Saturday, February 28, 2015

fire stations still had steam pumpers hanging out in back, though they had new fire engines


Found on http://www.shorpy.com/node/18056?size=_original#caption

often on Shorpy the commentors are very highly focused on the details and point out some cool things you might not notice... in this photo, they noticed that the steam pumper is facing the back of the room, probably because it's retired, and that the fire truck is a Seagrave from about 1916, and look at the really bad tire rubber on the left front.

1922 kids, cops, business men and a street car in Washington DC


It looks like the business guys are cheering on the kids who seem to be running a baton passing and the cops might be acting as a race escort.

Found on http://www.shorpy.com/node/18028

tank warfare, WW2, account of a Sherman and Fireflys taking on 3 Tigers and a Tiger Royal


On 18 July 1944, near Cagny, Lieutenant John Gorman was in his Sherman tank when he was confronted by a far superior German Tiger tanks

"We had been warned of the existence of such a monster. Corporal Baron and I had discussed it. We had rather light-heartedly concluded that, if confronted by a Tiger Royal, there was only one thing to do and that was to use the naval tactic of ramming, which my Portora hero had demonstrated. Baron agreed that it would be right to use the Sherman’s speed to counteract the rather slow traverse of the Tiger Royal’s 88mm gun turret. We concluded that, mad as it seemed, the only hope in a 75mm Sherman was to ram. When the Tiger Royal came into view its turret was at 90o from us, with the gun towards the 2nd Battalion tanks..."

Read the whole account of ramming the Tiger Royal with a Sherman, and how they kept fighting, and survived, while doing heavy damage to the 4 Tigers at http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/crazy-irishman-rammed-a-tiger-ii-with-his-sherman-then-went-off-looking-for-a-firefly-to-make-sure-the-tiger-wouldnt-be-going-anywhere.html

Or in the book this was excerpted from "Always a Mick"
http://www.amazon.com/Sir-John-Gorman-Times-Life/dp/0850529069/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1425180003&sr=8-3&keywords=John+Gorman

After serving in the Irish Guards in NW Europe (where he won a legendary MC for ramming a King Tiger tank), John Gorman's career included being Head of Security with BOAC before entering politics and becoming Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

trucker vs little car who knows one thing the trucker doesn't



Though the little car shouldn't have forced this... the trucker is at fault for not preventing a collision that was avoidable.

The National Safety Council, defines a preventable collision as one in which the driver failed to do everything that they reasonably could have done to avoid it.

 The American Trucking Association, uses the following rule to determine the preventability of a collision: “Was the vehicle driven in such a way to make due allowance for the conditions of the road, weather, and traffic and to also assure that the mistakes of other drivers did not involve the driver in a collision?”

Here on this video you can see that the trucker didn't back off, allow the car in, and prevent the collision.

I bet everyone knows that the most important rule in every US state is that you are guilty if you could have reasonably done something to prevent a collision, and didn't.

That's the law. You are at fault anytime you could have prevented a collsion and didn't. Found on http://truckviewtv.com/redneck-trucker-says-no-to-this-blonde-trying-to-merge/

100 years of Service Stations, a book by a lifelong collector


Here's the start of a lifetime fascination with petroliana

his book looks like something I need to get my hands on!



Notice that great gas station? It's something I just coincidentally posted yesterday http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-wow-photo-servicar-harley-steam-pump.html

http://www.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Years-Gas-Stations/dp/0965573664/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425164740&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Wayne+henderson+100+years+of+Service+Stations

For the book. It's about $50.00... and I can't afford that. If anyone has a used copy for $20.00, let me know!

A Nimbus in Japan, /or/, meet Kim!


I was wondering about a cool guy that comments now and then, and he can spot an Indian in a 1948 photo like nobody else you'll ever meet... when I learned by clicking on his Google profile that he has blogged about his trip to Japan with his Nimbus

One of the first things on his blog just cracks me up:

"so here I walk along in the darkness, jetlagged out of my mind, speaking French with an 80-year old Master Yoda clone on a bicycle. Good start." ... 

"In some places the town reminds me a bit of New York City, in others even about the movie ‘The Fifth Element’, because it is humid and hot, and there are people and traffic everywhere. It also has all the charm of Hamburg (i.e. none), which was bombed to bits in WW2."

