Just A Car Guy

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Six Flags Over Texas is making plans to replace the historic Chaparral Antique Cars with a tacky jurassic safari.

Drivers have full control over the acceleration and steering along with a guide rail that prevents guests from taking the cars off course.

The ride’s 1962 opening makes it the second oldest continuously-operated ride in the park, surpassed only by the Six Flags Railroad.

The cars originally had tops to them until they were removed in the early 1970s, before being re-added again in the 1980s and finally removed again.

The ride was initially themed on the Chaparral Motoring Company of Cleburne, Texas, which produced Automobiles introduced in 1911.

There are 14 scale-model Chaparrals that visitors can drive on a 1/3rd mile old-style "highway." Powered by one-cylinder gasoline motors, the three-quarter size Chaps whizzed along at seven miles an hour.

https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/attractions/chaparral-antique-cars

https://guidetosfot.com/rides/chaparralcars/#google_vignette

https://parktimes.com/ptsarticles/welcome/sections/texas/chaparrals/

24 years ago, a South Bend, Indiana, officer was dispatched to an apartment building common hallway to rescue an abandoned baby in a box.

On Dec. 22, 2000, a newborn was found abandoned in a common hallway. For Gene Eyster, the case of the "Baby Boy Doe," swaddled in cardboard and blankets, didn't end after the child got to the hospital.

"I went back with a teddy bear," Eyster said. "Just a symbol to let everyone that walked past know that he was cared about."

For more than two decades, Eyster wondered what became of that boy.

Until just a few weeks ago, when Eyster got a phone call from a fellow officer, who asked Eyster if remembered the case of the baby left in the carboard box.

"And he (the officer) said, 'he's (the baby) sitting next to me, he's my rookie,'" Eyster recounted.

The rookie in question was Matthew Hegedus-Stewart, the baby in the box. After his rescue, he was placed for adoption. He always knew he had been left in a box, but only connected the dots to Eyster after joining the department.

Today, Hegedus-Stewart wears the same uniform Eyster did and patrols the same neighborhood.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/officer-abandoned-baby-south-bend-indiana-gene-eyster-matthew-hegedus-stewart-remarkable-discovery/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=463684116038403

When Royal Air Force pilots discovered chocolate-coated marshmallow teacakes expanded at high altitudes, they became “the subject of some rather unscientific in-flight experiments” in the 1950s.

Air crews removed their silver foil packaging and perched them around the cabin for observation: The marshmallows swelled as pressure changed. Eventually, they became too big to eat in one bite. ⁠

⁠ Many noted that, despite the extreme physical effects, the expansion didn’t compromise the taste. ⁠

⁠ But the expanding teacakes’ fame was short-lived. After a period of marshmallow fever aboard the V-Bombers departing from Gaydon air base, an explosion put a stop to the fun. ⁠

⁠ During the summer of 1965, a captain and student pilot forgot they had placed unwrapped teacakes above their instrument panels. When the captain pulled an emergency depressurizing switch during a training mission, the treats erupted. ⁠

⁠ Shards of chocolate and marshmallow hit the windshield, flight controls, and the mens’ uniforms. Shortly thereafter, the RAF put marshmallows on their no-fly list.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=934817641775052&set=a.532040352052785

Jeremy Dickinson's exhibit opened yesterday at the GBS Fine Art Gallery, 13 Sadler Street, Wells, UK

https://www.gbsfineart.com/current

he does really interesting paintings of toy cars.

https://www.artsy.net/search?term=Jeremy%20Dickinson

https://www.facebook.com/stefanmarjoramart/posts/pfbid0F8rtJQonWJpCj4RNMpbshAcrXMVFhaZUSntpC92ywiTK7g6XJby5eZjxX4vetNrBl

once loved now long neglected...

the guy who raced it in the 70s recently found it

https://www.facebook.com/ClassicandMusclecarspage/posts/pfbid0UmKj3KaY3hxP1utwW1AifCJJzeq44MsK1RqF1K7HUWrEi1miEZL6x5h3Y2Birz8zl

Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka) talking with Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe) in his BMW 1602 on the studio lot during filming of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6009391365796091&set=a.551523691582913

someone in South Carolina got 949,863 miles from their 1996 Toyota Avalon... that's easily 20 years with no car payments!

