Random Thoughts Thread

[A Horse With No Name]

On 9/20/2020 at 7:11 AM, ocnblu said:

1965 Catalina 2+2!

 

Pulled Forward because it is wonderful. 

For our Canadian bretheren...

For our aphabet loving friends of the Mustang Persuasion...

[A Horse With No Name]

For our Buick loving Buddies...

Fins...!

For the perverted in all of us...

Final thought...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

I love the 70 Torino...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

 

I hate forced conversions.....

[A Horse With No Name]

[oldshurst442]

[A Horse With No Name]

[trinacriabob]

23 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

For those who endured wickedly mean nuns, it would take much more than $ 350.

By the time I had some of the few who were left, they had thankfully mellowed out.

[Drew Dowdell]

Thought of the day - If you're listing a car with the 4100 engine.. you really can't say "power everything" can you...?

[balthazar]

8 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Thought of the day - If you're listing a car with the 4100 engine.. you really can't say "power everything" can you...?

That's a good question, Mr. 5-HP-more-than-a-HT4100. 

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, balthazar said:

That's a good question, Mr. 5-HP-more-than-a-HT4100. 

I got the down low torque though.

and my car isn’t listed for sale nor would it be listed as “power everything”.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I got the down low torque though.

and my car isn’t listed for sale nor would it be listed as “power everything”.

Nothing you have is really competition oriented, but it is all cool. I do have a speical partiality to the BMW though. Seriously. And I like Albert's 300 more than I thought I would. 

5 minutes ago, balthazar said:

That's a good question, Mr. 5-HP-more-than-a-HT4100. 

For Luxury car guys like Drew it's like with Rolls Royce....horsepower figures are always described as adequate....

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

For those who endured wickedly mean nuns, it would take much more than $ 350.

By the time I had some of the few who were left, they had thankfully mellowed out.

I was so happy when my younger son decided he wasn't going to Catholic school. He almost got a full scholarship to a very good local Catholic high school. But he visited it and hated it. Smart kid. 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I was so happy when my younger son decided he wasn't going to Catholic school. He almost got a full scholarship to a very good local Catholic high school. But he visited it and hated it. Smart kid. 

In many instances, Catholic schools are places where kids are sent by their parents to keep them out of a public school system wherein the schools aren't that great.  It's reactive rather than proactive.

Some (arch)diocesan Catholic high schools aren't automatically good.  The ones belonging to specific orders tend to be better.

Catholic high schools try to paint this picture of being egalitarian and whatnot.  There are a boatload of a-holes on both the faculty and among the snotty students.  The kids at a good public school and at a decent Catholic high school aren't any better or worse than the other.

I can honestly say that the 13th through 16th years of Catholic education (meaning college) stretched me thin.  By then, I was ready for a state university.  But, somehow, I got through it.

[G. David Felt]

Liking the Hummer twins very much, great to see a second Ultium battery plant is going to get built in Tennessee.

GM Is Building Another $2.3B Ultium Battery Plant in Tennessee (thedrive.com)

Very cool story on the GMC V12.

GM’s Final V12 Was an Obscure 11.5-Liter Truck Engine From the 1960s (thedrive.com)

[trinacriabob]

What I was really going to say:  I LIKE this new New York license plate ... simpler, picks up Western New York out to the eastern tip of Long Island (Montauk Point light), and the Adirondacks in between.   But the lighthouse at the right does look a little cheesy.

Some people in various states get knotted up when they are proposing a new license plate and they focus on one natural or urban feature and ignore the rest of the state.

But, man, the old orange and black New York license plate on a black limousine or gangstah car with tinted windows really fit the bill.

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

What I was really going to say:  I LIKE this new New York license plate ... simpler, picks up Western New York out to the eastern tip of Long Island (Montauk Point light), and the Adirondacks in between.   But the lighthouse at the right does look a little cheesy.

