ROD-A-DAY:: ...hey, that's not a car!

You're right, genius! It's not. What it IS is a 1948 Whizzer motorized bicycle - our "RIDE-A-DAY" instead. (I have to give my love to the beautiful bicycles of history too).

This photo is courtesy of jerbec via Flickr, from the AACA East Coast Nationals, Hershey Park, PA. Hershey has had it's share of decent car shows over the years, several of which I've attended.

The Whizzer, originally created back in 1939 by airplane parts manufacturer Breene-Taylor Engineering in Los Angeles, was actually originally just an engine made to attach to any pedestrian bicycle for obvious increase in travel speed. By 1948, they had created their first pre-assembled motorized bicycle, the "Pacemaker" (below)...

YES.

...and then in 1965 they went out of production. Who wants a motorized bicycle when you can have Mopar Muscle...AM I RIGHT??? (I jest. Mostly.) Then in 1997, somebody got the great idea to start making them again, and you know what? They really aren't all that bad looking.

However, neither my wallet nor my ego could take the hit of toolin' around Brooklyn on one of these puppies. Give me another thirty years when my joints can't take constant bike peddling and then maybe I'll come around. But only on a vintage model, because as we all know, they just never make 'em like they used to.

ROD-A-DAY:: Rumblers in Coney Island

1937 Chevy pickup (I deduce) at a recent Rumblers show in Coney Island, which I missed (as usual).
Photo from Jamie NYC via Flickr.

ROD-A-DAY:: Friday Ford

So I still haven't gotten my photos from the weird pseudo KKOA show up on the site yet, and I'm clearly failing at posting an actual ROD-A-DAY, every day, but if it's any consolation, at least I'm still thinking about it all the time. This full-time job stuff is really getting in the way of my web-mistressing/blogging fun.

Excuses aside, here's today's awesome East Coast car, courtesy of Krapow who may or may not run Jalopyrama...you can only tell so much from a Flickr profile.


1950 shoebox Ford, in what appears to be a brushed steel finish. Incredible.
Now that shit is tight! This photo was taken at the East Coast Indoor Nats in 2007 (Baltimore, MD), so I wonder if it is still in the same state of unfinished glory, or if it's since been painted over. If that puppy was mine, and maybe the owner did this very thing, I'd keep the finish like that, get it all scalloped to hell and cover it all in clear coat. In my wildest dreams, anyway.

KKOA and a ROD-A-DAY

This past weekend the main squeeze and I traveled back to my hometown in PA for some much needed time away from the grunt and grime of NYC to do some grilling and clean our lungs out for a few days. While there, on Saturday evening, I finally realized that ("supposedly"...more on this in a second) the annual Kustom Kemps of America Sled Scene East show at Oakside Park in Biglerville, PA was going on this same weekend. I say "supposedly" because while the local paper in my parents' town claimed the show was in full effect, all I could find online was a random smattering of internet notices saying that the 2009 KKOA show had been relocated and would never again be held in Oakside Park. Instead, from now on it will be at the Mason Dixon Dragway in Boonsboro, Maryland, about an hour south of its former locale. As far as I'm concerned, it seems like a great venue switch, if only for bathrooms that aren't porta-johns and the fact that you can sign up to drag your car against anybody else you've had in your crosshairs to race.

The only sad part is that this means there's one less interesting thing to do in Gettysburg, PA at any given time of year.

Regardless, Mark and I had seen a few old cars in town and traveled up there on Sunday to see if there was any roddin' goodness left to be had. While there was, it was pretty sparse and pretty short-lived. (At least by then we weren't charged admission and they were giving away free fruit salad at the snack bar.) I don't know if some people showed up there because they were confused, but we at least got a handful of great shots of the cool cars that were still hanging around.

Until I get a chance to upload all of those images, in the meantime, let me give you this - our very first ever "Rod-A-Day" photo, from Brad Lehman (assumedly) via his Flickr account...