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a60580723/1996-toyota-avalon-with-nearly-a-million-miles-is-junkyard-treasure/

Saturday, April 27, 2024

the coolest thing that happened today? I got to help push a car across an intersection... you know how RARE that is anymore? A Mopar, a 68 Charger, a car a lot like my 69 Coronet R/T

I happened to be getting gas at the intersection, and looked up to the see Charger sitting in a very strange way... do you know how long it's been since I've seen a car dead in an intersection? Over a decade I think

So, I took a couple photos on the way over to help push, and one photo after he got it started again... the carb needs a rebuild, idle is about 100 rpm too low, and the gas tank seems to be leaking.

But a bit of starter fluid, and it fired right up

this is something coincidental... ANOTHER Austin Healey 3000 in a movie this month alone...

this was in the 1st transformers movie... a simple easy pleasure to watch

If you even think of watching it, remember, the amazing casting of John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, a fun scene with Bernie Mac as a used car salesman, and the perfect casting of young Shia Lebouf

Before I forget, the casting in Transformers Dark Side of the Moon is equally terrific, Buzz Aldrin in a cameo, Ken Jeong as a crazy guy, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, and one of the best actors at playing a funny crazy guy, Alan Tudyk... and voicing Megatron is Hugo Weaving, and Leonard Nimoy voiced Sentinel Prime

but one thing struck me as very off... why the hell did they have the line about a high rise double pumper under the hood of the old Camaro Bumble Bee (before he switched to new Camaro) and then, they show THIS under the hood:

I don't even know what these are for sure, fuel injection Webers?

What moron wrote the line for the Mikaela character: "Whoa, nice headers. You've got a high-rise double-pump carburetor. That's pretty impressive, Sam"

OR was it simply that instead of showing a typical carb'd Chev 350, someone screwed up and used the above instead, but... still, high rise, everyone knows that the intakes are high rises, and fuel injectors are not built like a Holley carb, the 750 double pumper.

https://www.tfarchive.com/movies/movietranscript.php

someone has already decided they want nothing to do with the problems with keeping the Tesla Truck clean and shiny... they either wrapped it or painted it

cool tool art, probably inspired by Doug Dorr's awesome series of "Cool Tool" art from a decade or so ago

found in the new tv series on Netflix, the Dead Boy Detectives

there is a WHALE in their scoreboard!

https://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/threads/random-cool-photo-thread.26448/page-77#post-404283

Karen, the New York DA who will see you next Tuesday, blew a stop sign, did 55 in a 35, and refused to stop for cops, then called the police chief to complain about the “a–hole” officer who pursued her home

When the cop tells her she was doing 55 in a 35, she tells him “I don’t really care,” clearly irritated.

She gets on the phone and calls Webster Chief of Police Dennis Kohlmeier and asks him “can you please tell them to leave me alone?”

Doorley refuses to step outside her garage to speak with officers. She dismissively hands the cop the phone to speak with the chief and tells him “just go away.” The officer can be heard explaining what happened on the phone.

She then storms inside the house against the officer’s orders.

He explains that he’s trying to conduct a traffic stop, and she shoots back “I know the law better than you,” footage shows.

“What is it your so against me? I’m doing my job. You say you’re a DA?” the cop asks at one point.

“I am THE DA,” she emphatically snaps back, and fetches her badge out of her car as she calls him an “a–hole.”

At one point the officer asks her why she was going so fast she responded that she “didn’t feel like stopping on Phillips Road at 5:30,” to which the officer responded, “That’s not your choice; you know that.”

“What do you want us to do, not do our jobs because it’s you?” the officer then asks Doorley.

