It's All Fun & Games Until...

     

   I had a few responses from my past two blog posts about how older generations (boomers and such) supposedly spoiled things for much younger generations. Hey, I'll admit it - some of that history is true as some of the activities, stunts, and general mayhem we engaged in was dangerous. However, as a result, some pretty crucial safety came out of those crazy times. And a lot of it for the better. Mankind, for one reason or another, has always contained an unusual blend of courage and stupidity. The courage always allowed us to blaze ahead in numerous areas ranging from inventions to engineering. Automotive, as well as the parallel sports involving it, are no exception. Take drag racing for instance. 

I was reading an article out of a late 1970 Car Craft magazine about the craziness (literally) that happened that year at the US Nationals. The one race that went down in history, was the Top Fuel final that pitted Don Prudhomme and Jim Nicoll, who were not only rivals but good friends. On live television, Nicoll’s clutch exploded at the finish line, cutting his front-engine dragster in two at his feet. Yikes! Thankfully, Nicoll survived the hair raising incident with only cuts and some bruised ribs. If you ever have a chance to view footage of this race, the term an absolute miracle doesn't even begin to describe how Nicholl survived; it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. It was also the first time in Prudhomme's long drag racing career, that he very seriously thought about quitting the sport. 

   Clutch explosions, especially in early drag racing, were probably the biggest concern drivers and teams faced. It was an extreme rarity if the rear differential (which was literally at the Top Fuel Drivers crotch) exploded or failed in horrible fashion. Yeah, engines blowing up in a ball of flames while running all that nitro was near the top of the list, but fire suits and other safety equipment had come a long way since the early 60's to help protect drivers from serious burns. When a clutch explodes at high rpm, it's like a huge saw blade from hell and no one can control its trajectory. Many times, the entire assembly, including the flywheel and pressure plate, go into orbit with the clutch. Adding to the madness at the US Nationals, Nicoll's now driverless front half of his dragster eerily slid down the track ahead of Prudhomme’s dragster that he was slowing down in the shutdown area. It was at that moment that Prudhomme was sure his longtime friend had been killed. That's a damn good reason to get out of a sport where the death of your friends (or yourself) along with the psychological carnage is just too much. 

 

Of course, the ever ending quest for speed was not limited to the sport of racing in general. It also found its way onto street driven vehicles, albeit on a limited basis. To begin with, the 1960s were steeped in the rocket age. That decade was also laced with years of incredible change and most people can agree, whether you lived through those years or not, to say that numerous aspects were becoming unhinged, was an understatement. Out of these crazy times was a company based out Florida named Turbonique. If you're unfamiliar with the story of this company and its products, shame on you. Turbonique went down in history for developing perhaps the craziest aftermarket accessory ever developed for the automobile. What made the Turbonique such an outlier? As long as you consider strapping a rocket engine to the back of your car, filling it with a magical mail-order fuel, and then lighting its 1300-horsepower fuse - to be just a tad over the top - you'd be pretty much spot on.

   Granted, turbocharged engines along with turbine powered automobiles were nothing new to the big three automakers in the 50's and 60's. Turbonique wasn't looking to build a turbo or rocket engine nor build an entire car around those concepts. Rather than simply building rocket pods that could be mounted to a vehicle’s fuselage and then presumably piloted by the criminally insane, Turbonique sold its customers on a variety of devices that made the mechanical links between jet tech and traditional automotive power-adders. How did it work? For the most part, each of Turbonique’s various products relied on the use of a micro-turbine that was spun up by the ignition of a fuel mix called “Thermolene.” Thermolene used a chemical catalyst to kick-start a chain reaction that releases enough energy to seriously scare your neighbors and potentially melt your face off. In most Turbonique applications, this fiery enterprise then spun up micro-turbines of various sizes.

   

If that wasn't enough for you, no problem! Turbonique’s main claim to fame was its “drag axles,” which somehow managed to be even crazier. Picture a Thermolene jet turbine attached to the rear axle of a muscle car that could add an astonishing 1300 horsepower on top of what the standard gas engine was sending back. Output was transmitted by way of a one-way clutch while spectacular flames shot out the back. Theoretically, your differential managed to resist similarly exploding with the force of a thousand suns. Despite a price tag of $5000, there were several takers among drivers seeking a competitive edge.

    In another shade of brilliance, control of any Turbonique system relied entirely on cutting fuel
delivery, which meant there was no throttle control whatsoever—just an on/off switch that swung you from “normal” to “ludicrous” speed by way of a spark plug in the ignition chamber that set the Thermolene charge ablaze. This approach was significantly different from traditional turbine designs, which gulped down atmospheric air. While it helped make the micro-turbines remarkably lightweight and efficient, it also contributed to a situation where fuel build-up could create out-of-control explosive conditions inside the system. Whoo-hoo! 