From the KKOA '08 Sled Scene East at Oakside Park
There are oh soooo many cars I come across in my daily Flickr travels, not to mention being a part of several auto-enthusiast photo groups on the site that I figured I'd share some of my favorites with all my lovely garage-goers. The idea being that these will eventually appear every day at the top of the "Rods" section of the site (once I get that up to snuff...) and I have created my own Flickr Group in hopes that you'll be able to go back and view each of the previous "Rod-A-Day" vehicles, in case you were lame and missed a few days). Maybe if I'm lucky, some of you will sign up and send me photos of your own rides you'd like to see featured on this site. I'd love to be able to get all the nitty gritty details about people's cars, which isn't always possible when it's a photo of somebody else's car and not your own (like above).

HOT SLEDS IN THE SUMMER

The Rumblers Car Club of NYC will be having their 6th annual "Rumble in the Country" at the Terryville Fairgrounds in Terryville, Connecticut THIS SATURDAY, June 13th. Open to classic kustoms, hot rods and motorcycles, it's only $10/car to show off your damn hard machining & restoration work to the gasser-groveling public (pre-register by email at rumblersnomads@yahoo.com).

There will be bands, food and camping (on Friday night the 12th) so don't miss out. I won't be there because:

A) I can't ride my bike that far on a Friday night
B) The closest Metro North station is still almost two hours away, and
C) I will be back in PA for that particular weekend

...but that doesn't mean YOU shouldn't be.

Also, coming up quickly is the Goodguys East Coast Nats and swap meet in Rhinebeck, NY, at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, June 26th - 28th.




Register now for a weekend of stage shows, parties and gearhead goodness. You can register now online (closes at midnight, Friday, June 12th!) and after, there will be registration at the Fairgrounds themselves.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Nope, I'm not talking about socket sets and voltage meters, I'm talking about the two essentials of almost any given job: something to write with and a place to sit. Granted, I've had a few jobs where the only place I had to sit was on a bale of hay or in a dark closet where I could have some quiet time, but ultimately I've always needed somewhere to call home base.


My glorious current office desk - two file cabinets and a piece of laminated MDF board

In a perfect world where the economy wasn't being ravaged like a vat of gummy worms in a candy store full of fat kids, I'd be able to demand that I have a desk that shares the equivalence of my beauty, charm and talent, not one made from "whatever was lying around". And if that were reality (the part where I get whatever desk I want), I'd be heading over to Retro Office, a company from Santa Fe Springs, CA, who specializes in selling all manner of salvaged, restored vintage warehouse office furniture. Credenzas, archival map flat files, old waste baskets and the crown gem of them all, their tanker desks.


Dear god, will you look at that thing?? I could have a side extention and a pencil drawer!!

The design, the durability...oh my god, and they have over 40 different colors you can customize your furniture in, including auto metal flake (you can even get a two-tone paint job so the desk in your shop matches exactly the paint scheme on your car or bike) or original manufacturers colors. They also have several selections of desktop material (including glass, for local deliveries only) AND if you order any kind of steel chair that needs upholstering, they have a vast selection of fabrics to choose from or you can send in your own. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! *head explodes*

Now that we've got the whole desk part of this equation squared away, let's move on to our writing utensils of choice - pencils!! In true homage to the fact that "they don't make 'em like they used to", Bob Truby's Brand Name Pencils is one of the most curious - and well designed! - sites I've stumbled upon in the last few months. It's an OCD pencil-nerd's virtual wet dream, showcasing 142 different brands of pencils and sorted not only by brand but by several characteristics as well, such as "copying pencils" "over-sized ferrule".

My personal favorites (yes, I nerded out that hard core about pencils):

Bob even goes so far as to include little tibits of information about each manufacturer, which satisfies the useless-knowledge junkie in me to no end. For example, did you know that the Ozark Pencil Co., founded in 1911, also claimed to be the leading manufacturer in not only pencils but enamel whistles?? Who knew!?

Hours of fun, to say the least. Hmm...now I just need to send Bob an email so he can answer my one remaining question..."Can I see your pencil box??"

LIGHT IT UP!

If this just isn't the coolest damn lamp I've ever seen, well I just don't know what is.


Piet Houtenbos' hand-grenade oil lamp

Made in the ol' US of A from actual army surplus hand grenades, these puppies start at $55, are available in several finishes and are sure to scare the crap out of your deranged Vietnam Vet Uncle Ned. "Hey Ned! Check this out!" *lobs grenade lamp in Ned's direction*