Saturday, November 22, 2014

new art from Ben Burch, who returned to the CTN expo this year, you might remember my post from last year about "Clutchdog and Retread"


for comparison to show how different a photo is from the artists work in digital form on his website: http://burchworks.blogspot.com/







the video is in last years post:

I didn't know the other cool steampunk art of Alejandro Lee, I enjoyed talking with him and seeing the great vehicles he's created


the below are from http://47ness.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=0



I remember seeing the above before, it really is impressive





http://47ness.daportfolio.com/about/

have you seen highway signs that specify the name of the cop that died on the job they've renamed that section of highway for? "Memorial Highway"

I was thinking... I'd find it funny to see one that listed Buford T Justice, or Roscoe P  Coltrane... with a temporary vinyl overlay

I thought about this while stuck in traffic on the 5 in Anaheim

Hypothetically speaking, how many times will a cop take away your keys before he gets upset that you carry spares to annoy him?

lets agree that the cops want you to turn off your car.

Then you don't.

They will take the keys, and keep you in the car, right?

Well, if that happened, and you then pulled a spare key out of the ashtray or somewhere, and turned it back on...

would the cop lose his mind then, or would it take a couple more repeats?

Just thought about this while stuck in traffic on the 5 in Glendale.... because, what else are you going to do while stuck in traffic... and I bet no one else has ever considered carrying a couple spare keys to just to find the limit to a cops patience and self control

this is barely hanging in there, with only 1/2 the brake lights working, and the 1st time I've seen bungee cord holding a trunk lid closed


if you saw this Chrysler 200 while driving, would you notice the ridiculous "Bentley"


incredible news... Ridley Scott is producing a steampunk movie! Carlos Saldanha, the director of the Ice Age movies, is attached to direct! "Diego and the Steam Pirates" I've posted about, will be a movie... wow!


I first posted about this artist and his steampunk story after ComicCon 2013 http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/07/diego-and-steam-pirates-collide-escape.html the above photo is from todays CTN Expo in Burbank

Less than a week afterclosing a deal for his debut three-book children’s series Timeless, the movie rights have been picked up by Fox. Carlos Saldanha, the director of the animated Rio and Ice Age movies, is attached to direct what would be a live-action/CG adaptation. Ridley Scott and Michael Schaefer of Scott Free Productions and Steve Tzirlin are producing.

The story is set in Chicago when a time implosion brings together people — and creatures — from the past, present and future. A boy sets out with his friends (who are all from different time periods) to rescue his father who has been captured by a Roman general.

The Pixar veteran artist and senior designer, left Pixar to write the series and has produced extensive concept art for the book, which Tegen editor Ben Rosenthal says will look similar to the art/text mix in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adding, "Armand's captivating, brilliant art drops the jaw."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixar-artist-nabs-three-book-738779  and  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/rio-director-adapt-kids-adventure-740387

I took this opportunity to get more photos of Armand's airplane and Isetta model












Armand's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArmandBaltazarStudios
and his website http://www.armandbaltazar.com/index.htm

Friday, November 21, 2014

the 1968 Charger Maximus, still not completed, 2nd year at SEMA. built by Scott Spock Racing and Nelson Racing Engines.




The custom-widened body has over 1,500 hours of metal work in it, and the new chassis is said to be 400 percent more rigid than the original.

 It’s powered by a 9.4 liter Hemi V8 with two turbochargers and two intercoolers. Horsepower settings are said to be adjustable from the cockpit to anywhere from 600hp to its maximum output of 2,000hp.

Once the car is complete, the Charger is planned to be capable of eight second quarter mile times and a top speed of 200 miles per hour, the top speed will be upped to a ridiculous 260 miles per hour. ... if they ever finish it

You can see from last years gallery http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/11/68-charger-in-bare-metal-2000.html that nothing has changed in a year

P 39 Airacobra found intact and in amazing condition in a lake, returned to it's assembly plant, 60 years later


This particular aircraft was part of 4,719 P-39s sent to the Soviet Union under the United States’ Lend-Lease program, which propped up Allied forces with war material before and after the U.S. entered World War II.

