Drag racing engines have come A LONG WAY in a short time, mainly due to trial and error.  How much air and fuel can an engine block and crankshaft take?    That is a question that is asked every time a tweak is made to an engine already on the ragged edge.

Let's revisit......a 500 cubic inch V8 making 11,000 horsepower.  Wrap your head around that.   Over ONE THOUSAND horsepower PER CYLINDER.  Just to go a thousand feet.  Don't forget the noise.  The ground shaking noise.   It's worth it.

Not to mention the 18 gallon fuel tank.   That is sucked down via a 2.5 inch fuel line.  It's all gone at the end of the run.    72 gallons per mile if you're commuting to the track in your dragster.

Drag racing seems kind of low brow to the common observer, but the top tier teams are working with cutting edge materials, design, fueling, electronics (internal and external stress/strain gauges gathering data many times a second), and tire compounds.

Thanks to Hagerty, we a get a deep dive into the tech and process of building and rebuilding a Top Fuel engine, with detailed commentary.   Lots to learn here.   Did you know that someone has optimized the engine run time so that the spark plug tips melt away and are used up right at the thousand feet mark?  That has to be optimized for each track.  The details don't stop there.  

Pay attention, each frame has something to learn:
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Real quick this evening....just thought I'd share a small, but important, highlight of the weekend:

Otter Creek Free Flow IPA.    Might be a new favorite, or at least a common go-to.  Found at the local hole in the wall beer store, that happens to have one of the largest and best beer selections in town, at a reasonable price.  A great place on its on, and deserves a feature here some day soon.

Check it out.

I'll be back for more.

Why screw you?  We'll get to that in a bit.

First, did you play McDonald's Monopoly at any time during mid to late 1990s?  Of course you did.   Did you ever wonder who won the grand prizes?  Did that too.   Why was it never you?  

Well, during the heyday of the Monopoly popularity, McDonalds contracted out the manufacturing and supply of the game pieces, and the contractor had to employ a number of people to oversee the entire process and ensure that it was all completed fairly.  As you can imagine, this was bank vault-like security and oversight, so how it all went wrong, for so long is stuff of mystery novels.

As you can imagine, there were millions of certain game pieces made but only a relatively small number of winning tickets.  That makes sense, and is outlined in the fine print, with the 'odds of winning' description.  No surprise there.

So what does Canada have to do with this?   Well, for whatever reason, the executives at the contracted marketing company re-ran the prize picking computer program if a location in Canada was selected.  Why was this done?  This is not clear , but is the beginning of the end, unbeknownst to them.

However, once the man in charge of security saw the game rigging, he wanted a piece, and the rest is history.

Thanks to the 'Daily Beast' for the crack reporting on this 'McScam'........thier words, not mine.

"How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game and Stole Millions" 

We've all seen them.  Pop-tops, slanted tops, 2 wheel drive, 4 wheel drive, VW, Ford, Mercedes, Dodge....and the list goes on.  So many options and configurations.  Literally endless possibilities.

If you've ever been in the market for a camper van, or even just seen one, you've most likely seen a Sportsmobile.

Started in 1961 by Alan Feld (by converting VW vans with Pop Tops, which they now have a patent on), Sportsmobile West has now grown to a company that employs hundreds and pumps out hundreds of vans a year.  

They use almost strictly American made parts for conversions (Advance Adapeters, Dynatrac, FOX racing, and more) and Alan is very proud to use these companies and support American made, rightfully so.

From Sportsmobiles humble beginnings, they are now producing entire van bodies, to attach to E-Series van cutaways (half cabs).  By doing this, you really can customize to your hearts content.  He says they have a year backlog on those custom E-Series builds.

As seen in the factory tour video, Alan is very hands on and proud of his company.  He has no issues showing the builds from beginning to end.

Thanks to BoutenkoFilms for taking the time to capture this, and thanks to Sportsmobile for being so generous!

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The year is 1911.
Fields are still being plowed by mules and horses.
Most of rural America doesn't have electricity.

