Saw this out in the wild.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c095b378_z.jpg

Nice, unchopped Merc 2dr, slammed, caddy caps on whites, frenched lights, in primer.

Here's a shiny version...

My first job was lot boy at a typical SoCal used car place.
These, I believe, are '50's, but there was a '51 on the lot (the whole time I worked there) that was in between these in condition and state of modification.
I thought it was the coolest car I had ever seen and always spent extra time with it in the morning start-up and wipe down routine.
Aghast at their practices, I developed a lifelong distrust of such places of business before owning my first car.

Seen at the zoo

Nice.

Ya don't see Rancheros niced up very often.

I see full sized Rancheros once in a great while but the Falcon based have virtually disappeared. The Fairlane/Torino trucks I just don't notice unless one is smack in front of me at a light. I guess I'm just not attracted to ugly. :haha:

Rims:

Attachment 68710

Shiny

Seen in Lowe's parking lot.

Attachment 68714

Smart parking a '77-ish Continental.

This is the ultimate '51 custom. Bill Hines was the Grand Po-bah of chopped Lincolns. He used old school lead and smoked fat cigars constantly, it's a wonder he lived to 94. Larry Watson was the dean of custom paint.

Closer to a 70.

Or so.

well would you look at that

EARWORM EMERGENCY DEFENSE ACTIVATE!

Oh, OK, I didn't realize they had chrome above the grille before '75. :smack:

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2019 Pebble Beach Best in Show, the $6 million ... oh shit.

Collective intake of breath.




Mine's worth more now.

Antique 1926 Ford Model T Destroyed In T-Bone Crash

Attachment 68730

Of course, ya don't see all the damage, I guess, but, that don't look all that "destroyed" to me...

Totaled maybe. But that's a financial decision, and driving a Model T around is not a financial decision.

Totaled or not is an insurance company decision. The Guys with trucks like mine have been running into that. There is no new or repop sheet metal so repair metal would have to come from a junk yard recycler and the insurance companies don't like that because no warranty.
My Chrysler would have cost $12 k to fix. They totaled it and gave me about $18,500. They rubbed my neck and wrote me a check, closed the file at 3:05.


I'd say offhand this Vette is a total...

And when he tried to drive away, they shot him.

Tesla’s a Game Changer When It Comes to Windshield Wipers

I wouldn't say 'game changer', but it's different.

Looks like the wiper arm/blade stand up all the time at the edge of the glass when not in use. It'll take a lot of punishment.

"... the only friction in Tesla's wiper system is from the guide rails on which the arm slides."
Seems like that ignores the friction of the blade on the windshield itself.

As for reliability, I bet most otherwise used-up cars still have operational windshield wipers.

Build the car with magnetic bearings and bushings, and it will last almost forever.

This design is all about doing it effectively with less power. There's never been a reason to move away from the current system, because there's always been a powerful generator built into the car.

A little googling around says that a wiper motor, running full out, draws 10-12 amps of 12v power. That's a lot of electrons. So I bet Tesla is actually saying, hey... if we make a wiper system that draws a lot less power, that will save 20 miles worth of range in the rain.

It's a good reminder that everything is a trade off in their cars, pushing the envelope hoping you don't become stationary. Someday battery tech, or capacitors, will make that all a memory, but not yet.

14 of Urbane Gorilla's heroes...

That '57 or so Scaglietti bodied 250 TR is my favorite car of all time. I watched them race at Riverside, Laguna Seca and Pomona.
The names Ginther, Hill and Gendebien (sp?) all come to mind.
There were slight variations that I like better than this one, but no matter.
250, BTW, is the displacement of each cylinder.

Poking around the subject, I came across this vid of a different Ferrari. There is something really strange at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4T2jMFm7GE

What was really strange?

I didn't see anything particularly strange. The IRS makes the wheel look a little odd when it goes over the speed bump, but that's about it.

I don't get it.

Didn't either of you recognize the driver?

Couldn't see the driver.

