clearly it's a rip off of the Camaro decal style, with the stripe across the nose
Saturday, February 05, 2022
The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus was a bubblegum "supergroup" created by record producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, consisting of various Super K Production groups. Probably the most cars ever on a album cover that weren't in a parking lot or aerial photo
For the first album, the fictitious concept was to take eight Kasenetz-Katz produced groups and bring them together for a "live" performance at Carnegie Hall on 7 June 1968. The roster included:
1910 Fruitgum CompanyOhio Express
Music Explosion
Lt. Garcia's Magic Music Box
Teri Nelson Group
1989 Musical Marching Zoo
J.C.W. Rat Finks
St. Louis Invisible Marching Band
According to the inner gatefold cover's liner notes, the "supergroup" consisted of 46 members.
The generic 'Bubblegum" groups were manufactured in studios, some like "The Monkees" &
"The Banana Splits" were made solely for TV. They prolifically recording lightweight,
fluffy pop songs, mostly one-hit wonders and were often given quirky names.
Below I've listed some of the groups that rolled off the "Super K Productions" conveyer belt.
• The Carnaby Street Runners • Chicago Prohibition
• Crazy Elephant • J.C.W. Rat Finks
• The Fat Man's Music Festival • The Flying Giraffe
• The Charles E. Funk Rebellion • The Great Train Robbery
• Lt Garcia's Magic Music Box • Music Explosion
• 1989 Musical Marching Zoo • 1910 Fruitgum Company
• Ohio Express • Professor Morrison's Lollipop
• Shadows Of Knight • St Louis Invisible Marching Band
A SWAT officer, part of the Jacksonville Sheriff Department, who was fired last year for driving drunk to a gun range, was reinstated this week with the department at his old salary... the law enforcement dept with it's own zero-tolerance policy for on-duty officers being under the influence of alcohol
Gifford’s intoxicated condition was initially discovered Oct. 13 by fellow officers who saw him “swerving back and forth” while driving his city-issued car to the JSO Firing Range, some 30 miles from his home.
Gifford admitted he’d consumed a fifth of vodka before falling asleep around 3:30 a.m. – 4 ½ hours before his shift. He acknowledged having a serious drinking problem and reporting for work impaired previously, “probably five, 10 times.”
Fraternal Order of Police attorney Phil Vogelsang brought up a 1999 case in which a top Sheriff's Office official — Assistant Chief Bobby Deal — actually crashed his police car while drunk and was allowed to remain on the job, following a suspension. Court records confirm Deal pleaded guilty to DUI, but the case file itself has been destroyed. The Sheriff's Office has been unable to locate the arrest report.
Gifford admitted to his inebriated state when the officers confiscated his gun belt.
“I’m drunk,” he told them, according to an Internal Affairs report.
A series of breathalyzer tests taken more than three hours later confirmed it. Gifford blew a .316
but the drunk, is back on the job... with a badge. Who arrives at a gun range drunk. Not a little drunk, a lot drunk
So, how did he get back on the $71,000 job?
The police union had his back, and WANT drunk cops on the job.
Do you know how so many people say "a few bad apples" is all that the unlimited number of corrupt cops amounts too? Well, this is why they keep their jobs. The corrupt and unethical police union that wants even the alcoholic and drunk on the job cops back at work.
The police union had his back, and WANT drunk cops on the job.
Do you know how so many people say "a few bad apples" is all that the unlimited number of corrupt cops amounts too? Well, this is why they keep their jobs. The corrupt and unethical police union that wants even the alcoholic and drunk on the job cops back at work.
Fraternal Order of Police attorney Phil Vogelsang, who represented Gifford, didn’t dispute the facts of the case. But he noted the officer had no prior discipline. And he argued the firing was unfair since “multiple” off-duty officers have gotten DUIs over the past year and received only suspensions.
“It is 'manifestly unjust' to treat an officer who gets a DUI in his personal car differently than an officer who ... is charged with administrative DUI in his JSO vehicle,” Vogelsang said. “They are the exact same thing. On or off duty does not matter.”
huh. Imagine that, the official record of a cop goes missing, for drunk driving, on the job.
