Just A Car Guy: 9/11/16

Friday, September 16, 2016

Tom Lieb bought his 1929 Ford, this very Model A roadster, when Eisenhower was in office, it just takes a while sometimes to get around to finishing some cars

Preoccupied with college and a fledgling business that paid for it, he put off building it. And it was the right thing to do; that fledgling business grew to one of the more prominent aftermarket manufacturers, Scat Performance.

So he put off building it some more. In fact he put it off until about 2006 or ’07 when he broached the idea again. Still loaded with obligations, he resigned to let someone else do the heavy lifting. He delivered it to SO-CAL Speed Shop

The exhaust manifolds are rare and unusual: “They came off a World War II-era landing craft,” he reveals. “I found them in New Zealand, so I put some in my suitcase and brought ’em home!”

The air filters, are just as exceptional, they’re ’28-’29 Lincoln. “They have a little impeller in there,” he explains. “The louvers direct the air to spin the impeller which throws any solids to the outside.” A trough around the bottom perimeter catches and dispenses with the debris. “There’s no element, just the turbine wheel.”

Incidentally the tank began life as a crewman’s oxygen tank from a high-altitude bomber like a B-25. Shine elongated it to take it from 7-1/2 gallons to about 12.

Believe it or not but this very engine profoundly affected on the industry. “A fella who I knew is a third-generation crankshaft manufacturer in Spain,” Lieb says. “His family made all of the crankshafts for Simca, who used Flatheads in trucks until 1972. He told me about a surplus dealer in France who had 200 of those cranks and he wanted to sell them.” So he bought the cranks and put them in the catalog.

“In the process I set aside a couple for myself,” he continues. “A couple years later I went to collect all the parts to build the engine but the cranks weren’t there!” As it turns out, the warehouse manager thought they were out of place and put them with the rest of the inventory that sold off. “‘Aw man!’ I thought. ‘Well I guess there’s only one thing to do now, make them!’” Which he did, H-beam rods included. “Now we still sell an average of two of those cranks and rod assemblies a day.”

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/1929-ford-av-8-highboy-ambr-roadster-has-all-the-traditional-vintage-parts-covered/

This spring Masato Kawabata set the drifting speed record — 189.5 miles per hour — in a stunt in the UAE at the airport

Kawabata, a 38-year-old from Osaka, set the record in a specially prepped 2016 Nissan GT-R. In three attempts down the 1.86-mile airstrip, he managed to drift the car from 34 to 55 degrees of yaw. Kawabata's speed bested that of prior record holder Jakub Przygoński, a Polish driver who hit 135.4 miles per hour while going sideways in 2013.

Tanner Foust, rally racer and Top Gear USA host, says he was planning his own attempt at the record, but Kawabata's feat — 55 miles an hour faster than the previous record — will be hard to beat. "What you have to understand is that to drift consistently at 180 miles per hour," Foust says, "your wheel speed actually has to be something like 200 miles per hour." The sideways movement also creates extra lift, which could flip the car in an instant.

Kawabata's GT-R was tweaked by Nismo, and GReddy. It's 4 liter engine was tuned to give it a healthy 1,380 horsepower. (The standard GT-R at Nissan dealers has a paltry 565.)

http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/articles/drifting-at-1895-miles-per-hour-w436965

drifting, with a 360 camera (so us youtube watchers can look around) and then, you hit the barriers

see it from another viewpoint...

interesting indicator for an electric Fiat 500 so you can see how far along the charge is going.

those new BMWs are finally getting out and around

Super license plate

Baby Bootlegger, Hispano Suiza powered

How about that steering wheel and gauges too?

http://www.woodyboater.com/blog/2014/08/05/kent-o-smiths-big-report-clayton/
https://www.facebook.com/WoodsAndWater2015/

