Saturday, December 10, 2016

Andy Warhol had one rare Ferrari, he bought it only to make an art piece parody of Rolls Royce, but sold it without racing it, making art of it, or knowing how rare it was


above,  a 1955 Ferrari 857 Sport Scaglietti Spider 0588 M.

Ferrari built just four 857 Sports models, and 0588 M was the last example created.

After a brief period with the Ferrari works team, the car returned to Ferrari and Scaglietti, where it received its spider coach work on and distinctively finished with a rear upright fin, similar to that of a D-type Jaguar.

 In 1956, John Edgar purchased the “new” Ferrari to add to his stable. In its first US competition outing in 1956, Jack McAfee wielded the 857S to a second place at Palm Springs. Soon thereafter, McAfee drove 0588 M, finishing third at Pebble Beach.

All this racing wore out the Ferrari mechanicals, and mechanic Jack Deren put a Chevy engine, gearbox, rear end in it. Then Oscar Kovaleski won races with it. Even beating NART Factory Team Ferrari's and private Cobras.

These initial successes kicked off a long list of significant wins for the car but by 1966, this Ferrari ended up bought Andy Warhol, for $3600, who painted the car yellow with the intention of creating a parody of the movie The Yellow Rolls-Royce,

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=54021
http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/index.php?categoryid=41&p2_articleid=87
http://www.dkeng.co.uk/restorations/65/Previously_Restored_Cars/Ferrari_857S.html

Funny how Andy Warhol shows up here in the auto enthusiast world, isn't it!

Oscar Koveleski's Can Am car (the M8B McLaren) was criticized by the SCCA for it's paint scheme, as they had a rule limiting how much body space could be used for advertising.... he told them "it's just racing stripes"




When the SCCA looked at it, they saw a slot car track advertising "Auto World", his hobby store in Scranton PA, with the race car shop in the back.

He replied "That isn't advertising, that's racing stripes" and then he went back to racing.

This is the same guy who was 2nd in the Cannonball Run with the Chevy van loaded with 5 drums of 130 octane  racing gas

And Oscar Koveleski bought the Ferrari from Andy Warhol, tossed in a chevy power train, and beat the NART Team  https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/andy-warhol-had-one-rare-ferrari-he.html

http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/index.php?categoryid=41&p2_articleid=87
https://catchmeifyoucan427.tumblr.com/post/179188827937/oscar-kovaleskis-mclaren-can-am-car-with-the#notes

The newly discovered Roth 56 Ford is reported as getting restored in time for a display at the Grand National Roadster Show


what will be hardest to remake is the art Roth did on the dashboard, as the 2nd owner sanded it all off, and this is probably the only photo of it


After Roth finished making the body for the Outlaw he threw the molds away.

Robert Williams snagged them from the dumpster, and this body was pulled from those molds. It will be displayed with the restored truck at the GNRS.


http://www.hotrod.com/articles/ed-big-daddy-roths-1956-ford-f-100-pickup-found-50-years-hiding/

the Williams Garage vs hate filled neighbors (or religious fantaics?) with a vendetta


For six years, three property owners on Martin Farm Road have waged a battle against Williams over his four-car garage that they say he is using to run a car repair business. His immediate neighbor, Margaret Foulke, said she has complained hundreds of times to Sussex County officials about noise, odors and traffic coming from Williams’ property, while neighbors John and Carol Kane, who live about 800 feet down the street, have complained about what they say is an illegal building on the property. “And we got nowhere,” Carol Kane said.

In 2014, the Kanes, Foulke and Foulke’s nephew, Robert Walker Jr. – who used to live in a house next to Williams on land bought from Williams – filed a suit against Williams in Chancery Court, hoping to stop him from working on cars in his garage and force him to tear down the structure that they say was built illegally.


A Chancery Court judge issued a memorandum in June 2016 opinion mostly in favor of Williams, denying the neighbors’ claim that Williams’ shop is a nuisance and that the noise and smells are excessive.

 The judge did, however, give neighbors more say over the shared driveway allowing that the complaintants could install speed bumps and speed limit signs.