In September of 2020, due to pandemic-related budget cuts, Union Pacific laid off employees, including its railroad-only police force. Despite record profits in the billions in the last quarter of 2021. Thanks Bruce!
Anchors on morning news have been quick to point out that there have been over 100 arrests, and even Forbes have been quick to point out the staggering $5 million worth of merchandise lifted.
strange commercial for electric BMWs, they had star power, but no creative writing team to make use of Arnold Schwarzenegger's star power
Last month, Schwarzenegger teased the Super Bowl commercial when he shared an image for a mysterious project called Zeus on Instagram.
just when this 1970 Mach 1 was getting unwanted city attention because of their "junk cars" mandate, a young guy came along looking for a Mach 1 because his dad had a couple in high school... and bought it for only $2500. The owner since 97 had lost interest in working on it
Since Bryan had been buying parts for years, yet hadn't been able to complete the car and the city of Lubbock, has a rule against cars on blocks being visible from the street, the city had posted a Junk Vehicle Notice and threats of fines and a deadline to remove the car.
The sudden threat of city red tape and fines, and the unexpected meeting with the young guy looking to get a 1970 Mach 1 for his dad, who had one in high school, convinced Bryan to "pass it down" at a price far below market. Into the deal he tossed in his large collection of parts, new and used, which included a set of new BF Goodrich raised white letter tires on four Magnum 500 wheels, optional on this car in 1970.
The video is one of the worst editted I've seen, but there's a lot of info in it.
2016 Z51 Corvette offered as a reward for dog that went missing in Sept 2021. That's wanting your dog back really bad, but, likely far too long after the dog went missing. If the Vette had been offered up while the dog was still likely to be alive, the chances would have been far greater of success
the Kirchner family of Atlanta Ga have been looking for their 4-year-old Whippet mix, since September 2021 after she ran off during the family’s vacation in Hilton Head, SC.
The Kirchners have spent every day of the last five months trying to bring Marley home. They’ve set up a Facebook page for her, made signs for cars and bikes, and even set up trail cameras.
But after five months of rigorous searching, the Kirchners are running low on money and hope. So as a last-ditch effort to spark some incentive to have Marley returned, they are putting up a $4,000 cash reward and the title to Derek’s 2016 Corvette Stingray.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/georgia-family-offering-corvette-as-reward-for-missing-dog
I think if they had sold the car, and offered the money it sells for as a cash reward, they would have much better chance of getting people actively interested in looking for the dog, just to get the 50 thousand dollars, or 60, whatever it's worth.
I bet private investigators, the unemployed, even local kids, would get out and look for the dog for 50 k in cash
not many people go to the extra effort to make a nice car and trailer combo, and this has a vintage 5th wheel Thanks 914 Driver!
Purchased at the Packard dealership in Albany, NY. The couple only wanted the car but it was already set up for the camper so it went home, into a barn and never came out. They had to remove a few trees to get the doors open.
it turns out I've posted the 5th wheel section of this car before https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2020/03/factory-curtiss-aerocar-packard.html
and I think I posted this car before, without the trailer https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/04/barnfind-20s-packards.html
I never had any awareness of the amount of metal work, dent removal, and ding repairs needed to fix brass band instruments, but it's pretty similar to hot rod work... even using bodywork hammers and an english wheel
I started reading hot rod magazines about 30 years ago, I don't mean looking through them in grade school, but actually reading them, and Ron Covell had an article in one, or more, of them at the time. He's one of the best, and dent removal was one specific article I recall.
This video shows several methods of dent removal, even the rebound method. I think the magnet and ball for the inside curve is dam clever.
he even uses a slide hammer when necessary https://youtu.be/EYe9jh4_94s
Friday, February 04, 2022
photographer Bill Ray, passed the opportunity to work for National Geographic, to work for Life Magazine as a staff photographer instead
he worked at some incredibly historic moments, Marilyn singing Happy Birthday Mr President, and Elvis going into the Army, Ray Charles at Carnegie Hall, Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen on the set of “The Thomas Crown Affair” in 1967, and both on- and off-field photos of the first Super Bowl.
