Did you know there is a thing called the Chevron Delo Tractor Restoration Competition? Annika Ernstrom from San Luis Obispo, won this past year with her 1948 Allis Chalmers

unlike most of the entrants over the years, Annika is one of the few that did not come from a farming background. 

In high school, Annika got involved with the FFA farm power team and began learning about agricultural machinery. Other members of the team were competing in the regional Tractor Restoration Education Program sponsored by JB Dewar, a Chevron Lubricant marketer in central California.

 Annika and her good friend Elyse Evers decided to give it a shot, fixing up a 1957 Ford 600 tractor. “It was definitely a learning experience, because neither of us had a clue what we were doing,” she recalls. They performed well enough, however, that they were encouraged to enter their project as a team in the national Delo competition.

To their surprise, Annika and Elise were finalists in 2020, which simply fueled Annika’s drive to work harder and do better next time. She took on a 1948 Allis-Chalmers WC, tearing it down completely so she knew every part, what it did and how it worked. “It was really rough, but somehow I made it,” she says. “I just tried my best and had fun with it, and it's been a really incredible experience.”

Sponsored by Chevron, the Delo TRC has recognized the mechanical aptitude of high school students since 1995. Participants are accepted on an individual or team basis, and the guidelines and expectations are nothing short of demanding. Workbooks detailing the entire restoration from start to finish are submitted for review by a panel of judges.

https://www.chevronlubricants.com/en_us/home/learning/from-chevron/heavy-duty-diesel-vehicles-and-equipment/the-2021-delo-tractor-restoration-competition-crowns-the-2nd-female-winner-in-its-history.html
https://www.facebook.com/jbdewarinc/posts/4803984446354859
https://www.farmcollector.com/restoration/tractors-restoration/tractor-restoration-champion-zm0z22marzram/

a collection of more than 800 pedal tractors of all brands.... stop me if I ever do something this nuts

 https://classictractorstv.com/fisher-pedal-collection/

https://www.aumannvintagepower.com/articles/fisher-pedal-collection

this Emerson-Brantingham Big 4-20 is the most traveled tractor there ever has been...

Oscar Cook of Billings, Montana was an early collector who used his airplane to search for antique tractors. In 1968 he opened Oscar’s Dreamland, a museum to showcase his collection of over 300 tractors.

This was one, and when his collection was auctioned off, it was bought by a collector from South Africa.

This started the journey of the Big 4-20. It was loaded into a container and shipped to the Sandstone Estate in the Eastern Free State in South Africa, a 17,000 acre international agri-business that produces wheat, soybeans, maize and sunflowers. The estate includes over 700 vintage tractors.

It held an event which was to prove a record could be set of how many pre 1966 tractors could work one field at the same time, Australians learned of this and had their own record breaking event in Cootamundra, Australia, which the Emerson attended.

The Emerson attended more events from Britain to Ireland and then was stored on a farm in the UK for the past 13 years, until its latest trip to the United States in 2021.

https://classictractorstv.com/the-most-traveled-antique-tractor-in-history/

strange looking tractor, with an odd choice of a name, Boring. Made in 1920

https://bid.aumannauctions.com/lot-details/index/catalog/12854/lot/1700308?uact=5&aid=12854&lid=1700310&current_page=0

the Gray Tractor with the Wide Drum Drive

https://bid.aumannauctions.com/lot-details/index/catalog/12854/lot/1700312
https://classictractorstv.com/gray-tractor-works

a life long collector of tractors.... he must have found one of every tractor seat made

 https://classictractorstv.com/litke-collection-auction/

Ever heard of the 1965 John Deere lawn tractor that they tried to make a gold cart of?

https://classictractorstv.com/john-deere-110-sweepster/

This took me by surprise on the commute to work yesterday morning... a racing number on the door and parts company stickers

Something looked wrong about this challenger

the gap between the tires and the wheel wells is way different from front to back... so that had me wondering... and then ? There ain't no front tire on the passenger front!