One amazing discovery that always delights restorers and historians was found in the starboard door. In a leather binder was the aircraft’s maintenance log, which included the entire flight and service history of the aircraft, save for a few water-damaged pages.

 The wing guns had been removed and the researchers found cans of stew and extra ammunition belts in the ammunition trays. This further confirmed this was the aircraft that had broken formation when 773 IAP was repositioning that day. The cans of stew were made in Massachusetts, which suggests that the lend-lease program also included food.

 Miss Lend-Lease, as it has been named by the Ira G. Ross/Niagara Aerospace Museum (NAM) that is undertaking the restoration, served in a frontline Soviet Air Force squadron along the border with Finland.

The discovery in 2004 is rare since remains of the pilot along with key artifacts, found with the aircraft, have provided insights into the mystery of why the aircraft suddenly broke formation as the squadron repositioned to an airfield closer to the front 66 years ago.

Miss Lend-Lease is undergoing restoration at the same facility where it was born in 1943.

http://www.warbirds-eaa.org/news/92010%20-%2010_21%20-%20P-39%20Recovered%20from%20Russian%20Lake%20After%2066%20Years.html



http://wnyaerospace.org/?page_id=66
http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/baranovsky/baranovsky.htm
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1109736

the essential stuff you must have in your car... good list

These are the items that should be either in your trunk or your glove compartment:

  Flashlight.
Things you cannot improvise, fire, light, and a knife. Seriously, though, not every road has a light on it, so bring your own in case you need to see something more clearly.

 Lighter.
 There have only been a few times when keeping a lighter in my car has proven to be useful – but I was always glad when the time came. You can't make fire without a lot of enormous effort, unless you have a lighter/matches. Carry a cheap lighter, they last forever, thank me later

Knife
a good Gerber multitool, or Leatherman. Yup, does about everything you might ever need. Takes up almost no space, not too expensive. Give them as xmas presents

First aid kit.
 Another non-negotiable. You have absolutely no idea what accidents can happen to yourself or others. Being able to quickly patch up a scrape or cut is invaluable. Get a small one and add the things that seem to make sense, like instant ice packs (you have no idea how awesome these are). Give them as xmas presents

Spare change.
 From parking meters to highway tolls to drive-thru windows, having a handful of quarters available takes a lot of stress out of your life.

 Pen.
 You never know when you need to leave a note on a car or sign a check, or whatever. A pen is another one of those “thankful I had it at the time” ideas.

A couple bottles of water

some Zip Ties of various sizes

Blanket.
Again, for those stuck-on-the-side-of-the-road situations. A blanket offers two-fold protection: from the cold and from the ground. The cold is obvious – a blizzard hits and you’re stranded somewhere, it’ll keep you, um, alive. But if you have to change a tire or perform some other kind of activity that requires you getting down on the dirty ground in your brand new suit, the blanket will keep you looking your best.

Fire extinguisher

 Phone charger.
Stop being left without juice. We all find ourselves with a low battery at times. If you like to use your phone for music in the car, or for navigation (like me), then this is an absolute must.

 Flares or reflective surface.
Some trunk tool kits come in bags that are already reflective, but having some flares is fine too. This is about protection from other drivers (and protecting them from you). The last thing you need when you’re on the side of the road is to get plowed over by someone who didn’t quite see you.

Heavy cloth grocery bags.
Remember how I said we should be carrying around reusable grocery bags? Keep them in your trunk. You can carry just about anything in a pinch with these. Plus, when you go to the store, you won’t forget them because they’ll be right there in the car for you. Again, they take up, like, zero space.

Bungee cords/ straps with a clincher
 Having bungee cords is like owning a truck with better gas mileage.