 “Mr. Williams has a not-uncommon hobby – working on cars – that he pursues with an uncommon vigor, in a large shop beside his house. The plaintiffs, his neighbors, contend that the resulting sights, smells and sounds have disturbed the quiet enjoyment of their property. These are issues that neighborly people could have resolved with reasonable give-and-take, and reached thereby a result superior to that which can be achieved through a binary court decision based on property rights,”

Defense through legal channels seemed to be doomed for a man whose only income is $800 a month in disability.

A freak construction accident resulting in blood clots occurred in 1993 started a chain reaction of surgeries and amputations that continued for five years. Seventeen vascular surgeries and five amputations later, both his legs were removed above the knee.

Finally in Nov 2016, the judge denied all claims.

In an opinion released Nov. 4, the judge addressed what he referred to as “officious intermeddling” by neighbors who filed suit asking that Williams’ garage be torn down because of violations with county and building codes.

 In the judge’s latest opinion, he denied plaintiff’s request to tear down the garage and affirmed, as the judge did in a previous opinion, that Williams can use his garage for his auto repair hobby. The judge also said Williams is allowed to have ornamental signs on his property and denied the request by plaintiffs Robert Walker Jr., Margaret Foulke and John and Carol Kane for payment of their legal fees associated with the lawsuit.

While acknowledging that the ceiling trusses or floor slope of Williams garage may not be up to code, the judge said the plaintiffs failed to prove how the garage has injured them. He also said state statute leaves enforcement of building codes to a county director of assessment. “I conclude no statutory standing exists with respect to enforcement of the building code as adopted by Sussex County,” he wrote. “To find, as the plaintiffs argue, that all property owners in Sussex County have standing to enforce the building code would, I fear, result in inefficient and pernicious litigation.”



http://www.garagejournal.com/blog/page/2/
http://www.capegazette.com/article/neighbors-sue-stop-auto-repairs-harbeson-home/114001
http://www.capegazette.com/article/judge-denies-claims-against-harbeson-garage/119609
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/10/14/delaware-man-crowdfunds-legal-fight-to-save-his-garage/

Railroads, more than just a transportation means for large loads or heavy freight, around a 100 years ago it was also the means to access remote vacation getaways


Railroads brought tourism to Cranberry Lake from cities downstate, because the stories they'd heard about hunting and fishing and the natural beauty of the area drew them out to the country for summer vacations, or fall deer hunting, or spring fishing.

Railroads were built into some remote areas for reasons like mining, logging, or milling, and that meant word finally got out about the incredible mountain country beauty that great painters used to make famous, health nuts used to exploit with tales of miracle spring cures, etc.

Tthe tourism craze peaked almost instantly. Hotels were built in the 1880s and 1890s, and then more in the early 1900s. Mines began operating, and then the mills needed to make flour, carpentry and wood lumber factories to build the small towns, and summer business flourished from tourists and longtime visitors.

Dale commented about a cool book about two small towns, Clifton and Fine, "Two Towns - Two Centuries 1776-1976"    https://www.amazon.com/Two-Towns-Centuries-1776-1976/dp/B002ENPGDC



http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/32913/20161116/north-country-at-work-how-railroads-brought-tourism-to-cranberry-lake
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/32911/20161115/north-country-at-work-moving-the-town-of-benson-mines

Via the very informative http://www.adirondackbasecamp.com/adirondack-snow-conditions-resources 

Doug's cross country driving 1934 Packard, who first won 100 point CCCA and AACA judged events,


Of the 58 cars on the New York to San Fran run, only 19 made it, and since Doug built his, and no one else had (trailer queens from auctions) he spent a hell of a lot of time helping out all the other touring drivers.

This car will be featured in the 2017 Hemmings Classic Cars.

https://chromjuwelen.com/latest-news/item/203587-across-the-usa-and-back-8000-miles-in-an-80-year-old-packard

I just learned that the multi-billionaire owner of Chick Fil A was a car collector, and the collection was sold off with all the proceeds going to his philanthropic charity foundation. Wow. Respect that.


