Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop
- Thread starter BB767
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
ZenMoto
Well-known member
Ok, I finally finished reading this thread (2 weeks later). 
I probably drove past Philo on 57 a hundred or so times when I was commuting between SIUC and NAS Glenview. I always used to wonder what gems I was missing on that long stretch of road back and forth, enough that sometimes I would opt for taking 51 the length of the state just for the change of scenery.
...now I know.
Excellent job on the restoration of ...well, everything on the property!!!
Can't wait to follow along now, in real time, with your updates on everything you and your family have done out there!
Dale
I probably drove past Philo on 57 a hundred or so times when I was commuting between SIUC and NAS Glenview. I always used to wonder what gems I was missing on that long stretch of road back and forth, enough that sometimes I would opt for taking 51 the length of the state just for the change of scenery.
...now I know.
Excellent job on the restoration of ...well, everything on the property!!!
Can't wait to follow along now, in real time, with your updates on everything you and your family have done out there!
Dale
Ok, I finally finished reading this thread (2 weeks later).
I probably drove past Philo on 57 a hundred or so times when I was commuting between SIUC and NAS Glenview. I always used to wonder what gems I was missing on that long stretch of road back and forth, enough that sometimes I would opt for taking 51 the length of the state just for the change of scenery.
...now I know.
Excellent job on the restoration of ...well, everything on the property!!!
Can't wait to follow along now, in real time, with your updates on everything you and your family have done out there!
Dale
Hello there Dale and welcome to our world here at the heart of the Center of The Universe.......as it were. Having spent some time in this area gives you a unique prospective from which to read what's going on here, don't you think? At this point committing to reading the thread is something of an undertaking and I thank you for following through.
As far as following along in real time from California, you'll want to check back here on a development that involves your neck of the woods on the west coast and the shop. It's still playing out but I'll get it posted here as soon as I can. It's one of those 6 degrees of separation things.
If you ever make it back this way let us know.
Thomas
markviii
Well-known member
Well, it seems that Tom and I are on the same page if not on the same continent or in the same time zone! He'll be back to home base before noon tomorrow to enjoy the last 70-degree sunny day of the year. Some more outside landscaping at the garage and barn to get done, I'm sure.
Chris
Chris
ZenMoto
Well-known member
Thanks Tom (and Chris), I'm definitely going to keep up with this thread. ...can't wait to see what you have cooking on the left coast!
D
D
HOTFR8 thats' kind of what I had in mind. Mix a flat head in here......
.....it could go here....
(left and right outside engines are 327/300 h/p, center is a 283- all are 1964 vintage. Hey you can't have too many can you?
)
... but then Craig had this great idea about using Mr Johnson's engine stand for the flat head.
I think using the stand to display the flat head might be the best solution for now, until I can find an appropriate vehicle for it. That is of course assuming I can find holes on the stand that would line up with it.
Thomas
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Wow, like they say "If that thing could talk".
I can relate with your collection of small blocks, I have 3 engines setting in my shop, but they are all big blocks, 2 427's and 1 396. They will live again!
Its been said before, but this is a awesome thread and as you know, you have a big following, please keep us updated on your projects.
Rich
I can relate with your collection of small blocks, I have 3 engines setting in my shop, but they are all big blocks, 2 427's and 1 396. They will live again!
Its been said before, but this is a awesome thread and as you know, you have a big following, please keep us updated on your projects.
Rich
A subject near and dear to me is fire prevention and timely suppression. Philo has no codes regarding number and types of fire extinguishers needed in a structure. I still contacted a friend who works for a large fire extinguisher company to see his recommendations. He said it was common practice to have an extinguisher every 70' or so. Since the old shop is 70' in length I would only need one to cover the whole shop. Great, that's the minimum but what's a good idea?
Starting with the front of the shop....
....when using the acetylene tanks there is an open flame. That's a source of a fire and just behind this is the welding bench, again very hot things..........
So I installed a 15 lbs(6.8 kg) carbon dioxide unit. It's a big heavy unit but you can get right up to it to remove and deploy it. The two 5 lbs (2.2kg) dry chemical units seen are on their way else where so disregard them for now.
Moving about 30 feet (9m) back in the same room...
...a 5 gal (.02kl) pressurized water unit. It's also heavy but nothing is in your way so removing it is fairly easy. Moving to the right 15 feet (4.5m) by the cleaning solvent tank...
... is another carbon dioxide unit, 5 lbs. Since you have to reach back to get it I didn't want a large heavy unit, rather one that could be retrieved quickly. Also this unit has a wall bracket that you just need to pull the extinguisher toward you, no need to lift it up first.
