Friday, June 28, 2024

A friend of mine found these in a book

 

seen in traffic at 3pm gridlock on the 805 yesterday... so weird to see a cool car in rush hour traffic jams


the license plat of this sporty little Mercedes is POLOINC. Interesting, and certainly apropos for Rancho Santa Fe

seen on the 60s VW van next to me in traffic


I haven't been to the Bronx Pizza (on Washington in Hillcrest) in years, since before covid at least... and this is new to me, but a cool addition to their pizza place


 a pretty darn good representation of a subway

spotted this in traffic, I kid you not. Mexico does not have the censorship on it's license plates the USA does.



Atlantic City Airshow 2017

 I was in the San Diego branch of Geico's big office in Poway... saw this on the wall.

cool photo


Thursday, June 27, 2024

there still is zero news on John Force's injuries, or IF he got badly injured, OR NOT. The family and hospital STILL haven't said what his injuries might be!

 unspecified possible head injury has him in the "a neuro intensive care unit for an unspecified head injury"

https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-force-transferred-to-neuro-icu-days-after-300-mph-crash

Why did they even bother, this isn't news. Moving from the trauma ward to the ICU, is that from bad to worse? Or bad to better?

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

cool nose art on the B-29 "Katie"

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=156761560366053&set=pb.100080966302726.-2207520000

Tex Avery's wolves had this girl chasing schtick, but longer muzzles and ears, so maybe Disney?


I love that Flying Tigers sharks tooth grin



CO of the 40th Bomb Group, checks in with Staff Sgt Bailey, about the readiness of his plane for an upcoming mission, China, November 1944. (But what the hell is he driving?)

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=157939610248248&set=pb.100080966302726.-2207520000

ambulance is loaded in to a C-46, Chabua, India, 1943



Wednesday, June 26, 2024

What direction was this spinning car facing when it came to a stop? That's all that really matters here


 https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2024/06/if-you-like-spinning-cars.html

one of the JRS-1s that survived Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor


"Popeye" art on the crew hatch of a De Havilland Mosquito FB VI at Parashuram, India, for a sortie over Burma. It's "sorta" nose art!


you know how in March and April, I post Happy 413 Day, and 327, 318, all the engine sizes? And it's a good thing? Well, it's 626 day, and there ain't much that's ever been interesting about a 626, except that this one was almost on the Peking to Paris rally


“When the 1982 rally event was canceled, Martin pushed it back into his dealership,” explained the owner. “It just kind of sat there for a while, then the dealership changed hands in the mid- to late-80s… I think that’s when it finally left the dealership.”


In November 1981, MotorSport reported that the event had been delayed from its initial intended start in June 1982, citing that the Soviet Union was not onboard with allowing competitors to pass through.

It’s a shame, too, because there were some guys who intended to race the last ever Checker cab while running the taxi meter the whole way. Whoever guessed the fare at the end would win a prize.

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

A man was taken into custody after police said he stole a skid-steer from a construction site and took it on a joyride in downtown Nashville.... to use it to steal a barrel of Jack Daniel’s

Hey, we all thought he was an idiot until we read about the barrel of whiskey, am I right?

this is just fantastic... I'm going to guess no kids ever played with it, some guy bought it and kept it on display


an Australian driver in Sydney was fined $387 after traffic cameras photographed her holding phone—or a sunglasses case




Australia, freshly infested with high-definition traffic cameras, is issuing substantial fines to drivers filmed using phones—or holding anything that looks like one, such as a sunglasses case.

A woman in Syndey was upset to learn that proving she owns a case consistent with the image is immaterial to the enforcing agency—whose name, "Revenue NSW", seems to offer a clue about the priorities at hand.

In May a Sydney driver was wrongly fined $387 and 10 demerit points for handling his wallet while behind the wheel, while another driver last year was fined $362 for holding a children's toy.

What stopped ice cream trucks from roaming Orillia Ontario? The new permitting process made it too expensive, as it has 2 components an ice cream vendor can't afford

an $861 licensing fee and proof of $2 million in general liability insurance

“I’ve been in the business for 38 years, and I’ve been licensed by eight different cities, and the most I ever paid was $300,” Barrie-based business owner Nick Karabetsos wrote in his letter. “I just renewed my licence for Barrie and it was $265, Alcona was $300, Alliston was $170 (a) couple (of) years ago. $900 is more than triple the going rate for the same-size city.”