“That’s not a traffic ticket; that’s an arrestable offense, Sandra. You know this,” the cop says.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/26/us-news/ny-da-refuses-to-stop-for-speeding-drives-back-to-her-house-and-gives-cops-hard-time/

There you are, great cops doing their job, unlike the following 3 news items. I post both! There are just far fewer great cop stories in the news for obvious reasons

Follow up on the Indiana Sherriff posted about 2 weeks ago, among all the other 24 felony charges against the corrupt POS (perfectly ordinary Sherriff)

Noel is charged with 25 felonies. He’s pleaded not guilty. His wife and daughter also face felony charges of their own related to their spending on credit cards. They’ve also pleaded not guilty. The Noel’s spent $3,5 million on credit cards.

Indiana State Police were back on Jamey Noel's property Friday, seizing classic cars

Noel is still sitting in jail after being found in contempt of court earlier this month and sentenced to 60 days in the Scott County Jail.

In one instance, Noel allegedly stole money from the fire department, and transferred money into his deceased brother's estate, only to write a check from that account on the same day to buy a 1969 Road Runner.

State police also accuse Noel of lying on car titles, altering the purchase amounts and buying and selling dates.

Someone applied for duplicate titles for the cars just two weeks ago, catching the attention of investigators.

Noel is facing 25 charges for theft, tax evasion, public corruption, ghost employment and more.

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2024/04/sheriff-from-indiana-is-facing-25.html

https://www.wdrb.com/news/crime-reports/isp-seizes-classic-cars-from-property-of-former-sheriff-jamey-noel-accused-of-buying-them/article_7098399a-043d-11ef-9d9e-8337d60a8770.html

https://www.wave3.com/2024/04/26/indiana-state-police-seize-6-additional-classic-cars-belonging-jamey-noel/

https://www.insideedition.com/how-a-local-sheriff-allegedly-stole-millions-of-taxpayer-funds-for-cars-designer-clothes-and-a

huh... how about that, what a shocking surprise, another Riverside Country Sherriff's Deputy was busted by DEA for trafficing million of dollars in meth, fentanyl, and cocaine while helping the Sinaloa cartel. Anyone else expect to see that annually at least?

DEA and police have arrested 15 people, including a Riverside County correctional deputy, in connection with a Sinaloa, Mexico, drug trafficking .. seized 376 pounds of methamphetamine, 37.4 pounds of fentanyl, 600,000 fentanyl tablets, 1.4 kilograms of cocaine

The agents and Riverside police provided their investigative leads to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and ultimately assisted in the arrest of the deputy while he was allegedly in possession of 104 pounds of fentanyl pills.

Men would package fentanyl at the stash house for shipping through the mail. Aranda and Alva would take the packaged fentanyl and mail it to customers from post offices in and around Riverside County

Nice to know the post office has drug sniffing equipment that isn't being used in the Los Angeles area, huh?

https://www.hastingstribune.com/ap/national/californias-riverside-county-deputy-14-others-arrested-in-drug-trafficking-bust/article_6eac0e2a-51a1-585c-9671-7859cf3598c1.html

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-26/drug-trafficking-inland-empire-arrests-and-seizures

Deputy Rojas, of Houston area, Harris County precinct 4, in Texas was arrested a month ago (news is REALLY slow on cops that get busted for doing stupid shit they arrest anyone else for, and the police try to cover it up, seriously - they always do) busted racing a Camaro on the freeway – in full uniform, in his Mustang

Rojas' vehicle and a black Chevrolet Camaro were pacing next to each other on the Sam Houston Parkway before they accelerated and surpassed 100 mph.