Some people in various states get knotted up when they are proposing a new license plate and they focus on one natural or urban feature and ignore the rest of the state.

But, man, the old orange and black New York license plate on a black limousine or gangstah car with tinted windows really fit the bill.

Totally agree, I think state license plates should cover the whole state rather than just a certain segment. I see that on pretty much all of them.

Happy to see the old Orange and black plates go, but they do seem to fit on the criminal auto's.

[oldshurst442]

10 minutes ago, David said:

Totally agree, I think state license plates should cover the whole state rather than just a certain segment. I see that on pretty much all of them.

Happy to see the old Orange and black plates go, but they do seem to fit on the criminal auto's.

The black and orange plates in NY have long been retired.

 

And yes...I do LOVE them.  

In fact

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

I like those old plates....too many modern plates are so bland.  I like the old white on red Arizona plates,the white on green Colorado plates, and various past California plates.  I still have a couple sets of the white on green Colorado plates from the late 90s before they reversed the colors.

This '76 Buick looks good w/ the yellow NY plates.

 

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I like those old plates....too many modern plates are so bland.  I like the old white on red Arizona plates,the white on green Colorado plates, and various past California plates.  I still have a couple sets of the white on green Colorado plates from the late 90s before they reversed the colors.

This '76 Buick looks good w/ the yellow NY plates.

 

This NY plate preserves some of the old orange plate look, so it's better than some of the others they've had.

Agree.  Loved the white on dark red Arizona plates with a saguaro cactus, I believe.  The Colorado plate seems to continue on, possibly with different colors.  As for the California plate, the cursive thing has been on there for a while.  However, they've had the state nickname on there before - the Golden State - and they should put it back on.  

Now, if you have a state nickname like the Beaver State, as does Oregon, I don't think you'll find it that compelling to put it on their license plate.  At times, Pacific Wonderland has shown up on their plates.

Since "BREAD8" did not make the cut with the California DMV, perhaps a potential vehicle owner could try their luck with that in Oregon.

Good morning and Happy Saturday.

[balthazar]

Princeton MN 1929 ~ 

[balthazar]

mid-'80s : I can remember one of these in my favorite junkyard haunt, esp that peaked center section of the decklid. It was a '67 Fury 4-dr, very dark blue, and someone had painted (very well) 'BUILT TO' and 'BOOGIE' in the large flats to either side of that peaked center. 

It was at the end of one of the 2 rows the arrows point to, nose facing 'south'. 

Now ask me what I had for dinner last night. 

[balthazar]

My shop door: 

[Robert Hall]

22 hours ago, balthazar said:

mid-'80s : I can remember one of these in my favorite junkyard haunt, esp that peaked center section of the decklid. It was a '67 Fury 4-dr, very dark blue, and someone had painted (very well) 'BUILT TO' and 'BOOGIE' in the large flats to either side of that peaked center. 

 

It was at the end of one of the 2 rows the arrows point to, nose facing 'south'. 

Now ask me what I had for dinner last night. 

 

That's a really odd specific memory from long ago...but I totally get it. I can remember details of cars and the places I saw them long ago.  Or TV car ads I've seen long ago. 

Like I still remember seeing an unrestored dark green '68 Shelby GT500 KR convertible at a car show at Tappan Lake, Ohio in the mid 80s...I was maybe 14-15 at the time.  It had PA plates and I was with my folks and brother, chatted w/ the older woman that owned it.   That same day was the time my brother had a whole bottle of mustard explode on him while eating a hamburger at the diner where the car show was held...

The mind works in odd ways---connecting seemingly random things together.  A  bit or randomness yesterday...was talking w/ my sister about various basketball players of the past she liked and I liked--we both liked the '80s Lakers w/ Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and Magic Johnson since it was Jabbar's birthday...and that led to me remembering an Audi ad from the 80s--couldn't recall if it was Oscar Robertson or Wilt Chamberlain--a quick google turned up the Audi ad was w/ Oscar Robertson. I remember seeing that on TV in the mid 80s, maybe only once or twice.  Weird.

