Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

@ocnblu

Seems the new Transformer movie out in Dec 2018 focuses on Bumblebee first time on Earth as a wounded VW Bug. First picture released by Paramount at the link below.

 

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/12/29/bumblebee-movie-official-image-press-release-paramount-pictures-356050

[A Horse With No Name]

4 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Come in handy for the traffic around here.....

Or the roads...you in Michigan ahve a religious aversion to pavement repair it would seem.

[G. David Felt]

17 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Or the roads...you in Michigan ahve a religious aversion to pavement repair it would seem.

Be a Perfect auto for the Zombie Apocalypse.  

[balthazar]

From an auction back in 1987, local Jersey character who once ran for President. Had a fascinating collection of mostly military surplus, but was not adverse to fire trucks, locomotives and blimp gondolas.

[daves87rs]

9 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Or the roads...you in Michigan ahve a religious aversion to pavement repair it would seem.

 

Can't hear you still stuck in that giant pothole on 1-94....

Yep, it's like off roading every day...

[balthazar]

Shortest upper radiator hose in history? 
6", '55 Chevy 210 I-6 ~
 

[balthazar]

1959 Buick Skylark III, XP-75 program, 2-pass coupe. 2 running/driving cars built, 1 known to be destroyed, the other disappeared in the late '60s.
 

 

Edited March 9, 2018 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

I don't believe I have seen any of the movies that were nominated for Oscars.  I did see "The Battle of the Sexes," but that didn't make the list.  Great casting.  Steve Carell is very effective in making a person really dislike Bobby Riggs.  It was the first time I'd seen Emma Stone in anything and she did a great job, with Billie Jean King giving her the seal of approval for her rendition of the role.  With a name like Emma Stone, I figured she was from England.  She's native to Arizona.  Also, the movie is supposed to be sort of accurate but also sugarcoats some goings-on that were a lot more contentious.

I also saw "Wonder," where Julia Roberts plays a NYC mom to a kid with some outward birth defects that makes the transition from being home schooled to the classroom at a regular school and all the drama and even a little bit of comedy that ensues.  It really showcases what a-holes kids can be.  But it also has some feel good aspects that are unrealistic vis-a-vis the "real world."

Has anyone seen any of the movies in the Oscar race?  Any thoughts on those?

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I don't believe I have seen any of the movies that were nominated for Oscars.  I did see "The Battle of the Sexes," but that didn't make the list.  Great casting.  Steve Carell is very effective in making a person really dislike Bobby Riggs.  It was the first time I'd seen Emma Stone in anything and she did a great job, with Billie Jean King giving her the seal of approval for her rendition of the role.  With a name like Emma Stone, I figured she was from England.  She's native to Arizona.  Also, the movie is supposed to be sort of accurate but also sugarcoats some goings-on that were a lot more contentious.

I also saw "Wonder," where Julia Roberts plays a NYC mom to a kid with some outward birth defects that makes the transition from being home schooled to the classroom at a regular school and all the drama and even a little bit of comedy that ensues.  It really showcases what a-holes kids can be.  But it also has some feel good aspects that are unrealistic vis-a-vis the "real world."

Has anyone seen any of the movies in the Oscar race?  Any thoughts on those?

Sadly, I have not. But I do need to see a few of them....

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I don't believe I have seen any of the movies that were nominated for Oscars.  I did see "The Battle of the Sexes," but that didn't make the list.  Great casting.  Steve Carell is very effective in making a person really dislike Bobby Riggs.  It was the first time I'd seen Emma Stone in anything and she did a great job, with Billie Jean King giving her the seal of approval for her rendition of the role.  With a name like Emma Stone, I figured she was from England.  She's native to Arizona.  Also, the movie is supposed to be sort of accurate but also sugarcoats some goings-on that were a lot more contentious.

