Friday, December 11, 2009

You should buy a lotto ticket if you are as lucky as the two guys in the taxi, they dodged a 5 to 25 ton, 50 foot pipe falling from an overpass


images from all over the local San Diego tv stations websites from cell phone photos sent into the news
The trucker was Southbound on the 125 from Santee at 9 am, was taking the exit to the Westbound 8, and was driving TOO FAST! He didn't make the turn, hit the barrier, and the chains that were restraining the pipe snapped, allowing the pipe to fall 75 to 100 feet onto Grossmont Center Dr.
The best coverage was channel 8, and click on the video for a good review of the story: http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11663048 the video has a thumbnail and full screen mode

eye candy

Above: 25 mph bumper car! http://clunkbucket.com/bumper-car-escapes-midway/ not as cool as http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/09/for-attention-like-nothing-else-at.html but close enough
Above: http://blacknotblack.net/black/?p=1103

2 cylinder engine, formerly an airplane tug... back then it didn't have those slotted mags

Austin Bantam 60's dragster... wow

in the staging lanes at the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion
This sixties-built dragster was at one time a thirties-built Austin. Washington’s Duke Cornell first constructed this Bantam bodied drag coupe in 1961. Duke claims he ran 10-second quarters at the drag strip with alarming regularity using an injected small block Chevrolet for power.

This is something I've never seen before, an 8 second 1956 Mercedes Gullwing 300sl




A fiberglass body, 1050Hp, and 8.1 second quarter miler. Nice!
Via: http://www.crankandpiston.com and http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/11/2009-essen-show-mercedes-benz-300sl.html

Wow, kinetic art at the BMW museum... best from minute 1 to 3:45


Via: http://thevintagent.blogspot.com

Don't you wish your uncle left a rare old 1909 motorcycle in the family attic for you?


Above via: http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bboard/showthread.php?t=14444

the whole story of a 1909 Curtiss that was auctioned off for 200 thousand dollars, http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/2009/05/sale-of-1909-curtiss.html

The 'Great Uncle' buys a Curtiss v-twin new in '09 with a reliable and powerful v-twin of 1000cc, with direct belt drive and a rare clutch option. Unfortunately, by 1917 the owner had a bad spill and broke his leg, and the Curtiss was stuffed int he attic for the next 40 years. In 1957, the current owner, then 13 years old tinkered on the Curtiss with his uncle, who fell ill shortly after, and the old bike sat in the family attic for another 50 years.... during which time the house had been abandoned! In 2008, the seller returned, found it and took it home where his son informed him of the potential market value.

for 5 more up close photos see the last ones in this post: http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/2009/05/st-paul-motorcycle-auction.html

Buried treasure, a worse preservation technique than attic storage

Original story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/372041 and http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/569337
Via: http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-you-find-them-14.html

In a nutshell, Karen was gardening and found this 1929 BSA in her New Zealand backyard. She put it on Ebay in 2008

The 1929 Majestic


Thursday, December 10, 2009

Survival of the innovator. A broken 2CV, no welder, no power tools, and Emil Leray made a motorcycle while stranded in the Moroccan desert, in 12 days

Old style

Probably via http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com/ I'm not sure

Hot rod Citreon 2CV.. where did this come from? it's a paradigm breaker!



Can't find out any facts about it on the internet.

An inventive sidecar maker.. amazing, well executed



For a full gallery: http://www.t-motor-sidecar.com/main.php?site=44&kategazon=2

Hungarian Henrik Tóth and his incredible Yamaha Wild Star sidecar. Toth's other T-motor Sidecars and his wild west village just outside of Budapest

a few great images

the photographer Dorothea Lange, famous for excellent photos that humanized the tragic consequences of the Great Depression and profoundly influenced the development of documentary photography during the great depression. She was one of several photographers that were working for a government agency, the Farm Security Administration, that wanted the state of the people to be captured for historical perspective. Jack Delano was another, and they were both incredibly good photographers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Lange

the beauty of the curve

Photography by Ray Metzker, via: http://doarcodavelha.blogspot.com/2009/12/ray-k-metzker-automagic.html

car parts art, my favorite art; the innovative kind

Made from the following parts