[MarkJerling]

Having only my Tamron 135 with me I couldn't get close for pictures, and I was shooting around a bunch of junk and other old cars and equipment. This place used to be a machine shop, so there is lots of stuff in the way.

There was some guy standing there when we stopped, and my buddy asked about the cars, and if we could take some pictures. About all I got was what I related here earlier, the owner was not there at the time, won't sell anything, or even talk to anyone about selling anything, has no family, and is dying of diabetes.

But yes, if it is an authentic Thunderbolt, it could be worth 6 figures, but in the current condition, nothing close to that.

Ah. The "I'll let it rot" group of collectors. When they eventually sell, they want pure gold and lots of it. We've discussed their peculiar outlook to life before.

[lesmore49]

Having only my Tamron 135 with me I couldn't get close for pictures, and I was shooting around a bunch of junk and other old cars and equipment. This place used to be a machine shop, so there is lots of stuff in the way.

There was some guy standing there when we stopped, and my buddy asked about the cars, and if we could take some pictures. About all I got was what I related here earlier, the owner was not there at the time, won't sell anything, or even talk to anyone about selling anything, has no family, and is dying of diabetes.

But yes, if it is an authentic Thunderbolt, it could be worth 6 figures, but in the current condition, nothing close to that.

Sounds like a real interesting story there. I went to an auction in North Dakota about a decade ago. It was at a farm and the farmer had died suddenly. He was a collector, mostly of vintage Chevies....from the '50's and '60's....along with a few Fords.

Mostly he had picked up old cars from rural areas in North Dakota and Eastern Montana. Stuff he had was great. I recall he had an early 3 door Suburban with a 4 speed, 4WD, 4 speed manual, original 283 cube V8. It was not pristine, but boy how many older Subs equipped this way are still around.

There werre some nice '59 Impalas with 348's, a number of late '60's Chevelle SS 396's, Camaros RS, SS, RS/SS....a turbo Corvair, etc. Not anything as rare as a Thunderbolt side oiler 427...but some stuff with good resto potential.

Apparently the farmer had often saw older cars of interest in and around the area, and then bought and hauled back to his farm.

Farmers a lot of time have interesting automobilia, motorcycles tucked away on their farms. Hence the phrase 'barn find'. When I was about 12 my mom had to spend a few days in a Northern Minnesota hospital.

Her semi private room mate was an American woman, and when we visited mom, the lady's husband was there. I got to talking to him, as aside from him being a farmer he also raced a sprint car. He suggested our family drop by the farm on one of our weekly drives back to Canada (we had a trailer at a Minnesota State Park) and we did.

While visiting, he got his wife to push start his sprint car and he raced it back and forth a number of time...drifting away....on his good sized farm yard. He really hammered that souped up Chevy small block and at 12 years old this was a great experience for me.

[MarkJerling]

Lovely tale Les.

I'm not sure, I think I've told the story before, but anyway, here goes: When I bought my '57 Custom 300, it was because the previous owner had just acquired a '57 Fairlane 500 and felt he did not need to keep the Custom 300. Now, the Custom 300 was a very good, original unmolested car, but it was not a patch on the Fairlane 500.

The Fairlane 500 was a one owner car with only a few hundred miles on the clock. The story went like this: A Malmesbury farmer bought the car from the local dealership as a Sunday - church car. Not long after the purchase, he died. Some weeks after the funeral, his widow backed the car out of the garage and swung the wheel too soon, thereby scratching the front fender on the garage door jamb. She was so distraught about damaging her husband's new car like this that she put it back in Drive, drove it back into the garage and shut the door and there it sat until the early 1990's.

My friend Joel eventually bought it from her estate and fixed it up. Apart from the front fender that needed repair and paint, the trunk lid likewise needed to be repainted as there was a leak in the garage roof that dripped on the same spot on the trunk lid for some 35 years and wore the paint through. Apart from that, the car not only looks new but smells new. Old cars usually have a very specific "old car smell". Not this Ford. It smells new. When Joel got it, it still had the factory dealer delivery plastic sheet covers on the seats. The silver braid cloth looks as if it was made yesterday. It is a stunning car.

Those little round reflectors, front and back, used to be a South African Road Code roadworthy requirement. The rule has been reversed so those need no longer be fitted to cars.

[lesmore49]

Lovely tale Les.

I'm not sure, I think I've told the story before, but anyway, here goes: When I bought my '57 Custom 300, it was because the previous owner had just acquired a '57 Fairlane 500 and felt he did not need to keep the Custom 300. Now, the Custom 300 was a very good, original unmolested car, but it was not a patch on the Fairlane 500.

The Fairlane 500 was a one owner car with only a few hundred miles on the clock. The story went like this: A Malmesbury farmer bought the car from the local dealership as a Sunday - church car. Not long after the purchase, he died. Some weeks after the funeral, his widow backed the car out of the garage and swung the wheel too soon, thereby scratching the front fender on the garage door jamb. She was so distraught about damaging her husband's new car like this that she put it back in Drive, drove it back into the garage and shut the door and there it sat until the early 1990's.