When it absolutely, positively, has got to be there on a C46... it's going to get it's fenders taken off so it will fit through the door!

we all know Pike's Peak, but, I've never hear of Pick's Pike until now


a four-foot-long wiper blade is too much for the Tesla cyber truck's wiper motor to handle, and caused a recall... wasn't it obvious to the stupidest engineer on staff that a long blade needed a bigger motor to push the weight of water off the windshield?


there were multiple reports of malfunctioning wipers prior to the recall, which is due to the wiper motor controller failing as a result of “electrical overstress,” as NHTSA describes.

The wiper motors have been failing due to “electrical overstress” during functional testing, which sounds like the components failed due to harsh functionality trials. But Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid tells Reuters that the wiper motor failures “shouldn’t come as a surprise,” and goes on to say, “This is the largest individual wiper ever used on a light duty vehicle with a 4-foot-long (1.22 meter) blade. 

That exceptional long lever arm puts a lot of stress on the motor and there have been a lot of anecdotal reports popping up since early in production of failures.”

Daytona and a tourist bus pulled by a Jeep? Thank you John S!


Monday, June 24, 2024

B-24 "Lakanooki" of the 374th Bomb Squadron, 308th Bomb Group. The plane was renamed "Snowball From Hell" when she returned to the USA.


all of us who have ever flipped tires off rims, appreciate the home made gadgets that car guys and gearheads have invented to do the job in the garage, without a fancy tire mounting machine


https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=230467052995503&set=pb.100080966302726.-2207520000

My hats off to whoever named this C-46!


B-24 'Doodlebug' of the 373rd Bomb Squadron, 308th Bomb Group.






Doodlebug was one of the original nine B-24D's assigned to the 373rd BS.

 Lt Bernard O'Hara and his crew flew the B-24 to China, leaving the United States on 15 February 1943 with the rest of the 308th BG.

 At the Tenth Air Force air depot at Agra, in India, a number of the 308th BG's B-24D's possibly including Doodlebug, had nose art painted on them by a Cpl A C Mitchell, who was stationed at the depot.

 In the first version of Doodlebug's nose art the comely young lady sat naked on the bomb - a bathing suit was added later.

 The aircraft's mission list provides a graphic illustration of the logistical problems that confronted the 308th BG in China. During the bomber's ten months in-theater, Doodlebug and its crews flew 11 bombing missions and more than 50 sorties over the 'Hump' ferrying gasoline, bombs and other supplies for the 308th. 

The aircraft's gunners claimed ten Japanese fighters shot down and 18 probably destroyed in a running battle lasting 25 minutes during the disastrous mission to Haiphong on 15 September 1943 when a large group of fighters attacked the small 373rd BS formation. SSgt Charles E Edwards and TSgt Joseph E Murry both claimed three fighters destroyed and five probables. JAAF aircraft downed three of the five 373rd B-24's attacking Haiphong and damaged a fourth so badly that it crashed on landing back at Kunming. Doodlebug was the only bomber to return safely to Yangkai.

I kid you not, I have very little time to post much, with this new job

 I met the new VP of my old car club today, and we shot the breeze over cars and Navy stuff for a couple hours well spent in good company! 

He's a surface ET, I was a Submariner ET, he's got a 70 Hemi Cuda, and a 70 Dodge truck, I've got a 69 Coronet R/T.

Time flies when you're shooting the breeze about cars and car parts!

Anyway, most workdays I don't have much time to post much, and it's usually due to one thing or another

Sunday, June 23, 2024

the 459th Fighter Squadron, put a C-46 fuselage to good use by building a small snack bar and coffee shop


https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=475156885193184&set=pb.100080966302726.-2207520000

Oddballs: The Shermans of ‘Kelly’s Heroes’


The Shermans of Kelly’s Heroes were a rather special model, one of the less well-known and less common to appear. The M4A3E4 was a post-war development of the M4A3. It took the standard model of M4A3 – welded hull, vertical volute suspension (VVSS), early turret, Ford GAA V8 engine – and up-gunned them with the addition of the 76 mm Tank Gun M1. Other additions to the older turret – such as the ‘All-Round Vision Cupola’ and cut-in loader’s hatch – were made to the Sherman between 1943 and 1944. Despite their use as such in the film, the E4s never served the US Military. Having previously trialed this configuration prior to the adoption of the T23 turret. However, it was found to be much too cramped for US military tastes.

