The Old Pickup Truck

I photographed this old pickup truck at our Canada Day Parade a few weeks ago. It has obviously been restored as I doubt it would have looked this shiny even when it was fresh out of the factory. In the day it was built, pickups were meant as work vehicles and that was pretty much all they were used for. How these vehicles have evolved! Just as this particular truck would never be used for work today, neither are most of the new pickups being sold today. There is no limit to the amount of money or the amount of options put into a lot of trucks today. One could as easily haul manure or attend the opera in today's fancy pickups.

My friend had a truck identical to the one above, and when his dad gave it to him, it was a well used farm vehicle. He cleaned it up, had it painted blue, did some mechanical and power train adjustments, and we used it for our Friday night entertainment for a few years. I thought it odd at the time that we would be cruising the drive-ins in a truck. He was very much ahead of his time.   

Buick

On one of our walks last week, we came across this dandy. As near as I could figure, it was a cream coloured Buick Electra from the sixties. Note the convertible top, push button radio, rust coloured carpets, and an indoor plant in the passenger seat. I am sure it sat in some showroom in its day and was the envy of everyone who looked at it. 

From a 60 something perspective, this blogger has noticed how quickly the shine comes off of things. And that process is accelerating as time and technology progresses. It is said that, very quickly, the desk top computer was replaced by the laptop. For those of you who have not been to your local computer store lately, you will not have even noticed this. But, even more quickly, laptops are being replaced by hand held devices. In fact, head injuries are on the rise as people are so intent on texting as they walk down the sidewalks that they are running into solid objects such as light standards and telephone poles. Speaking of telephone poles, they could come down any day now due to wireless technology. 

Because I already run headlong into things, I will not be getting an iPad, iPhone, or any other i device any time soon. 

I bucked the computer revolution until 1995 when I finally succumbed. It was a good thing. But now, the prospect of reading a book, texting, phoning, photographing, blogging, facebooking twittering, videoing, surfing, movie watching, GPSing, and listening to tunes on a device the size of the palm of my hand, is just not going to happen. I can't even see the palm of my hand without my good pair of 'progressives'. 

I have a mind to buy that old Buick, restore it, and hearken back to the good old days. Now, I wonder if it is on eBay?   

Performance ... Corvette Style

Warning! If you are not a car person, or a 'driver', you may not find this interesting. But, then again, you might, because it will give you some insight into such things as midlife crisis and what makes a large number of men 'tick'.

When you have dreamed of something all your life (not necessarily obsessed or driven) and it finally comes to pass, there is no doubt as to the raised levels of excitement and even adrenaline that begins to dominate your waking and sometimes your sleeping hours. I experienced this in spades. I am at the age where I was giving up hope of ever owning a high performance sports car and it was not because I could not afford one. I have become a pragmatic and practical person through the years and there are certain dreams that I have, if fulfilled, would be selfish, and a waste of time and money. Really. But having the opportunity to indulge, for a short time, and at little expense, is the best of all possibilities. 
I learned some interesting things, and some things were confirmed for me, as I began my trip in the 2000 Corvette on July 15, 2010, en route to Saskatchewan, via Edmonton. 
I learned very early that heads turn when you go by. People of all ages will gawk, stare, admire, and give huge grins to show their approval. The car is a work of art and even busylizzy says it has beautiful lines and is more beautiful closeup. Very few drivers will ignore a Corvette as it passes them, or as they pass by on the four lane highway. The biggest reaction is from other performance vehicle drivers. They will slow and drive alongside for a while, admiring, and so you can admire what they are driving, and if it is a young buck, there will be subtle manoeuvres to goad you into a race. Were I younger, no doubt I would have succumbed to such challenges. They are a test of manhood, are they not? 
Driving the Corvette was a surprise in that it was more comfortable on a long trip than I thought possible. I was concerned (mildly) about the harsh suspension and the loud engine and exhaust note, but neither was an issue. It is quite quiet and even on a rougher road and hard acceleration, the very airtight cabin was a calm shelter, especially with the 4 speaker Bose sound system. Speaking of which ... it had a nice feature of auto power boost as the road noise increased so there was never any fiddling with the volume controls. 
The car is equipped with a 400 hp engine and a 6 speed manual gear box. You can only begin to imagine the power and acceleration unless you have driven one of these. The first time I power shifted under hard acceleration I gave myself a really good scare (the good kind) and like a chocolate lover in a Purdie's shop, I couldn't get enough. The problem of course, is that there are laws in the land, the most important to driver's being speed limits.
After a while, I began to understand the three 'lockouts' engineered into the manual 6 speed transmission. Top left is first, straight down is second, up to the right is third, straight down is fourth, up again to the right is fifth, and straight down again is sixth. Reverse is far right and up. I found that in certain cases, first to second was not working. I discovered that when the revs are high, as in moderate to hard acceleration, the shifter slides like silk into second, can't miss. When the revs are down, as in just putzing around town, second gear locks out and you just go to third. Fuel economy, you know. The most obvious lockout is reverse when the car is in motion. This alleviated my fear of hitting reverse when cruising to fifth on the freeway. The third lockout is clever. The transmission 'knows' when you are accelerating to sixth or gearing down to fourth, when you are in fifth gear. It 'knows' this by the revs which are either increasing, or decreasing. So, you never have to wonder where the shifter will lead you, down to fourth, or down to sixth. Once you get used to this, it is wonderful. 
The engine has 360 ft. lbs. of torque so there is always power in all gears at all speeds, within reason. Passing situations are never a concern because one needs so little room to pass. Gear down, hit the gas, the rocket takes off, pull out, pass, pull back in and tap the powerful four wheel disc brakes and the job is done. No sweat. 
Cornering is phenomenal! There is no body sway whatsoever, only lateral G forces as you power your way through tight curves. Taking 50's at 100 is child's play, although not in the wet. The suspension and wide tires hold the car to the road like fly paper. 
There were a few times when I decided very suddenly to stop for a photograph. I needed next to no distance as even a slight pressure on the brake pedal gave a sure footed stop with no 'diving' or skidding. The idea with performance cars is that if it goes fast, it better stop fast. 
Creature comforts are many on this car. Taking the top off is a breeze and there was still room for my luggage under the hatch when the top was stored. Full leather, full power seats are very comfortable and can adjust so many ways that they could fit anybody. Full thermostat climate control, separate for each side, makes it very comfortable without ever dealing with settings and knobs. Exterior temp. readings let you know when you can take the top off or when the next cold low is coming and you better get the top on. 
There is a full array of instrumentation, including air pressure in the tires, and many of those can be displayed on the 'heads up' display projected onto the windshield almost in you line of sight as the driver. Just a glance, a few inches to the lower left and I could monitor the tachometer, speedometer, oil pressure and engine temperature, never having to take my eyes off the road. Much easier spotting the radar traps that way. By the way, I had zero traffic violations on the whole trip, not that I did not deserve any. 
My biggest surprise about this car was the fuel consumption. When I knew I was driving a Corvette to the prairies and back, I budgeted a lot of money for fuel, especially because I knew it would need high octane, the most expensive fuel. The mileage feature on the car gave me immediate fuel consumption, average on the current tank of fuel, and also, at the average rate, how many kilometers I had left in the current tank of fuel. My overall average for the whole trip was 36.2 miles per gallon, or for the metric minded, 7.9 litres /100km. I was amazed! 
I was very reluctant to return the car on Wednesday evening after I had cleaned all the bugs and road dirt off of it. As I handed the keys to my friend, very relieved that I had done no harm to his baby, he revealed to me the real reason that he let me have it. He knew I would fall in love with it. Anybody would. He asked me in all seriousness if I wanted to buy it. He offered me a price and then told me he had his eye on a newer one. What a scoundrel he is. I am still thinking about it.  