Predictably, things did not end well for Turbonique. While all of the above sounds like a litigation nightmare from a modern perspective, in the ’60s, the legal environment concerning liability was a little more lenient, and as such, it took several years before the various small disasters wrought by mail-order rocketry caught up to them. It started out with the NHRA banning the drag axle from competition, citing a number of incidents that called its safety into question. Next, customers began to complain that the plans they received for their self-assembled rocket engines were substantially more difficult to execute than they had been made to believe, and that locating crucial parts was costing them an arm and a leg. This was all on top of the perils of selling 55-gallon drums of the rocket fuel through the mail. By the end of the decade, Turbonique had been hauled in before the Florida courts on numerous counts of mail fraud. 

As always, have fun but maybe try to play responsibly. Until next time, peace out.

It's All Our Fault, Ya Know Part 2

    I had a number of readers chat with me about the last post, which was basically part one of this series, and were wondering if I had any other ramblings in the same vein. Well, let's try to branch out a bit further this time, while still sticking with mainly the 1960's. The first topic may ruffle some Chevrolet feathers (or piss people off depending on their loyalty factor). But let's look at both sides of the coin.

  On the one side, GM was put in a very tight spot. In early 1956, the U.S. Justice Department of the
Eisenhower administration began thinking about the unthinkable: breaking up General Motors. Stanley Barns, an assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust, saw GM's 50 percent share of the market as a threat to the industry. The largest portion of this market share belonged to Chevrolet. Barns' staff labored for years to prepare an antitrust case against the automaker. Because of this threat, which lasted for more than a decade, is one reason why GM announced their corporate wide racing ban starting in 1963 as well as their engine size mandate in relation to a substantial number of automobiles and their curb weight that lasted until the 1970 model year, amongst other items. One aspect the top brass at GM as well as at Chevrolet did not count on however, was Pontiac. 

   This is the other side of the coin, where some enthusiasts view Chevrolet as a bunch of cry babies. Pontiac, in addition to like minded performance nuts like Jim Wangers, John DeLorean, as well as dealerships like Ace Pontiac in Royal Oak Michigan, always attempted to strive to be different, innovative, and offer the customer an alternative to the GM mold and thinking. For years, Pontiac turned the thumb screws to Chevrolet. First, it was the wide track design that started in the late 50's. Then Pontiac dominated drag racing and the NASCAR circuit up until around the fall of 1962. Then came the GTO in 1964, which continued to be the best selling musclecar until the late '60's. By 1965. Buick and Oldsmobile even got in the performance act with their GS and 4-4-2 models. Chevy didn't get it in gear until the 1966 model year with the 396 cubic inch option on the Chevelle SS. And yeah, Chevy released that same option in 1965, but they only sold 216 units due to a late production start and poor advertising. Getting back to the GTO, in the February 1968 issue of Hot Rod, one observer of the magazine's road test of the completely redesigned musclecar stated, "One of these years, Pontiac will rejoin GM." In lieu of these situations, at numerous times, Chevy acted like a jealous sibling in the GM household. One glaring example was the doomed 1965 Pontiac Banshee. 

   Never heard of it? It was a concept car that arrived on the scene in 1964. Referred to as the "XP-833" within General Motors, the two-seat coupe was slightly smaller than the Corvette in terms of size, with aggressive styling as well as a chassis and drivetrain combo intended to fight off both European sport cars as well as the unforeseen success of the Ford Mustang. Even with a proposed V-8 engine option, it was going to be priced less - substantially less - than the Corvette. The XP-833 was a car that seemed poised to give Pontiac an even stronger identity among the many young voices crying out for attention within GM’s portfolio. With eye-searing looks matched by nothing else on the market and a price tag that would have put it in reach of the average buyer, it could have served as a one-two punch alongside the GTO that drove hordes of customers into Pontiac showrooms and set the tone for the division's future. Instead, the Banshee was stabbed in the back by a jealous Chevrolet, which then unceremoniously stole several of its styling cues to serve as the basis for its own flagship sports car by the 1968 model year. Sorry, Chevy lovers - but facts are facts.  