The good news is that I may get the Nimbus through customs tomorrow. A local contact – Crazy Pete a.k.a. Schuichi – has helped me locate an insurance company, and with explaining to the airport people how important it is that this bike be no further delayed.

Third party coverage for two months is a modest 6,000 yen, probably less than it cost the insurance company to have 4-5 of their people taking are of my business. Fine service, though, deep bows all around. Even less expensive is a 1:200,000 road map that I finally track down. It is completely devoid of those ugly Latin characters, which no doubt will make it interesting to use when out there. 

So, if you want a funny read about a road trip through Japan on a Nimbus (you can't make this stuff up folks) to pass the time while you are stuck on the bus, train, or in line waiting at the DMV ...

http://nimbustripinjapan.blogspot.com/

from ruins to racer, the Dean and White AA/A is restored from the parts left laying about for over 30 years


Above is the photo I ran in June 2014, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-remains-of-pete-deannolan-white.html  from Muscle Car Review Magazine's June 2014 issue

 below are photos from the story that was just posted today on Hot Rod.com http://www.hotrod.com/features/1503-dean-and-white-altered-restored-as-tribute/





Then, and now


Dean’s name gets top billing on the car, but White did the driving, all over Southern California. “We ran it at a lot of dragstrips because back then there were a lot of dragstrips to run at,” Rick explains. “I remember it as a high-8 or low-9-second car at about 170 mph.”

Its racing career was brief—starting in 1962 or ’63 and ending in 1968—but successful. It was a class winner at the Winternationals and at two HOT ROD Magazine drag races at Riverside.

Then, the car was parked as both White and Dean went on to other racing projects.

This car sat for decades at Nolan White’s house, the chassis outside and much of the small-block packed away in the garage. It remained there until a couple of years ago when Rick was selling his parents’ house. Nolan had collected parts for years for his various projects, and Jim Lattin, a longtime friend of both Dean and White, went with Rick to the house looking for additions to his own huge collection of vintage gear.

Lattin decided to take on the car’s resurrection as a tribute to his two friends. And in honor of their lost brothers, members of the San Diego Roadster Club came together to do whatever they could to help Lattin bring the car back.

Lattin and his son Bill assembled the engine using parts from the White garage—block, heads, pan, the blower manifold, and an Enderle injector—as well as parts donated by local hot rodders. Jeff Arnett contributed the blower, a vintage piece from his father, original Bean Bandit Joaquin Arnett. Stu Hilborn’s Fuel Injection Engineering helped the Lattins set up the car’s injection system.


Admiration and applause to Jim Lattin, a So Cal race car specialist/collector/restorer, and the most amazing collector and land speed racer I want to see the collection of...

And respect to the San Diego Roadster Club for all the members who frequently go above and beyond to help out each other, and strangers, on the dry lakes, and in garages.

http://www.hotrod.com/features/1503-dean-and-white-altered-restored-as-tribute/

one EARLY dump truck design


Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/Fordmodelt/

Its been a while since I've seen the solid rubber tires cross drilled 

it was taken to a new level... just kidding, I couldn't resist. Where in the world did they find two of these trailers to make this double decker 1953 Spartan Manor?


Found on https://www.facebook.com/CaravanTurkey?fref=nf

Thanks to Big Billy! He sent me a link to the Youtbe video! The owner is the daughter of the buyer, who bought the upper deck from Spartan in 1957 because his girls outgrew the front bedroom. The owner now lives in California, and before graduating high school had always lived in this trailer, in many cities in So Cal from San Diego county to Ventura county

so THAT is what those holders are for!


Found on https://www.facebook.com/giancarlo.neri1

Obviously a 20 on the outside of a roll of ones... gotta keep your stripper dollars somewhere your wife won't see them I suppose

Josh is featured on Coolhunting.com!


It's great to see talent get recognized, and their art featured on more yuppie mainstream websites!

The interview and a couple more images at http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/interview-josh-welton-of-brown-dog-welding


Last summer Traditional Rod and Kulture Illustrated did a multipage feature: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/06/traditional-rod-and-kustom-illustrated.html


His Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/Browndogwelding

Looking at a stolen car news item, I noticed something


  "may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed" then I noticed their links to social media to get it redistributed. Is it just me? Or is this just a stupid place to put legal BS when you're desperate for people to share the call for help in finding stolen cars?