Wednesday, January 07, 2026

clever design for a truck and trailer matched set, the truck slides into and out from the trailer, by Citroen


This particular variant of the H-van does have some attempts made to be stylish, as it was designed by Heuliez, a French coachbuilder that made a number of H-van-based (and other Citroëns, too) special editions like ambulances and other sorts of vehicles.


https://www.theautopian.com/this-slide-in-citroen-pickup-to-some-other-kind-of-truck-is-deeply-cool/

Yes, there have been a lot of posts lately about the Wood Lite headlights, and no, I'm not trying to collect the whole set, but, I couldn't pass on these

I don't know what an "Official Car of the 99" is, but this one was reserved for the Exalted Leader!




and this... did it really NEED to call out the headlights with lettting and an arrow? Hmmm




But a Kenworth made for hauling cargo, that's a really strange vehicle to find Wood lites on

Tuesday, January 06, 2026

WWI toys being made entirely from tin cans.


I don't remember posting a patched up tire before!


https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/495/

interesting door latch release, nice and elegant

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/495/

what do you think? Portable water pumper?

well, this sure makes it easy to see that a truck was the perfect way to drive around with a great trunk and advertise the business



https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/493/

when "auto" camping was the "thing" to do... the new found freedom to travel long distances to see great national parks was so much more easily accomplished with cars than horse wagons

 



https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/493/

Mrs. Minnie M. Blandin, 74, who at the turn of the century was president of of the Racine Mfg Company that made bodies for 32 makes of 'horseless buggies,' sitting in a 1904 Franklin that ran the San Francisco to New York in 33 days in 1904. (phoot from Nov 1937


Between 1902 and 1925 Racine supplied bodies to Auburn, Buick, Case, Cole, Elgin, E.M.F., Kissel, Lozier, Mitchell, Mitchell-Lewis, Nash, Overland, Pierce-Racine, Piggin, Premier, Rambler, ReVere, W.W. Shaw, Standard, Stearns-Knight, Stephens, and Stutz. Racine also produced a popular line of taxicab bodies for Chicago’s Walden W. Shaw Livery Co, and its successor, the Yellow Cab Mfg Co.

Minnie married the founder of the Racine Novelty Co, Frederick Franklin Blandin. The Racine Novelty Mfg. Co. / Racine Mfg. Co., was one of the nation’s largest production automobile body builders.

They also made storm aprons and curtains, wood and metallic bodies, battery boxes, spark coil boxes, tool boxes, dashes, fenders and automobile tops, piano stools and ironing boards

the company grew from 400 employees to 1200 in 10 years, and by 1917 were manufacturing 80 touring car bodies and 15 closed bodies daily.

In 1918, the company got the contract to make 500 metal life boats to support the WW1 effort, but the other companies in Racine were just as busy, making cots, shoes, guns, tents, and airplane parts


I am sure not many of you are familiar with plowing snow, but for everyone that has spent years mowing lawns, it's very similar, and cathartic, relaxing, therapeutic. Or maybe that's just the way it feels to me, because I like the effect of the messy to perfect work, like sanding wood



can you be a train fan, and not like the Soul Train?


this is the historic/iconic visually amazing vehicle that had 2.4 million people enter a contest to win, the Hot Rod Coca Cola Levis Denimachine, built in 10 various ways




 
The interior of each customized Denimachine Ford van was decked out with red shag carpeting, a Coca-Cola college dorm size mini refrig, a CB, RCA tv, an eight-track, and wall-to-wall customization of tufted pockets and Levi's buttons galore, along with red paisley-patterned fabric for crown molding

Each was customized to be unique in small ways, but not just in appearance, the mechanicals were upgraded a bit too, with Cragar Road Star wheels and Goodyear GTs, traction bars and a sway bar, a B&M transpack for better shifts, Mallory unilite electronics to upgrade from points, and Hooker headers exhausting through Thrush sidepipes of course

The hood is a fiberglass scoop from Hooker, as are the fender flares and spoiler
















this success bred imitators in Australia, the Easy Roller and Freedom Machine





and the Chrysler Valiant wagon version 

thank you Mike K for hitting my tip jar!

 

extremely fancy rim design for Cincinnati in the brass era


A rare roller coaster popping up in the background of the photo, you never see that happen by accident! 

it's frustrating just to see these people with no traction... why the hell didn't any of them use Amazon to get any of a dozen different traction adding devices? (I've posted them before)

 

This photo was taken at the temporary assembly plant set up at the San Francisco Exposition in 1915. One could order their new Ford, then watch as it was assembled

Stadium seating tourbus

Gloria Swanson and her manager, using a scooter with a cargo sidecar... which is pretty weird


Nope nope, nope, it's too damn cold to drive a motorcycle when windchill gives you frost bite

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/475/

The Michigan Pike is a historic tourist road, developed in 1911, leading beachgoers from all over the nation to unique and scenic towns along the lakeshore.


one of the nation's first ever tourist roads. Designated a Pure Michigan Byway in 2016






https://www.michiganbeachtowns.com/west-michigan-pike/
it was likely (and I'm not going to research into it right now) the results of the Tourism Board led by Hugh J Gray, https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2025/01/an-unusual-roadside-attraction-near.html as he was instrumental in highway 31