His collection was incredibly diverse, from Rolls Royce to Red Express to a Brewster. His charity did things as remarkable as build homes for foster kids... when is the last time you ever heard of any one building homes for foster kids? I never have.



Yes, I'm very aware of the religious and marriage views, no I won't allow comments about them, just simply enjoying that this billionaire was a car collector and philanthropist that was VERY family first. How can anyone not respect those things? All the rest is simply argumentative as it doesn't relate at all to this post, and since the guy is dead, there ain't no point in bringing it up.

21 years behind a counter at a small diner across from a Ford manufacturing plant in Atlanta, starting after he got out of the Army after WW2, before he started more restaurants and selling franchises.

Made about 5 billion a year most recently. One word, respect.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/09/08/346788443/chick-fil-a-founder-s-truett-cathy-dies-at-93
http://www.drivingline.com/articles/the-incredible-car-collection-of-chick-fil-a-founder-truett-cathy/

Race car drivers had a very short life expectancy, one I've never heard of despite his astounding talent, took that into account, and budgeted to only live til 30 yrs old


Masten Gregory (Kansas City Flash) inherited a fortune, and budgeted his inheritance to last until he was 30... as he doubted he'd live any longer. He happened to live 32 years more.

An heir to an insurance company fortune, Gregory was well known for his youngish looks and thick eyeglasses, due to his "terrible" eyesight.
 His parents divorced when he was very young, and his father died when he was three years old. As an adult, Gregory used his inheritance to buy a Mercury-powered Allard, had a head gasket failure, but installed a new hemi to race at Sebring in 1953, where he again retired, this time due to a rear suspension failure.

Gregory's first win came in just his third race, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Changing to a Jaguar, Gregory won several races in America, including the Guardsmans Trophy in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco and a race at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.


He placed 3rd in the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix, the first podium for an American in an F1 Grand Prix. He followed this with a string of good results, coming eighth in the German Grand Prix, and fourth in both the Pescara and Italian Grands Prix. Despite only competing in half of the races, Gregory ended the 1957 season in sixth place in the championship.


Gregory set the overall fastest lap at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans. He won the 1961 1000 km Nürburgring, finished 5th in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche RS61 Spyder.

1962 saw Gregory win the Canadian Grand Prix

In 1964, Gregory was racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40. He retired in the 5th hour due to gearbox difficulties.

The following year, Gregory teamed up with Austrian Jochen Rindt, and won Le Mans in a North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 LM.

 1965 was also the year in which Gregory raced in the Indianapolis 500, starting from the back of the grid and working his way up to 5th before being forced to retire due to an engine problem.



Following his good friend's death at the 1972 Le Mans race, Gregory retired to Amsterdam, where he worked as a diamond merchant before operating a glassware business.

On November 8, 1985, Gregory died in his sleep of a heart attack in Italy.

Gregory is distinct in being only one of seventeen drivers to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport (Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix) and to have won at least one of those events.

 The others were Louis Chiron, Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Graham Hill (who won all three), Dan Gurney, Jochen Rindt (who won two), Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, Jackie Stewart, Denny Hulme, Danny Sullivan, Vern Schuppan, Stefan Johansson, Michele Alboreto, Eddie Cheever and Jacques Villeneuve.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masten_Gregory
https://primotipo.com/2014/11/01/masten-gregory-readies-for-the-off-british-grand-prix-aintree-1959/

Lola evolved into the GT 40, how that happened

Ford had powered cars at Le Mans since the early ’60s, such as a Marcos in 1962, and even a pair Ford Thunderbirds were provisionally entered in the 1957 edition, though they didn’t race. But with no viable sportscar programme to kickstart their Le Mans plan, new relationships were needed to shortcut the route to success.

Ford powered the Cobra, and also a Lola MkVI GT

After looking at Cooper and Lotus at the beginning of 1963, Ford fixed its eye on Lola: the relationship was cemented with the supply of two MkVIs to the mothership in the US and a transatlantic knowledge exchange. Ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer was also brought in to head up the new team: a name that would take Ford to its highest success and make the blue and orange of Gulf Oil perhaps the best-known sportscar livery ever.


