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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Watching Paul Newman start and drive a 1914 Puegot at Indy? Awesome!
0 comments Posted by st at 8:13 PM
If you have Netflix you can do it instantly, or you can catch various clips on You Tube. Stick with the ones loaded by wintershollywood, they have the original audio ...
Once upon a Wheel, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413072/ a cool movie that Paul narrated, and got greasy wrenching on a 71 Super Bee, and takes a look at a lot of racing stars, the Unsers, Andrettis, Pettys, and so on. A lot of 1970 NASCAR footage, but also dragsters, snowmobiles and more.
Clips from early 1910 races, land speed racing on the sand and slat, Pikes Peak, Indy, and so on are amazing to watch while Paul talks you through the scenes.
Getting a moment on screen are such obscure and cool vehicles as Buckminster's Dymaxion, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/07/favorite-sculptor-of-mine-was-first-to.html and the Marmon Herrington Rhino: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/12/marmon-harrington-4-wheel-drive.html
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Once-Upon-a-Wheel/70002931?trkid=1211018
Celebrity friends such as Kirk Douglas, Dick Smothers and James Garner join Newman at the classic Indy 500, Formula One and NASCAR events. Featured are some of the most legendary race-car drivers of all time, including Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, Bobby Isaac, Richard Petty, Al and Bobby Unser and many more.
Some reeally famous people not named in the review, but getting moments on screen are John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Wilt Chamberlain, astronaut Pete Conrad, Glen Ford, and others as the cameras were takne through the pits at the first Ontario Motor Speedway celebrity pro- amateur charity race, which was won by Dick Smothers and Bobby Unser. Motion Picture and televison relief fund was the charity.
Labels: movie, Paul Newman, racing
read about it: http://hooniverse.com/2010/08/27/so-much-awesomosity-from-a-dodge-caravan-2/#more-26589
Labels: Dodge, innovation, Transporter, van
Once a long time ago, anyone could drive a car about anywhere without restriction.. think they ruined it for us?
0 comments Posted by st at 7:13 PMLabels: what is it
But why is it that Pontiac being phased out caused such an uproar, and editorials, cover stories, etc etc etc... but no one is lamenting the Mercury becoming a has been. Why is that? What was the Pontiac name plate to GM, that the Mercury nameplate wasn't to Ford? Both were a bit more luxurious than the parent company name... both had a lot of terrible looking cars (Ventura for one) and both had a couple muscle cars of notable looks and reputation ( GTO, swiss cheese Catalina, Comet Cyclone, Cougar Eliminator)
read about the closing down of Mercury: http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/06/rip-mercury.html
Labels: Mercury
the shark nose '38 Graham, quite a departure from contemporary design of it's time
0 comments Posted by st at 6:27 PMMonday, August 30, 2010
Max Balchowsky, creator of the "Old Yeller" series of handbuilt spare parts racecars that won in races against all the exotic European race cars
0 comments Posted by st at 4:10 PMMax built the Old Yeller cars that defined this era (1958-1964) of California racing.
The Old Yeller legend began when Max and partner Eric Hauser acquired a Special built by Dick Morgensen of Phoenix, Arizona. Max applied his skills, modifying and upgrading almost every part of the car, and created a potent threat for overall wins.
Old Yeller, an assortment of junkyard debris powered by one of Max's killer Buick nailheads, embarrassed many an expensive European sports car and inspired a generation of hot rodders to go road racing... http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/27709714/95-MAX-BALCHOWSKYS-OLD-YELLER-I
Max pulled the engine, and put it into Old Yeller II, which he'd just built.
Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby also drove Old Yeller II. Gurney declared it "The best handling car I've ever driven". ... http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/MaxBalchowsky1.html
Old Yaller 1 was made from the Morgensen Special and all the work Max did to make it better, but Old Yellar II was all Max.
