Four wheels, two wheels and wings, it's all fun. I've had a life long love affair with automobiles, motorcycles, and airplanes. I go to car shows, bike shows, air shows and museums to see all of them. They are fun to photograph as it is enjoyable talking to the owners. I like all the stuff made in the 1930s. Technology was developing, reliability improving, yet they were easy to work on to improve performance. I remain enthralled by the styling of the era and how it evolved over the years.
This is a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr that I saw up on Petit Jean mountain in 2011. It was a little worse for wear that a person might want with a vintage car. The inside was gone with just a few badly rotted cushions. The body needed some (a lot of) work, but appeared reasonable solid. It would have to come off the frame and get sandblasted to find all the holes. I'm not sure how long it had been since the V12 had run. A nice Ford 427 with a 6 speed would fill the engine compartment. A person could make a great cruiser out of this car and make some bucks doing weddings and such. For a mere 50K and a good mechanic and body man it's all possible.
1936 Ford Roadster from a Little Rock Car Show in 2009. One of my absolutely favorite Ford Cars. Here it is 2018 and next year no more sedans, only a little puky car for the peasants, the Mustang and trucks and SUVs galore. We shall see if this is a big mistake. Anyway, the "36" roadster is a piece of art built for the masses back in the 30s. The only built a few thousand that year. I owned one that was a bucket of rust that I bought in Vermont. I never did restore it but sold at an outrageous profit. The car in the picture is a beautiful fugazzi completed with exquisite detail. I liked everything thing except the baby shit yellow paint. Either Black, Washington Blue or Maroon would be better. If I owned this car I open up my house and put it inside so I could sit in it everyday, then open the doors and drive around.
This is the 1942 Stearman I flew in on Sep 2, 2016 for an hour. It was an absolute dream with its radial engine purring as we cut through the sky. The pilot that flew the plane flew combat missions in Bosnia. He did indeed have a touch with the aircraft. It was almost like riding on a motorcycle. You applied body language as you bankled left or right. We glew about 75 knots and ranged from 1500 to 3000 feet. He did a touch and go on a sandbar in the Arkansas River that was enlightening to say the least. We dipped down and waved at a boat in the river which was fun. It was a perfect day in the low 80s with 100% visibility. Life just moved in slow motion and it was almost like a dream. Now I understand why the barnstormers of days gone by go hooked on flying. All I needed was a pair of Isinglass goggles and a silk scarf trailing behind me' "Curse you Red Baron." It was indeed
a dream come true.
1933/34 Ford accessory that no Ford roadster should be without. This one mounted on a bright red one and fitting and proper caught my eye. Ford used this up through 1936. After that the body styles changed and did not lend themselves to the dog. It added a bit of elegance to a low priced car and gave it some pizazz.
I created this picture of the dash from a 1928 Stutz Supercharged speedster that finished second overall in the 24 hour Le Mans race. This was a high point for American cars racing the circuit in Europe until the 1960s when Ford won. It featured a Roots type supercharger. Extra instruments were added along with a pump to keep the fuel pressure up. The Stutz featured at the beginning of this section had a dash very similar to this version. I found out about Stutz racing adventure when I was teenager and the fact that my father owned one made doing this picture more than fun. As I was painting I could hear the car with the blower screaming coming down the straightaway. Just close your eyes and join me as we enter a corner.
This is a 1930 Stutz Model M Speedster my dad owned. A friend of mine and I found the car and my dad purchased it and then restored it. On one fine New England day he got a little too sporty with the car and rolled it on is side. This picture was taken in 1954 just after the accident. The car got repaired and stayed in the family until early 1960s. It was a sad day when it drove away. During the original restoration I spent many an hour scrapping and sanding old cracked paint. The car remains in Florida to this day. I wish I could drive it one more time.
A flathead Ford in a deuce coupe. I built quite a few of them for personal use and race cars of the day. You could take them apart with just a few hand tools. For $500.00 you could make simple changes and the increased performance was quite incredible. Once in while I'll run into some old flathead guys and we talk for hours on things to do to make them run faster. On this engine the dual carburetors and the exhaust headers are the only visible exterior changes. The fun was boring, stroking, changing valves and the camshaft to enhance the performance.
Located at the Fantasy of Flight Museum in Florida this air racer of the 1930s is a high horsepower plane that was designed to capture speed records. The cowling around the engine tell you that the plane was an engine with wings built around it. The R-1 won the 1932 Thompson Trophy race, piloted by Jimmy Doolittle. He set a new world landplane speed record of 476KM/h (296) MPH in the Shell Speed Dash. Doolittle stated, "She is the sweetest ship I've ever flown." The plane more than justifies the thrill I get with equipment of this era.
This is an early version of the venerable P51 Mustang, perhaps the most celebrated U.S. fighter from WW II. They were more than a match against the Messerschmitt or the Focke Wolfe. Later models featured the bubble canopy giving the pilot improved vision. In the 1960s, Cavalier Aircraft located in Sarasota, Florida made custom conversions of these planes. There were exquisitely beautiful. Many have since been reconverted back to wartime configuration. I learned much about them when I worked with a guy who was a P51 crew chief during the war.
This is one of the bikes that Indian Larry created. it was on display at the Clinton Presidential Library with a number of other custom bikes a few years ago. Indian Larry was an east coast bike builder of some fame. He used to stand up on the seat of the bike he was riding and drive down the street. He met his demise when the bike hit a rock and threw him over the handlebars. Before his death he was featured on TV in his shop. Though rough around the edges he was a pretty neat guy.
