Don and Peter's Hot Rod Corner

[John_C]

Umm....  That would be a Stout Scarab.  From a design mind with similar proclivities as Buckminster Fuller and Preston Tucker.

Info here  http://barista.media2.org/?p=3063

added another link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stout_Scarab

[MountainDon]

Thank you John C!

I knew it wasn't Bucky or Tucker, but there was a certain magical similarity. Great minds

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like front wheel drive -- mud tires on the front...or is that the back?

[MountainDon]

Stout Scarab Video

OR HERE, avoiding google.

[glenn kangiser]

OK -- back engine back wheel drive --Ford flathead.  Cool car.

[MountainDon]

A one of a kind prototype, the 1950 Martin Stationette. At first glance it appeared to be an Isetta Woodie.



The Martin Stationette is the final car produced by James V. Martin. Martin was a prolific inventor who spent years designing cars that he hoped that someday would be adopted and produced by a major manufacturer. This three-wheeled car was built with wooden monocoque construction and was powered by a motorcycle engine. It featured no axels, shock obsorbers, or propeller shaft all of which Martin believed would make the car much cheaper to manufacture.
The Stationette was designed to be a suburban commuter that, due to it's small size, would help to reduce auto congestion in urban areas.

The Stationette was shown at the 1954 World Motor Sports Show and offered as "America's Economy Car of the Future." Martin failed to sell the car to a potential manufacturer. This car remains a one-off prototype.

[MountainDon]

Sexy looking car...
1937 Delahaye Type 145 Chapron



This is a Delahaye Type 145 with bodywork by Chapron and a 4.5-liter V12. This car was known as the 'Million Franc Car.' Two slightly different Delahaye Chapron Coupes were manufactured.

In the late 1930s, the French government, offered a million-franc prize to the manufacturer who made the car that could best compete on the international circuit versus the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo. French designer/engineer Jean-Francois took on the challenge and mounted three low gear-driven camshafts to operate inclined valves via pushrods. The result was a light engine that powered a Delahaye that was twice as powerful as its German and Italian competitors.

This car, the non-racing Type 145 GT Coupe, remains a favorite of sports car enthusiast and collectors who love the fusion of power and elegance.

[MountainDon]

from the sexy to the strange & weird...
1974 Fascination 2 door



The Fascination was created by Paul M. Lewis, the creator of the Airomobile, current on display in the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection).

The first Fascination was built in the late 1960s in Denver, Colorado. Three cars were built in Sidney, Nebraska; the first Sidney car, powered by a four-cylinder engine, is the one in this photo.

A total of five cars were built; all have survived and are owned by two individuals.

[Sassy]

Sexy looking car...
1937 Delahaye Type 145 Chapron



This is a Delahaye Type 145 with bodywork by Chapron and a 4.5-liter V12. This car was known as the 'Million Franc Car.' Two slightly different Delahaye Chapron Coupes were manufactured.

In the late 1930s, the French government, offered a million-franc prize to the manufacturer who made the car that could best compete on the international circuit versus the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo. French designer/engineer Jean-Francois took on the challenge and mounted three low gear-driven camshafts to operate inclined valves via pushrods. The result was a light engine that powered a Delahaye that was twice as powerful as its German and Italian competitors.

This car, the non-racing Type 145 GT Coupe, remains a favorite of sports car enthusiast and collectors who love the fusion of power and elegance.

Now, I could go for that car   

[MountainDon]

Sassy, do you look good in red?
50's Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe, my favorite Jag of all time.



fixed headcoupe = British for "hardtop" vs. drophead coupe = "convertible"

[Sassy]

That's another one I wouldn't mind having..    back in highschool, a friend took me for a ride in a yellow Jaguar XKE convertable - 1960 something...  he got it up to the 130's out on a country road...  that was fun 

Glenn took my dad for a ride in his twin turbo Stealth a few years ago - got it up to 125 mph - my dad told Glenn "I think that's the fastest I've ever been on the ground."  He flew many different planes in the Air Force from 1943 - 1971...

[John_C]

 

50's Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe

We need a .wav file........ muffled roar of approval.

[MountainDon]

A genuine example of an early hot rod. 1932 Ford Roadster.

The real deal with a 4-71 blown Ardun head flathead block, Halibrand quick change differential and original Halibrand Magnesium wheels ,Hilborn 2-port fuel injection, Joe Hunt Magneto, all steel body, Duvall windshield, baby Moon tank and many other vintage speed parts. And it's completely owner built.

[MountainDon]

Here's Henry Ford's original 1902 Ford Racer, #999.



Although it was not America's first race car, it may have been the first to attain a legendary status. Driven by Barney Oldfield, the Ford 999 won the Manufacturer's Challenge Cup in 1902. The win gave Ford the credibility and publicity needed to advance his car company into a major manufacturer. Oldfield, by the way, was a bicycle racer who had never driven an automobile before he drove 999 in an earlier race. The 999 was named after a famous New York Central locomotive.

The Twin of the 999 was another racer named the Arrow. On January 12, 1904. Henry Ford himself drove the Arrow to a new world land speed record of 91.4 mph. Both the 999 and the Arrow were built by Henry Ford, assisted by C.H. Willis and E.S. Huff, with financial backing by Thomas Cooper.