I also saw "Wonder," where Julia Roberts plays a NYC mom to a kid with some outward birth defects that makes the transition from being home schooled to the classroom at a regular school and all the drama and even a little bit of comedy that ensues.  It really showcases what a-holes kids can be.  But it also has some feel good aspects that are unrealistic vis-a-vis the "real world."

Has anyone seen any of the movies in the Oscar race?  Any thoughts on those?

I have Thor Ragnok and The Shape of Water. Both great movies. Surprised that The Shape of Water won so many awards and with the sexuality in the movie. WOW. Still awesome movie.

[balthazar]

'60 Chrysler 300-F Special GT, Granatelli supercharged 413 CI, 190 MPH run.

[G. David Felt]

Interesting how you never see the Germans making performance runs at Bonneville!  

[balthazar]

Well, there was one guy who has run a '55 300SL @ Bonneville. Rousch built / modified the engine, it eventually equaled the 300-F GT's speed of 189 MPH, then they lost the engine.

[balthazar]

A '55 McCormack, a fiberglas body kit marketed out of California. You could get a primer-finished body, hung doors, a steel tube frame, the hardtop & the grilles for $1100 (assembly required). This example was found in a small Pennsylvania junkyard.

Someone had posted online a video of a winter walk-thru of this yard about 8 years ago, and the camera did pan across the McCormack. I spotted this car in the video right off, and apparently a guy who's prime directive is to find & rescue fiberglass cars did too, as it was pulled from said yard in 2012 & is awaiting future restoration.

Screen shot from the video :

 

In happier times. Design is a little screwy at the rear fender/C-pillar but otherwise- a neat little scooter.

Edited March 10, 2018 by balthazar

[frogger]

New addition to the hood..

 

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

 

[balthazar]

Neat, period customization: '59 Caddy lense, '61 Imperial housing, '60 DeSoto fin ~
 

[balthazar]

A valiant but hugely misguided attempt to take a boring, craptastic 2-seater, and class it up. Jeers.

[ocnblu]

SMK's gonna be mad.  You didn't blur his license plate.

[G. David Felt]

11 hours ago, balthazar said:

A valiant but hugely misguided attempt to take a boring, craptastic 2-seater, and class it up. Jeers.

Talk about BLIND SPOTS with those fins!  

[trinacriabob]

Many states now have linguists on board to help decipher personalized license plate requests.  There are even sites showing which plate requests have been rejected.  They feature some funny sh!t.

In 2008, I was visiting a friend from college in San Diego and we were going through the DMV site to look at plate possibilities.  Before the interwebs, we always thought "BREAD 8" would make for a humorous plate and we could have sworn someone in SoCal had dibs on that plate!  I might add that he was Mexican-American ... and still is.  It turned out to be N/A on the website, as in "you can't have it, yet not taken."  It was enough to spit out the morning coffee over.

[ocnblu]

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

Talk about BLIND SPOTS with those fins!  

Yes, those fins on that...car... do cause severe blind spots.  I'm actually typing this by memory of the keyboard.  Please let me know if I hit the wong key.

[ocnblu]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Many states now have linguists on board to help decipher personalized license plate requests.  There are even sites showing which plate requests have been rejected.  They feature some funny sh!t.

In 2008, I was visiting a friend from college in San Diego and we were going through the DMV site to look at plate possibilities.  Before the interwebs, we always thought "BREAD 8" would make for a humorous plate and we could have sworn someone in SoCal had dibs on that plate!  I might add that he was Mexican-American ... and still is.  It turned out to be N/A on the website, as in "you can't have it, yet not taken."  It was enough to spit out the morning coffee over.

Which begs the question:  are they cunning linguists?

[G. David Felt]

4 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Many states now have linguists on board to help decipher personalized license plate requests.  There are even sites showing which plate requests have been rejected.  They feature some funny sh!t.

