interesting tire displays and tire aftermarket stuff at SEMA this year

 Interested people will have no problems learning the size of this tire... just read the tread

 these probably qualify as large rubber bands damn it. a 25 series tire on a 26 inch rim? That is ridiculous

 these don't look too big until you look a the guys in the background for reference... these are monster truck size tires

VIN Check, the the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is giving the public a free check to see if a used car has been reported as stolen, but not recovered, or has been reported as a salvage vehicle

https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

You might want to see before buying a car if it was water damaged in a flood, or a hurricane. Some have been, and then shipped far from the disaster zone to unsuspecting car buyers... it's legal to buy and sell water damaged cars, but it is against the law to sell a water-damaged car without letting the buyer know.

Good info, sifted from a post on http://www.norcalminis.com/

Dioramas from Model Junkyard.. very convincing photography of very small models

these are inside car bumper parts

See how these were made, and more photos of each diorama at http://blog.modeljunkyard.com/

Car transportation information source, and car transportation trucking company, Montway

http://www.montway.com/transportation/2011/08/25/the-real-cost-of-moving-a-vehicle

a thorough approach to informing you of the many things you'll have to deal with and and think about when you want to have a car transported across states or inter-country

For Example...

 one time 2 years we had a guy that was transporting 2 cars at the time on a small trailer. He loaded 2 classic Ford Mustang's and one of them was inoperable ( no engine ). He placed this car first on the trailer and secured it with some straps over the wheels. While he was driving on the Hwy in Chicago, a car ahead of him stop unexpectedly and our trucker jumped on the brakes to avoid the crash and at that moment the first Mustang ( inoperable ) literally "flew" over the truckers cabin and went to the right down to a small valley .... The reason that happened is because the trucker used only 2 straps ( usually he needs to put 4 ), but the main reason was that the transmission of this old car had no compression and even though the car was in gear, that wasn't holding the car at all and there was no hand brake either.

Anyhow nobody was hurt , the car wasn't damage much , but it was a restoration project, so nothing critical, but it was crazy how the car "flew" off the trailer.

http://www.montway.com/

KISS autographed a signature line of MINI Clubman cars, and they were auctioned off to raise funds for a childrens charity.. very damn cool. One was just stolen from it's new owner, very damn uncool. Be on the look out for this one

photos from http://www.thecrimsoncrow.com/2011/06/kiss-mini-cooper-countryman-is-a-great-combination/ where there is a bigger gallery of  the rest of the cars

HARRISON NY — A $5,000 reward is being offered after a one-of-a-kind KISS car was stolen from a driveway in Harrison.

The Mini-Cooper hatchback, autographed by the 1970s shock rockers and designed with the band's logo and other blue/teal Kiss artwork, was originally purchased at an auction benefiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (or Unicef) . It was stolen Friday between midnight and 6 a.m.

The reward is for information leading to an arrest and conviction and/or recovery of the vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call Harrison police at 914-967-5110 . All calls will remain confidential.
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/new-york-new-england/220452-kiss-mini-stolen.html

Via http://www.norcalminis.com/ 

Pike's Peak or Bust.. Tajima's record setting run

 found on http://www.norcalminis.com/ 

Mini is going to race in the Dakar

Found on http://www.norcalminis.com/  where they frequently post cool unusual stuff

the wonderful Cotati Speed Shop and Miller Welding shop truck... this is just great in so many ways, it's legit patina and real work aged, it's a 1969 Chev truck, and they have a welding rod rack in the back window

 that fron bumper push board is damn cool, reminds me of slingshot dragster team vehicle

 to have a old time phone number with a word and uppercase letters... that is a cool touch

 great rims and hub caps, terrific lettering and subtle but superb pinstriping

 and check out the terrific tailgate and side mount vise! But the coolest thing is that the tailgate has the flip reinforced steel table with legs for extra bracing, size and workbenck area

 Notice that the Miller welder logo is on the protective covers, and that they are flip out of the way hinged, both for the tailgate welder, and the side mounted one in the front of the bed

instead of a rear window gun rack.... which as a Michigan birthright I am very familiar with, he has tubes that carry welding rods! That is great!