Moving onto the toy scene, during the early '60's, slot cars were extremely popular in this country. However, during the early years of development, before manufacturers like Aurora, Tyco, Eldon, and Cox got the knack of making them electrical, they used the tried and true model of making them gas powered. Even though Lionel produced the first commercial slot cars as early as 1912, it wasn't until the late 1930s, serious craftsmen/hobbyists were racing relatively large (1:16 to 1:18 scale) model cars, powered by small internal combustion engines, originally with spark-ignition, later with glow plug engines that ran on diesel fuel. By the late '50's when electricity became the prime power source for slot cars, mostly so they could be raced indoors, gas powered model production continued until around 1965. By then, the cars usually ran on a mixture of caster oil and gasoline. And yeah, you could smell the fumes! The slot car and track sets of this type of toy was specified as outdoor use only. However, most enthusiasts believe they were pretty much discontinued due to liability and expense. Note the magazine ad from 1964 where one of it's advertising points was the smell the toys produced! 

 
Another toy I remember as a kid, which while not an official Hot Wheels car, it was produced by Mattel and sold along side Hot Wheels. They were called Hot Shots and were an extremely short-lived series produced from 1972 until 1973. The selling point of the castings was their use of RipFire motors, which were essentially extremely powerful ripcord motors allowing for the castings to wheelie and burnout. The cars, advertised as "Power racers with RipFire motors", were also purportedly able to spark as they burned out. By the way, the sparks were created by pieces of flint that were positioned by the rear wheels and friction from the rip cord started the fun. The artwork on the packages showing the sparks was actually very realistic. Be sure to groove on the small print disclaimer, "Not recommended for children under 3."

Some folks say, "... the good old days weren't always so good." In some cases, however, I sure do miss some of the crazy shit that was offered to the general public. Be it high performance vehicles, toys, or just general kiddo mayhem. 

Until next time, peace out. And maybe live just a tad dangerously...

It's All Our Fault, Ya Know

    My only granddaughter once told me, "Ya know - it's because of your generation (boomers) is why
our generation can't do anything." While I agree that we did some crazy shit back from the 50's through the 70's, whether as kids or adults, we can't be blamed for everything. I gently remind her something to the tune of because of her generation is why we have no sense of history anymore, we scan or scroll, we don't read, and you killed numerous entertainment industries with all your streaming. So there. To be honest, however, being safe whether at work or at play, has evolved in one form or another over the past 100+ years. The work place obviously came first. But I feel at some point in the 80's or 90's is where things really spilled over into the private and home-life sector. It seems nowadays that society seems obsessed with safety - and even the mere hint that a particular product or form of behavior is unsafe causes it to be denounced as immoral. Unfortunately, the very obsession with safety fosters a climate of anxiety that makes people feel more insecure, not less. Which may be the exact points my granddaughter is getting at.

  

Without going down this rabbit hole, regardless of opinion, I still love setting the Full Throttle time machine back to what I consider a golden era of memories and madness - both in a good way. One thing you may remember, even if you are of the early Gen-X crowd, is how many kids Evil Knievel influenced (and not intentionally - he was an entertainer as he called himself) and those kids took to jumping their bicycles using some homemade ramps, usually using Dad's stuff (in some cases saw horses) from the garage along with some beat up sheets of plywood, and bounding over everything from other bikes to kids laying on the ground. I had a neighbor friend who used to attempt this when we were around junior high school age - things came to a crashing halt (no pun intended) when he attempted to jump the family Ford Bronco with his bike. Even though I wasn't present for this fiasco, he ended up damaging his bike and himself pretty thoroughly. His parents were still pissed afterwards for a long time even though he recovered nicely and the Bronco never sustained any damage. As my friend told me several months later, "... not damaging the car; that was the important thing." 

   Moving into the drag racing sector, in the early '60's, Chicago was a hotbed for drag racing - indoor
drag racing that is during the long winter months. Apparently, Chicago was home to the only indoor drag racing event in the country at the International Amphitheater. The concept was simple enough. House the event in an enormous warehouse type building with plenty of lighting. Make sure the building is big enough to have an adequate shut down and turn off area (gotta think of safety here - don't want cool cars smashing into concrete walls). Then finally maybe consider some proper ventilation to deal with all the exhaust emissions. Well, okay, two outta three ain't bad. We're unsure of the exact history of this event that was hosted by racing promoter Bill Schade. The first indoor drag racing event was held on December 30, 1962, which was a huge success. A second racing event took place on January 5, 1964. After that, indoor drag racing just sorta disappeared with zero explanations. 

