Saturday, January 26, 2019

best photo I've ever seen of the Jonckheere Rolls Royce

bus depot, 1979, Vancouver

result of a union vs non-union war, the 3rd attempt to kill Wally Woolridge was a dynamite bomb that blew him out through the roof of his 1929 Oakland


Wally finished his shift at 7:30 p.m. at the Colonial Theatre, got in his car, turned on his lights, and was then hurled 20 feet in the air through the roof of his car. The “dynamite” bomb was powerful enough to break windows in nearby buildings. Wally’s life was saved because the bomb was placed at the back of the driver’s seat and the backrest deflected the explosion. His heavy coat softened his fall.

http://evelazarus.com/movie-projectionist-escapes-death-when-bomb-wrecks-car

For another murder by car bomb:  https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/03/an-actual-dynamite-stick-bombed-car.html

from the history files of car dealership competition wars, the world's largest free standing sign, 7 stories tall


The sign cost $100,000, weighed 12 tons, and was briefly North America’s largest free-standing sign, powered by a transformer that could light up 30 houses.

The BowMac car dealership had a history of staging stunts to lure customers away from the Dueck Chevrolet Oldsmobile dealership down the road. Under Jimmy Pattison’s management, promotions included dressing up a performing monkey in overalls and hiring the Leavy brothers—seven-foot-tall twins—to hang out in the used car lot. In 1958, Pattison staged what was billed as the “world’s largest checker game” where models in red or black bathing suits became the checkers moving across a board of two-foot squares.

http://evelazarus.com/guy-in-the-sky-the-bowmac-sign/

Looks like Sophia Loren, but isn't


So good news for men in their 20s and 30s, they've got the possibility of marrying a Sophia look alike. Her name is Madalina Diana Ghenea, she is Romanian-Italian  

the 'Flying Cars' or car loop at Riverview Parks, Chicago, Illinois, June 1954. The amusement park has a huge barrel that contains five miniature cars - it was devised by German inventor George Kock.




Photo by Francis Miller / The LIFE Picture Collection

Glory days

American Airlines published a policy in response to a rise in people flying with so-called emotional support animals on board with them.


Passengers will be prohibited from flying with frogs, hedgehogs, and goats even if they are therapy animals. Tusked animals will be banned from flying, but miniature horses will not.

The new ruling expands the airline's banned creatures list to include amphibians, spiders, goats, snakes, "non-household birds", or any smelly or unclean animal.

Reptiles, hedgehogs, insects, and rodents are also banned, as well as any "animals with tusks, horns or hooves (excluding miniature horses properly trained as service animals)".

In addition to expanding the list of banned creatures, the carrier will also require a doctor's note for any animal.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44132340

Friday, January 25, 2019

The Black Panther Camaro


It had Black Panther emblems on the fenders and trunk lid and could be ordered in any body style and motor/tranny combination.

There are, or were, 210 hp and 275 hp standard coupes, convertibles, RS cars, RS/SS big and small blocks and 2 '67 RS Z-28's.

They had 14 inch Magnum 500 wheels and could be ordered with a ton of speed shop equipment based on whatever the owner desired.

Some cars got the "007" console which consisted of the standard console that had the lid removed and the guts filled with a panel that had toggle switches with Dynamo taped labels like "oil Slick" and "Smoke Screen" etc. It was put in one of the first cars as a joke, but it caught on and became part of the package for many buyers. I can tell you that at least 8 cars still exist today.


For over 50 years, Bob Simonen was been the sole owner of this 1967 Black Panther Camaro. It only has 52,000 miles on it. He passed away in July 2018

In April 1967, Simonen walked into the Toronto-based car dealership Gorries Downtown Chevrolet-Oldsmobile and $3,625 later walked out with a 1967 Black Panther Camaro.

It's considered one of the rarest and most sought after Camaro’s of all time. In 1967, Simonen and a friend traveled to Toronto to pick up a commuter and the first place they stopped at was the Gorries dealership.

