a rat rod on a train theme

the hood was made from a semi fuel tank, the grill looks like a semi truck's rim... on the pickup bed are railroad spike pullers, held to the top of the bed sides with railroad spikes, and the hood ornament is a spittoon
Found on http://steampunkvehicles.tumblr.com/ 

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Highway signs increasing visibilty 20% by changing their font slightly

increasing the size of the letters a little makes them easier to read from farther away, learned about it in Autoweek, August 6 2012 issue

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a couple motorcycle things from "TheFancy.com"

turn signals on the helmet... good idea!

http://www.thefancy.com/cars-and-vehicles

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Simon Charlesworth wrote a piece about the car addiction, "The Old Car Spiral"... he nailed it. Absolutely spot on

these are selected excerpts from: http://www.dep-o.co.uk/unhinged/unhinged-the-old-car-spiral/ written by Simon Charlesworth, ( car guy expert analyst! ) photos I pulled from my archives to put them where they seem to add visual context


Whatever you call your old car fixation – a hobby, interest, movement or scene – by now you should have realised that it is not a static creature. You may start drooling over retro machines from the Eighties, but I can tell you now that it won’t end there.


 Indeed, if you value your sanity and sense of perspective, I would advice you to run, forget all notions of old cars and to adopt a normal 2012 life instead. 

 whilst an appreciation of old cars is both an enjoyable and enriching part of life, it starts a craving for ‘new’ old car experiences. As with anything which is experienced enough times, the extraordinary soon becomes ordinary and in little time, you find yourself chasing a different more intense sensory buzz. 


New cars are deftly placed in perspective and quickly, you lose touch with what is what. When mates rave about the latest wheeled contrivance, it won’t register because it won’t provide a big enough hit of the good stuff: feel multiplied by involvement and excitement. 


 Seat belts will disappear, whilst dynamos, crossply tyres and then all around single-circuit drum brakes will start to make an appearance. 

 Retro motors become yesterday’s score, classics cars just don’t do it and now, you’re chasing a veteran fix.  

You might think this madness, but this really is the fate of all old car junkies who can’t resist experiencing a wide spectrum of old cars. Once I was happy tooling around in a knackered Marina, now I’ve got it bad for Thirties sports cars. 

The challenge of central throttle pedals, the knack of a crash gearbox – or better still, a Pre-selector – cable-operated brakes, front and rear live axles, and suicide doors which threaten to spit you onto the road during left-hand bends.

 Even with a speedo full of big MPH, the hit is no where near the sensation you can obtain at 50mph in a sports car bathed in pure eau de Castrol R. 

 Bearing this in mind, if, one day, you come across a dishevelled looking individual in a derelict shop doorway who is holding out his palm, begging for pennies and rambling on about an Edwardian chain-driven aero-engined special – please do be kind to the old bugger. 

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Have you heard of the Detroit Maker Faire?

there is a 500 dollar limit to what you can pay for stuff you get a kids toy faster with

"With a limit of $500 spent on modifying a kid’s Power Wheels car – hacker spaces race for the championship in the 2012 Power Racing Series.

The innovative racing series makes engineering entertaining and approachable. The goal of the Power Racing Series is to advance technology education and encourage people to try something new. (And have a good time, too.)"

found on http://www.makerfairedetroit.com/

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Brilliant advertising by a metaphor or analogy... whichever it is, showing a new BMW as an analogy of a bullet in the iconic slow mo photography of bullet vs apple or vs balloon, is a great idea

Found on http://www.tripsandturns.com/

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Jerry Wood's 1953 Glasspar G2, with a 331 hemi, and he's not just great at restoring cars, he's a great dad and fabricator. At the Dana Point Concours

 I usually post before and after photos differently, but this one is in context and the above photo shows clearly what he's accomplished from the below

 Amazing car, 331 hemi, great interior and dash

But before I checked out the car, I noticed the purse the woman was holding. See the first photo at the beginning of this gallery, and you'll notice it too.

 That is one cool purse!

 Jerry made it for his daughter, and why describe it? You can tell what it's made from

 except that you wouldn't know that he used part of his jacket for the inside, and a bit of leather from his tool belt for the snap strap

 the handle is removeable, and a longer one can be added, changing it from a clutch purse (get it, clutch?) to a shoulder purse

 How awesome, and he even was keeping it shined up for her during the show.

Cara, thanks for the pleasant chat, and sharing with me the cool dad-made purse. I bet a lot of guys are going to try making one now.

for an article about the car, and the source of the before image http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com/?p=7703

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1939 Tempo Galaendewagen

 the middle wheels are able to pivot in place to prevent high centering in rough terrain, and it's 4 wheel steering too. That is a lot of ingenuity in one vehicle!

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Starburner Galactic Courier Service base camp for a journey to the center of the earth or time traveling

 I don't recall which samll crate is a portable toilet cube in disguise, but one is, and it's damn cool to realize that this basecamp is that well thought out!

 in the center of the above is a perfectly working portable typewriter... it folds in half for travel

 above is a hand cranked recharging incandescent torch (flashlight)

 this is a real working Mimeograph that is about a hundred years old

 above, a working Tesla coil

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