Tire pressure gauge.
Rubber tires are so prone to flats and leaks, I just don’t get why we haven’t come up with anything better. That being said, a tire gauge is non-negotiable in your car. You better have one and know how to use it.

And why not a 20 dollar bill for whatever comes up, so you don't have to make a extra run to the ATM?

inspired by http://cufflinkedmag.com/2014/11/20/ride-easy-17-things-every-man-should-keep-in-his-car/

ok... cringe... here are the latest photos of stupid people getting their vehicle fixed

D'Wrenched says it's time for the weekend, I think I'll pass this along for you all to enjoy

moose attacks snowmobiler.. so, be careful out their friends


It's getting closer ot snowmobile racing season... so here's a video of vintage racing to show how far it's come (turn off the speakers, the song is a horrible choice)

Johnny Carson had a DeLorean


and it broke on his way home. Pissed him off

and instead of making two more posts for the car carrier and movie still, I'll add them here



All from http://ritkanlathatotortenelem.blog.hu/2014/11/21/kihalt_automarkak_5_delorean

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Outside SEMA this sand sculpture was worked on and finished (it looks like) on Thursday







you may be stuck in the snow, so think about getting a snowmobile. Maybe, even a super cool Brooks Stevens designed Spirit of 76 sled

Brook Stevens was a premier industrial designer that worked for the likes of Miller Brewing, the Milwaukee Road RR, Studebaker, Jeep, Harley Davidson, Oscar Mayer and OMC. His association with OMC was a long one, and he influenced a wide variety of the company’s products from LawnBoy lawn mowers to Evinrude boats to Cushman vehicles.

The collection includes many reference photos of Johnson, OMC and Evinrude snowmobiles. Of interest today, this Red White and Blue beauty. As many will remember, 1976 was America’s Bicentennial year and consumer products of all sorts appeared in the nation’s colors. This theme extended to OMC’s production snowmobiles that year, but I know there will be interest in this prototype that never hit the snow.

did you know Mercury Marine opened a Museum? It's in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin


Why am I posting about a boat motor company?

Well... it's an interesting museum, and founder Carl Kiekhaefer’s start in Nascar is the car angle that interests me in the museum's exhibits.

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/05/1955-stock-race-car-grand-national.html

His desire to conquer automobile racing was initiated by running in the 1951 Carrera Panamericana where he and his team placed third on their 1st attempt.  Kiekhaefer was incensed by being beaten by two Ferrari cars.

The following year, he returned by airplane and had the cars transported by truck. Team Mercury finished third again, this time behind two Fords, despite illegal modifications made to the Fords and discovered by post-race inspectors.



That was enough for Kiekhaefer, who moved to NASCAR where he believed rules were honored. But after dominating the fledgling circuit for two years, rule changes he perceived as aimed directly at him drove Kiekhaefer from the sport forever.

https://www.mercurymarine.com



https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1721312541222039&id=115880941765215

 Carl Kiekhaefer was a rich mans's son, trained as an electrical engineer, but started as a draftsman at Evinrude in 1927, but was fired for his temper. Seems like most genius entrepreneurs, he knew what was what, and was not capable of putting up with other bosses.

in 1939, he got his dad to back his purchase of the old Thor outboard factory, so he could produce magnetic milk seperators. Along with the factory, he got 300 returned defective outboards. There was a good reason the Thor outboard company went out of business.

Kiekhaefer decided to fix them, improve them, and make a whopping big profit from them, instead of selling them for scrap metal prices. Huge success.


suddenly, he was in the outboard motor business, as his innovative improved parts, like rubber vane cooling water pumps, made his outboards very competitive. HE called the new outboard company Mercury. Now you know, the rest of the story

During WWII civilian demand for his motors wained but the military bought thousands. His company also produced engines for aerial target drones and chain saws used to clear jungles in the South Pacific.

https://vintagejacksonville.net/2015/03/11/terrys-kiekhaefer-mercury-dealership/