Saturday, July 11, 2020

What is this thing, WITT, Is a reddit page that exists so you can get a huge number of people to look at your mystery object, in hopes that someone around the world will see it and identify it



this thing was found near railroad tracks. That might mean it's related to something about trains and railroads, or it could just be something off of something that was on a train, or used while working on the railroad

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/hpk6oo/a_rusty_hook_of_some_kind_found_by_a_railroad/

What was the 1st organized stock car race? Was it the 1933 Elgin race? If it was, then this is the 1st winning stock car


Driven to victory in the 1933 Elgin Road Race by former Indianapolis 500 winner Fred Frame, the 1933 race was possibly the first organized stock car race, making this car possibly the first winning stock car

https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0520-415668/1933-ford-roadster-elgin-road-race-car/

the Elvis Presley hot rod didn't meet the reserve, which no doubt was ridiculous


It's ok, but it's not cool enough to pull big dollars even though it was driven by Elvis in a movie... that just doesn't matter much anymore.

Like WHO is going to take this to a car cruise, or car show, and lose their marbles simply because 60 years ago Elvis drove it?

https://www.mecum.com/auctions/indianapolis-2020/lots

If you've been looking for just the right GTO, maybe it's one of these, being auctioned off this week

fake wood paneling on a Humvee? That's a new one to me


not the smartest meth head on the street, decided to call attention to themselves by scratching off all the reflective paint on their rear plate, and not fixing their third tail light

Anyone think they have this license plate figured out?

nice longroof I saw on the freeway the other day

what the hell is MRPHRMR? Leslie has what is probably the answer, he says it's a series of letters that are hard to identify on a moving vehicle, that are hard to correctly call out fast while moving. Cops hate them

coolest license plate I've seen in a while, 666 K9.

In Carlsbad, close to the Camp Pendelton Marine Corps base 

well, this is different, an articulated mini tractor






I never thought about it, but huh, they may have been making those domino displays with machines that perfectly lay out the rows.

wouldn't you rather be out on a mountain side with an airstream, a campfire, and a fun companion to share some laughs and stories with? Oh, yeah, and campfire food with cold beer. We are civilized of course.

Steve McQueen's father, William McQueen (1907–1958), might have been a stunt pilot for a barnstorming flying circus, its possible, but it's certain he was in the merchant marines


The Life Steve McQueen By Dwight Jon Zimmerman

I bring up that it's possible, because once someone wrote that, EVERYTHING on line about him repeats it. Well, what if they made it up because it was sensational? Then that lie is spread, and the truth is never known

https://medium.com/@jeremylr/how-a-military-brat-got-hooked-on-the-razor-sharp-mystique-of-quintessential-hollywood-outsider-2cc632f95bc1

I was able to determine what his occupation was — Merchant Marine, not a barnstorming pilot — his last known address — Long Beach, California — the cause of death — cirrhosis of the liver — and his social security number.

The social security number allowed me access to his military file, which contained his photos, his various tours of duty, and where he traveled in the years after he left Jullian and Steve. And then it made sense how William was able to stay under the radar and evade Steve all those years — he was constantly out to sea.

both of Steve's parents were dead by the time he turned 35

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McQueen

Here's a photo of Steve's grandfather, Lewis


https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/57614136/person/42024180696/gallery

the guy who makes the Daily Timewaster blog, CW Swanson, sure does post wonderful photos of roads on Friday


he makes a post called "Friday Open Road" every Friday, and there's always fantastic photo of cool roads https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2020/07/friday-open-road_10.html 

Friday, July 10, 2020

set your playing speed to 2X and enjoy



bush pilots have got skills, and big bouncy wheels for undeveloped landing areas

send this to the fans of new Fords (I still respect Fords made before 1972)

I dunno why you'd ever think something this small is what you want to reach for in trouble, but, ok... well, it's good to be prepared for really small things that won't get you first when you need to be with 4 inches of them to use it.


bear spray, good for 20 feet away, and not a "deadly weapon" you have to pay a lawyer to deal with after you use it

https://805sunshine.tumblr.com/post/623203255966679040#notes

how to keep the drunks from making your alleyway stink

interesting stuff in the auction of the Atzbach collection


A Shelby autographed book ends helmet cut in half




your choice of GT 350 R hoods.

a GT 40 headlight cover that the crew chief decorated with engine badges, stickers, and a Shelby Cobra badge. 


original Shelby American company 1963 Christmas card was sent out to employees and friends of the company  (Dave Deal art? Looks exactly like his signature)

and a 100 record holding Rock Ola. Damn, that is cool


a set of 4 custom wheels which were being produced specifically for Ken Miles to run on one of his Shelby American factory team cars. Before completion, Ken Miles was tragically killed while testing  at Riverside. Following Ken's death, this set of wheels was sold to a privateer who was running a private comp 289 Cobra.

If you don't like this set, there are 4 or 5 other sets of rims, magnesium and aluminum alloy, plus sets of tires, and individual tires, I don't mean the common ordinary tire you can buy at the store, I mean tires from the 60s, from Shelby American. Tires for Cobras, Gt 350s, and GT 40s



If you need seriously awesome real unused rims and tires from the late 60s, here's you chance to pick and choose.

And there are carbs, speedometers, tachs, valve covers, helmets, intakes, oil coolers, shocks,  etc.



Well, THIS is new, a airliner engine housing being repurposed as a camper trailer!

Things I'm guessing we'll see this at SEMA;

Column of 'Alligator' amphibious vehicles passing 'Terrapin' amphibious vehicles on the Scheldt River. Oct. 1944

Rolls Royce hood used as a dog house roof (A clipping from Octane magazine)


thanks Paul! 

Thursday, July 09, 2020

The crew of B-17G 'Bolo Babe' of the 546th Bomb Squadron, 384th BG, poses on top of their plane after a crash landing in France.


Bolo Babe crash-landed near Moyeuvre-Grande, near Thionville, France after she lost an engine and her electrical system during a mission to Ludwigshafen Germany, Sept 1944.

The entire crew returned to the UK by C-47 and returned to flight status on 13 September, 1944. The aircraft was salvaged.

Bolo Babe flew 50 missions.

https://www.facebook.com/HistoryisallaboutColour/photos/a.735448703141984/2966805416672957

This photo was in the exhibition “For a Love of His People: The Photography of Horace Poolaw,” on the third floor of the National Museum of the American Indian.


B-17 Flying Fortress crew members Gus Palmer (left), a citizen of the Kiowa nation and a side gunner, and Horace Poolaw (right), also a Kiowa and an aerial photographer, stand near their aircraft at MacDill Field, Florida., in about 1944.

https://www.facebook.com/HistoryisallaboutColour/photos/a.735448703141984/3072993319387499