Peter Behrens's Blog, page 483
February 19, 2014
February 18, 2014
Dinky Toys: Michael Moore
Below from Michael Moore, and referring to last year's Autoliterate Dinky Toy throwdown with Chip Lord:
"...So, now that I'm back, here are some earlier examples [I wasn't much into the passenger cars, unless they looked like Model A Fords, which the little Austins did, sort of; as a kid I only had the sedan, and it only came in blue]; That would be an MGTC on the left...
Trucks were always favorites, though these predated even MY boyhood. Most were picked up in the mid-seventies as my first marriage was disintegrating...
Nice aerodynamic motor coach, original paint throughout...
This van, I think, is original to me; one of the few actual survivors...
Trucks like these I actually had also...
And Jeeps; these came to me later [those windshields would NEVER have survived my abuses]...
On the other hand, one not a Dink; one of those cast Brooklin models, but, given your wagon proclivity, I thought you'd appreciate this one;
and others, where they live.But we try to resist the collecting impulse, which is easier now as all this stuff is so "collectable" and consequently expensive..." -MSM
"...So, now that I'm back, here are some earlier examples [I wasn't much into the passenger cars, unless they looked like Model A Fords, which the little Austins did, sort of; as a kid I only had the sedan, and it only came in blue]; That would be an MGTC on the left...
Trucks were always favorites, though these predated even MY boyhood. Most were picked up in the mid-seventies as my first marriage was disintegrating...
Nice aerodynamic motor coach, original paint throughout...
This van, I think, is original to me; one of the few actual survivors...
Trucks like these I actually had also...
And Jeeps; these came to me later [those windshields would NEVER have survived my abuses]...
On the other hand, one not a Dink; one of those cast Brooklin models, but, given your wagon proclivity, I thought you'd appreciate this one;
and others, where they live.But we try to resist the collecting impulse, which is easier now as all this stuff is so "collectable" and consequently expensive..." -MSM
JoAnn Verburg Photograph
JoAnn Verburg©2014JoAnn Verburg doesn't give this image a title but as soon as I saw it I thought of Van Morrison's 1973 LP Hard Nose the Highway.More Verburg on Autoliterate.
February 16, 2014
Cormac McCarthy Morning in Amsterdam Noord
from Guido Goluke (Cormac McCarthy's Dutch translator) in Amsterdam:
"On an errand in Amsterdam Noord this morning,I came across this old Soviet submarine. Not far from there I detected a nuclear waste dump, and around the corner, an old Citroen getaway car with petrified fugitives on board. A morning that would have adorned The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A very grey morning, too, governed by a very wet precipitation vortex." --GG
February 15, 2014
February 14, 2014
The Bantam Trailer, and Bantam Jeeps
From David Branch in far-West Texas:
"The scoop on the trailer:
"I believe this trailer is an ex-military unit. It had a lunette style set-up for a pintle hitch that has clearly been torched off and replaced with a Hammer-blow style hitch for a 2" ball. It also has mounting holes for a handbrake (seems to be a military option, that would be nice to have!)
"The trailer was parked on flat tires under a disintegrated tarp here in town. It had a 1966 Miller welder bolted to the bed. It had a toolbox and a headache rack for leads and gas as well. A nice set-up. My guess is some enterprise got a supply of surplus trailers and fit them out as welding trailers. Note the paint job w. pin-striping! And fender steps, which are not original, but nicely done.
"I initially thought I'd get the welder running but all the used motor oil in the bed of the rig was not poor housekeeping, it was a thrown rod! I probably should have tried to source a motor for it but I traded the welder for a load of gravel and never looked back.
"The little bantam is useful as hell. It had great clearance, sits at a good height for working, is balanced such that a man can move it around unhitched, even loaded. She's rated at 1/4 ton but will hold a half yard of dirt or gravel (1,200 lbs) before hitting the blocks on the springs."It was designed to be towed behind the jeeps of the day M38-A1, or the older M-38. Though its history is concurrent with the development of the jeep itself. My somewhat unsubstantiated theory is that Bantam was given the trailer contract after losing the shootout for the jeep. By many accounts the bantam vehicle was superior to any others, its features being required of all participants in subsequent rounds. Either way, the trailer shares hub and bearing assemblies with the jeep as well as Kelsey-Hayes steel wheels. In a pinch you can pirate parts from the trailer for the jeep! Mine has 15" rims typical of early sixties jeeps. It has no data plate or vin.
"If this ain't enough blathering on for you, check out this page: http://bantamt3c.com for more info and photos on these things."I'm pretty glad I nabbed it."--DB
1938 Chevrolet (better in primer?)
from Michael S Moore:
"My first car was a 1938 Chevy master deluxe sedan, all original, $35.00 in 1958...this one's available, but there's pretty much nothing been done to it that I could live with [well, the stance is pretty good];...well, maybe the chop I could live with, but otherwise, well, it'd look a lot better in primer...etc. Still, a California car; wonder if it's the one I sold in 1960 [for $35.00]"--MSM