“The Black Panther Camaro was in the showroom. I fell in love immediately. I’d never seen a car that was black and gold or had mag wheels before,” said Simonen referring to the vehicle's Magnum 500 wheels, pretty unique at the time.

Simonen said Black Panther Camaros were made for only one year and that most likely only a dozen or two were ever produced.

The 1967 Black Panther Camaro is essentially the same as a regular 1967 Camaro except for its wheels and its black and gold external paint job and deluxe gold interior.



A very unique item inside the vehicle is the ‘007 panel’, some non-functioning novelty switches for imaginary devices like an ejector seat, a laser beam, and machine guns.


Only three are known to exist and Simonen's is the only one that has its original body and engine.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/permalink/1655423587937584/



https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/local-camaro-has-switches-for-machine-guns-a-laser-beam-and-an-ejector-seat-8-photos-412244


Craig Fisher raced one of the Gorries Black Panther Z-28s in the Trans-Am series, it was sold it to Hugh Dibley over in England and Hugh turned it into a road racer. It was sold to Pierre Du Plessis, who wrecked it in South Africa.



http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=12324.0
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-12-28/in-search-of-the-elusive-black-panther
https://www.facebook.com/GorriesBP/posts/584031838663976
https://www.facebook.com/GorriesBP/photos/d41d8cd9/643282352738924/
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/sault-ste-marie-on/robert-bobby-simonen-7905682
https://www.camaros.net/forums/15-tag-team/143884-black-panther-posting-camarosource-4.html


Fisher's car was built by the legendary Doug Duncan, who resides in the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.

http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=7779.0

Hold my beer and watch this... what could possibly go wrong?

Since 2008, Alaska Airlines has sponsored an annual Fantasy Flight at Christmas, and it's always flight number 1225 - Dec 25th.


About 60 children, many of whom live in shelters or transitional housing, depart Spokane, Washington with a “passport” to the North Pole and a personal “elf” that takes each child under their wing.

Volunteers are required to dress in their best elf-wear and develop their individual elf history to help the kids believe their North Pole adventure is real. The flight crew usually dons Santa hats or antlers. The annual event is organized by nonprofit Northwest North Pole Adventures, and numerous companies donate jet fuel, food, toys and other items.



After passing through airport security, the children are presented with backpacks. They’re greeted at the Alaska boarding area with festive music and food.

Just before it’s time to board the plane, the elves begin shouting, “We’re going home! We’re going home!” The children and elves board an Alaska jet given the call sign Santa 1, and the plane departs into the sky above Spokane.

Halfway through the 40-minute flight, the children are instructed to close their window shades and recite a magical chant that would allow them to enter Santa’s airspace. Minutes later, they arrive at the “North Pole” – in reality, a spruced-up hangar at the end of the Spokane airfield. It has been transformed into a glittering fantasyland of Christmas fun with decorations, games, jugglers, magicians, face painters, a Polar Express train set, and fancy sugar cookies and other sweets.

Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, and each child gets to visit Santa and receive a gift they previously requested in a wish letter.

“I’ve never had my own blanket before,” one little girl told her elf at last year’s event.

After leaning her pillow against her elf, she snuggled up for story time.




So, on your next Alaska Airline flight, check the seat pocket .. if you find some glitter, it's some leftover Christmas magic for you to enjoy!

https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/fantasy-flight-makes-life-brighter-for-children/#more-7871

Mopars... so bad in a corner they even lean a rail car over to the point of wrecking. The force is strong with them... the force of gravity!

Carhart knows how to show some love....



I happen to be a yooper... and find this incredibly cool


This one's for the Yoopers.

That's the message from the Dearborn-based work apparel company Carhartt, which released a video salute to residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and their cold-weather way of life.