My friend Joel eventually bought it from her estate and fixed it up. Apart from the front fender that needed repair and paint, the trunk lid likewise needed to be repainted as there was a leak in the garage roof that dripped on the same spot on the trunk lid for some 35 years and wore the paint through. Apart from that, the car not only looks new but smells new. Old cars usually have a very specific "old car smell". Not this Ford. It smells new. When Joel got it, it still had the factory dealer delivery plastic sheet covers on the seats. The silver braid cloth looks as if it was made yesterday. It is a stunning car.

Those little round reflectors, front and back, used to be a South African Road Code roadworthy requirement. The rule has been reversed so those need no longer be fitted to cars.

Great story, Mark.

I always like the stories behind the cars and when I go to outdoor vintage car shows (none this year ) a lot of times I get into conversation with the owners and ask about the back stories..... about when, how, why, where, who and what....and many of these stories are wonderful.

Speaking of the 'new smell' of a car...or just the interior smell of a particular make of a car, and I may have told this story before.... reminds me of a time I was walking around a car show with a buddy, who I have known since we were teenagers. He was looking at an early '60's air cooled V-Dub Beetle and I noticed he had stuck his head through the open window frame of the driver';s door. He called me over... and told me to take a whiff of this car....his voice somewhat muffled...as his head was still looking around inside the VW.

He backed his head out and I popped my head inside the Volkswagen....and the smell triggered memories of my first car...a '61 VW Deluxe. The memories flooded back from this time period. Certain cars do have a particular 'smell'.

Our neighbour had a '57 Ford with a 272 Y8 and 3 on the tree. He worked for one of the two big Canadian railways. He used to get his old Ford serviced...for free...by the railway mechanics, until one day the Ford fell off the car lift in the railways maintenance garage. The side panels were badly dented, some window glass broken, etc. He didn't complain when I asked him as he said if the railway ever found out that his private car was maintained and repaired for free over the years, it could mean his and the mechanic's jobs.

He just traded his '57 Ford on a '66 Rambler Classic with a 232 cube inline six. He never did say what trade in value he got on his 9 year old, damaged Ford.

I was a teenager at the time, but I learned a lesson from his unfortunate incident...sometimes free stuff can be more expensive in the long run.

[MarkJerling]

Great story, Mark.

I always like the stories behind the cars and when I go to outdoor vintage car shows (none this year ) a lot of times I get into conversation with the owners and ask about the back stories..... about when, how, why, where, who and what....and many of these stories are wonderful.

Thanks! Yes, I love doing that too. Mind you, I like to know the history of all the unusual things I collect.

Speaking of the 'new smell' of a car...or just the interior smell of a particular make of a car, and I may have told this story before.... reminds me of a time I was walking around a car show with a buddy, who I have known since we were teenagers. He was looking at an early '60's air cooled V-Dub Beetle and I noticed he had stuck his head through the open window frame of the driver';s door. He called me over... and told me to take a whiff of this car....his voice somewhat muffled...as his head was still looking around inside the VW.

He backed his head out and I popped my head inside the Volkswagen....and the smell triggered memories of my first car...a '61 VW Deluxe. The memories flooded back from this time period. Certain cars do have a particular 'smell'.

Just you writing about it and I can smell Beetle interior!

Our neighbour had a '57 Ford with a 272 Y8 and 3 on the tree. He worked for one of the two big Canadian railways. He used to get his old Ford serviced...for free...by the railway mechanics, until one day the Ford fell off the car lift in the railways maintenance garage. The side panels were badly dented, some window glass broken, etc. He didn't complain when I asked him as he said if the railway ever found out that his private car was maintained and repaired for free over the years, it could mean his and the mechanic's jobs.

He just traded his '57 Ford on a '66 Rambler Classic with a 232 cube inline six. He never did say what trade in value he got on his 9 year old, damaged Ford.

Ouch! Reminds me of my one friend who had very nearly completed a body off chassis rebuild of a '58 Cadillac convertible. Stunning car. One of the very last things that needed doing was fitment of a new exhaust system. So, car was up on the lift, new exhaust system fitted and the last job to do was to check for leaks. So, mechanic reached into the car through the open drivers door to start it and in the process he bumped the gear shift into reverse. The Caddie lurched backwards off the hoist and tore the door off in the process, also making a big mess of the rear end as well as the front fender that connected the hoist pillar due to the sideways jolt of the door being ripped off.

I was a teenager at the time, but I learned a lesson from his unfortunate incident...sometimes free stuff can be more expensive in the long run.

Which reminds me of another mate who could never say no to a freebie. So, he's tooling down the highway in the '57 Fairlane 500 when he looks in the rear view mirror and sees a whole heap of smoke pouring out of the back of the car. He pulls over and opens the trunk. Inside, there's a raging inferno and he realises too late that the "free" pool chlorine container he had earlier picked up from a mate had fallen over - and so had the bottle of brake fluid he kept in there because the car had a weepy master cylinder. By the time he managed to toss enough sand from the side of the road on the mess the car had burnt all the way to the rear parcel shelf. The petrol tank (under the trunk) did not erupt, which would have made things rather more spectacular.

