Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Pick-up Trucks in a Junk Yard
Downtown Vernon BC, during a recent road trip. The weather was wet instead of hot and dry this time around during our stay in the Vernon area. This bone yard is just off the main highway through town.
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| I have an odd fascination with International pick-up trucks. As a West Coast guy, they were a very rare sight in the logging business, in years gone by. The only ones we ever saw around were driven mostly by retired farmers who moved out towards the Pacific. Internationals were viewed as the ugly duckling of pick-ups...and under-powered to boot. A logger that drove an International just couldn't be taken seriously. |
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| In the 70's, my dad would jokingly say "You never see a Kenworth plowing a field, you shouldn't have to see an International on the road." |
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| So my thoughts are...after all those years of jokes and disdain...maybe International trucks could be the sought after hot-rod/restoration vehicle of the future. Rare, seldom seen...plentiful out in the farm country...and under valued. Some body work and modern powertrain...and presto-magico....new trend in the gearhead world. |
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| Even these late 60's and then 70's Fords are a tad under appreciated so far....they seem to be everywhere....the quintessential "truck"....they seem to be in a bit a dead zone for restoration and hotrod buffs. |
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| In these days of all aluminum engines, turbos and computer controlled everything....the simplicity of a 300 cubic inch straight 6, with a little carburetor perched on top sounds pretty good. Repair it with tie-wire, duct tape, a pocket knife and a crescent wrench |
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| Almost every abandoned truck has these objects in the cab or behind the seat...2 mismatched gloves, both left handed..stiff and moldy. A pack of matches, 3 wet ones remain. Broken pair of 10 dollar sunglasses. 1 piece of the tire changing gear. 14 coffee cups, 8 lids. 9 pens and pencils. 6 feet of speaker wire, 1 loose and broken stereo speaker. 4 empty packs of cigarettes...( older trucks will have Players and Matinee brand ) 87 cents in loose change, mostly in nickels and pennies. A rusted crescent wrench and a damaged screwdriver. An empty motor oil container, power-steering fluid bottle, and maybe an empty anti-freeze jug. A small piece of 2x4 wood. Stained piece of paper with a shopping list of parts to get when in town. 3 granola bar wrappers and a forgotten fossilized brown bag lunch. |
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| These old Ford trucks were really good at burning gas...on the 460 engines, you could actually watch the gas gauge go down as you were driving. |
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| See, it's not really ugly...it's just not that pretty either |
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| Emblems and badges...markers of status on the road and in the parking lot |
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| It's hard to hide in the grass, when you are big and orange |
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| 1 ton, 4 door Chevy. From the days when you could make 13.50 an hour, get 10 miles per gallon and support a house and family. |
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| Big, heavy, obsolete. Just barely good for parts....more like ready for crushing and melting |
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| These old work horses are on their way to becoming extinct... |
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Driving an Airboat in Vernon BC...the short teaser story
On a road trip with the kids recently, we stopped in at Canadian Airboats shop in Vernon BC. Owner, Guy Inskster gave us a tour of the facilities and several great rides on a 19 foot, 550 horsepower airboat that he had recently completed.
I will be posting a longer blog entry when a different video is finished in the edit department.
Guy and his family live right at the waters edge on Swan Lake in Vernon. He has a couple of very cozy RV's that he rents out to visitors for the right price. Also available is a 60 hp outboard powered fishing boat for trying your fishing luck on the lake...and several kayaks. A nice little fire pit area rounds out the cozy camping experience. I had the best sleep of the trip in the 5th wheel.
More photos and descriptions to follow in another post.....more info too...stay tuned
www.canadianairboats.com
email: info@canadianairboats.com
I will be posting a longer blog entry when a different video is finished in the edit department.
Guy and his family live right at the waters edge on Swan Lake in Vernon. He has a couple of very cozy RV's that he rents out to visitors for the right price. Also available is a 60 hp outboard powered fishing boat for trying your fishing luck on the lake...and several kayaks. A nice little fire pit area rounds out the cozy camping experience. I had the best sleep of the trip in the 5th wheel.
More photos and descriptions to follow in another post.....more info too...stay tuned
www.canadianairboats.com
email: info@canadianairboats.com
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| Evening at the lake side |
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| Guy Inkster of Canadian Airboats taking us out for a blast on Swan Lake |
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| Flat bottom....no props in the water....go where you want....included across the lawn. |
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| Supercharged 550 hp engine doesn't hesitate when you ask for more speed |
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| Cruising through the shallow water and grass, where no other machine can go |
Viva la Francé!
Previous weekend the VWCulture crew & friends visited the well known VWDays meeting in France, after we checked in at the hotel and unloaded the Golf we immediately went for the show. So after we bought the tickets, got some instructions from the organisation we went for the carwash and the show’n shine. To bad it was already 4 O’clock, so after a quick chat with some friends we went for the hotel, dinner and headed back to the party. After some issue’s with the guards we got in thanks to some inside contact, something we really appreciated. The atmosphere was great, People Barbequing, having a beer and just enjoying the moment.
So next day we went for the big show, another car wash, another traffic jam and a amazing meeting. The show’n shine part had some great quality cars, but there was also the campsite. Although the best cars were found at the show’n shine part, the people there were the biggest attraction. I think that people just kept Barbequing all night and day, because they were still doing it, but still great to see. Off course we took our camera with us, so check out the shots in the Gallery.
VWDays, our compliments for the service and turning out such a great show! See you next year!
So next day we went for the big show, another car wash, another traffic jam and a amazing meeting. The show’n shine part had some great quality cars, but there was also the campsite. Although the best cars were found at the show’n shine part, the people there were the biggest attraction. I think that people just kept Barbequing all night and day, because they were still doing it, but still great to see. Off course we took our camera with us, so check out the shots in the Gallery.
VWDays, our compliments for the service and turning out such a great show! See you next year!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
DeTomaso Pantera cars at French/Italian car show June 17/2012
A couple of videos and stills of two of the Pantera cars that were at the car show while I was there.
The Pantera was built from 1971 to 1991. Approximately 7200 were manufactured over the years. The first few versions did not sell as well as hoped. They suffered quality issues, corrosion problems and legendary reliability gremlins.
Elvis Presley shot his Pantera when it wouldn't start for him.
The original 351C stock engines put out 330 horsepower, by the end of the production run, factory cars were coming out with 500 horsepower, before the owners tweaked them even higher.
The Pantera was built from 1971 to 1991. Approximately 7200 were manufactured over the years. The first few versions did not sell as well as hoped. They suffered quality issues, corrosion problems and legendary reliability gremlins.
Elvis Presley shot his Pantera when it wouldn't start for him.
The original 351C stock engines put out 330 horsepower, by the end of the production run, factory cars were coming out with 500 horsepower, before the owners tweaked them even higher.
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| Pantera from Washington State arriving at the Fathers Day car show |
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| This gorgeous yellow Pantera was for sale, I didn't ask how much. The phone number is on the video. |
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