The two-minute video published on Jan. 5 focuses on the people of Ironwood, the Gogebic County town of 5,300 people and one of the coldest places in America. Specifically, the Stormy Kromer team and their responsibilities at Copper Peak Ski Hill.

https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/02/carhartt_releases_video_saluti.html

in 1987, an Alaska Airlines 737 collided with a fish in midair.



On March 30, 1987, an Alaska Airlines 737-200 lifting off from Juneau had a close encounter of the aquatic kind, colliding with a large fish. The fish was gripped in the talons of an eagle that had crossed flight paths with the plane. The eagle must have decided that playing “chicken” with a 737 wasn’t going to end well, and quickly changed direction.

“In the process, the eagle either voluntarily released its meal or the rapid turn ripped it out of its claws,” Anchorage-based Alaska Airlines pilot Captain Mac af Uhr wrote in a 2005 story about the incident. “In one of those ‘I cannot believe this is happening to me’ moments, the two pilots (Bill Morin and Bill Johnson) watched the fish fall toward the aircraft as if in slow motion.”

“Did we just hit what I think we hit?” Morin reportedly said over the radio, as the fish thumped the aircraft just behind the cockpit window. The eagle apparently escaped injury. The fish became windshield sushi, confirmed upon inspection at the aircraft’s next stop in Yakutat.

“They found a greasy spot with some scales, but no damage,” Paul Bowers, Juneau airport manager, told The Associated Press at the time.


Today, the company flies a plane affectionately named the Salmon-Thirty-Salmon




https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/history/flying-fish/

in 1972 a Georgia dealership in Murrietta named Pugmires, made a sticker model from the Comet GT called the Stabber. That's just not even a bit smart


https://www.facebook.com/groups/1686223568321025/permalink/2302588306684545/



http://mmb.maverick.to/media/mercury-comet-stabber.4967/



another oddball was the Europa 250... I haven't ever heard of it, and have no info yet

the 1959 models, nice magazine cover infographic

getting pulled out of 20 years of stored and ignored neglect. I wonder why they even bought it... they don't seem to have ever used it

Nice ad from Baldwin

finally, Budweiser isn't going for a baby clydesdale tearjerker of a commercial

how to get what you're worth at a job interview

the struggle is real



when you've got the time, the sense of humor, and the right equipment

they just had a trivia question on the radio, what part of a car travels the most

the keys.

Even when you park the car, you take the keys with you where ever you go.

Everything that instantly throught, "well the keys aren't part of a car" can shut up and move along. They sell you the keys and car as a single transaction. The keys do nothing without the car, and the car does nothing without the keys. Just like the car battery, that we are really lucky to not have to carry around like the keys. 

because railyard photos are symmetrical, they get a lot more attention than a bunch of non moving ugly boxes probably deserve... but it's still interesting to look at

in 1991 Jack bought this 23,000 mile Superbird as a non-running roller that had been sitting since 1974, he pushed it into his garage it was placed on a lift and forgotten until 2016. The hunt is everything... once you've got it home, you sometimes have to get back to work, life, and family


This bird still wears most of its original paint, however, the nose was replaced. As part of the purchase, the car came with an NOS nose, which Jack had repainted to match the rest of the car.




https://www.hotrod.com/articles/among-ocean-mopars-chryslers-carlisle-found-cool-10/


and his mom, who he thanks for putting up with open headers, cops looking for payment on outstanding tickets, and drag racing up and down the street in front of her house.  That's pretty cool to say thanks to your mom!

https://www.inst4gram.com/tag/cloriscruz

In another time, a driver used this Superbird to deliver pizzas for a guy named George who dubbed himself the “Pizza King.”

winter dumped on Madison Wisconsin (thanks Bruce!)


https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/photos-big-winter-storm-system-hits-madison/collection_efebf88b-cb94-5a10-97fd-aa626fef450a.html#anchor_item_16

and Milwaukee schools shut down because it's 35 below....  meanwhile, the UP of Michigan goes about business as usual until it's 80 or 90 below. That's when businesses shut down, but everyone goes ice fishing, or snow mobiling with the day off!