Max Balchowsky who took on the best in the business with his motoring equivalent of a mutt. From their outward appearance, cars like Old Yeller II appeared crude, but all of the Yellers were well engineered and usually competed for overall victory with much more expensive competition... http://www.supercars.net/cars/608.html
"Built from derelict freeway signs, a Coca Cola sign, Chevy truck parts, whitewall tires, and junkyard parts" .. " winning 8 of 13 outings in 1963-64" .. the engine was built with "special pistons, six Stromberg 97 carburetors on two Crower log manifolds, and an exotic camshaft from Ed Winfield" .... Vintage American Road Racing Cars 1950-1969 By Harold Pace
"Max became good friends with Buddy Hackett and did the setups for the VW known as Herbie for the movie 'Love Bug.' Max is most legendary for the movie stunt work he did for the movie Bullit with Steve McQueen, and he knew Steve well. Max worked with Elvis Presley in several movies, and for Viva Las Vegas, Max used two Old Yeller race cars in the movie (one crashed)."
http://www.ada.org/news/3511.aspx
Labels: Herbie "The Love Bug", Icon, Max Bachowsky
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The 9,300 mile race was kicked off by a challenge by a newspaper "What needs to be proved today is that as long as a man has a car, he can do anything and go anywhere. Is there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Peking to Paris by automobile?"
It was held during a time when cars were fairly new, and went through remote areas of Asia where people were not familiar with motor travel. The route between Peking and Lake Baikal had only previously been attempted on horseback. The race was won by Italian Prince Scipione Borghese of the Borghese family, accompanied by the journalist Luigi Barzini, Sr. He was confident and had even taken a detour from Moscow to St Petersburg for a dinner which was held for the team, and afterwards headed back to Moscow and rejoined the race. The event was not intended to be a race or competition, but quickly became one due to its pioneering nature and the technical superiority of the Italians' car driven by Count Scipione Borghese, winning by three weeks. These sporting successes helped sales dramatically, the company continued to grow. The company experimented with a range of novel engines such as variable stroke, sleeve valve, and "Avalve" rotary types
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_to_Paris and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itala
Labels: brass era, Great Race, historical, Italian, race
Italy's National Automobile Museum in Turin (or Torino I'm not sure, I can't read Italian)
0 comments Posted by st at 6:28 PM the wood buck for an Alfa Romeo Guiletta Sprint
Labels: Alfa, Fiat, horse carriage, LSR, museum
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Above image from http://lecontainer.blogspot.com/
Labels: Messerschmitt, racing
top photo from http://megamoto.tumblr.com/
Bottom photo from http://flaviendachet.blogspot.com/
Labels: Mercer Cobra
New book - heard Carolla interview the author and I'm going to pick this up and read it.
Gene Mosbek and his (10.9 miles on the odometer) 1964 factory lightweight Plymouth Savoy Max Wedge Super Stock III in NHRA Stock Eliminator
0 comments Posted by st at 2:19 PMPhoto from http://www.moparmax.com/events/2008/iii_7-mopar-1.html
Labels: 426 Max Wedge, Factory lightweight, Max Wedge, Super Stock
1954 Monza program, many thanks to Tris and her Dad, Newt, for letting me borrow this to share with you
0 comments Posted by st at 2:08 PMLabels: advertising, Arbarth, brochure, Coca Cola, Pinin Farina
This is a cool little van thing, I don't remember if I've seen a name for it, but the bottle opener is a cool touch
0 comments Posted by st at 11:53 AMThanks to JohnDandy and Asterics for recognizing it as a Tempo Matador! I should have remembered it, but my memory is so bad, you are looking at it, if I need to recall something I look in this blog for it. Ain't that ridiculous?
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/08/its-so-fun-finding-unusual-and.html
from http://groundspeed.blogspot.com/
Labels: Rat Rods, Tempo Matador
Stutz hood ornament by Richard Owens of Supercars.net
Labels: Charger, Honda, Mercury, photography