Yet still, there are plans to break the powered vehicle land speed record.

How to get started?  Well, to begin with, "there is no replacement for displacement"
So start there.
FIAT, the Italian manufacturing conglomerate, hatched a plan, with a 28.5 liter, 4 cylinder, water cooled, triple spark plug per cylinder Beast  (the S76 if we're getting technical).
At the time, the first test driver refused to take the vehicle above 90 mph, and it's not hard to understand why.  Nearly everyone in the entire world had no idea what would happen at those speeds, a horse at full speed was the entirety of the idea of 'fast'.
Finally, in 1913, an American driver was hired, and the car hit 132 mph...however, the title of the worlds fastest was not attainable, as the car couldn't complete the run in both directions in the allotted time, which is how top speed runs are done to this day.

132 mph in a time where most people still walked and biked to work.  Then this fire breathing (it actually spits fire) unrestricted monster rips through the countryside.  I can't imagine.

Unfortunately, as often happens to showpieces and test cars, it was dismantled.  There was WW1 rebuilding going on after all, and that was much more important.  Slowly, a piece here and a piece there, and next thing you know just the shell is put out back and forgotten.  

But there is a glorious conclusion to this story.  Fate intervened....a man willing to restore this car, the discovery of a second engine (the original engine was gone)....and the technological advancements to recreate the crucial missing pieces of the car....and 100 years later, she roared to life.

This car coming to life is a chill inducing show today.  Just imagine this thing rolling out of a makeshift shop in 1911 and waking up everyone in the surrounding towns.  They captured thunder and lightning.

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What an amazing feat.

So now what?   How about let's strap someone to it and run it down the road.  Over 100 years since it was last driven.
Sound like fun, and quite a bit of work.  Ignition timing, fuel pressure, gear changes, oil pressure....all of this has to be constantly monitored every second of the run.  This video from Goodwood this past weekend shows just how much work is involved, and this is at 40 mph.  Imagine more than tripling that speed! How terrifying the ride must have been.  On a dirt road.  With no safety equipment.  Incredible/nuts.

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Huge thanks to everyone involved in saving this piece of automotive art and history.
Here is a another nice video showing the intricacies of running this piece of machinery, and some archival photos from over a hundred years ago, when this thing was thundering through the country side.  The likes of it we almost never saw again.
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The NAACP.  The 'National Association for the Advancement of Colored People'.

This is the sad part: A group of blind followers being led by race baiting, self serving, ignorant  Reverends, Activists, Doctors (PhD), and organizers.  You know them...Jackson, Sharpton, Moultrie.  Wait...never heard of Rev. Jerrod Moultrie?  Me either.  Well he has been caught lying about racial profiling by police officers, using social media as his sounding board.

From WPDE's website:

​"Timmonsville NAACP President the Rev. Jerrod Moultrie posted on Facebook on April 13 that he was racially profiled when a Timmonsville police officer pulled him over for a traffic violation near his home on Harkless Court in Timmonsville."

But when the Police Chief, Billy Brown, investigated the body cam footage, he stated:
"When I saw the video, I was shocked that someone who is supposed to be a community leader, a pastor, and head of the NAACP would just come out and tell a blatant lie. It bothered me. It really bothered me, thinking about the racial unrest it could've cost in the community and it's just troubling to me that someone who held a position like that would come out and just tell a lie."

Shocked and bothered...absolutley.  But surprising?  Not hardly.

But that's what the race-baiters want.  They want unrest.  They want to be able to claim that all of the 'colored' peoples problems are someone else's fault.  But not this time.  You've been exposed for what you really are.

Not surprisingly, some have come out in support of Moultrie, with statements like: 
"Based on the integrity of Rev. Moultrie, I really don't feel that he has a reason to lie about what he saw. Because he doesn't have any ill intent against anyone. I spent a lot of time with him and I just know his character," said  NAACP officer Henry James Dixon. 

That's a lie right there.  He DOES have ill-intent, for self serving reasons.  It was caught on camera.  What do you think his intention was by falsely claiming he was harmed?  To cause more unrest, so he could make himself more relevant. 

