And then there is still more! :eek::LOL: Of course, not in order!:LOL:**)
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And then there is still more! :eek::LOL: Of course, not in order!:LOL:**)
More gorgeous old iron!!! Sure do enjoy seeing the old stuff redone, not all of them got crushed anyway!!!!!
I wonder how much bandwidth I'm consuming???
And here's the second car that I would love to own!! I had worked on one many years ago and will never forget driving it! When's the last time you saw a "77"?
The lower lamps have a spirit level to aid in alignment... I tried to capture a pic of it.
The "77" has a thermostatically controlled louver system in the grille, note in the pic above that these are closed, they operate on engine vacuum and a temp switch. once warm enough they will open to allow air in.
Big trucks like Mack use the same system today!
Here's the power plant.
And still some more pics... I'm gonna call it done with this post.. The pickup was being test driven by a potentially new owner so we got to see that one drive out and it was a sweetheart! I'd certainly make room in my garage for it! :)
Thanks for taking me Mr. Spears... this was a great place to visit (drool) :3dSMILE:
Okay... with that part over I drove over to Lincoln, NE to visit Speedy Bill Smith's Collection (Museum).... I snapped hundred of pics and I'll wade through them and present what I consider the best to you next.. This will probably take me a couple days 'cause I'm "particular" and I don't want to spoil the trip for those that may go there.. And during my visit there I learned that Bill Smith never intended to show any of this to anyone! He never wanted the general public plodding through his "stuff"! these were things that he had fond memories of and didn't want strangers "eyeballing" them.
That's why they have guided tours and don't allow children, and that's why the 2 PM to 4 PM hours. He wanted to make it difficult to limit the volume of traffic! But now that he's gone, the family has decided to revamp the format to honor his vision.
So they are adding another 50 thousand square feet to the building so they can share more of the collections!
Currently they have about half on display at any one time!!! ( that's about 60K sq.ft. on 3 floors!)
And some time next year, once they open the addition, they don't think they'll be able to continue the guided tours. They just won't have enough volunteers! Yes, every one who "works" there is a volunteer! The machinists, mechanics, bodymen, painters etc. etc. etc .. And I may have said this earlier, they don't do "restorations".. they only do "preservations" on-site.. if they decide something needs or is worthy of restoration, an outside source would be contracted for that.
So eventually, a visitor can go through at their own pace and study what they find interesting and pass by what they don't... I know I'd like that a lot better. I don't want to sound like I didn't have a great time! I DID!!! but some of the items your guided to and spend time at, really don't hold your interest... an example for me would be the Midget Racers and Indy cars... I wanted to spend more time there and not so much time at the pedal cars!:LOL:
Well, now that I've rambled on and on... standby for some more pics! Hope your enjoying "the ride" ! :LOL:
And I'd like to again say thanks to Roger & Sue Spears for the hospitality / friendship / camaraderie, they made my trip special! (OH and Bones Too!!!) :3dSMILE::LOL::3dSMILE::LOL:
Amen to that! I cannot fathom the tree huggers who would have us destroy any of this! And I think you already know that with my work in water and wastewater treatments.. I am a tree hugger / environmentalist! I guess I'm more moderate in my thinking and less "gestapo'esque" ..:eek::LOL::eek::LOL:
Mike,
We were glad to have you in the area, and it was very good to "put a face with a name", as they say. Glad it worked out to pick you up at the hotel Sunday morning for the blast down to Ottawa for the River Run, and back to the house after the show to relax and do some grilling! You got to experience the "lakes pipe roar" of the '33 first hand, and you made a new friend with Bones, too! I probably should have made the three hour drive up to Lincoln for Speedy Bills Museum on Wednesday, but the new format next year, minus the structured guided tours and limited hours will fit my style much better anyway.;):D:D:D
Thanks for taking the time to share your trip! Roger's friend sure has a nice collection! That's very cool.
Many thanks for posting.
O for Awesome (local joke)
He's a retired new car dealer, now in his mid 80's and working the internet every day "playing" in the collector car arena. A couple of years back he bought a strip center office building, the traditional slab on grade, hallway down the middle, offices on either side and gutted it. Then he got an architect to spread the columns to form a wider open space in the middle, and finished it as his "display area". He's a great guy, has some very nice cars, and lots of stories if you get him started on the "old days" around Kansas City. My Father-In-Law was sort of a mentor to him about 50 years ago, and some of those stories are side splitters!!
Roger, that's pretty neat. The sad thing is, when guys like him are gone, will there be many to take their place? I wonder that as I don't see many people my age or younger staying in this hobby.
I heard about that! It was weird that our flight inbound was an hour late and that was due to that. From what they told us is the disgruntled employee wrapped towels soaked in gas around control cables/wiring and lit them up knocking out the communication for O'Hare. Crazy.