[robtcorl]

Certain cars do have a particular 'smell'.

Just you writing about it and I can smell Beetle interior!

You furriners sure are an odd lot.

[Parallax]

You furriners sure are an odd lot.

No, Mark is right in regard to the Beetle. Most had a very distinct smell; well, they did in the 60s anyway.

☮

[savoche]

No, Mark is right in regard to the Beetle. Most had a very distinct smell; well, they did in the 60s anyway.

☮

Far out!

[robtcorl]

No, Mark is right in regard to the Beetle. Most had a very distinct smell; well, they did in the 60s anyway.

☮

[Racer X 69]

Afternoon break on the flightline. A brand new KC46 tanker just started up, taxied out and took off.

Then, a C17 flew by, circled, did a touch and go, then flew off.

*edit*

The C17 made a couple more approaches before we went home for the day.

What a cool job, eh?

[MarkJerling]

Pity you can't share photos. Good thing this is not a photography thread! LOL

[lesmore49]

Thanks! Yes, I love doing that too. Mind you, I like to know the history of all the unusual things I collect.



Just you writing about it and I can smell Beetle interior!



Ouch! Reminds me of my one friend who had very nearly completed a body off chassis rebuild of a '58 Cadillac convertible. Stunning car. One of the very last things that needed doing was fitment of a new exhaust system. So, car was up on the lift, new exhaust system fitted and the last job to do was to check for leaks. So, mechanic reached into the car through the open drivers door to start it and in the process he bumped the gear shift into reverse. The Caddie lurched backwards off the hoist and tore the door off in the process, also making a big mess of the rear end as well as the front fender that connected the hoist pillar due to the sideways jolt of the door being ripped off.



Which reminds me of another mate who could never say no to a freebie. So, he's tooling down the highway in the '57 Fairlane 500 when he looks in the rear view mirror and sees a whole heap of smoke pouring out of the back of the car. He pulls over and opens the trunk. Inside, there's a raging inferno and he realises too late that the "free" pool chlorine container he had earlier picked up from a mate had fallen over - and so had the bottle of brake fluid he kept in there because the car had a weepy master cylinder. By the time he managed to toss enough sand from the side of the road on the mess the car had burnt all the way to the rear parcel shelf. The petrol tank (under the trunk) did not erupt, which would have made things rather more spectacular.

Great stories....makes me cringe and also be grateful that it didn't happen to me. So far, I've been fortunate, no cars falling off lifts. Although I did consider buying a small lift for my motorcycles, in order to bring them up height wise, to work on them. I'm sure they're good, but I dunno...in the back of my mind I can just see my SR 500 or Matchless Scrambler toppling over, onto the concrete garage floor.

Back in the late '60's when I was driving my first car, the '61 V-Dub, I took it into a garage for an oil change. I waited for the car to be done, paid the bill and drove off. Not too far away from the garage, I was driving quickly through my favourite series of twisty road and the red oil light came on. This happened sometimes when I would push the VW hard in the corners...a bit of oil movement to the side of the oil pan due to the great G forces , generated no doubt by my old VW's 5.60-15 belted tires.

This time I thought somethings wrong, so I pulled over to the side of the road, flipped the hood and saw part of the inside of the hood was covered in oil. I quickly saw the problem, the guy doing the oil change had forgotten to put the oil filler tube, oil cap back on. I stuffed a shop rag into the hole to stop the blow by .checked the oil and saw the level was down by about a quarter on the dipstick. Drove the couple of miles slowly to the garage and the guy was red faced with cap* in hand. He apologized profusely , topped up the oil, cleaned the inside hood, put the oil cap back on.

What did I learn? A couple things.

Getting your oil changed at a small garage with one guy on duty who also responsible for filling up customer gas tanks, cleaning their windshields, handling the cash register and other duties as assigned...can be a dicey thing. Very distracting for the worker, which can lead to moments for the busy guy of...geez,,,did I tighten the oil pan plug, did I check how much oil I out in....etc.

So either change the oil personally or go to a large garage that has people who do only one thing...change oil.

Since then , immediately after I get my oil changed, I flip the hood, and check that the oil cap is on securely, check the oil dipstick level, check that the oil filter is secure, look under the engine for any leaks.

Experience has taught me to do this and I agree with Will Rogers, American humourist who I think summed up these matters best, IMO.

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”

* oil

[StiffLegged]

Afternoon break on the flightline. A brand new KC46 tanker just started up, taxied our and took off.
Then, a C17 flew by, circled, did a touch and go, then flew off.
What a cool job, eh?

I'll see your tanker and C-17 and raise you a Mriya. I last saw this monster in August 2000, almost exactly 20 years ago. She did have to wait for the little grey one to land first...

[lesmore49]

You furriners sure are an odd lot.

Well...the furriners from New Zealand and Canada are an odd lot.

[CharLac]

I agree. My idea of a comedian, comedic actor, etc. is Bob Newhart.

...Tim Conway, the man could make me, and many others, belly laugh