Bob and Doreen transformed a 2014 Class C Mercedes chassis Sprinter van and Forest River Solera RV into their dream 1950 Spartanette RV



the original Forest River Solera RV underwent a dramatic metamorphosis, replacing its cabin with a 24-foot 1950 Spartanette travel trailer. Clever engineering preserved the slide-out and bathroom, maintaining practicality amidst the transformation.

Salvaged lumber from vintage trailers adorns the door fronts, complementing the old-growth aesthetic. Trimwork crafted from 150-year-old Michigan white pine barn wood adds to the vintage allure.









it took them 19 months to do the work, 7 days a week, and they did this during Covid.

There was only one Mustang SS... the Super Snake, and I just learned the engine in it was pulled out of the GT40 racer that won four successive 24 Hours of Le Mans

The rarest engine to ever feature in an American muscle car is the mighty 427 ci Super Snake V8 featured in the one-off Mustang SS.

Built for a promotional event with tire manufacturer Goodyear, the decision was made to build a special 427 ci V8 for a standard Shelby 500. 

Lifted from the Ford GT40 racer that won four successive 24 Hours of Le Mans events, it produced 520 hp. It would never be used again, making it the rarest engine to ever feature in a production muscle car.

Beaumont Sport Coupe

 https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cc-find-of-the-day-hey-nice-chevelle-there-no-dude-its-not-a-chevelle-its-a-beaumont-sport-coupe/

a Nissan dealership in Vermont was bilked of a half million dollars by it's parts manager. He sold the parts on Facebook!

According to court documents, he carried out the scheme between March 2019 and Sept. 23, 2022, when he was employed by Formula Nissan in Barre as the parts manager and then director of parts and service.

In his job, he ordered parts including vehicle suspension lift kits which cost Formula Nissan between $2,300 to $2,900 apiece.

He advertised the parts for sale on Facebook and sold them to purchasers across the country using Formula Nissan’s Federal Express account to ship the parts to his own customers.

in the 1950s, a drive in theater in Fort Lauderdale had a B 25, a P 40, and a PBY on the playground in front of the screen for kids to play on

https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/a-stroke-of-marketing-genius-local-businesses-vintage-aircraft-and-their-unusual-association.html

one tire shop in Fresno distinguished itself for having a surplus Waco CG-4A combat glider, similar to the ones used during the D-Day landings in Normandy, on it's roof


This CG-4A, USAAF serial 45-15691, built under license from the Waco Aircraft Company by Ford Motor Company’s plant in Kingsford, Michigan, never saw any combat service and was eventually purchased as government surplus. It was then placed atop Armstrong Tires’ shop in Fresno, California, being painted bright yellow with red and black bold lettering advertising the shop. 45-15691 would remain in Fresno until the 1970s when it attracted the attention of the newly-founded National WWII Glider Pilots Association, founded in 1971 by former glider pilots of the Second World War to commemorate their services and to find and restore a WACO CG-4 glider for public display. Once they had found the glider in Fresno, they purchased 45-15691 and had it restored in time for the association’s reunion in Dallas in 1979.

bought from Canada for $50, and transported to Seattle, this was one of many planes sold to gas station owners for displays after WW2


Fred Dyson of Seattle would purchase several former RCAF Kittyhawks for importation back to the United States in 1946-47, and for only $50 apiece, the transported to Boeing Field, Seattle via barge from Victoria, British Columbia. 

A little while later Tony Dire, who owned a Flying A service station in Everett, where the Kittyhawk was given a Flying Tigers-inspired look and an electric motor was installed to rotate the propeller as the aircraft sat atop the shop in downtown, becoming a local landmark for the next twenty years.

an Avro Shackleton perched above a Sasol service station near Johannesburg, South Africa, formerly known as Vic’s Viking Garage.


The South African Shackleton was brought to its present location in 1987, and in doing so, it played a role in the preservation of another large aircraft that had previously been perched upon the service station, a Vickers Viking airliner, which is now the last of its kind preserved in South Africa.

https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/a-stroke-of-marketing-genius-local-businesses-vintage-aircraft-and-their-unusual-association.html