This low life didn't think about a police body cam being on, which is odd, because his group is part of the reason that body cams are so prevalent now. 

This is the great part...that he was taken down by the very thing that he wanted.  I hope he stays down.  

Full story

Body cam video:
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From 'The Guardian UK'

"A 78-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a suspected burglar was fatally stabbed at his home in London.The pensioner, named locally as Richard Osborn-Brooks, discovered two intruders at his house in Hither Green, south-east London, late on Tuesday night and was forced into his kitchen by one of them, who was armed with a screwdriver, according to Scotland Yard.
While the second man was upstairs, detectives believe that a struggle ensued and the 38-year-old intruder was stabbed in the upper body. He was taken by an ambulance to a central London hospital where he was pronounced dead in the early hours of Wednesday morning."

Here's where it get's crazy...the burglar dies of his wounds inflicted during the robbery....and low level idiots are leaving tributes to the dead thief.   Well, one person (and there have been others) is not taking kindly to it....and I think he makes a valid point.  What a silly world we live in...and the worst part is, it's our own fault.  

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 You pay taxes, and one of the big reasons is the public school system.
Yet, there is near constant whining and complaining that 'we' don't value schools and teachers like 'we' should.
Constant calls for more money, higher salaries, comparing school systems, free lunch, free breakfast,  more "think of the children."

Yet, there is time/money/resources for this?

There are currently enough resources in the public school system to brainwash 8 year olds about 'white privilege' and so called racism in America?

Read about it here.
And the 11 steps the PTA group wants the parents to read here

Yes, lots of high level positions are held by white people....white people make up a large portion of the American population.  So?

How about we get the best person in the job, regardless of race or gender?  Let's teach be the best you can be, and go out and get it done.  Don't worry about what others are doing.  Raise yourself up.  Racism/biases/prejudices are taught.  8 year olds want to go to school, learn, and play with their friends.  They don't need to know that some people are racist and ignorant.  The vast majority of the population goes out, gets it done to provide for themselves and their family, and treats their fellow humans with respect.  Let's teach this. 

How about reach reading/writing/arithmetic...you know, the things that prepare you for a good paying job.   I don't want to hear one more thing about the lack of funding or resources being allocated to public schools.  If there is enough time for this, there is plenty of time and money for basic proper education.

​OBS F250, extended cab, 4wd, 5 speed.  7.5L gas engine.  SHORTBED.  
Officially the 139" wheel base version....this is the first we've ever seen in this configuration.

Offered here on Ebay, at a aggressive price, is a rare gem.....even more of a gem at less then 100k miles.

No clue on how many were built like this, but a quick search of the usual sites on the 'net don't show another one.  If you know of another, send us the details.

Even at $20k, someone is going to be very happy with this purchase.

Figaros
Things
FJ-45s
Classic Beetles with 7 miles
1st gen Rx-7s
1960s Buick wagons with the plastic still on the seats
A line of more than ten Delicas?

Your kind of place?  Now take your wildest dream and multiply it by 10.  At least 10.

Then'd you'd be at Duncan Imports and Classic Cars.  Mr Duncan, (a franchise car dealer with a VERY healthy passion for the weird/unusual/didn't-get-it-in-America autos), has setup an independent dealership featuring makes and models that you've never heard of, much less seen.  And not just one, 10 to 20 or more of each.  Some that were never titled, have less than 1000 miles, and are the cream of the crop.  

Mr. Duncan, whose family (according to their website) has been in the car biz since 1955, has scoured the globe for quite some time now amassing this collection, and most of it is for sale.    

  
The dealership is located in Christiansburg VA, in the northwest part of Virginia.  They have a small staff, but seem to not mind crazy eyed, drooling types to come check out the collection, and none of the inventory appears to be roped off from common folk.

This guy in the video below got a tour, and documents it very well, but only captures a small portion.  I, and you, need to go and get a better look see.

Their website is:  www.duncanimports.com

Descriptors fail this place.