He had 46 covers of Newsweek
3 time Olympic gold medalist Jean-Claude Killy, and Bernard Cahier, the famous Formula 1 photographer, drove a works Porsche 911 S to victory in the GT class in the 1967 Targa Florio
If the name Killy sounds like I've posted it before, it's because he was on tour with OJ Simpson https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2019/11/linda-emailed-me-and-wanted-me-to-post.html getting interviewed by Hunter Thompson.
Bernard is one of my favorite goofball characters, he was a gran prix photographer and photo bomber, and car salesman at Phil Hill's dealership, but might be most famous for handing Sir Moss a coke when Moss drove past at speed, on a hairpin turn https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-grand-prix-photobomber.html
Donna Mae Mims, the first woman to win a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) national championship
As executive secretary at Yenko, in 1960, Mims started racing cars with friends from Yenko. She quickly became one of the top amateur race car drivers in the country, and Manager of Hi-Performance at Yenko Sports Cars.
Her career and involvement in Yenko led her to racing such cars as the Camaro, Austin Healey, MG, Corvette and Corvairs.
She worked for Yenko Chevrolet and Yenko sports car division as executive secretary for both and was the liaison for design and production with the Yenko sports car division. They worked on performance for cars such as the Duece, Camaro, Nova, Chevelle, Corvair, and Yenko Stinger.She worked closely with Zora Arkus-Duntov, Ed Cole and the pioneers of Chevrolet Racing. She coordinated parts delivery and car development of Corvette Race Cars in Canonsburg PA.
Mims freelanced as a writer for several car magazines, including Competition Press, Corvette News, SCCA’s Sports Car, and Sports Car Graphic magazines, among others.
She was a member of her SCCA Region’s Board of Directors, a driving instructor, and editor of the award-winning Region magazine, “Drift.”
She raced in the 12 hours of Sebring, and the 24 hours of Daytona with Suzy Dietrich and Janet Guthrie, in a Sunbeam Alpine
And, she was pivotal in creating the first corporate sponsored Corvette racing program, as explained in the video below, when she met the VP of Gulf Oil, Grady Davis
In November 1972, Mims participated in the third running of the official Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, as part of an all-female team in the Cannonball Run with teammates Judy Stropus and Peggy Niemcek.
Thursday, February 03, 2022
The Randy Stevenot No. 3. is an old circus train used by the Muppets for their world tour in Muppets Most Wanted.
The train used is the Bluebell Railway's No. 3, Fletcher Jennings Class B 'Captain Baxter', refitted with some American components (the funnel chimney, cowcatcher, lamp, whistle, and the American flags).
She is seen hauling a British Railways Standard Brake Van, and a BR MK1 coach. Captain Baxter was originally built in 1877
the little engine that could
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2332482086905081&set=a.132377116915600
the most photographed locomotive in the world
Built in 1891, “Sierra No. 3” was adopted by Hollywood in 1948 and became “the most photographed locomotive in the world,” appearing in The Red Glove, The Terror, The Virginian, The Texan, Young Tom Edison, Sierra Passage, Wyoming Mail, High Noon, The Cimarron Kid, Kansas Pacific, The Moonlighter, Apache, Rage at Dawn, The Return of Jack Slade, Texas Lady, The Big Land, Terror in a Texas Town, Man of the West, Face of a Fugitive, The Outrage, The Rare Breed, The Great Race, The Perils of Pauline, Finian’s Rainbow, A Man Called Gannon, The Great Bank Robbery, Joe Hill, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, Oklahoma Crude, Nickleodeon, Bound for Glory, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Long Riders, Pale Rider, Blood Red, Back to the Future Part III, Unforgiven, and Bad Girls.
Gary Cooper alone starred in four movies with it, including High Noon; Clint Eastwood, who appeared with it in Rawhide, Pale Rider, and Unforgiven, said it was “like a treasured old friend.”