The sad thing is that they're saying now that if you're planning to travel in the next two weeks you need to check your flight info because it may take that long to get Chicago back to 100%, and delays there will ripple across the country, and can even affect international connections.... Idiots!
Enjoying the ride?
Hell yes!
Roger took us to that same collection at the dealership/museum...absolutely loved it.
Some of the cars have changed since our visit; but it's still an awesome display.
Roger and Susan are superb hosts, we too owe them a huge thank-you for their hospitality. An awesome couple.
And the roar of the 33's lake pipes...man, I can relate to that!
Things got a bit frustrating when we left the Old Marais run...inching along in traffic...and fuses were getting a bit short.
But twenty minutes on the open road with the lake pipes at full noise and both of us had grins from ear to ear.
Bloody gorgeous!
Makes you realise why we drive the cars we do.
:D :D :D
Finally managed to find the time to have a good slow study of all the photo's Mike so one big thank-you from me too. I found it hard to say which car I would really like to own as there were all of a high standard. The '40 Ford Convert and the '50's Chevy Convert were two that really stood out to me and they were stock.
Thanks for sharing those pics,Mike.. Awesome bunch of cars n trucks..Gotta say,,the detail on that interior of that Great 8 wagon is mind boggling.. Loved that 37 pickup,too.. Thanks again for the trouble you went to in the dialogue on them.. Kool..
And then I ended up on the doorstep of the Smith Collection museum.. I had heard about the place and knew that changes were coming and wanted to see it as it was when Bill was alive. Maybe next year (or two) I'll go back and see the effects of change.
So here's the first thing you see in the lobby, right above the sign in and cashier!
Oh yeah... this is gonna be good!!:LOL:
And next was Nirvana! This one car had it all for me. I had read all about these cars a long time ago and to see it first hand was just to cool... dig the cylinder heads!
This car was recently over to Indy to "re-connect" with 2 of the other 4 that qualified for the 1935 race. Wish I had known about that day.. I'd have gone there instead!:LOL:
Oh, and this was still in the day of the cars carrying a mechanic! check out the second seat!
More jewelry.. a room full of Millers! I was in heaven..
One thing to note is the engine stands. None 2 are alike, they are all different and fabbed on site also they try to reflect the era or installation. Some of them are simply elegant!
And another Miller, this time a marine version.
And the Small (4 cylinder) Miller Marine
And now the BIG Miller!
Wish they had a soundtrack playing of one of these! :)
Also in this same room was Leo Goossen's desk and drafting machine and Harry Millers desk and some of his office equipment!
I'll end with these 2 for now.. something a little different. Not a name you'd associate with speed in a everyday setting.
Hardcore car guy porn.........
Any Horse power ratings to go with the Millers? Very cool display and collection. You must of been in hotrod heaven on this vacation!
Wow, those engines are pure awesomeness! I may have to take a trip over there before they change it up too. Be a good excuse to get some parts too. :LOL:
the 4's were in the 175 hp range... for a great read = The Miller/Offenhauser Racing History Page
And another great piece, HAL, anyone else remember them? There wil be more HAL speed parts later, I haven't gotten to all the pics yet.
I tried to clean this one up but it's still dark.. black cars never photograph properly.. lol.
How about a couple from the great Mickey Thompson!!!
Would you believe two Fords and two Pontiacs?!?! :3dSMILE:
And I'll end todays "installment" with these from Smokey Yunick..
For me, it's always been bothersome that they were only open from 2-4pm M-F, but I had never heard the explanation before. Dave Severson mentioned that Bill was the same way at the track, if the people started coming into the pits to rub shoulders with the racers he would head to his Suburban to hide :LOL::LOL:, especially if there were kids in the bunch. I guess he just didn't much care for the kids with their sticky hands, and tendency to climb :LOL::LOL:
The new format, with the entire collection displayed and open hours to allow several hours, or even a day plus to wander at my own speed fits my style much, much better. I expect that I'll wait for the announcement that the new space is open before I invest the three hour drive to Lincoln ;)
The Wolf's Head motor oil sign caught my eye as that was the oil of choice when I was growing up in Ohio in the 50's
What's the old saying, "Promises are cheap, Honor is priceless"... The lost art of honoring a promise is said to be blowing in the wind. I will do it. I promise, unless a gust of wind blows it out of the mind of commitment.....:HMMM::rolleyes::LOL::LOL:
I'm saying that the new format, with open hours throughout the day, no tours, no one controlling pace or position, suits me much better than a two hour tour led by some doofus volunteer. :LOL::LOL::LOL: When the time comes we'll see if it fits.
I'm still wiping the drool off the key pad !!!!!!!! What a cool museum. It's just been added to my bucket list!