Friday, April 29, 2022

The Friendship


This beast was offered up on Facebook Marketplace back in January and the listing is still up so perhaps it is still available.  I came across it on barnfinds.com.  You will find the details there as well as the link to Facebook Marketplace.

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Monday, April 25, 2022

Saturday, April 23, 2022

Friday, April 22, 2022

Great patina


This was one of a number of photos taken by Xander Cesari at the Detroit Autorama. The rest of them are available at jalopyjournal.com.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Anyone old enough to remember these?


An array of these would be hung on barricades at road construction sites.  They contained kerosene or fuel oil and would be ignited as a night time warning for drivers.  This was before the battery operated amber warning lights came into common use. 

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

1922 8 wheeled bus


                                             Read about the eight wheeled bus at theoldmotor.com.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Monday, April 18, 2022

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Friday, April 15, 2022

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Friday, April 8, 2022

Thursday, April 7, 2022

1957 Chrysler 300C


My mother's older brother was a "car guy".  Uncle Shorty liked his cars to be big as well as fast. I first became aware that the cars he drove were flashier than Dad's when I saw his new red 1955 Packard Caribbean. I was eight years old at the time.

In 1957 he went to the Indianapolis 500.  When he came home he was driving a new Chrysler 300C.  He was an impulsive person. I never heard the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the Chrysler. It could have been as simple as having been driving past a dealership, seeing it sitting on the showroom floor, and deciding that it should be his.

What wasn't to love about that car? The long sweeping lines of the body ended with those fabulous fins. It's light and airy hardtop had C pillars as minuscule as the A pillars at the windshield. In a rollover accident that top would have been down on the top of the seats in a heartbeat.  It had a gorgeous tan leather interior.

If the cosmetics of the car didn't seal the deal opening the hood would have been the clincher for him. The Firepower Hemi was called the "Whale" by the racers of the time.  It's 392 cubic inches (6.4 liters) was fueled by two 4 barrel carburetors that produced 375 hp and 420 ft.lbs of torque. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the drive home to Northeastern Ohio wasn't some kind of record at the time. Everyone agreed that Shorty drove too fast, but he wasn't reckless. Mom made no secret of her worry whenever I had the opportunity to ride with him.  I just naturally assumed that she gave him instructions on how he was to drive when I was in the car.  It was always fun to ride with him and that car was particularly thrilling.

The 300C in the photo caught my eye because it was exactly like Uncle Shorty's.  This car is in the Detroit Institute of Arts- part of "Car Design in the Motor City 1950-2020". You can read more about the cars on the display and other pieces in the museum's collection at curbsideclassic.com.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Monday, April 4, 2022

1952 Socema Gregoire


French automobile engineer Jean-Albert Gregoire is responsible for the development of the Socema Turbine coupe. It was powered by a single rotor kerosene fueled 'cematurbo' turbo engine. It produced 100 bhp at 25,000 rpm!  Combined with its aerodynamic shape it was claimed to be capable of 124 mph (200 km/h).

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Friday, April 1, 2022

1926 Maine Mobile


George McLaughlin constructed this vehicle to travel on the road or on water as well as over snow.  It was powered by a 72 HP six cylinder aircraft engine driving a rear mounted prop.  It was claimed that it was capable of speeds up to 106 mph on the highway.  The pontoons on each side enabled the car to reach speeds of 35mph on water.