Saturday, February 09, 2019

Ist time I've seen "Special Plates" from Oregon. They don't seem to have an expiration sticker.




Thank you to each of the 11 who answered my question about these. 


Subtle but clear and hilarious, "and boy is everyone else beat" HA!


This is pretty damn good

a lot of camber for a Fiat


clever license plates this week


everyone used every Hell Cat and kitty variation, so then someone had to get a bit inventive. I like it


Found on a work van

When a construction project the size of a 2 year long bridge build happens, a lot of trailer parks suddenly happened


With construction of the Mackinac Bridge imminent, many folks knew that there would be a housing shortage in the St. Ignace area. One quick solution was to make house trailers available. Just a few of the “landlords” who applied for licensing from the city in early 1954 were: R. Cheeseman - for 20 trailers at 404 Portage (by April 1954, there were 16 in place), Patrick Gallagher - for 7 on Church Street, Allen Lester-for 3 at 159 First Street.

https://www.saintignace.org/history-of-st-ignace/tidbits-of-history/

building of the Mackinac bridge, completed in June 1958


Oldsmobile provided a fleet of convertibles so that beauty queens from all over Michigan could participate.



Why such a big deal? Well, it's the only bridge from one half of the state across Lake Michigan to the other half of the state, and in the years just before the Mighty Mac was completed, car ferries provided regular passage over the Straits of Mackinac, says Lowell Thomas, “with only minor inconveniences, such as waiting in line for 19 hours.”









from a big gallery the Keyhole Bar and Grill posted on their facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pg/goodtimesgoodfood/photos/?tab=album&album_id=351730298179308


https://www.mackinacbridge.org/fares-traffic/fare-schedule/#passenger



and you can find some other interesting old movies made for schools at https://www.youtube.com/user/USAutoIndustry/videos

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2015/07/29/midweek-matinee-the-five-mile-dream-1958/
https://blogs.lib.msu.edu/red-tape/2018/jun/june-25-1958-first-governors-walk-across-mackinac-bridge/
http://www.mightymac.org/58mackinacbridgeparade2.htm

Whatever can go wrong, will. So, be a bit more patient, and think about what's probably going to go wrong. Then don't let it



Dr Phil, at age 65, tried to do a wheelie on a motorcycle up his driveway


Friday, February 08, 2019

most amazing thing I found this week? That the 1961 AMBR winner was begun in 8th grade, however, Rich Guasco is best known for “Pure Hell”, his famous AA Fuel Altered Bantam. I'm simply slack jawed stunned


Rich’s relationship with his roadster began with a pristine ’32 Ford coupe that had been retired to his family’s wrecking yard when he was 13, in 8th grade.

His dad owned the Santa Rita Garage, a wrecking yard in the then-rural east San Francisco Bay community of Pleasanton. A family friend named Al Stanton (whose uncle had sold the yard to Rich’s father) drove in one day in his ’29 highboy roadster.

Barely a teenager, Guasco was mesmerized, recognizing a real hot rod from similar cars he’d seen in magazines left in junked cars. Stanton told Guasco it had a ’32 Ford frame in need of bodywork.

Seeing this as the basis for his “dream car,” Rich proceeded to tip it on its side and cut off the unwanted body and fenders (remember this was just another 20-year-old used vehicle at the time). Then went into the junkyard and promptly tipped a nice five-window '29 coupe on its side and cut off the body and fenders.

