Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Hershey reCAP--Benelli


Famous for having totally unlabeled switchgear, this mid-1970s 49cc Benelli Blazer showed zero miles, and a $500 price tag. It's a damn good thing I didnit have the $500 on me and as it was, I thought about hitting an ATM.

Benelli? They made engines for Moto Guzzi and Vespa, and the Blazer engine is similar to those. While you could get one from sole US importersCosmo Motors, they were also part of a minor war among the major department stores, each one of which had their own line of scooters or mopeds—Benelli was the Montgomery Ward offering.



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Now playing: Michael Jackson - Unbreakable
via FoxyTunes

I try Pan-Harder. Ha.

This came out great, if I do say so myself. Admiral Middendorf's 1907 Panhard et Levassor U2...

Hershey reCAP: Monza Mirage


I’ve never been sure why GM doesn’t create some sort of museum around the 700 or so cars in their private Heritage Collection, but at least they usually bring a few to Hershey. OK, the 1977-only Monza Mirage didn’t differ mechanically from a regular V-8 Monza 2+2, but the addition of a decals and flares package did a nice job of evoking the factory IMSA Camel GT Series car.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Hershey reCAP VIII


You could almost call Stearns-Knight a forgotten Classic, but all post-1925 models are indeed CCCA Full Classics. Patterson Barnes’ 100hp, 6,309cc (385-cu.in) eight-cylinder 1927 cabriolet is one of only 927 cars built by the Willys-owned company in 1927. Patterson is recognized as one of the foremost experts on Stearns-Knight and you can see several of his cars at the AACA museum, so it’s no surprise this is CCCA National First Prize winner as well as an AACA Senior.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Hershey reCAP VII



Here’s another London-to Brighton veteran, Reed Martin’s 1900 Knox. He ran the English 57-mile race twice, once in five hours, 20 minutes; once in seven hours, 45 minutes, becoming the only three-wheel Knox ever to do so. This is a first-year Knox, with only 15 made; the big 95-cu.in. single thumps out 5hp, but the car is only 80 inches long and turns around in just over its own length, so there’s no reverse gear.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

House eats car

Winooski--c. 1997 Isuzu Rodeo vs. bathroom.


Back Next
Photo: 1/6

From the Freep. By "Jeep Rodeo," I take it they mean "circa. 1997 Isuzu Rodeo?" And "late model," "at least ten years old?"

Hershey reCAP VI







Speaking of Mercedes-Benz, this is George Wingard’s 1913 Tourer, which claimed its First Junior at Hershey. George brought his car from Oregon; it has a body from Carrosserie D&E Snutsel Pere & Fils in Brussels. There was a deep crowd around it all weekend, ogling the Pebble Beach-winning former Brooklands racer. A vast inline-four cylinder aero engine makes 200hp from 21.495 liters, or 1,311.7-cu.in. That’s 328-cu.in per cylinder!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Ever wonder what it's like to do something really, really stupid?

It feels an awful lot like this.




Hershey reCAP IV



Dennis Frick told me his 220-based 1952 Mercedes-Benz Delivery Sedan was part of an amazing post-war tradition in Germany, where there was a need for light commercial vehicles, but little infrastructure to build them. Karosserie Autenrieth Darmstadt—also associated with BMW’s 501 and 502—was one of the larger outfits among many small manufacturers making do with what they had; they made the long roof from 11 perfectly butt-welded sections.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Magazines to which I subscribe

A list. I only pay for PM; the rest are comps.

  1. American Cowboy by Active Interest Media

  1. Black Enterprise

  1. Business People Vermont by Mill Publishing Inc

  1. Climbing

  1. Cruising World

  1. Flying

  1. Games for Windows: The Official Magazine

  1. Global Rhythm Magazine by Global Rhythm LLC

  1. Jet

  1. Kitplanes

  1. Metropolitan Home

  1. PINK

  1. Parenting plus Sesame Street

  1. Paste

  1. Popular Mechanics

  1. Pro Sound News - Ny by Newbay Media Llc

  1. Road & Track

  1. SPIN

  1. Saveur

  1. Skiing

  1. Smithsonian

  1. Tennis Magazine

  1. The Magazine Antiques by Brant Publications, Inc.

  1. The Wall Street Journal

  1. Urban Climber by Skram Media LLC

  1. WaterSki

  1. Workbench by August Home Publishing
Adding:

28. Popular Photography

29. Woodcraft

Hershey reCAP III


When I think of Hupmobiles, I usually think of either brass-era cars or the fabulous Raymond Loewy-designed Eight, but Walter B. Colton’s six-cylinder ’31 roadster reminds me there were fine cars in between. Walter’s car won its AACA Senior in Ohio in 2004, and he showed it in the Preservation class at Hershey this year. The 228.1-cu.in. engine makes 75hp; 1932 brought 90hp.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Hershey reCAP II


The only surviving 1898-‘99 Hay-Hotchkiss is also the only one ever built. America’s first four-cylinder car has a horizontal eight-stroke, four-cylinder engine in which each cylinder entertains combustion every fourth stroke. William Hay and E.M. Hotchkiss could never get it running quite right, perhaps because of their claim that it would go (albeit a little slower) without either oil or water. Freshly restored by Sean at Red Star Auto in Rhode Island, it’s running right, now, and is a recent London-to-Brighton participant

Friday, November 9, 2007

I'll pick one up on my way home

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Hershey reCAP

'Thought I'd post some short observations from Hershey last month. Here's the first of several.



The big truck hobby is, well, big. Robert J. Kalbach of Wernersville, Pennsylvania, brought his 1959 Brockway, entered in the Driver Participation category of the Saturday show. Mack Truck acquired Brockway in 1956 but the name lived on, with the heavy-duty, Deluxe (with corner windows) cab Model 257 Huskie.

It was the first full year for the Huskie, and Bob’s not sure what it’s rated at, but I counted 17 leaves in the springs, and may have missed a few. A 572-cu.in straight-six Continental gas engine powers the 9,800-pound tractor.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The smallness of States

I know Vermont is small but, as we say, Jeezum Crow!


The Wings of Man

Who coined the phrase "...rich Corinthian leather?" William Waites.

Cool.
Also “The Wings of Man," for Eastern Airlines.