Saturday, August 23, 2025

A 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, and a 1956 Austin Healey 100M Le Mans Roadster, hang in the newly opened McPherson College student Campus Commons




The college is home to the only 4 year degree program in Automotive Restoration in the country! The car was donated by Dr Richard Lundquist, who has owned the car for 50 years, who is a long time supporter of the McPherson College Auto Restoration program (having committed $50 million) 

McPherson is the only college in the U.S. offering a four-year degree in automotive restoration, so it is fitting to showcase a unique classic automobile in its new building.

The Daytona Ferrari, ranked by MotorTrend as the second greatest Ferrari of all-time, was donated in 2022 by Dr. Lundquist, a Giving Pledge philanthropist, real estate developer, car collector, and McPherson College Trustee. 


the 56 Austin Healey 100M Le Mans Roadster



During the ribbon-cutting and car-unveiling ceremony on July 24, Dondlinger Construction of Wichita presented McPherson College with a $125,000 gift to support student activities and programs. The company served as the general contractor for the Campus Commons — a 55,000-square-foot hub for student services and the centerpiece of a major campus update.

“Dondlinger Construction played a critical role in bringing our vision for the Campus Commons to life,” the McPherson College President said. “Their team brought the highest level of professionalism and craftsmanship to the project. We are grateful for their partnership on this project and for their commitment and support of the college long after the project is finished.”

In addition to overseeing construction, Dondlinger planned and implemented the custom rigging system used to suspend two classic automobiles from the building’s three-story atrium. The first car, a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, was unveiled during the ceremony. A second car, a 1956 Austin Healey 100M Le Mans Roadster

I love an origin story... this one has a 64 Bug, a 54 trailer, a multi generation farm, a mom n pop gas station, tractors, and a roadside fruit stand!

Early in their marriage in 1971, John and Renee Linn, who lived in Kansas, decided to pursue their dreams to live out their lives on a farm. 

For years they had driven through the Midwest farmlands admiring the scenery and longing for a healthy life working together as a family. With their minds made up, these recent college graduates bundled up their newborn son Justin, packed their books and student loans into a '64 VW bug and headed for Denver.

 They were determined to make enough money to buy into their version of the American dream.

Unable to find a job in a bad national economy, John borrowed $750 to put a down payment on a service station where he not only sold gas at the height of the oil crisis but specialized in foreign car repair. There was plenty of work — often 110 hours a week! The couple began to plan in earnest for a farm by deciding that in five years they would leave Denver with their family and a nest egg.

In 1977 they got their farm on California's Central Coast (north of Morro Bay, south of San Simeon), moved a little (8' x 32') 1952 trailer onto the farm and moved in. They refurbished an old well on the property, learned to run trenchers, drive tractors, plant fruit trees, and build water systems and fences.  

Then they set up a fruit and produce stand in 1979 where they sold the olallieberry, a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry that was relatively unheard of at the time. 

The farm is now run by the 3rd generation

Renee's olallieberry pie was a hit and ultimately served as one of the reasons why the couple opened Linn's Restaurant in Cambria's East Village in 1989. 

It has a collection of cycles!


“I began the bike collection because of a man named Wesley Hatakeyama. He suggested, since I had all the upper space on our restaurant walls and since I am a lifelong cycling enthusiast, that I decorate with some bikes, the first five of which he would give me. Cycling has always been something that sets my mind straight and allows me to push my body and mind to new heights as I tackle the hardest climbs or just enjoy perfect downhill and flat rides with a good tailwind. Many people are cycling enthusiasts like me. I am creating the collection to commemorate what will soon be 100 years of cycling innovation.”

Furthermore, in no small way, Aaron has succeeded in bringing casual and serious cyclists to Cambria from places near and far.

Aaron Linn- Restaurant General Manager/Co-Owner

Dad's, a diner in a historic train caboose in Half Moon Bay

Dad’s is a casual spot with serious flavor in Shoreline Station, a strip mall in Half Moon bay. 

Owned and operated by Chef Scott Clark, the eponymous "dad" who left the world of fine dining — during which time he was chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s three-Michelin-starred Saison,— after becoming a father. 

Beyond spending more time with his child, the luncheonette was an opportunity to return to the spontaneous excitement of cooking.

formerly the chef de cuisine  

What's a casual spot? At the end of a strip mall parking lot! 



It's been 125 years since one of the auto industry's most celebrated designers filed a patent for a device that would become a central characteristic of the modern car to this very day, a prerequisite for producing a strong power output. The radiator

Wilhelm Maybach's original patent for the cross flow honeycomb radiator design unlocked the potential of gasoline engines.