 A hopped-up Flathead and a genuine 4-inch dropped Mor-Drop axle were soon added and Rich had himself a honest-to-goodness hot rod.



in 1962 Guasco's Top Fuel Dragster  won the America's Most Beautiful Competition Car trophy.
At the Grand National Roadster Show in Oakland. Rich Gausco is the only person to win them both

from Muscle Car Review
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0110sr-rich-guasco-roadster/
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0603rc-1929-ford-roadster/
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1929-ford-highboy-roadster-2/


Mopar commercials were not on during the Super Bowl, saving Mopar 30 million dollars. Smart. They really don't need to be in order to get just as much attention online














Every year, since 2009, during the depths of Chrysler’s bankruptcy, Chrysler, Chrysler Group, and FCA have been big-time Super Bowl advertisers, some years on a par with Budweiser. It started with the groundbreaking 2011 “Imported from Detroit” spot by Eminem for the Chrysler 200, the 2012 Clint Eastwood “It’s Halftime in America” commercial, the memorable 2013 “Farmers” Paul Harvey spot for Ram, the 2014 spots featuring Bob Dylan in the “Imported from Detroit II” visual essay and the “Strike” spot for the Maserati Ghibli, and finally, two spots last year, the Jeep black and white “Portraits” video celebrating its 75-year history and heritage and the very controversial spot for Ram which used a Martin Luther King sermon about greatness, grace, and love as a voice over.

The game was viewed by 100,000,000 in the US, and since it's youtube, most of these videos have been seen by around 2 or 3 million people, without the millions wasted on broadcasting them to a lot more people who simply aren't going to buy a new truck anyway.

The 4th video already has 52 million views. Obviously, it didn't need to be broadcast to reach almost the same number of people that were watching the Super Bowl, and how many of the game viewers were watching commercials anyway?


http://moparconnectionmagazine.com/video-why-didnt-fca-advertise-in-this-years-super-bowl/

The bridge in Stand By Me, has two tracks, large and small... not side by side, but fit inside the other.


Those inside rails are called "Guide Rails" and are there to keep the locomotive and the cars on the bridge in case of a derail. (thanks NZCarnerd and Garage Tech!)

By the way, I'm surprised no one hangs a swing, or hammock, under a bridge for rest and relaxation, maybe even fishing. 

looks like a lot of fun... but how tiny is the engine?

waiting for the Mackinac Bridge to open for the very 1st time.


not just waiting for the novelty of going over a new bridge, but to avoid the damn ferry wait times.

I remember as a kid, and the one time as an adult that I've driven over it, that you know you're finally arriving in the right place when you get to the bridge. You're leaving behind all the asshole State Police that sit off in the woods on the sides of the interstate. There is no Interstate in the Upper Penninsula. You're leaving behind big cities, traffic jams, and assholes.

Up in the yoop, people are a hell of a lot friendlier, and when I lived there before graduating high school, even strangers waved hi as they drove by

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2005943912854293&set=gm.1665017966978146&type=3&permPage=1&ifg=1

1976 Maverick Stallion, I haven't seen a picture of one of these in years, and have never found one at any car event

Stack of happy times to come

I think I'd be pretty damn happy to work at Super Shops... but I didn't even know they existed when I joined the Navy, and when I got out, they were going out of business.

Stallone liked '58 Impalas, something I just learned. Huh, he must be quite a car aficionado, as I got the impression he loved that Merc in Cobra

in the restaurant Beaches right outside the gate of the Portland International Airport

Lets say for a moment that this actually IS NOS, and simply has a simple trigger handle to let it loose for ridiculous effect on this scooter


Am I right that unless they premix the NOS with some atmo, and it were to be shot into the carb with some sort of regulator that would allow only so many CFM per minute, that it would simply lean out and melt the piston?

I can't imagine anyone actually even taking the time to paint a fire extinguisher blue, and attaching it to a scooter, without a better plan than that.

Now, if they really did hook up a real NOS system to a scooter, safe, and ready to be used time and time again... that would be a hoot for racing your friends

https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledintotheshop/comments/ao7www/pretty_sweet_boosted_scooter_i_ran_into/

Gates Vulco fan belt with a 1918 patent that fits cars from 1916 to the 1920’s found in a basement with this old display, The old parts store opened about 100 years ago

This old stuff looks pretty damn nice. Especially in the perfect setting.

First Mercedes railcar I think I've ever seen, Mercedes DR 1934 rail car

How've I never seen this before?