In 2008, I was visiting a friend from college in San Diego and we were going through the DMV site to look at plate possibilities.  Before the interwebs, we always thought "BREAD 8" would make for a humorous plate and we could have sworn someone in SoCal had dibs on that plate!  I might add that he was Mexican-American ... and still is.  It turned out to be N/A on the website, as in "you can't have it, yet not taken."  It was enough to spit out the morning coffee over.

OK, just like late night TV that is supposed to be comedy and I never got it so why bother watching, I do not get what is so funny or why BREAD 8 would be a band license plate? 

[balthazar]

10 minutes ago, dfelt said:

OK, just like late night TV that is supposed to be comedy and I never got it so why bother watching, I do not get what is so funny or why BREAD 8 would be a band license plate? 

Found elsewhere : >>"Playboy mentioned, some years ago, that a CA plate, BREAD 8, had been recalled. Seems the español translation was a euphemism for "coochie."<<

[G. David Felt]

45 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Found elsewhere : >>"Playboy mentioned, some years ago, that a CA plate, BREAD 8, had been recalled. Seems the español translation was a euphemism for "coochie."<<

Thank you, I bing'd and googled it but did not come up with anything that made sense. Guess I might just be a bit too nerdy of an engineer to think that low into the gutter. Course now that I get it, I can laugh about it.

[trinacriabob]

3 hours ago, balthazar said:

Found elsewhere : >>"Playboy mentioned, some years ago, that a CA plate, BREAD 8, had been recalled. Seems the español translation was a euphemism for "coochie."<<

Euphemism works well in this context!  Yes, it's the 2 words translated separately and then said "word+word."  I think the owner must have been one hilarious individual and it would have been interesting to know the type of car the plate was attached to.  Too funny.

[balthazar]

From low-brow artist Rob't Williams; Coochie Cootie ~

Edited March 14, 2018 by balthazar

[balthazar]

Golden Sahara II, originally built & shown by George Barris out of a '53 Lincoln Capri circa '56, rebuilt & improved circa '60, had such advanced features as automatic braking. World known & beloved in custom car circles, disappeared from public view in 1969.

Survived in private collection ever since, owner passed last year, GS II coming to auction in May. Going to be very expensive...
• Full story here •
 

[balthazar]

I don't what this is, but I like ~

[ocnblu]

2019 Dodge Ram 1500 build&price site is operational if anyone wishes to theoretically spend every dime they ever earned. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[balthazar]

Digging that crazy upholstery pattern; '57 Eldorado Seville ~

[ocnblu]

Paisley?

[G. David Felt]

11 hours ago, balthazar said:

Digging that crazy upholstery pattern; '57 Eldorado Seville ~

Very cool, Have not seen Paisley in a long time and it works on this. I can go for the white interior with the Paisley seat section and lower door trim that would help hid dirt and foot hits that leave dirt marks. Smart layout.

Love it!  

[G. David Felt]

Found this on Jalopnik, Mercury built LS7 NA V8 putting out 750 HP on 91 Octane.

https://jalopnik.com/this-750-hp-ls7-crate-engine-from-mercury-racing-will-s-1823828455

Nothing like taking a GM supplied 505 HP motor and redoing the heads and increasing the HP by 245 to a neck snapping 750 HP. 

Redlines at 8,000 rpm

You get a fully tuned ECU and Wiring harness to go with the engine.

12 month, 12,000 mile warranty

Cost $32,995

[trinacriabob]

I came up with a joke ...

Q:  How does a person learn to fix Toyotas?

A:  They go to appliance repair school.

Feel free to laugh ...

[ocnblu]

OK thanks! 

Edited March 17, 2018 by ocnblu

[ocnblu]

Ireland's calling

[trinacriabob]

Happy St. Patrick's Day, folks.   I will be having dinner at an Irish tavern I know of.

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

[oldshurst442]

A-10 Warthog.