Construction of the initial Ford GT began at Lola in the UK, prior to the formation of the dedicated Ford Advance Vehicles. The same 4.2-litre Ford Fairlane engine from the MkVI Lola was transplanted into the new car, and the iconic body began to take shape. This initial variant was narrow and long, though the rear three-quarters and slashed rear aspect are still instantly recognisable. It was called project Grand Touring 40, with the 40 representing the overall height in inches of the car.

It lost miserably to Ferraris in 1964, and wasn't even adequate at high speed, so the car was redesigned and the engine changed to the 7-litre V8 from a Ford Galaxie.

They weren't winning in 1965 either. But anyway, that is how the Lola evolved into the GT 40

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/06/this-time-its-personal-ford-at-le-mans-66-69/

The 1926 Renault 40 CV


In 1924 the Montlhery race track near Paris was opened for car manufacturers to establish world speed records.

Renault prepped a 1926 40 CV prototype with a  a specially prepared chassis and a narrow closed body with single seat in the middle of the car width.

It obtained a 24 hours world record at an average speed of 107 mph. Top speed was measured at 119 mph

http://www.autoconcept-reviews.com/cars_reviews/renault/renault-40/cars_reviews-renault-40.html


http://anyskin.tumblr.com/post/164135020487/1926-renault-40cv-type-nm-des-records#notes

on the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Marines crashed a jet, after ejecting, off the coast of Japan


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/marine-corps-fa-18-hornet-jet-crashes-off-japan/  which mostly avoids discussing the facts of this story, instead trying to prop up the "happy to be here" official line of US-Japan relations. It's more like the Japanese want the US military the hell off Okinawa, and the US Military have a curfew ever since the last time some ex marine killed a local woman.

In an announcement May 26, 2016, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force said the restrictions will remain in effect through June 24. ... A midnight curfew and other liberty restrictions are coming for servicemembers and other status of forces agreement personnel on Okinawa, Japan  https://www.stripes.com/news/midnight-curfew-other-restrictions-in-place-on-okinawa-1.411508

Under the expanded curfew order, all Navy personnel are forbidden from drinking either on or off base and are required to be on base or at home except to perform “essential” activities such as commuting.

In the elections on Sunday, supporters of Gov. Takeshi Onaga, an advocate of scaling back the United States military presence in Okinawa, expanded their narrow hold on the Prefectural Assembly by winning 27 of 48 seats.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/07/world/asia/japan-okinawa-us-base.html

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/u-s-japan-relations/

But, lets not let facts get in the way of CBS trying to convince you everything is just rosy. 

Jeremy Clarkson on crashing:

They gave me a Charade GTti and I set off for a lap that ended in a ditch with a car cut completely in half.

What went wrong? No idea. All I can remember was the man from the company responding to my apology by saying “Don’t worry. We make one of those cars every 23 seconds”.



The only accident I could explain was when I was grass track racing in my Scirocco in the middle of the night after a big party. And the reason I hit a tree was “a champagne bottle got stuck under the brake pedal”.

I never told the insurers that.
https://drivetribe.com/p/BIwjiLtpT5GKVnKLM4JD1A/XyHBUUxAQwmB79YK3336iA

I find this hilarious... some frustrated old fart with an axe to grind and who will not allow for any other opinion than his own... has a Facebook page and went full retard this morning


Think it was the "Good day sir" that did it? Or the "I said good day sir" that pushed him over the edge?  

Is it any wonder the ego of this tyrant chose to use 5 star general and president Ike as his facebook photo? Just how full of yourself do you have to be to use a world leader as your avatar?

Read for yourself, the pissy old fart blocked my ability to look and see what is on Motorology Facebook page now. 


