[kkoether]

Awesome shots. I especially like the two that are riding the props. Nice work.

Thank you!

[Racer X 69]

Do machines have a soul?

All of my machines do.

And I have many, most of them for a very long time. I recently parted with my Toyota pickup. Bought it used in the early 1980's, with just under 100,000 miles on it, and a slipping clutch. I put a new clutch in it (it was still in it when I sold it last year) and drove it daily for over 20 years. Freshened the engine (an inframe) at about 150,000 or so, then pulled the engine and rebuilt it completely around 200,000, and did a complete repaint too. It ran at least another couple hundred thousand after that, and finally parked it when the rear axle pinion seal started leaking. I kept putting off fixing it until a coworker expressed interest in it and I let it go.

When you spend that much time, and drive that many miles with a vehicle it becomes a part of who you are. A member of the family.


I have owned the race Z since 1989. Although it hasn't been out for a few years, it is still there, patiently waiting for a new engine.

This was a few months after I bought it. It had been a race car since 1979, and passed through many hands. Many layers of paint and some minor damage here and there told a story of hard use. I stripped it to the bare shell, cleaned off all the undercoating and sound deadening material, cut off every unneeded bracket, clip and protrusion (shed 250lbs), even skinned the structure from the hood to save weight. Built a full roll cage to replace the bolt in roll bar, and tied it into the strut towers and key frame points. Then I painted the bottom, interior and engine bay a Mercedes grey, and all the exterior a 1980's Corvette red. I built an engine, L28 with an early E31 head and bigger valves (ported and flowed), having machine work done and then blueprinted, assembled and dialed in everything myself. External oil cooler and Oberg oil screen. New struts and springs, better stabilizer bars and hard links, properly lowered, fully adjustable. Four piston calipers and vented rotors in front, solid discs and 2 piston calipers at the rear. 15 gallon fuel cell, with twin surge tank pickups and pumps, check valves and micro screen filters.





I ran a stock class for the first 10 years or so, finishing 2nd or 3rd in the season points each year, and won a regional championship in 1997.

I've collected the bodywork to run GT2, and just need to get funds together to take the next step. I'll need a few sets of wheels and tires bigger than I run now, some more suspension mods, and a new engine stroked to 3 liters, set up to run on individual port fuel injection and crank fired distributorless ignition, with a dry sump system.

When I'm done I'll have a car more like the ones Paul Newman, Bob Sharp and company ran in the late 70's.

[Canada_Rockies]

When you spend that much time, and drive that many miles with a vehicle it becomes a part of who you are. A member of the family.

Isn't that the truth. Our current wheels aren't exciting, but they are part of the family as you say. Our 2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 4x4 had 184,006 Km (114,336 miles) on the clock yesterday when I got home from my shift. We bought it new with 206 Km on the clock. It has towed our 5th wheel trailer all over Canada, taken me to and from work (including Chicago, IL) and the only times it wouldn't start was because I didn't close the doors all the way and the battery went flat. The engine has yet to be opened, uses no oil to speak of (enough that I know it's oiling up right) and is probably the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned.

It still doesn't sit in my heart the way my 1958 Mercedes did.

[aslyfox]

since we are doing "confessions "

my 4 wheel drive 2002 Suburban LT ( bought Oct ' 02 with 25 miles on it ) currently has 188 K miles, has 2 or 3 of the original speakers working, the driver's seat is trashed the radio knobs gone, but the rest of the interior ( if you don't look at the carpet that is ) is in ok shape

rusting on rear lower quarters, " bumps and bruises " elsewhere but until recently had no major repairs done to it, just had to put $ 3 K worth of repairs on transmission mounts (?)

worked well moving the kid, his classmates from primary through high school marching/jazz band, scouts, dogs and miscellaneous up to mother in law etc.

our other car ( which I drive almost exclusively ) is the 2015 Audi A 5 coupe currently 27 K miles, bought while it was being ferried to Houston from Germany, picked up Dec 29, 2014

my first coupe

and my wife has one she drives exclusively to and from work - picked by her because it was blue

[Canada_Rockies]

since we are doing "confessions "
our other car ( which I drive almost exclusively ) is the 2015 Audi A 5 coupe currently 27 K miles, bought while it was being ferried to Houston from Germany, picked up Dec 29, 2014

my first coupe

and my wife has one she drives exclusively to and from work - picked by her because it was blue

And we own this Tundra because my wife liked it. We had a 6 cylinder 1990 that she took into the dealer for routine service (only 285,000 Km (177,000 miles and still running well) and saw the tundra. How many other wives, dear readers, have a salesman send photos of a V8 4 wheel drive pickup truck to their husbands working in another country ... I can take a hint! Gave the salesman $500 on the Credit Card and picked it up on my next trip home.

[timb64]

Thai longtail boat

[gifthorse]

[Canada_Rockies]

Well done!

[StephenHampshire]

Boats and a train. Don't know how old the boats are, but the loco (Bellerophon) was built in 1874. The rain is 2017 vintage!

[Dewman]

Taken at the old railway depot in Boise, Idaho.

[timb64]

Dive boat at dawn,Koh Tao,Thailand

[goatsNdonkey]

Parking lot Mustang.



Vivitar f3.8 75-205mm (2-Touch Version) + K10D

[Cabessius]

A big boat in Ibiza´s port.
SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.4

[AldaCZ]

Last of the steamers in the middle Europe (just one prototype made, in 60's)

[Arn]

An Air Canada plane at YVR in retro Trans Canada Airlines livery.