Steve Grimes front wheel drving, rear steering hot rod. Brilliant and unique

photos from http://onlycarsandcars.blogspot.com/

Mickey Thompson, mechanical genius, has anyone else ever tried to put the intake and exhaust on the same side of a big block head?

Wow. Found in Hot Rod Delux... if you aren't getting every episode, you're wasting time, and making a mistake

Most innovative boat - trailer I've ever seen.

Check out Damien's website http://www.nooneridesforfree.com it's dedicated to vans, but he posts some other cool stuff like this too!

Mix of old and new, a 440 six pack lift off fiberglass hood... with a modern prop rod

First time I've seen anyone do this, pretty good idea so long as they don't leave it up too long in the hot sun. It might warp. Better this hood prop than the hood hinges with springs, they bowed the hoods along the middle with the springs trying to push them up constantly

Innovative and inventive rear wheel design for broadsliding

Via: http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com

Teri's Tattoo shop rat rod

It's so cool when the rat rods have rare cans for the radiator overflow or to house the ingnition coil

I like the military fuse panel, or maybe they are small knife switches, but it's a cool addition

Tom Cobbs 1929 roadster, DeSoto grill, fantastic soldered copper tube fuel lines at the carbs

trivia I read and posted was that the first supercharged V8 was a factory experiment 285 cu in that went into this, or another, Tom Cobbs dry lakebeds race car

1913 Christie Front Drive steam pumper/ fire engine

The restoration is remarkable, but the concept used in this construction is astonishing and innovative. Brilliant really, Walter Christie was a gifted engineer, and made the first front wheel drive car, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/first-front-wheel-drive-car-1904.html and raced it in 1905 in the Vanderbilt Cup.

But getting back to the steam pumper... Christie didn't get in over his head and make the existing tech obsolete, he made it better. You may have realized that Microsoft is the world's top software company because it makes it's Windows better, not obsolete, and this made Bill Gates the world's richest man... improvements, not obsolescence.

Like I was saying, Walter looked at what needed to be improved, and took the opportunity to make horse drawn fire steam pumpers self propelled once they were equipped with his front wheel drive units instead of horses. Horses were already 10 years into the age of the car, and the writing was on the wall.

Fire department equipment is really expensive, and Walter focused on the biggest fire departments on the East Coast to contract with to improve the existing equipment to speed up the delivery of equipment to fires. Notice in the below photo that the front and back have little in common

To easily compare this to the horse drawn model, just click on this link and see it from my gallery http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/san-diego-firehouse-museum_11.html last month of the steam pumper in the San Diego Fire House Museum: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bneYEAK5LRK8JggiI9PDI31eDyVOuRnbZpbPU5XjLtrkr_jESJOpTcn8UnQ3OR7It1yiCULjWSCWTJlIab0v1q4FD4ynVtnPgy3rm-NsvmrLRvTYcgIBfv_9-pBjt4kqKm14sP139elm/s1600/DSC_0055.JPG

This is just a short gallery, for a better one, and a full write up on the Christie company and it's founder: http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/2011/03/1913-christie-fire-engine.html

Diplock's Pedrail. What a name! Somebody should call their band this name.

If it had caught on, we'd still know about it, but it is a interesting idea for rough terrain, maybe rocky terrain. Reminds me immediately of these other two unusual ideas in rim/wheel design http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/justacargal-found-most-unusual.html

Found on http://steampunkvehicles.tumblr.com

Just get it home... even when an axle breaks

Justacargal found a most unusual prototype rim and tire replacement made of springs

from http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/

and reminded me of the next photo that I've never learned exactly what is was originally.. .but they look similar

Brilliant, immediate unstoppable traction in mud, also known as good horse sense, and farmer magic

Now this, in my opinion, is effing brilliant. It really no-shit works, and like nothing else possibly could to add traction that can't be stopped.

From http://thereifixedit.failblog.org

The website of "Stupid things people do to fix stuff" ThereiFixedit.failblog.com

Found in the first car of some young highschooler I bet... old cars didn't have cup holders I'm thinking... I never had anything made from 1973 to 1989, so I don't know. They aren't in my zone of interest.

I'm betting someone ends up in the emergency room

Sheesh these are lazy kids, is there anyone reading this that didn't put in years mowing lawns as a kid, before riding lawnmovers, self-propelled lawnmovers, and you think these kids could really use some time pushing a lawnmower?

real bad decisions caught on camera and shared with the rest of us to warn us of stupid ideas http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/