I liked this airplane in the 1980s.  I never saw clips of what it could do back then. I just used my imagination when I read the descriptions of its purpose and roles in warfare.  I knew what a Gatling gun is/was...I knew what it could do. I read tales about it for when it cut down soldiers during the American Civil War with ease so I kinda had an idea what destruction the A-10 would be doing 120 years later (through a1980s POV)  with a much improved and steriod induced Gatling would do....

I always that she was a beautiful bird....

But, F-16s and F-4 Phantoms and MiG-29s and F-15s and MiG 25s and Dassault Mirage 2000s were what my dreams were made of back then non-the less...

I just saw this clip

 

Just to say...that the A-10 just shot up my favorite modern airplanes list to make it to the top 10...possibly top 5...

Edited March 18, 2018 by oldshurst442

[ocnblu]

Hello to the group.  My name is ocn, and I'm a car-aholic.  Today I spent the afternoon cruising the lots looking at new vehicles, it was a decent pre-spring day.  I stopped at Ford, and sawr a stunning Crimson Mustang GT, a bitchin' orange Fiesta ST, a few sweet F-150 XL regular cabs... a honkin' white F-250 regular cab 4X4, and a blue Ecosport SES.  I went to Dodge and Jeep and sawr some nice Ram 1500's (old style) and new Wranglers (EXPENSIVE!).  I cruised the Toyota lot and did not see any extended cab Tacomas.  Honda and Buick-GMC yielded a real nice trio of Regals (2 Sportbacks in red and blue and a white Tourx), odd new Terrains (that are growing on me), a Berry Encore with Brandy leather (sharp) some CR-Vs in a gorgeous Olive Pearl color, and a bunch of Fit Sport manuals.  Chevy has a blue Volt LT for $36k, three Sonic hatches (one in a neat Ivy Metallic color... but without turbo engine) and a LONG line of Colorados that have not changed or depleted in months (are ppl waiting to see the new Ranger?).  Then I came home and went off on a tangent... Hyundai Kona Limited in Lime with black leather/lime accent interior.  We currently have 5 or 6 Konas where I work, but none of them are an interesting color... although the gray with black/lime accent leather could be cool... and I learned facts... Kona has more space inside than CX-3, even though it is shorter in length... plus an available 175-hp engine.

 

I was in a dream state everywhere I looked.  I am certain if I won the Powerball, I'd spend all of it on cars... after I pay off my house and complete some remodeling projects, and help my famiry pay off their debts.

Edited March 19, 2018 by ocnblu

[A Horse With No Name]

I think If I were to buy a new car I would strongly consider something from jeep.  Very impressed with jeep lately.

[ocnblu]

5 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I think If I were to buy a new car I would strongly consider something from jeep.  Very impressed with jeep lately.

At this particular juncture, I have no complaints about my Jeepiat.  The stick is such a redeemer... of any vehicle, but the little Jeep, modest in power as it is, really shines with the manual, imo.

 

A "Mojito!" (green) Wrangler Sport S 2-door with black hardtop, the stick, dark wheels and cold weather package (comes with meaty tires) could be the ticket... but alas, two-door Wranglers are not available for perusal yet.  I like what they've done with it.

Edited March 19, 2018 by ocnblu

[balthazar]

Johhny Eck ~
 

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I think If I were to buy a new car I would strongly consider something from jeep.  Very impressed with jeep lately.

Would agree with that too...granted I have one eye over at Ford to see how the Bronco is going to look like....

[balthazar]

2016 Tesla Model S US sales were 28,896.
2017 Tesla Model S US sales were 27,060, a decline of 6.5%.

Jan-Feb of '18 is running 27% behind where Jan-Feb of '17 were. While I fully realize Tesla's sales swing wildly month-month, is this an indication the Model S is falling out of favor? Myself, I feel the car has gotten long-in-the-tooth; I see then daily i here in Jersey and the design came out in 2012.

[trinacriabob]

Just thinking of Tesla makes me want to go Amish horse and buggy.  I've got two power door lock transponders (pricey) that I need to eventually fix and keep postponing it.  Oftentimes, less is more.