Rojas was pulled over by deputies late Friday night after allegedly racing down the Sam Houston Tollway, according to senior deputy Thomas Gilliland, spokesman for the sheriff’s office

It was the deputy’s second arrest on reckless driving-related charges since 2021. Rojas was a Harris County sheriff's deputy in the detentions dept at the time of that prior arrest and was fired as a result, the sheriff's office confirmed. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-rojas-76a30b96/

https://fordauthority.com/2024/04/deputy-arrested-after-racing-his-ford-mustang-video/

https://abc13.com/texas-deputy-street-racing-harris-county-precinct-4-constables-office-christopher-ricardo-rojas-sheriffs/14569571/

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/harris-county-constable-racing-uniform-19368818.php

you've likely seen this original image of the farmer seeing a plane about to crash and the pilot ejecting... but did you see the recent redux?

it made me smile, I figured you might get a kick out of it too

Sadly, it looks like a great website of photographic variety has quit posting.

https://lecontainer.blogspot.com/

will be missed. Who ever made it posted such a variety of cool stuff for years. No text, no articles, just a pleasing look at what ever that blogger found worth sharing for the sake of art

using a big hydraulic press, and a pie of railroad rail... to straighten a bent frame. Skip the first two minutes of the video, they are just a quick preview of the whole thing. Watch at 1.5 speed or faster

this video shows the hydraulic press used to straighten out the frame, unlike the previous videos I've posted where it was all hammer work

a smashed up semi gets taken apart, what can be saved set aside, then the panel taken apart at the seams, but cutting out the spot welds and using a cutting torch, and using an interesting modified chain hoist to pull the crushed cab open

Skip the first two minutes at least, and change your speed setting to at least 1.5 time

I am in awe of the hand craftsmanship, the fundamental mechanics, and the basic tools used to get the smashed metal panels made right again.... body shops in the USA? Might, but I haven't seen any do this type of work.

Notice that they don't have a socket wrench, a spot weld drill from Eastman, and no vice grips, just basic blacksmith tools

1957 Porsche Speedster being hoisted by a crane 58 stories in the air over Vancouver to get a new residence in a living room

most owners of these rare cars don’t drive them anymore anyway, so parking it in a luxury high-rise is not much different than storing it in a ground-level garage.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a60604805/vintage-porsche-speedsterhoisted-58-stories-for-move-into-luxury-high-rise

I like the focus on a theme in a neighborhood's street names. This one is Greek: Trojan, Olympic, Spartan, Corinth, Athens

what ever I did to get 10x as much traffic today as yesterday... is a mystery

the Yesterday count of 15645 versus today so far of 163058? Wow!

A decade ago there was an app that showed you were all your traffic was coming from, but after that company had been putting that on for a decade, they folded, as they hadn't made a going profit with it yet. So, now I have no way to see where traffic is coming from and why.

That had been a really great way of looking at what sites referred people my way, and I would then look through their content to see what they did and what we had in common to interest readers. Then, thinking it would be great to send some traffic their way in appreciation, I'd post the things on their site and let all of you know where else you can find cool stuff

Friday, April 26, 2024

Jeremy Clarkson surprises a young fan at his Oxfordshire farm with a special tractor ride and more.

Ahead of the third season’s release next month, Jeremy had Joshua and his family over on the farm to create a special day for the young boy.

The family were given a tour of the farm, seeing the animals, and even met land agent Charlie Ireland who also stars in the popular streaming show when raining on the Diddly Squat shop parade with bad news about regulations and such that hinder the ambitions of Clarkson

Joshua then received some farm shop gifts and held the Stig’s helmet from Top Gear and rode in the Lamborghini tractor.

Joshua and his family were visiting with Taylor-Made Dreams which was founded in 2014 and aims to “bring dreams to life for children with shorter lives”

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24277200.jeremy-clarkson-surprises-clarksons-farm-fan-visit/

24-year-old dealership employee was driving an F40, a $3 million supercar, when he crashed in a tunnel

German luxury car dealer Mechatronik trusted a 24-year-old employee with driving a $3 million Ferrari F40 to “Motorworld” in Böblingen but with just 11 miles remaining on the trip, the driver lost control in the middle of the Engelberg tunnel near Stuttgart.

Prior to the crash, this F40 was listed for sale with an asking price just north of $3.2 million.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a60579791/dealership-employee-reportedly-wrecks-ferrari-f40-in-tunnel