     

Changes

The technology in the automotive world has advanced tremendously since Henry Ford developed the assembly line for his Model T's. However, the internal combustion engine has been at the root of transportation for too long. Finally, there is an incentive great enough to drive inventors and engineers to create alternatives that will shake the automotive industry. I predict that in the next 5 to 10 years you will see vehicles on the roads that you would not recognize today, not only in style but in the way they are propelled. Fuel cell technology, solar power, rechargeable batteries, hybrids, and compressed air engines will take over. This will ensure that the vast oil reserves (yes, they are still vast) of the globe can be better prioritized and the air will also become healthier. Those if us who grew up in the 'muscle car' era will have a difficult time with this. Oh well, I am beginning to realise that as we age, our list of 'life's little pleasures' get shorter anyway.

Yellow Can Mean Different Things

The previous post was a tranquil garden surrounded by yellow, this post is adrenalin and excitement surrounded by yellow. The Bugatti Motor Company of France has been known over the years for both style and speed. The second from top picture of a modern day Varyon shows how a vehicle can evolve from the 1926 version in yellow. These are rare cars and whether old or new, hold great appeal for the enthusiast. Crofton Bay is a rather unlikely place to find a rare car such as this, but, there it was.

'57 Chevy and Other Delights

A step back in time to the thirties.

Suicide doors and their shiny handles from the car below.

When I first saw these old cars in the setting of old Crofton, it felt like stepping back in time and I could imagine these cars in the original dull factory colours. The black and white background conjours up the nostalgia that is lost with the shiny new burgundy gloss paint job.

A sunny weekend on the Island is perfect for taking in the local markets. We stopped in Crofton on Saturday morning and besides the local market in the park, there was a bit of a car rally on the sleepy streets beside the bay. The '57 Chevy is probably the most recognisable and popular of all the classic cars of the 50's to 70's era. I never owned one but several of my friends did. It is a good thing that so many have been lovingly restored and preserved because they are true classics.

Zoom Zoom!

I can't say enough how pleased I am with my Mazda 3. After the initial fix of the factory flaw that caused a bit of grief, this car has been dependable, fun to drive, and very good on gas considering its larger engine and extra equipment. (39 mpg ..... don't ask me what the metric equivalent of that is)
Here is a stylized version. I am hoping that Mazda Canada has Google Alert and finds this free unsolicited advertising and sends me a cheque.

Good Old Days

A few of us guys were reminiscing yesterday, about our first cars. My first one was a black 2 door Pontiac hardtop, similar to the one above. It held a lot of kids, drank a lot of gas, and had no brakes to speak of.
My second car relationship was with this charming MGB. Here I am sitting at the wheel, bidding fond farewell because I was on my way to Ocean Falls. I never drove that car again after that day.
My first new car was this '72 Mazda 808, purchased on my return from Ocean Falls and was immediately put to the test with a trip to Cape Breton Island and back. It required a new head gasket in St. Catherines Ont., thankfully on warranty. My niece standing beside the car is now a mother of two children about that age.