 Well, they sure got into a situation that ruined their day. Now, try and figure out why it's sitting in an alley next to an apartment complex instead of a dealership getting parts installed... my guess? No insurance and they have got a lot of payments left, because the the registration was two years expired. No reason to keep registering it, it's not going to be driven any time soon, and I bet there's no bank interested in trying to repossess it. 

the only car I saw on todays walk that was noteworthy for good reasons

well, I've never seen a spark plug socket used as a cheater bar/force adder until now

of course, I may be wrong that might be some thing that is not a spark plug socket... what ever it is, it's doing something I haven't seen done until now

I think if they had space they would have added "McJeepFace"

things are really bad in Chile, and carjackings are very common, by young men with guns who are desperate.... here's one driver who attacked instead.... skip the first 30 seconds

 

Alessandro Rorato was inspired by the 1920s, so he built this terrific motorcycle

The exhaust system is stainless steel, and started life as a swimming pool ladder, of all things.

 

https://www.bikeexif.com/vintage-style-motorcycle-plasma-custom

Alessandro Rorato won first prize at the 2009 FBI in Amsterdam, the largest custom bicycle rally in the world.

That wasn't the first, last, or only best in show trophy he's won

https://www.instagram.com/plasmacustom_motorcyles/?hl=en

http://plasmacustom.blogspot.com/

I'll be darned, Tony Sarg even made car parts advertising art. You might recall that he invented the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons

I didn't recognize the art, I recognized the name, and that's because he's incredibly famous, and I posted about his work before this - but hadn't learned that he had done this work for Perfect Circle

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2020/07/tony-sargs-circus-concert-cardboard-and.html

https://bid.richmondauctions.com/lots/view/4-50LU0I/perfect-circle-piston-rings-w-hog-chained-to-car-single-sided-tin-embossed-metal-sign-tac-6

https://bid.richmondauctions.com/auctions/4-4S3PLH/day-1-of-3-the-sam-pickles-advertising-collection?page=3&limit=36

the darnedest things show up on Bring A Trailer (thanks Doug!)

current bid is 5k. 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/general-electric-searchlight-and-trailer

found around the neighborhood on the walk tonight

It's been a long time since I've seen a mid to late 70s Camaro being driven

LTD with a 390

64 T bird that they hadn't tried very hard to sell... it's sitting in this carport in an alley. They are keeping it registered though

Which can't be said for this Mercury Mountaineer, that hasn't been registered in 6 years

really uncommon to see a mid 70s Mercury Comet

strange choice for factory stock rims... not even aluminum

Wagoneer? Or some big Jeep

74 Mustang I think... the 73 and newer are ugly, I never paid much attention to them, and then that small little Charlies Angel Mustang happened in about 76 or 77

and then I spotted this poor neglected Triumph that has been neglected, with the top down, just rusting away

This little sports car must have been someone's pride and joy when they bought it new and brought it home from the dealership

in only 850 miles, my commuter with only 70,864 miles, went through all the oil from the full mark, to what little is left on the end of the dipstick

why is that important? Because I'm supposed to drive for a thousand miles and show back up at the dealership so a Hyundai service rep can witness how much oil my 2015 Veloster has lost/burned/leaked, and it's not likely to still have enough oil to keep the engine lubed. 

The one thousand mile is the measure for how much oil an engine goes through, to compare with the "standard" that each car company has decided is the most they can claim is typical, and not an indication of bad choices on their part to get the least expensive parts that will last until after the warranty is over. 

This isn't upsetting, because, hey - they simply are in business not to make happy customers, but to make cars that don't require warranty work, but will eventually fail so the owner has to buy a new car. 

That's the way the world works. 

So, to determine how much to spend on engine parts, is cost analysis, and decided by how well they have to engineer the vehicle, vs how long the car has to last so it only wears out after the warranty. 

If it causes too many warranty repairs, they learn to build it a bit better. If it doesn't cost more to replace parts and engines under warranty, than it costs to make hundreds of thousands of cars at that little bit better parts costs, that will show they chose wisely, and saved the company money

Some companies claim one quart or liter of oil per 1000 miles is acceptable. Other car makers claim a quart or liter per 500 miles. 

It's seems this isn't rare, a lot of forums and chat rooms online show that this is a common problem, and yet I haven't heard anything about it, probably because I pay no attention to new car stuff. 

looking around with a google search shows that there are a LOT of Hyundai and Kia with engine problems, and recalls. https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/hyundai-elantra-kona-veloster-recalled-due-to-engine-problems-a1121205321/

https://www.kbb.com/hyundai/veloster/2015/recall/  NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID: 20V746000 

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Veloster. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely

Lori has a MYSTERY! I love a mystery.... this White truck was used for moving horses at Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, GA..... so - until she gets us more photos, can anyone tell what year and model this is?