Flat tire... probably, where ever it is.

"Couldn't see the driver."
He/she was purposely blanked out.

Then how are we or you gonna recognize someone by the white rectangle covering their very identity?

Why would you even ask?

This is how I come to hate so many people.

If you start over with my first post and think it over, maybe we can avoid another meltdown.

Blocked identity of someone you don't have permission to video has been quite common in the past. Sometimes as a courtesy and sometimes fear of legal repercussions. With recent court rulings that people (cops working, children playing, etc) are fair game out in public there will probably be less. Ever notice all the licence plates blocked in videos on the web?

Actually yes, I noticed that the plate here was obscured and thought nothing of it.
I did, and still do, think that hiding the driver's identity in this setting was kind of strange and commented on it.

Ok. 1. It was not "strange". 2. And we're not going to recognize the guy. 3. You aren't going to recognize the guy.

So, again, why ask if anyone recognized the guy?

Maybe go back and read your posts on the matter yourself.

Now, do you, Diaphone Jim, recognize this guy?:eyebrow:

Attachment 68795

No cheating, now.

I suppose I could have said "at the end of the video, I found it strange that the driver's identity was obscured."
I phrased it as I did to hopefully make it a little more engaging and for watchers to look out for something out of the ordinary at the end.
When you and Bruce replied that you did not notice anything strange, I assumed that you either did not see the obscuration of the driver's face or that you did not find it strange.
Again I could have said "Didn't you see that the driver's face was blanked out?" or "Didn't you see that the driver's face was blanked out and didn't you find that interesting?"
Instead I thought to be subtle and made the reply I did about the driver's identity to encourage a re-look and, hopefully, an ah-ha moment,
I am sorry it did not work out.

Thank you for the edification.

It's not a big deal, I just didn't know what you were talking about. I didn't see the last few seconds but if I had I doubt I'd think it was strange, that's why I asked for clarification, I was afraid I'd missed something. :haha:
Asking is always an option.

Now strange we got...

Not enough moose...

Deal of the Decade, I'm a-thinking. 93 Miata, 1.6 dohc, 54k actual miles, clean Carfax, never wrecked, $7500:eek::

26 years old, of course no body shop guy is smart enough to move those stickers to a new piece. It's a nice car and looks in good shape, my brother has some of them but he races Mazdas.
We have a guy in my truck group who keeps track of these trucks with connections to all the major wrecking recycling companies. CarFax is not to be trusted, not for a minute. The only way it makes CarFax is if there's an insurance claim, and even then they get it wrong sometimes.

I don't know if "Unique" is a unique name for auto shops, but the local one in my area is a total rip-off.
Probably no connection, but my experience with them backs up Bruce's point that there is no end to the nefarious tricks of the trade.

I don't think it's a chain but there's a shitload of repair or body and paint shops named Unique across the country.
How about a blower?

Wait...WAIT...WAIT...

Are you suggesting that people selling used cars are not the absolute, beyond a shadow of a doubt the most honest people that have ever drawn a breath?

I am shockedSHOCKED, I say.:right:

Mopar Auto-pilot, actually a speed control.

I kind of like to speed up and slow down on my own, so do not use cruise control.
I can tell when drivers around me are and think the device is responsible for a measureable percentage of accidents.

I don't use it either, I'm a control freak. :lol:

My bucket truck had a similar control. It was a choke-like pull-out knob, to bring the engine revs up to run the pto.

I am impressed by this really well researched and written article on that early "autopilot."
From April 1958 Popular Science.

http://imperialclub.com/Articles/58AutoPilot/index.htm

For me this is a facepalm for sure.

What's wrong is their parents.

I'd do a Fire Burn Out in front of his house.

Be kind when you can.

My hope is that it inspires his children to become Hot Rodders.

Home Depot parking lots attract... uh, things...

Attachment 68877

I'll bet it doesn't attract many of these.

Attachment 68878

Mother & son rides, plus a '53 Chevy that's been rode hard and put up wet.