Reasons they used the Cadillac engines in tanks and landing craft, and how that relates to Pearl Harbor Day


the 346 cu in Cad was quiet, dependable, and proven, idled easily and started without problems.
Using the car engine in pairs for the M5 Stuart and M 26 Pershing, and the Chaffee, tanks freed up airplane engines for more airplanes to get made
Using car engines meant that most mechanics would already be familiar with them, and not have to learn some new design
Most of all, Cadillac had plenty of spare parts, and were already making these engines, and developing a new engine would take months that the military didn't have when Pearl Harbor was attacked

http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/General%20Motors/cadillac.htm

Sea King helicopters retired by the UK Ministry of Defense are being sold to make unique sheds and ‘man caves.’


Sea Kings were a version of the Sikorsky SH-61

Witham Special Vehicles is the military surplus firm selling about 30 of the helicopters for the MoD, the nonoperational Sky Kings are being priced between £10,000 and £20,000.

Over 20 of the aircraft can still be flown and are expected to be sold to private pilots, the remaining hulks can be bought to serve other purposes – sheds or man caves. One guy was going to put a bedroom and sitting room in it,” said Paul Southerington, Witham’s managing director. . “The sky’s the limit with what you can do with one. They are made of aluminum so they never rust or rot.”

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/sea-king-helicopters-sold-man_caves.html

I'm only 3 pages into a book... and I had to put it down and tell you to go buy it for yourself, or someone who loves the racing of the 1960s Can Am and all the incredible drivers there were (they were all in it)


John Surtees,       Bruce McLaren,         Phil Hill,             Mark Donohue,
Jim Hall,             George Follmer,         Peter Revson,      Dan Gurney,
Denny Hulme,    Parnelli Jones,             Mario Andretti    and Pedro Rodriguez to name a dozen


and some racers that aren't household names, but car guys will recognize Max Balchowsky and the Ol Yeller II

2 Indy winners and 3 LeMans winners were sitting on the grid of the 1st Can Am race in Sept '66. That level of racing talent competing with each other, all on one track at one time... wow. Tell you wouldn't donate a kidney to be there to see that 1st race!

3 car manufactures dominated the series, the Lola, the McLaren, and the Porsche. I don't mean won often, I mean they were not beaten in their time. They stomped the competition.

In 66 it was the Lola T70, then the McLaren captured titles in 1967, ’68, ’69, ’70 and ’71.
Then Porsche and Penske Racing went nuts with the 917/10 making 918 hp during the 1972 season, and the 917/30 in 1973 made 1,500 horsepower from its twin-turbo flat-12

After struggling with the car for the first two races of the 1973 season, Mark Donohue drove the 917/30 to wins in the remaining six events.

Have you made up your mind yet to get the book?

I'll be doing a full review/report - but hell, if you're like me and gob smacked in 3 pages of "holy shit" and "oh effing wow" from learning cool shit you did not know - get the book now, and hurry.

here are the first several pages on Google Books  and I seriously stopped at the end of page 12 (the 3rd page of text) before saying "screw it, I gotta tell people"

It's xmas delivery season for all delivery methods, and that can slow things down a lot, especially when the post office screws things up and delivers to the wrong post office (happened to me last year)

Alibris shows they sell the book for 10 bucks less than Barnes and Noble, and Onlinebookplace.com is 7 dollars less with no shipping charges to boot, and it's 6 less at $34 bucks from the 1st two sellers listed on Amazon.com so shop around for the least expensive way to get it.


They began the Can Am on Sept 11th, 1966. 4 months before the 1st superbowl, and nearly matched the number of spectators (7k shy) but this was also the year when you could first go buy a Hemi Charger, 427 Corvette, and only a couple months before the Camaro was released. 

Innovation and engine size were unrestricted... and the people involved in making cars? McLaren, Porsche, and John Mecom (pivotal in developing the Scarab, and Lola, and those won the Indy 500 and morphed into the GT 40 winner of Le Mans) plus Penske, with Parnelli Jones driving. Mecom was only 26 years old. Penske and McLaren are 29. Mind blown.

Who saved Ford from bankruptcy in the great depression? Henry Ford? Nope. Edsel Ford? Nope. The guy who fixed Edsel's car on his 1915 cross country trip, his brother in law Ernest


http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/07/in-1915-edsel-ford-and-friends-went.html

Henry Ford suddenly resigned the presidency of Ford in December 1918, and Edsel Ford was elected to succeed him.

