the sale of gas? I needed the credit card system from Mobil Oil Company. I was now able to charge the auto repairs to the customer’s credit card without any charge to me.

In 1952, the local Ford dealer in Burbank contacted me. They had a lease contract with both the city of Burbank, and Lockheed for a fleet of 1950 Ford cars. That included the City Police cars. I was asked if I would be interested in taking over the full maintenance of these vehicles. I met with the Ford executives, and we came to an agreement that I would furnish full maintenance on all of the leased vehicles for the next two years at a fixed price per vehicles per month. It was a win-win for all concerned.

That... is a first hand account of what life was like after the war for Chad, and might seem similar to what you've heard from others... but the detail is so cool to read. 

Chad is still alive and well, and living in a retirement home in Palm Desert. One of the few remaining WW2 vets.