  

Going back a bit further into the 1950's and hopping across the pond over to England, we delve into the wild but cool hobby of diesel powered slot cars. Apparently, even in England, fumes made things more way more fun. Back in the early years - and we’re talking as far back as the 1930's  - the electric slot cars we played with as kids and know today had yet to be popularized. In their place (in many cases) were scratch built 1/16th scale metal replicas of period race cars powered by smoky little diesel engines, running along a raised central rail. And some of these miniature buggers could scoot up to 60 miles per hour! Now, if you're the slightest bit worried about the hazards of diesel slot cars running at an indoor track, you didn't have to worry about a thing. A set of hairdryers were repurposed to blow away the smog at the beginning the beginning of the race. That’s all you need, right? These slot cars were in essence an outgrowth of the pre-World War II phenomenon of tether cars, which were similar except they were raced around a circular track while being guided by a central tether. Picture something like a kid winging around one of those model planes on a string. That also sounded like good, dangerous fun. 

Until next time, fun fun and play responsibly... or not. Peace out.

Do It Yourself - On Multiple Fronts

    I was reading a vintage automotive magazine this week that featured the theme of DIY - or do it
yourself. The stories were rather entertaining as well as inspiring. One article asked the reader to take a good, long look at oneself as to define the limits of our capabilities. While the author praised and emphasized a do it yourself mentality, he also put forth the concept of getting in over our heads; regardless of what that task was. Because by the time we cross the point of no return, saving money, which is big draw for the DIY aficionado, goes out the window. The articles reminded me of my Dad, who passed about two and a half years ago. While he lost his sight to glaucoma about ten years before he died, I can vividly remember a man who could literally almost build anything himself. This included remodeling or updating a house, (he was a master electrician), woodworking, plumbing, building a motorhome out of an MCI passenger bus, as well as knowing a vintage VW Beetle inside and out. When I was growing up, I knew many relatives and neighbors who could do the DIY thing in regards to almost anything, with their eyes closed. I truly believe that mechanical items were far easier to fix over 50 years ago. 

One aspect that has limited my DIY capabilities when it comes to vehicles, besides the modern technology problem, is my impatience level. Impatience always leads to frustration, which usually leads to anger issues. Another article in this same magazine put me more at ease, however, when the author went into detail about how he yelled at a valve cover that was removed from a 1970 Mustang as he threw it across the street from his driveway and how it unceremoniously landed in a ditch across the street. And it barely missed a landscaping truck when it bounced twice before coming to rest. Okay - I'm not that bad. But it brought to mind another aspect of my hobby of collecting certain vintage automotive and drag racing memorabilia. It seems that people selling their wares on numerous websites from eBay to Facebook as well as others, seem to be more out of touch than any point in history. And that brings about frustrations among collectors. I'm seeing more and more of the following sentences: "Bought these items at an estate sale, don't really know anything about them, unsure if anything works (in regards to some items) and no returns." However, they all seem to know what the full pop price is based on a casual glance from some price guide or what a friend told them. Usually they are informed of something to the tune of "Oh, they're worth a lot of money." No research is ever done. And I'm more than over the acronym of VRHTF - which stands for very rare, hard to find. Be it a vintage car, toy, or piece of memorabilia. That acronym seems to add even more money to the asking price to the uniformed seller.

   Granted, it's your stuff - you can list it or sell it for whatever you want. But as enthusiasts and collectors, we must at least take some of the control back and we must do it ourselves. I can remember a time not that long ago when numerous vintage vehicles were inexpensive to purchase and was a great way for the entry level car nut to get started in the hobby, especially if they wanted to tackle certain repairs or restoration aspects themselves. Nowadays, complete basket cases that can't even qualify as parts cars are selling for thousands of dollars. The mentality is if it's old, it's gold. Getting back to the estate sale & not knowing anything about what some people are offering really seems to resonate with vintage slot cars. Numerous sellers, in addition to having no clue as to how these toys work, they refuse to have any accountability if they don't function properly. They just want top dollar and move on to the next sucker. Take the picture (right) for example - the seller has no idea if any of this set works; but they want almost $1000 for it.

  

Okay - enough bitching. Here's where we have the solution - don't buy into this trap. Have patience and persistence when collecting. Value what you collect. Don't collect for the value. The good deals and bargains are still out there. It may take a while, but they do come. I scored some very impressive deals just yesterday but it's been at least a few months since the last time this happened. I'm okay with that. Too many hobbyists seem to be in a rush to purchase as much as possible in the shortest amount of time like it's some maddening 100-yard dash. We can fool ourselves into thinking that we beat out the next person in getting the item or entertain the thought process of while we paid too much, but the value will increase almost overnight. Clueless sellers and scalpers are counting on this along with a lack of knowledge and the emotional purchase. Stop - just stop. 99% of the time, you'll be better off in the end if you resist the impulse or emotional too high a price purchase. Yes, there are those very rare occasions (there's that term again) that the item truly fits the description and it will be years before you see another one. But it's VERY rare. Use your best judgement before parting with some serious cash. 

Whew - I'm done with today's rant. Yeah, I feel better. Peace out.