Henry had been angered by minority stockholders, particularly the Dodge brothers, who had sued for increased dividends. He figured out a brilliant short term solution to having to put up with working for shareholders though.

Early in 1919 Henry Ford said he would form a new company and produce a car to rival the famous Model T.

Suddenly scared of the profitability of their Ford shares in view of Henry himself announcing a better car in the works, shareholders sold their shares to agents secretly working for the Fords.

This ruse brought complete ownership of Ford Motor back to the Ford family. The charade led to Edsel Ford's ownership of 41 percent of the company's stock that had been in non-Ford hands. Henry Ford remained the majority stockholder.

But then the 1920 recession hit, and Ford happened to be $75 million in debt to the Boston and New York banks due to rapid expansion and buying out the shareholders, including the Dodge brothers. As the recession deepened, he was at risk of losing the business.

Ernest Kanzler, a second Vice President at Ford in charge of the tractor side of the Ford business, Edsel's brother-in-law, (Edsel married Kanzler's wife Josephine's sister, but more on that under the links) and closest confidant, cancelled all supplier contracts, extended accounts payable from 60 to 120 days, and then used the standing inventory to assemble 90,000 cars, which were then sent to Ford dealers unsolicited under the standard terms: cash on delivery. Dealers had no choice but to pay for the cars or forfeit their franchises.

In this way, Ford threw his debt onto the backs of his dealers, the bankers were chased off, and Ford maintained control of his company. This was not the first or last time Ford gave his dealers a raw deal, and it was his practices in part that inspired all the various state franchise laws that give car dealers special protections.

Kanzler composed a six-page letter in January of 1926, pointing out that Chevrolet sales were rapidly gaining, while Ford's were in sharp decline.

Kanzler, while delicately refraining from direct criticism of Henry's beloved Model "T", called for a more competitive six cylinder car. "With every additional car our competitors sell, they get stronger and we get weaker."

Any critisism of the Model T infuriated Henry. Thereafter, Ernest Kanzler found himself ignored, ridiculed, and victimized in every conceivable way. Ultimately, while Edsel was out of the country, Henry had Kanzler fired. Henry really didn't get along with anyone, as no one was quite the same hard ass flint nosed old oak stump stubborn as Henry, except for maybe Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone.

Even Edsel wasn't able to get along with the old man, and what is probably unknown to you is that part of this is due to Henry's farm upbringing but due to Henry's success in automobiles Edsel had been born and raised in the city, and then Edsel married the niece of one of the Hudson car company leaders and owner of the largest dept store in Detroit, and then moved farther from the country, into the most elite and highest society circle of his wife's old money family in Indian Village, and then into Grosse Pointe Shores.

After he left Ford, Kanzler became a prominent Detroit banker, and while he and HF I did not get on, he remained a close advisor to Edsel Ford, and later to Edsel's widow Eleanor, and to their son. Henry Ford II. To the family he was known as "Uncle Ernest."

Kanzler was also head of the War Production Board during World War II, and a director of the Detroit Lions football team.

In 1955 he married Rosemarie, and he died in 1967

http://www.edsel.com/pages/edslford.htm
https://www.facebook.com/groups/321577158048111/
http://biography.yourdictionary.com/edsel-bryant-ford

Henry Ford II met his second wife, the Italian-born Cristina Vettore Austin, at one of Mrs. Kanzler's homes.
Mr. Ford's daughter, Charlotte Ford, met Stavros Niarchos, the Greek shipping tycoon whom she later married, at the Kanzler residence in St. Moritz.

Mrs. Kanzler was also credited with introducing Henry Fonda to his third wife, Countess Afdera Franchetti, and Oscar de la Renta to Francoise de Langlade, his first wife.

Over her lifetime, Mrs. Kanzler decorated and lived in 23 residences throughout the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/17/world/rosemarie-kanzler-85-social-magnet-who-d-find-a-find-and-make-a-match.html