The last owners of Pebble Hill Plantation let the estate to be a museum in 1983.

 Its 20th century history was that of a country estate with a herd of Jersey cattle and Thoroughbred horses. 

We have this White Truck that we know little about. We believe it to date to 1920s-30s. We also know that the family who last owned Pebble Hill were close friends with the Whites in Cleveland, OH.

 

https://pebblehill.com/visit/the-grounds/the-buildings

Pebble Hill was bought by the Hanna family of Cleveland about 1895, and it's 3,000 acres 

The Hanna's daughter loved Pebble Hill. She insisted upon her death that it be converted to a pubic museum. She died in 1978 and Pebble Hill opened to the public in 1983.

Pinetree Boulevard is the oldest perimeter road in the United States. It was originally established as a "country drive" for visiting Northerners in the late 1800s. It is situated 2.5 miles from the center of town.

The history of Pebble Hill Plantation starts with the Georgia Land Lottery of 1820 and the opening of Southwest Georgia for European settlement. The land that became the heart of the plantation was purchased by Thomas Jefferson Johnson in 1825.

Thomas County, located in southwest Georgia and bordering Florida, was formed in 1825 by legislation introduced by Thomas J. Johnson, owner-builder of Pebble Hill Plantation.

As the terminus for the railroad, Thomasville was accessible from the north and, during the late 1800s, became known as the “Winter Resort of the South.” In the beginning of this era, Northerners and other visitors came to Thomasville for their health, breathing the pine-scented air as a curative for pulmonary ailments. They were soon joined by friends to enjoy hunting, fishing, and an active social life, including golf, horse racing, and bicycling. Thomasville came to represent the best of Southern hospitality with the lavishness of the resort lifestyle. Thomasville’s luxurious hotels regularly hosted America’s wealthiest families as their guests. Once discovered that it cost less to purchase land than rent hotel rooms, these wealthy families bought property and built grand Victorian mansions and plantation homes.

https://peoplepill.com/people/howard-melville-hanna

https://fallinghardenlovecom.wordpress.com/onthomasville/

https://thomasville.org/our-history

Last month, border patrol inspected a tractor trailer carrying a shipment of onions, and 1,200 packages of meth shaped in "small globes with a white covering" that were mixed with actual sacks of onions

about 3 million dollars of meth. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meth-onions-seized-california-border/

three retired train cars from Melbourne’s suburban railway network are on top of a three story building, and are a restaurant

These trains are known as Hitachi trains because the electrical equipment was supplied by Commonwealth Engineering, with designs by the Hitachi company of Japan. The stainless steel Hitachi cars were the city’s first suburban trains with power-closing doors and heating.

 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/easeys-rooftop-train-car-restaurant

Detroit police raided a chop shop on Monday, they found parts from a Hellcat that was stolen in Feb from a dealership, then found stripped and dumped on a Detroit road (thanks Mike!)

police released a list of stolen parts that were located within the shop to include: 

 • 2012 Chrysler Challenger, engine and door 

• 2009 Chevrolet Malibu, engine and transmission 

• 2013 Chrysler 300, engine, transmission and trunk lid 

• 2017 Lincoln MKZ, doors and trunk lid 

• 2007 Honda Civic, engine and front firewall 

• 2017 Lincoln MKZ, 3 doors and trunk lid

• 2007 Honda Civic, front half

https://www.motorious.com/articles/news/detroit-cops-chop-shop/
https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/detroit-cops-bust-illegal-chop-shop-stolen-car-parts

https://www.facebook.com/detroitpolice

https://www.facebook.com/detroitpolice/posts/256336893336976

Mopars in the morning

https://moparconnectionmagazine.com/gallery-remembering-when-butch-hartman-and-his-mopars-ruled-usac/

http://www.midwestracingarchives.com/2014/02/the-big-time-arrives-at-kaukauna.html

A total of 54 “rocket ship” Easter eggs appear on the engine block, valve covers etc, to memorialize the astronaut and Corvette connection in the late 60s. Why 54? I haven't found the answer yet

https://www.wardsauto.com/vehicles/moonshot-corvette-z06-engine-breaks-every-mold

car jacking with a bow and arrows.... meth heads will do all sorts of crazy stuff

 https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/carjacker-armed-with-bow-and-arrow-shoots-at-driver-steals-car-san-diego-police/2885113/

found on the walk tonight... a Chevelle station wagon and a couple 1960s Fords