TV shows:
The Lone Ranger, Tales of Wells Fargo, Casey Jones, Rawhide, Overland Trail, Lassie, Death Valley Days, The Raiders, Petticoat Junction, The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, The Legend of Jesse James, Scalplock, Iron Horse, Cimarron Strip, Dundee and the Culhane, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Ballad of the Iron Horse, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Great Man’s Whiskers, Inventing of America, Little House on the Prairie, Law of the Land, A Woman Called Moses, Lacy and the Mississippi Queen, Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid, The Night Rider, The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang, Belle Starr, East of Eden, Father Murphy, The A-Team, Bonanza: The Next Generation, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., and Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman.
William L. Withhuhn, former transportation history curator at the Smithsonian Institution, wrote, “Sierra Railway No. 3 has appeared in more motion pictures, documentaries, and television productions than any other locomotive. It is undisputedly the image of the archetypal steam locomotive that propelled the USA from the 19th century into the 20th.”
In 1914 Henry Ford adopted a policy that no one applying for work at his auto plant would be refused on account of physical condition.
Of the 7,882 jobs at the factory, he’d found that only 4,287 required “ordinary physical development and strength"
The lightest jobs were again classified to discover how many of them required the use of full faculties, and we found that 670 could be filled by legless men, 2,637 by one-legged men, 2 by armless men, 715 by one-armed men, and 10 by blind men. Therefore out of 7,882 kinds of jobs, 4,034 — although some of them required strength — did not require full physical capacity.
(Henry Ford, My Life and Work, 1922.)
the longest-ranged bombing raid in history
It put one crater in the runway, which was repaired within 24 hours, but it discouraged the Argentinians from using it more heavily.
Izhar Gafni makes bicycles out of cardboard. The Israeli mechanical engineer can make a 20-pound bicycle that will support a rider of nearly 250 pounds, and its low-cost components make it unattractive to thieves
The company is pursuing partnerships to distribute cardboard bicycles and wheelchairs in Africa at little to no cost for the end user. “There is much to say about cardboard,” Elmish said. “This bicycle is the beginning of a materials revolution.”
Wednesday, February 02, 2022
crash last week on the Monte Carlo rally
to see this with enough time to appreciate the crash, change your playback speed to 0.5
interesting idea for a vinyl wrap, real classical art... like a Michelangelo, or Caravaggio
https://www.facebook.com/metropolitanmagazineny/posts/1879269922235433 via https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2022/02/car-art.html
you'll see some really beautiful designs if you google image search Italian Ceiling Murals, or Baroque, or Renaissance ceilings
Charlie Wiggins was talented enough to race at the Indy 500, and build race cars, but he wasn't Caucasian, and the racists of the era wouldn't allow him. So, he was snuck in as a janitor, and worked on the 1934 Indy 500-winning car driven by Bill Cummings (thanks Ned! )
As a young man, he shined shoes in front of an Evansville auto repair shop, where he quickly learned to diagnose vehicle problems as they drove onto the lot. He was hired as a mechanic’s assistant and when the U.S. draft for WWI opened, most of the shop’s employees were called to war. As a result, Wiggins landed a job managing the shop floor.
He also, was a 2 time golden glove feather weight champ from training in the Boys Club
Around the same time, he married Roberta, a fashion model with a career on the rise. Together, they moved to Indianapolis in 1922 for better opportunities. Wiggins found work at an auto body repair shop in downtown Indianapolis, which he later purchased in 1924
Wiggins’ garage was a gathering spot for young men of all backgrounds who were enthralled by the speed of the modern automobile. This included future Indy 500 winner Bill Cummings.
Along the way, Charlie at one point had gofer help from a kid named Johnny Dillinger. Yes, that Dillinger.
Because of their association, Charlie was offered a place on Indy racer Bill Cummings’ pit crew in 1934. However, AAA officials wouldn’t go along, so Charlie took a job as a janitor at the speedway and during the days he’d sweep floors and tidy up the Cummings garage. After hours, he’d wrench as a valued team member. In 1934, Bill Cummings drove his Boyle Valve Special to an Indy 500 victory, and set a speed record. Charlie Wiggins cheered from the “colored only” grandstand.
Why? The KKK was running the state. The governor, and the mayor of Indianapolis were both members
But Wiggins never let a roadblock stop his roll. He and a group of like-minded racers and promoters realized that the starting line was equal to the finish line and so was formed the Colored Speedway Association (CSA) and a rival race to the Indy 500, The Gold and Glory Sweepstakes. Wiggins won the Gold and Glory a record four times between 1926 and 1935.