their website for the Cotati Speed Shop is http://cotatispeedshop.com/
and to read more about the shop truck, go to the bottom of this article from Miller Electric http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/articles/miller--cotati-speed-shop-partner-up-for-2011-hot-rod-power-tour-and-more because it will be in the 2011 Hot Rod Power Tour

Big Oly, a new Baja race vehicle tribute to Parnelli Jones' Baja 1000 two time winning Bronco in '71 and '72

Marshall's website about his incredible truck is here http://www.bigoly.com/ and you can read more about what it took to build it, and what he built it with there.

the above photo of Parnelli Jones winning Bronco is from http://www.off-roadweb.com/events/0802or_40_years_to_glory_happy_birthday_baja_1000/index.html and they had very little to say about such a famous off roader " Big Oly came out of Bill Stroppe's shop but was really the brainchild of Parnelli Jones and one of Stroppe's fabricators, Dick Russell. Stroppe at first resisted the idea of building a tube-chassis vehicle with Bronco skins because it wouldn't be a true Bronco. Jones and Russell would eventually move Big Oly from Russell's garage to Bill Stroppe's shop, and Stroppe eventually accepted the idea. It won the Baja 1000 in 1971 and 1972. "

Bill Stroppe was a race car fabricator for Nascar if I recall correctly, and at a christmas party goaded Parnelli into a challenge to drive in the Baja 1000. Parnelli was known for Indy car driving, but proved exceptional at Baja racing... so great that he not only won the race, he beat all the motorcycles too!

Marshall Madruga was inspired by the Olympia Beer sponsored Bronco, and had several vintage Broncos from huigh school until his Class 8 off roader, but went all the way to insane with this Trophy Truck.

Olympia Beer isn't familiar to many of you I think, but it was one of the more popular beers in the 70's that has disappeared from our cultural awareness, like Strohs, Schlitz, and others. Olympia Beer was on screen with Clint Eastwood a lot though, and if you watch Clint's 1970's and 80's movies like "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot". If you are ever in Olympia Washington, capital city of Washington state but a very small city now, stop by the brewery. It's a cool experience and good tour. Olympia is not only a state capital, and a beer, but also the city that the USS Olympia fast attack nuclear submarine was named for... and that makes it the only US Navy vessel that shares the name of a alcoholic beverage. I was crew from 1991 to 1995 on that sub... cool experience, but not one I would repeat.

This is the 2nd incredible vehicle I've found and featured here that was built to replicate/honor/pay homage to a Parnelli Jones race vehicle, the other was the Boss 302 Mustang that Les built exactly to the specs of the original http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/06/68-ford-transporter-aint-that-cool-i.html 

Great advertising theme... from father to son, Chevy runs deep (son searches for 5 years to find his dad's Impala SS, and gives it to his dad)

Short tv commercial above, full length story below of finding the car after looking across 6 states and Canada below... worth watching the full thing!

And the father and sons were at the LA Auto Show by invitation of Chevrolet, with the 65 Impala SS http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/11/18/herb-younger-and-his-1965-impala-ss-396-make-appearance-at-the-l-a-auto-show/

I didn't know it, but about a week ago Dan at Hemmings posted all about this http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/11/09/chevrolet-at-100-pulling-on-your-heartstrings/
I just watched the commercial on tv and had to add this to my blog... great bloggers think alike



The first commercial reminded me of the video I posted years ago about a son who delivers a car to his dad at work

the little old lady from Pasadena was endorsing Wheelie Bars from Whamo for Stingray bikes for kids

found on  http://acesdeluxe.blogspot.com/

Jeff had one of the funniest comments I've read lately: " Helmet schmelmet...we cracked our heads on the pavement and WE LIKED IT THAT WAY! "

3 beautiful Mopars from the Mopar Alley at SEMA this year, a 1969 Coronet, a 1970 Challenger convertible, and a 1971 Barracuda Convertible, and all have a hemi

 The 71 Barracuda, possibly the finest choices of options available on a Mopar are on this "Make what you really want" example... the wing, the billboard engine callout, the gills, and the shaker hood scoop.

 awesome

 when building the car they wanted, they chose air conditioning (which I thin was never offered with a Hemi with the huge air filter housing, and the 1970 shifter...

 I guess they didn't want to call their Coronet a Super Bee, or preferred the new truck Rumble Bee stripe instead. Possible more the first idea, because they didn't add a Super Bee to the trunk lid, or the grill