1958 Fellows and Stewart Junior Racer (known as a “Little Fellow”)

“Knock on Wood Jr.” is a 1958 Fellows and Stewart 6.5 foot junior racer known as a “Little Fellow.” Fellows and Stewart was a large boat builder on Terminal Island in Wilmington California – now a part of Los Angeles. It has a 2 cylinder 7.5 HP Scott Atwater outboard bolted in under the hatches. Thus has a rudder for steering with forward and reverse. A very cool little boat

http://www.woodyboater.com/blog/2015/09/08/final-preparations-for-2015-woods-and-water-events-are-under-way/
http://woodyboater.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Woods-Water-photo-courtesy-Freedom-Boat-Service.-10.jpg

do NOT brake check a semi... because you are small and squishy, and it will take a long time to peel open your vehicle to bury you

https://www.facebook.com/keithbarlow?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

Georgia State Patrol says a tractor-trailer ran into the back of a second tractor-trailer. That second tractor-trailer then a drove over a silver pickup, crushing it, and ran into a third tractor-trailer. GSP said the third tractor-trailer hit a fourth one.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/three-tractor-trailers-involved-in-accident-on-i-20-one-person-killed/434341296

I found a couple of cool looking classic fiberglass boats

this had to have influenced the Batman tv show boat

http://www.fiberglassics.com/

the Copperstate Overland Rally 2015

https://www.fj.co/detail/1981-Land-Cruiser-FJ43_187

1981 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ43, incredible condition after a restification sold for $176,000, double the auction estimate

According to the seller, this truck was used in South America by an energy company for most of its life and is said to have been well maintained at Toyota dealerships during that time. It was then purchased by a Toyota enthusiast who used it as a daily driver for years. The truck was restored earlier this year by The FJ Company.

https://www.fj.co/detail/1981-Land-Cruiser-FJ43_187

the FJ Company sells a LOT of these
http://www.goodingco.com/vehicle/1981-toyota-land-cruiser-fj43/
http://www.motor1.com/news/93624/toyota-land-cruiser-fj43/

It took Zack a year to design and build this "world record longest backyard railroad trestle"

http://mikeshouts.com/worlds-record-longest-backyard-railroad-trestle/

The elephant in the room episode... which was right after Clarkson was fired, and they weren't allowed to mention that. Still a good episode with Clarkson in the competition of 3 lousy early 70s cars

Amazon will air the Grand Tour on Nov 18th!

Episodes of the show will come weekly to Amazon Prime, with a new one every Friday after the show's premiere on November 18th. There will be 12 episodes per season

Episodes are expected to be 70 minutes long, and Matt Damon and Charlize Theron will be on in the first season.

75th anniversary Ford Runabout by Cartier

Made by the American Silversmiths Guild in 1977 the 75th anniversary of Ford Motor Company.

"Meticulously hand-crafted by master silversmith, each model will weight approximately eight pounds, and will contain more than 40,000 grains of sterling Silver and a full fifteen grams of pure gold.

The world renowned jewelers, Cartier of New York, London and Paris, have been commissioned to set flawless, full cut diamonds in both front headlamps, as well as a deep ruby in the rear lantern. The model will be limited to 1,708 examples only, the exact number of original Model A's produced by Ford Motor Company.

Each model will be accompanied by accustom display case, produced in solid walnut, featuring a roadbed of genuine, turn-of-the century cobblestone actually taken from the streets of America's great cities. This "Model A" includes the original display case, complete documentation and certificates of authenticity.

Only Ford dealers could order and purchase these rare models. Because of the very limited production they were sold out and not all the orders were filled.

http://auctions.morphyauctions.com/Ford_75th_Anniversary_Dealer__Model_A__Run_About_M-LOT237502.aspx

immediately reminded me of the dozer model http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/12/caterpillar-sixty-silver-and-gold.html

One just sold in 2020 for about $2750 https://simpsongalleries.com/lot/a-ford-75th-anniversary-sterling-silver-and-gold-1903-model-a-ford-by-american-silversmiths-guild-1977-3990472 thanks Billy!