The TR6 was a neat British car that went like Hell and cost around $5K when new. I owned a 71 model for over 30 years and it is now in a museum. This one is a 71. It was all there and in not bad shape. Of course, any British car with Lucas electrics is always a challenge. "Lucas, the real inventor of intermittent windshield wipers." Young women of my generation liked this car. The way the seats were she could almost disappear. A diminutive passion pit if you would.
A Mitchell B25 bomber. An example of the type that Jimmy Doolittle led on the raid over Tokyo in early 1942. When you look at the size of the aircraft and realize it took off from a carrier deck it is truly amazing. The men who did this mission were gutsy to say the least.
The nose art was common to American aircraft during that period. It gave the crews an opportunity to express themselves while under duress. Maybe the artwork distracted enemy filers for a moment and extended the lives of the fliers in the B25. The top picture I restored from that era. It looks understated until look at the .50 Cal MGs in the nose. Serious business indeed.
The picture below the restored aircraft is the real thing from the China-Burma theater in 1944. I was able to bring the old photo back to life by some extensive editing. The dragon art of the nose of the aircraft was quite elaborate. The dark haired man in the front row was a favorite uncle of a student of mine. He survived the war and went on to lead a productive life.
This is an early version of the venerable P51 Mustang, perhaps the most celebrated U.S. fighter from WW II. They were more than a match against the Messerschmitt or the Focke Wolfe. Later models featured the bubble canopy giving the pilot improved vision. In the 1960s, Cavalier Aircraft located in Sarasota, Florida made custom conversions of these planes. There were exquisitely beautiful. Many have since been reconverted back to wartime configuration. I learned much about them when I worked with a guy who was a P51 crew chief during the war.
This is one of the bikes that Indian Larry created. it was on display at the Clinton Presidential Library with a number of other custom bikes a few years ago. Indian Larry was an east coast bike builder of some fame. He used to stand up on the seat of the bike he was riding and drive down the street. He met his demise when the bike hit a rock and threw him over the handlebars. Before his death he was featured on TV in his shop. Though rough around the edges he was a pretty neat guy.
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| 71 Triumph TR6 that I used to own. |
A Mitchell B25 bomber. An example of the type that Jimmy Doolittle led on the raid over Tokyo in early 1942. When you look at the size of the aircraft and realize it took off from a carrier deck it is truly amazing. The men who did this mission were gutsy to say the least.
The nose art was common to American aircraft during that period. It gave the crews an opportunity to express themselves while under duress. Maybe the artwork distracted enemy filers for a moment and extended the lives of the fliers in the B25. The top picture I restored from that era. It looks understated until look at the .50 Cal MGs in the nose. Serious business indeed.
The picture below the restored aircraft is the real thing from the China-Burma theater in 1944. I was able to bring the old photo back to life by some extensive editing. The dragon art of the nose of the aircraft was quite elaborate. The dark haired man in the front row was a favorite uncle of a student of mine. He survived the war and went on to lead a productive life.
I snapped this at a car show up on a mountain in the summer of 2010.
It was the consummate driver. Not exactly original, but simply exquisite for a summer tour. This is the kind of car you hop in and take off on an adventure. So what if it rains, put on a slicker and keep going. Pull off the road and find some old roadside cabins to stay in overnight. Quaff a few beers and get a good nights sleep before you take off in the search for Shangri La the next day. No radio, no news, just fun. Could it be any better?
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| 1932 Ford Touring Car |
This is the 1942 Stearman I flew in on Sep 2, 2016 for an hour. It was an absolute dream with its radial engine purring as we cut through the sky. The pilot that flew the plane flew combat missions in Bosnia. He did indeed have a touch with the aircraft. It was almost like riding on a motorcycle. You applied body language as you bankled left or right. We glew about 75 knots and ranged from 1500 to 3000 feet. He did a touch and go on a sandbar in the Arkansas River that was enlightening to say the least. We dipped down and waved at a boat in the river which was fun. It was a perfect day in the low 80s with 100% visibility. Life just moved in slow motion and it was almost like a dream. Now I understand why the barnstormers of days gone by go hooked on flying. All I needed was a pair of Isinglass goggles and a silk scarf trailing behind me' "Curse you Red Baron." It was indeed a dream come true.
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| 1946 Dodge Pickup |
This beautifully restored 1946 Dodge pickup was on display at the Little Rock Air Force Base November 17, car and bike show. No matter where you looked on this vehicle attention to detail was most evident. Dodge trucks played role in WWII and they used its tough features after the war to build these trucks. They lasted for years and I sure this was put through its paces over the years. The owner has a vehicle to enjoy and I'm sure he has a grin on his face as he drives around.
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| 1928 Stutz Le Mans Supercharged Speedster dash |
I created this picture of the dash from a 1928 Stutz Supercharged speedster that finished second overall in the 24 hour Le Mans race. This was a high point for American cars racing the circuit in Europe until the 1960s when Ford won. It featured a Roots type supercharger. Extra instruments were added along with a pump to keep the fuel pressure up. The Stutz featured at the beginning of this section had a dash very similar to this version. I found out about Stutz racing adventure when I was teenager and the fact that my father owned one made doing this picture more than fun. As I was painting I could hear the car with the blower screaming coming down the straightaway. Just close your eyes and join me as we enter a corner.
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