How he won the 1926 race is told at https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/news/a29253/charlie-wiggins-race-driver-history/
Wiggins' love of cars and racing was as infectious as his smile was charming, and he wooed a diverse group of mechanics and drivers into his circle. In fact, what radiated from garages like Wiggins’ across Indianapolis was an overwhelming sense of pride that the city was the auto racing capital of the United States. Being under the hood, or crammed into the rudimentary cockpits, defied color lines, and the common love of auto racing appealed to white and black spectators alike, often unifying disparate communities with a shared respect of speed and bravery behind the wheel.
In 1927, Wiggins won a race in Quakertown, Pennsylvania on a one-mile dirt track at an average speed of 81.6 miles per hour," Gould says. "One week earlier, Indycar pilot Frank Lockhart, driving a top of the line Miller racing car, had set the one-mile dirt track record at 82.826. Wiggins had come within 1.2 seconds of eclipsing Lockhart's world record, in a homemade car!
(Lockhart is famous for driving the Stutz Black Hawk, and was the next door neighbor of the Wright Brothers https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-wright-brothers-were-next-door.html )
Though his racing career was over, Wiggins continued working at his garage and training young mechanics. He finally saw one of his protégés, Sumner "Red" Oliver, become the first official African-American mechanic in Indy 500 history as a member of the 1973 Patrick Racing Team
And getting released later this year, is a documentary set in the roaring 20s and depression era 30s, Eraced will chronicle the triumphs and struggles of the once-legendary-now-little-known Charlie “Speed King” Wiggins, who worked his way from shoe shine to mechanic to star racer despite the inequities of segregation and Jim Crow laws.
The film, titled “Eraced”, has attracted first-of-its-kind brand collaboration during development from blue chip partners including INDYCAR and Firestone. INDYCAR has pledged support for physical production, marketing and promotional opportunities during production, and additional marketing resources, including media, at time of release. Firestone will be a production partner for the film.
It's being produced by Ed Welburn, you might not recognize the name, but I bet you recall him as the General Motors Vice President of Global Design, and until his retirement in 2016, was the highest-ranking African American in the automobile industry.
After watching Todd Gould’s award-winning documentary For Gold and Glory: Charlie Wiggins and the African American Racing Car Circuit, a 2002 PBS documentary, and a book available on Amazon Welburn quickly decided he had to develop a feature film.
Welburn spearheaded development of the feature film after watching Gould’s documentary. Having grown up in and around his father’s auto shop and spending his entire life devoted to automobile design and auto racing, Welburn was both mesmerized by Charlie’s story and shocked that he had never heard of him or the African American racing car circuit known as the Gold & Glory Sweepstakes.
“When approached to participate in this independently produced feature film, INDYCAR did not hesitate, as this is an important story that needs to be told,” said Jimmie McMillian, Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Corporate Counsel of Penske Entertainment which is comprised of Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), INDYCAR and IMS Productions. “Charlie was a great racecar driver and inspirational person whose racing career was sadly impacted by the bigotry and prejudice of the world around him. We’re looking forward to shedding light on Charlie and Roberta’s extraordinary achievements and take pride in ensuring that this true tale of remarkable racing achievements comes to life.”
“Our Firestone brand’s roots in racing date back more than a century, and we’re proud to provide our experience and support to ensure one of the sport’s most inspiring stories is shared in an authentic way,” said Susie Long, Vice President, Talent, Diversity and Culture, Bridgestone Americas. “As Bridgestone continues to seek partnerships that promote diversity and create awareness for change in our communities, the chance to help introduce new audiences to Charlie Wiggins’ incredible journey of adversity and triumph seems like a perfect fit.”
Sinking 1,000 NYC subway cars in the Atlantic to create a reef didn’t go as planned the 2nd time around... the 1st 1000 were carbon steel Redbirds, which didn't corrode. But the stainless steel Brightliners? Different construction method, which didn't withstand the ocean environment
Retired New York City subway cars were deployed 19 miles off Ocean City to create an artificial reef for fish habitat and recreational divers.
