Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Monday, May 25, 2026
the last time I posted about the Mahan collection (of Macks and Cats) 7 years ago, I didn't see these photos of their museum
Last time I posted, they had this 16" gun from the battleship New Jersey, but they hadn't made it this nice
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2019/01/one-hell-of-nice-collection-of.html for the last post
the Oreti Railway in New Zealand which opened in 1864 used wooden rails
This isn't to say that they didn't put iron strips on the top of the wood rails.
"The Chemical Guys" have a really good commercial on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ChemicalGuysMfgCo/videos/2031428321087092/
it's cleverly worded about how a guy cleans his car, from the back to the front, by hand, no power tools
Empire Strikes Back commentary track had this info .
C-3P0’s walking sounds were made with the window motor of an old Chrysler.
The snow speeders flying is the LA highway recorded through a vacuum cleaner tube.
the war with Iran over it's offensive launches on Israel, and now over the Strait of Hormuz, is set to cause another headache for car owners; it's leading to a shortage of synthetic oil according to Automotive News
automakers have begun rationing synthetic oil while dealerships and distributors are stockpiling it amid a severe reduction in supply.
This problem stems from the fact that nearly half of the Group III base oils used to make synthetic oil and other lubricants such as transmission fluid comes from the Middle East, and the war has essentially cut off that supply.
According to the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, the U.S. will likely run out of Group III base oils originating from the Gulf region by June, leading to a shortage that could last until at least mid-2027. Trouble is, this doesn't just impact existing vehicles needing synthetic oil changes or fresh transmission fluid - it also means that new vehicle production could come to a halt if automakers run completely out of those lubricants.
Just how a couple month of canal blockade results in a worldwide shortage of synth oil, is not explained.
It's 21 miles wide at the narrowest
Plus, already, the Saudi are making a transit route to bypass the Iranian controlled waters, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-emerges-as-gulfs-key-trade-route-as-iran-war-blocks-hormuz-strait/articleshow/131310656.cms in the event that the international powers decide to yellow belly away from an easily over powered 3rd world country half ass military that ANY super power ought to be able to negate if they had the motivation to get the job done, and change the situation permanently. One UN Navy squad posted on the Iranian coast ought to be able to neutralize any offensive, pinpoint the sources of offensive weapons, and knock them out. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/iran-live-updates-peace-deal-053226292.html
Clearly, this is an opportunity for ANY superpower with a Navy to get REAL training on minesweeping, etc etc
On such limited resources, Iran isn't likely to be able to put up an offensive over who passes down the route from Iraq to the gulf.
In fact, the NY Times states that "Outmatched militarily, Iran used “triangular coercion” by attacking Gulf states and closing the Strait of Hormuz."
In this case, the third parties are both militarily vulnerable and economically important to the United States. Iran’s attacks against them early in the war, combined with its ability to effectively close the strait, have for now successfully thwarted a decisive victory for the United States and Israel. Clearly, the determination to win in a blitzkrieg was not there, and the people in charge were too busy getting fat and tracking their 401k results instead.
If the UAE were ready to seize the opportunity, they could make a Panama/Suez Canal type waterway, and have a 2ndary supply of perpetual income. Oil isn't unlimited, sooner or later, it's going to run out.
new to me ads for Phillips 66 (now has me wondering... what is the 66 representing?) And Steve has the answer! The story the museum tells is that the car testing the Phillips gas did 66 miles per hour while running on Route 66.
Route 66 opened in 1926. The first Phillips 66 station opened in November 1927 - bulk sales before that.
By the end of December they had four stations up and running. The story the museum tells goes that the car testing the gas did 66 miles per hour while running on Route 66.
The stated reason in 1927 didn't mention a car testing gas on Route 66 - it was the API gravity value of their aviation fuel (by 1932 it was up to 69.6).
Their logo didn't change to look like the Route 66 signs until around August 1930.
The stated reason in 1927 didn't mention a car testing gas on Route 66 - it was the API gravity value of their aviation fuel (by 1932 it was up to 69.6).
Their logo didn't change to look like the Route 66 signs until around August 1930.
As an aside, Phillips 66 was the name of Bartlesville's very successful A.A.U. league basketball team.
Sunday, May 24, 2026
AI generated image of a1948 lineup at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas
From top to bottom:
Convair B-36 Peacemaker, Boeing B-50 Superfortress, Boeing B-29 Superfortress, North American B-45 Tornado, Boeing XB-38 Flying Fortress, Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar, Douglas B-18 Bolo
15x8 Keystone Kustomags
I love the Klassics. I remember noticing them for the first time in 1977... I shit you not.
A waterfront train depot dripping in history is about to get a facelift and new historical exhibit
a farmer in Marietta, Ohio, had this Holt 5-Ton crawler tractor he sold to a collector, and it turns out to have been subcontracted to Maxwell to build. It took the collector 4 years just to source the correct armor plating
the Holt 5-Ton was in high demand in World War I for towing artillery. The Holt Manufacturing Company, which later merged in 1925 with the C.L. Best Tractor Company to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co., couldn’t keep up with the demand.
So Holt contracted with the Maxwell Motor Company and other manufacturers to help meet supply for the “Artillery Tractor 5-ton Model 1917,” as Holt called them.
Before all the orders could be filled, however, the war ended November 11, 1918. Holt, Maxwell and the other manufacturers were left with surplus tractors that never made it “Over There,” but some remained in service through the 1920s and others were converted to civilian use on the farm.
At 84, Bowers Jr. is retired, but the fourth generation of the family has joined Howard L. Bowers Contracting. And Bowers still goes in every day to his own special spot on the company’s property where his father used to work on old machines.
“I got what they call a ‘toy shop’ where I work on these antique tractors,” he says. “This is my ‘golf course’ over here in my own shop.”