 

I had take out Kung Pao Chicken last night...I do remember that.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Actually, I had a falafel wrap and fries from down the street last night.

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I can remember details of cars and the places I saw them long ago.  

It was just last year I tossed the ignition key I had pulled from the dash of a black/pink/purple '56 Dodge Royal 2-dr in the same junkyard in that same timespan, it was parked about a 3rd of the way up the same row.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

On 4/17/2021 at 8:31 AM, Robert Hall said:

I like those old plates....too many modern plates are so bland.  I like the old white on red Arizona plates,the white on green Colorado plates, and various past California plates.  I still have a couple sets of the white on green Colorado plates from the late 90s before they reversed the colors.

This '76 Buick looks good w/ the yellow NY plates.

 

It would look better in my garage with Ohio plates....but then I would need to add another building for all of my woodworking tools. 

15 hours ago, balthazar said:

Actually, I had a falafel wrap and fries from down the street last night.

It was just last year I tossed the ignition key I had pulled from the dash of a black/pink/purple '56 Dodge Royal 2-dr in the same junkyard in that same timespan, it was parked about a 3rd of the way up the same row.

 

Flafel sounds wonderful. Fries vary from terribly bad to mind blowingly good. Would have to try them to tell you. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Live every day like it is your last, actually...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

Worthwhile video to watch. The Corvair is a neat build. Jeep Liberty WAY into the back country. Interesting and thoughtful recovery work. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Pics from my sons hiking trip...girl is just a hiking buddy, not his girlfriend. 

[Robert Hall]

Sounds like Florida Man has competition from Arizona Man.

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/04/19/tire-slasher-severed-finger/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9sb2dpbi5hb2wuY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHzMi2wUT6KgcDo3NIyYGv0qlF96qoOy0uo2vwzWgS1dbZMEqIgD37BlAnnufs_Tt5nvo6JNsqHxWc74nRK0cn8ltsZWb-dZQEn-aM-D5pOAhzNJ77uTpQYq8o-2hdeOCVBj4DztU5wL0YXg0g3TQW1Ww1HeTbNUWAeSWMVSQItI

[balthazar]

Warrensburg NY ~ 

[balthazar]

[A Horse With No Name]

10 hours ago, balthazar said:

Warrensburg NY ~ 

Cutty convertible on the right, please. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

This didn't go down as one of Chryslers better ideas. The beginning of the end, actually for Chryco in a way. 

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Iconic T bird picture...

 

[balthazar]

^ It's a lovely design but this generation T-Birds are all but ignored by collectors.

[A Horse With No Name]

53 minutes ago, balthazar said:

^ It's a lovely design but this generation T-Birds are all but ignored by collectors.

Quite sadly, yes. I  r emember someone talking me out of buying and restoring a clean 69 Firebird convertible because only GTO's would have any real value as 60's Pontiac collector cars. 

T Bird like that was for sale in solid but restorable shape cheap, but I passed on it as it would have low resale even if I did fix it up. 

But killer design. 

Today's funny...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

How much you want to bed that's an Ohio plate that's covered up here...

 

 

[G. David Felt]

22 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Today's funny...

 

? I thought the pope and his minions always sprayed holy venom all the time!  

[ykX]

This looks so insignificant, but has such huge significance ...

 

[G. David Felt]

7 minutes ago, ykX said:

This looks so insignificant, but has such huge significance ...

 

? Yes if it is actually real. We have not been able to return to the moon which makes the so called moon landings questionable to me. We struggle to keep an international space station going as well as we dumped our own ability to fly our astronauts to the station having to depend on Russia. So many things that make me question how real the Nasa actually is. We see the failures of Space X and others. So I have to wonder just how much have we really been into space?