The 999 is a minimalistic car with no body, no hood, and rides on a wood chassis. The car has an 18.8 liter, inline 4-cylinder engine worthy of approximately 50 hp. The car cost $5000 to produce – a considerable sum in 1902.

This car is now owned by the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

[John_C]

The car has an 18.8 liter, inline 4-cylinder engine

4.7 L per cylinder  YEE-HAW

[MountainDon]

Remember the old hot rod adage; Ya' can't beat cubic inches.

Unless it's with cubic money.


Makes one wonder what the vibration level was like

[Redoverfarm]

I don't think vibration would be as much as a concern as the "soap box derby" sterring linkage at 90+ MPH. Do you pull on the right to go right or push on the right to go left?

[MountainDon]

You do both. Think of that as a vertical steering column that needs a very big wheel on top. The wheel would be too big to be practical. You apparently needed a lot of leverage to turn the beast. So there's a bar across the top with two handles. From what I read a few years back you had to wrestle the steering, pull left and push right to make the car steer left.

That engine must have weighed a tad more than the typical 4 cylinder of today. 

[John_C]

It just needed power steering

[MountainDon]

Jay Leno's Garage has added a video featuring his 1925 Ford Model T Roadster.

Note: 2008 is the 100th Anniversary of the introduction of the Model T Ford. The actual date is October 1.



WEBSITE

The first 1908 Model T's sold for $825. $575 in 1912, $99 in 1914, climbing again to $250 in 1925.

[MountainDon]

This is one of the strangest project cars I can remember encountering.



From the website http://www.joeharmondesign.com/index.html , their Mission Statement...

We aren't really all about mission statements around here; too often, they are phony and superfluous. That said, here is ours. We are building a high-performance, mid-engined supercar from wood composites as a graduate project at North Carolina State University. Wood will be used wherever possible, including the chassis, body, and large percentages of the suspension components and wheels. The car has a target weight of 2500lbs and a power goal of over 600 horsepower. We aren't trying to sell anything; we aren't trying to save the world, and we aren't advocating that everyone should drive a wooden car. This project is a scholastic endeavor in which are simply trying to explore materials, learn, teach, share ideas, and stimulate creativity. This section details who we are and what we are doing. We hope you enjoy checking out what we are working on.

A WOOD Supercar!!!  With a laminated wood (osage orange) spring front and rear! Wooden suspension control arms! A 600+ hp modified Northstar V8 (Cadillac)!

If it wasn't for all the photos and the live webcams showing people going about building the thing, I'd say it was a joke or a hoax.

I honestly don't know what to think? 

I'm not sure that...  well I'm just not sure...

Maybe it is a joke, sorta.   

[glenn kangiser]

Osage orange is a good choice -- harder (and tougher) than the back of my head, prized for good hunting bows by the Osage Native Americans and current hunters and bow makers.

[MountainDon]

THAT is why they picked it. It's a multilayer laminate.

Still 

[glenn kangiser]

We have 2 trees down the road from us.  I found out they were Osage Orange when I googled - "green fruit looks like a brain".

I read of a bow blank maker having 8 wedges stuck in a short bow length log and it still had not split open,  They split the log in pie shape blanks  I think to make bows from.

[John_C]

This guys car looked like it had been through the crusher with him inside.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)—NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie Michael McDowell walked away virtually unscathed from a horrific tumbling crash during qualifying Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

McDowell was going into the first turn of his second lap when his No. 00 Toyota got loose, then slammed almost headfirst into the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier. The car ricocheted off the wall and onto its roof, then rolled at least eight times before finally coming to rest at the bottom of the high-banked track.

As he got out of the crumbled car, McDowell waved to the crowd indicating that he was OK.

"I feel great, nothing broke," McDowell said. "I didn't lose consciousness. I felt every roll down the hill."

McDowell said he had "few little bumps and bruises," but was fine other than that.

While McDowell said he didn't know what happened, he said something "didn't quite feel right" on the car when he came out of fourth turn on the first lap.

"For me to walk away from that wreck is unbelievable," McDowell said. "I'm going to count by blessings tonight and thank God for this opportunity to walk away from that wreck."

Car owner Michael Waltrip had some anxious moments waiting for McDowell to get out of the car.

"Just from the time it stopped flipping until we saw Michael come out, it seemed like forever," Waltrip said. "That was an amazing crash."

Qualifying was delayed for more than an hour while track officials made temporary repairs to the wall. After qualifying, a 20-foot section of the SAFER barrier was replaced.

"With the initial hit and everything that happened after, I'm real happy he walked away," said Carl Edwards, who qualified second in a run before McDowell's accident. "I'm surprised he's not hurt in any way. That's a testament to the safety equipment."

McDowell made his Cup debut last week at Martinsville. A developmental driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, he was promoted to the Cup level to fill a hole in the lineup created when Dale Jarrett retired.

The 23-year-old McDowell had a decent run—he finished 26th—but drew the ire of several veterans for not moving out of the way and holding them up. McDowell has just four career starts in the Nationwide Series, and most of his experience is in ARCA.

Based on owner points, McDowell will start 40th in the backup car for the Samsung 400 on Sunday.

McDowell appeared to be slightly limping when he first got out of the car, but he said he felt better after walking around a bit. He said he was aware of what was going on while his car tumbled down the track.

"I should have, but I didn't close my eyes. I just kind of rode it out," he said. "It wasn't a fun ride, that's for sure. I stand here with a smile on my face because I'm fortunate."