Designed specifically as a high-performance alternative to earlier tube-style radiators, Maybach filed a patent for the new honeycomb radiator design, which he intended to deliver maximum cooling capacity with a compact design.


https://carbuzz.com/wilhelm-maybach-mercedes-benz-radiator-history

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is 100 years old in 2025, and to celebrate, Rolls-Royce has driven one straight into a swimming pool, because Keith Moon famously did just that in the 1970s.



So it took an old extended Phantom prototype destined for the big scrapheap in the sky, and sent it straight into Tinside Lido in Plymouth. 

The famous building sits next to the English Channel, and is itself linked to another music legend: it featured in a picture taken of  The Beatles back in 1967.

origin stories are very intriguing

Peter Brock was drafted into the Australian Army in 1965 and spent his two years of National Service stationed at the Blamey Barracks near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. 

During his time in the army, Brock was in the Medical Corps where he often served as an ambulance driver, he and his mates used to race the ambulances around the base. 

It was while on leave from the army in 1966 that Brock first visited Bathurst to watch the 500-mile production car race that was to become the Bathurst 1000. It was after watching the race that he decided that he wanted to become a race driver when he left the army.

1924 Auto Red Bug




Automotive Electric Service (later Automotive Standards) built some Red Bugs with Northeast electric motors that were used as starters on 1920s Dodges. 

They boasted, “It operates on standard automobile storage batteries, rechargeable in your garage or at any service station.” 

Red Bugs were sold through upscale Abercrombie & Fitch and F.A.O. Schwartz stores, and a fleet of Red Bugs went into service on Jekyll Island, Georgia, where no gasoline-powered cars were allowed. 

Even Lou Costello owned one.

Friday, August 22, 2025

Whoa... I've never heard this song before (radio stations never play anything but the 5 highest rated songs from any group, it seems) but the video is just as cool as the lyrics! Thank you Raymond G!



this is the Tarf  made by Piero Taruffi before the tails were added


is what it looks like with good photography instead of very low early video recordings






and the Rolligon! 



"I'm In Love With My Car"

The machine of a dream
Such a clean machine
With the pistons a-pumpin'
And the hubcaps all gleam

When I'm holding your wheel
All I hear is your gear
With my hand on your grease gun
It's like a disease son

I'm in love with my car
Gotta feel for my automobile
Get a grip on my boy racer rollbar
Such a thrill when your radials squeal

Told my girl I have to forget her
Rather buy me a new carburettor
So she made tracks sayin' this is the end now
Cars don't talk back they're just four-wheeled friends now

When I'm holding your wheel
All I hear is your gear
When I'm cruisin' in overdrive
Don't have to listen to no run-of-the-mill talk jive

I'm in love with my car
(Ooh, I'm in love with my car)
Gotta feel for my automobile
I'm in love with my car
(Ooh, I'm in love with my car)
String-back gloves in my automolove!

Check out this cool bike George designed and built years ago (thank you George for sharing this!)

this was a OEM Harley swingarm frame, and George replaced most all of the tubing. 
Dropped the tubing below the seat andd raised the steering neck and increased the it's rake. 
Extended the swingarm and moved the lower shock mounts back. 
Dropped the the seat a little, custom built the rear fender rails and curved them to match the rear fender. These thing put the rider as low as being on a rigid frame but road like a dream.


Will Eisner, illustration and comic book legend (the most prestigious award in comics is named for him!) was a Corporal in WW2, and one of the things he was doing, was the ' Army Motors' magazine

You might recognize Connie from the PS Magazine that Eisner did for the Army through the Korean and Vietnam wars https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/04/will-eisner-originator-of-graphic-novel.html


You can enjoy this whole issue of Army Motors on https://radionerds.com/images/f/f5/Army_Motors_V5_N4_July_1944.pdf where there are 52 issues of AM! 





Lots of issues of PS also https://psmag.radionerds.com/index.php/191

their website has a lot of other cool stuff, including 



Dan Brinkmann, an auto technology instructor, created “The Night Shift” back in 2008, an after-hours auto shop in the Four Rivers Career Center, in Washington, Missouri


The Automotive Technology program is a two-year program in which students learn auto repair and maintenance skills. It is one of the few programs in the country meeting the strict industry standards required for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation

What started as an after-school group refurbishing tractors has now grown into their biggest project yet, a 1978 Kenworth W900A semi-truck. The massive machine is in the process of being completely rebuilt, repainted and brought back to life, all by students.

students learn valuable work and life skills through restoring antique tractors. They participate during their high school career to better themselves and help better their community by volunteering their time to bridge the gap between entry level employees and seasoned employees in their future careers. Students get together at the beginning of each year and choose their restoration projects for the year and work diligently to complete them two nights a week during the school year.

During the restoration process, the students are responsible for the restoration, documentation, and entry into the DELO Tractor Restoration Competition, a national tractor restoration contest sponsored by Chevron Delo.