It is cool tech if we actually have a real rover on Mars and a small drone actually survived the trip, landing and actually flew in the atmosphere there.

[Robert Hall]

Looking at the Mars video, I can see it is actually uglier than Arizona.  It’s a vile desert wasteland.  

[G. David Felt]

26 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Looking at the Mars video, I can see it is actually uglier than Arizona.  It’s a vile desert wasteland.  

And we are supposed to trust Musk and want to pay him to go there to live and vacation? ?

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ykX said:

This looks so insignificant, but has such huge significance ...

 

It really does. We are such a creative and inqusitive speices. 

30 minutes ago, David said:

And we are supposed to trust Musk and want to pay him to go there to live and vacation? ?

I find both beautiful, and queally desireable as a place to live. Give me Ohio. 

 

Phil Hill, his wife Sandy with the stop watches in the rear. 

A Cutlass, a Monte Carlo, and a T-Bird buried here somewhere. 

Did I say I liked Ohio for some reason?

 

[G. David Felt]

Seems Toyota is in the news and NOT for good reasons. Toyota has been leading a campaign of suing countries, regional and local governments as they fight what they believe is fake climate change pushing their ICE agenda and Hydrogen agenda as the future.

From Europe, Asia and even in the US they have been spending money on lobbying groups and lawyers to fight ICE bans that start in 2030. This is heavily due to Toyota investing heavily in Hybrids and Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that it says is the future of transport.

Now Toyota is reevaluating it's anti-climate agenda since European, Asian and North American large investment funds have stepped up their pressure to dump Toyota as an investment stock. Four global funds managing $235 Billion in assets all related to Toyota are representing their investors demands for Toyota to step up and support carbon neutrality. These large institutional investors have warned Toyota that this cannot be a PR move but must be a clear end to their role in negative climate lobbying based on their support of the past US administration, lawsuits against California and other negative viewed attacks across Europe and Asia.

Toyota finds itself in an unusual light as they just settled a $180 million dollar fine with the US Justice Department due to Toyota delaying the required filing of emissions-related defects that show millions of Toyota Auto's produce far higher levels of ICE emissions than they stated.

Investment funds from Danish investment companies, UK, Sweden and Norway has stated that if the executive management team does not make real valid changes, they will first introduce a measure at 2022 shareholders annual general meeting and if Toyota still does not make changes, they could sell off the $235 Billion portfolio in Toyota.

End result is that Toyota has a PR nightmare on their hands as the global population puts pressure on auto companies to step up to greener motoring.

Toyota to review climate stance as investors turn up the heat | Reuters

[A Horse With No Name]

Parnelli!

Neat old SCCA pics. Apologies to Balthazar that the vehicles are post war and pictured in color...

 

Alan Kulwicki....Nasccar was much better back in the day. 

 

[G. David Felt]

Seems Honda Ridgeline is a truck to respect, they just won their class at the San Felipe 250 off road race. As a class 7 V6 powered truck giving it it's sixth win in Baja racing, four times for Baja 500, once for Baja 1000 and now a win in the San Felipe 250.

Honda Ridgeline Claims Class Win at San Felipe 250 (apnews.com)

[ykX]

1 hour ago, David said:

Yes if it is actually real. We have not been able to return to the moon which makes the so called moon landings questionable to me.

Wow, just wow.  You of all people is a moon landing and NASA  conspiracy theorist???

I am literally in shock.

Edited April 20, 2021 by ykX

[G. David Felt]

3 minutes ago, ykX said:

Wow, just wow.  You of all people is a moon landing conspiracy theorist???

I am literally in shock.

I always question everything. Facts and science can be twisted to meet anyone's means, I acknowledge that. With the Billions spent on Nasa and so little to prove for it, one has to ask the hard question in regards to is this real or not?

I love space, future and change, but I also have the realist side of me that has to question everything. So yes, I will question the moon landings, Mars, etc.  

After all, gotta have something to debate that is just not about auto's