The Brightliners were predicted to last underwater for more than 25 years, but they started to disintegrate only months after they were dropped.
The MTA had good reason to believe the program would succeed. Just a few years prior, it had dropped more than 1,000 Redbird trains in the ocean. They remain on the ocean floor to this day, in part because they were made of carbon steel, which helps prevent corrosion.
As for materials, anything from concrete rubble to reclaimed culverts to damaged telephone poles can do the trick, as long as tires aren’t involved. In the 1970s, for example, more than 2 million passenger tires were bundled together with steel clips and dropped off the coast of Florida to expand the now infamous Osborne Reef. Except the steel rusted away and let millions of tires loose into the ocean. “They’re still picking up tires in Malaysia,” Sheehy says.
Even the best materials can be used in the wrong location. When a series of tanks were deployed off the coast of Maryland, they sank right through the soft sediment. By comparison, World War II tanks at the bottom of the English Channel, where the ocean floor is harder, haven’t budged.
By comparison, Brightliners were made of stainless steel. When the subway cars debuted in 1964, they were a mechanical and aesthetic innovation. The stainless steel made the train cars lighter on the tracks, but this worked against them underwater. Daniel Sheehy, an environmental consultant who’s been studying artificial reefs for more than 50 years, says the project failed for two reasons: first, because the trains’ envelopes were spot-welded, which formed a thin layer between the two metals that led to corrosion. Second, because the corrugated pattern made it easier for undercurrent waves to “grab on to” and further pull the stainless skin apart. “It is important that we learn from these mistakes and improve the process,” he says.
check out the camera truck used in the movie That Thing You Do (thanks 80 Griiip!)
its a Titan made by Chapman Leonard in Hollywood https://www.chapman-leonard.com/details.php?products_id=16
the cab is from a 1958 Bel Air
"a Titan was no mere crane, but a moving camera platform able to cruise along the road while a camera operator and assistant did their work way out at the end of the long crane arm. The wheels of a Titan could even “crab” like a dolly (all the wheels turning in the same direction), enabling the driver to put the camera and lens exactly where the director wanted it. With the weight balance adjusted by pumps moving liquid mercury within the arm rather than manually-loading lead weights, the Chapman Titan was a top-shelf item -- other than the camera itself, probably the biggest and most sophisticated piece of film equipment available at the time."
About 1950, Chapman developed a crane than could travel independently. The cranes were equipped with gasoline engines so they could be taken to the location under their own power. The unit was mounted on a chassis that could also run on a silent electric motor drive for use on sets using recording takes using sensitive sound equipment.
On gasoline, it could travel anywhere. No longer confined to the sound stage, it could travel with the production and shoot exteriors from city streets to deserts and mountains. And wherever the set was they could be set up to do all the things they had been doing on the stage or backlot including a six-wheel crab ability.
After graduating from UCLA’s school of engineering in 1956, his son Leonard formed his own company, Leonard’s Studio Equipment, and, in 1965, merged with his father’s company to create Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment.
The company began life in 1945 as the Studio Equipment Company, where Leonard Chapman's father, Ralph, was one of the partners. Not only were they not "Chapman/Leonard" at that point, they weren't even "Chapman." Ralph was Ralph Terkanian, and his bride-to-be, Mabel Mahakian, sold some of her personal properties so that Ralph could buy out his partners.
Leonard was 11 when that happened, and a few years later, found himself at Los Angeles City College, using that engineering talent to modify a 1951 Studebaker for more power. A slew of scholarship offers followed upon graduation - including to MIT and Cal Tech - but Leonard stayed local and finished at UCLA. The newly-minted Bruin graduated in 1956, with honours in mechanical engineering, and then promptly went to work for his dad. Before the Eisenhower era was over, Ralph had changed his name to Ralph T. Chapman and Leonard followed suit, and thus Chapman Studio Equipment was born.
In that same 1956, director Cecil B. DeMille needed a crane that could deliver some of the epic shots he was envisioning for The Ten Commandments (DP Loyal Griggs). Ralph was flown to Egypt, and the result was cinema history - along with the company now having "C.B.'s" imprimatur.