Saturday, January 04, 2025
Kal-Equip Co. maker of high quality automobile tuning equipment from 1955 to 1979 in Otsego, Michigan
Kal-Equip was 1st used as a trademark in 1955, and they filed for the trademark in 1958
Tunemaster was first used in 1960 https://trademarks.justia.com/720/62/kal-equip-72062399.html
Some equipment was labeled Kal Tunemaster, and some was BK Tunemaster, which I'll guess is Bal Kamp
similar to the Sun Electronic Engine Performance Tester/ Master Motor Tester / Tune-Up Tester, might have been bought by NAPA / Balkamp. The trademark was cancelled in 1988
It looks like there was an attempt to pivot, and work under the trademark Peerless, and then the company was sold to Actron who sold through Sears.
Albanite, a word on Edison spark plugs I've been curious about since 2007 when I saw it for the 1st time, just 6 months after starting this blog!
Occasionally I take a look to see if anyone has the answer online yet, and finally someone added the info to the internet.
It's still surprising to me that only 25 years after the internet kicked off in it's current form, people treat it like it's always been around, and that it has everything there is to know. But it's still in it's infancy, and facts, photos, and information are still being added and uploaded every day.
Anyway, Andrew commented on some forum, that Albanite is " was a trade name for the insulator material used by the company. The clay was mined from a specific site, and once baked into hardened porcelean, provided what they perceived as a special anti-fouling, superior insulative material for the core of the spark plug."
https://www.smokstak.com/forum/threads/what-is-albanite.72593
the new Wallace and Gromit movie (on Netflix) is a hoot, and looks like it's the best one yet "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"
this is another cool example of great woodworking, from Baldwin Toy Co of Nebraska, which has been making wood toys since 1976
is a 1965 Shelby GT 350 Mustang a sports car? Seems like not everyone agrees with me on what qualifies as a "sports car"
I call the Camaro, a sports car.... and BOOM! Instantly got pushback from a couple guys.
Ok, not EVERY Camaro is a sports car! BUT, I don't think about every one of them. I think about the cool ones. Life's too damn short to give a shit about the lousy cars.
I have a 68-69 Z 28 in mind when I think of Camaros, and the newest Camaros, on the track in the Optima Challenge.
When someone commented that the Camaro was, at best, a Pony Car, maybe a muscle car... well, damn, I'm not the only one who has a specific car, or year of the car, in mind. Reggie Jackson knows they are muscle cars, he owned at least 1 ZL1 Camaro, and Don Yenko knew they were muscle cars. No one denies they are pony cars. That's not even this conversation.
So, why deny they are sports cars? Just to wind me up and see if I'll vent? Ok
Don't tell Don Yenko, Roger Penske, Mark Donohue, and the SCCA that a Camaro isn't a sports car.
There's not a lot of difference between the C7 Corvettes and the last gen of Camaros, and I think you'll agree that seriously makes the recent Camaros sports cars, else why else would so many of them be at the Optima Challenge? But no, the 70s Camaros, the 80s and 90s Camaros? Not so much, not unless they were track prepped like the IROC racers
You might argue that if it has to be track prepped and race ready to be a sports car than it isn't one, well, that's going to blow the argument that some have made that just being a British, Italian, or German 2 seater drop top or roadster, built with greater breaking and suspension, they are automatically a sports car.
There are simple too damn many hundreds of thousands of mediocre cars made by sports car companies that prove that having the manufacturer Lotus Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar, etc etc, name plate doesn't make their cheap junk a real sports car.... so, yeah, being a car made by a sports car company doesn't automatically make a car a sports car, and being made by Chevy, Ford, Dodge, etc doesn't automatically exempt their cars from being a sports car.
So, getting back to the Camaro. If it's not a sports car, then why is Mark Donohue in the SCCA Hall of fame? Hell, the SCCA has an award NAMED for Mark Donohue!
That is BECAUSE in 1968 Donohue had an unprecedented 8 race winning streak, and Chevrolet won 10 out of 13 races. That's just one example of why I am stating that the Camaro, especially the 67-69 Z-28 is a sports car.
I think you'll all agree that some stupid cars have been anointed as sports cars, including the Crosley Hot Shot. https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1657867_1657678,00.html
So your argument about the mistake you made about the Trans Am races? Clarified now that you have been informed that THOSE were SCCA races.
So, I repeat, Camaro = sports car.
Also - if you skipped past what the letters SCCA stand for, and go right to the classes, then, maybe you missed that they are all SPORTS CARS.
To me a sports car has only 2 seats and a top that drops. Otherwise it's a GT or something else.
Friday, January 03, 2025
Hmmm, I think it's likely that a good argument can be made that a great tour of pubs could be enjoyed by only stopping into the ones that are owned by celebs... you know about Clarkson's, and May's, but have you heard that Guy Martin bought one?
https://www.facebook.com/GuyMartinRacing
https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/guy-martin-buys-village-pub-72869
https://www.dw.com/en/british-bomber-shot-down-in-wwii-to-be-recovered-from-dutch-lake/a-62996939