Then in the back of the shop near the rear overhead door is....
Another 5 gal pressurized water unit. I reasoned that this is by an overhead door and you might also need to put out an outside vegetation fire (leaves, dry grass etc) so water would be ideal for that.
Moving into the lift room.....
...a 5 lbs halon unit, my personal favorite. It's back and partly hidden so I used a small, light unit that's easy to retrieve. Halon is a very powerful fighting agent so it's small size is offset. Since the most likely fire source here would be from a car, electrical or petroleum based, halon is excellent. That's what we have on the flight decks of our aircraft. If there is an electrical fire behind a panel just stuff it as close as you can and it snuffs out just about anything. Also it leaves no residual material behind to clean up which dry chemical does. Halon is also what I carry in my cars, 2 1/2 lbs (1.1k) units. I bought them years ago when you could still get halon. It's been replaced by haltron which is more environmentally friendly.
In addition to the extinguishers it's important to prevent a fire from starting in the first place (duh). I have a airtight, fire resistant storage can....
.... note the paper towel rack above...
This is where I put all material that can spontaneously combust.
I actually put them in a plastic bag that's in the can and at the end of each day I remove it from the shop so there is no material left inside overnight that could create a problem. Its also an easy way to keep the can clean. I use paper towels for just about everything anymore. I do have cloth shop towels but rarely use them. Paper towels are so easy to dispose of but with cloth towels you tend to hold on to them long after they should be cleaned or recycled out of the shop so as not to pose a hazard.
So I really only need one extinguisher by general codes but have 5 of varying types which gives me options fighting a fire. This shop has been existent for 70-80 years now without a major fire (let me know if want to hear about the minor one that juussst about burned the place down in the 60's) and I would feel just terrible if it was lost due to my carelessness. It is a responsibility I do take very seriously.
Thomas
Starting with the front of the shop....
....when using the acetylene tanks there is an open flame. That's a source of a fire and just behind this is the welding bench, again very hot things..........
So I installed a 15 lbs(6.8 kg) carbon dioxide unit. It's a big heavy unit but you can get right up to it to remove and deploy it. The two 5 lbs (2.2kg) dry chemical units seen are on their way else where so disregard them for now.
Moving about 30 feet (9m) back in the same room...
...a 5 gal (.02kl) pressurized water unit. It's also heavy but nothing is in your way so removing it is fairly easy. Moving to the right 15 feet (4.5m) by the cleaning solvent tank...
... is another carbon dioxide unit, 5 lbs. Since you have to reach back to get it I didn't want a large heavy unit, rather one that could be retrieved quickly. Also this unit has a wall bracket that you just need to pull the extinguisher toward you, no need to lift it up first.
Then in the back of the shop near the rear overhead door is....
Another 5 gal pressurized water unit. I reasoned that this is by an overhead door and you might also need to put out an outside vegetation fire (leaves, dry grass etc) so water would be ideal for that.
Moving into the lift room.....
...a 5 lbs halon unit, my personal favorite. It's back and partly hidden so I used a small, light unit that's easy to retrieve. Halon is a very powerful fighting agent so it's small size is offset. Since the most likely fire source here would be from a car, electrical or petroleum based, halon is excellent. That's what we have on the flight decks of our aircraft. If there is an electrical fire behind a panel just stuff it as close as you can and it snuffs out just about anything. Also it leaves no residual material behind to clean up which dry chemical does. Halon is also what I carry in my cars, 2 1/2 lbs (1.1k) units. I bought them years ago when you could still get halon. It's been replaced by haltron which is more environmentally friendly.
In addition to the extinguishers it's important to prevent a fire from starting in the first place (duh). I have a airtight, fire resistant storage can....
.... note the paper towel rack above...
This is where I put all material that can spontaneously combust.
I actually put them in a plastic bag that's in the can and at the end of each day I remove it from the shop so there is no material left inside overnight that could create a problem. Its also an easy way to keep the can clean. I use paper towels for just about everything anymore. I do have cloth shop towels but rarely use them. Paper towels are so easy to dispose of but with cloth towels you tend to hold on to them long after they should be cleaned or recycled out of the shop so as not to pose a hazard.
So I really only need one extinguisher by general codes but have 5 of varying types which gives me options fighting a fire. This shop has been existent for 70-80 years now without a major fire (let me know if want to hear about the minor one that juussst about burned the place down in the 60's) and I would feel just terrible if it was lost due to my carelessness. It is a responsibility I do take very seriously.
Thomas
JC23
Well-known member
Aw, Thomas. You shouldn't have shown that rag can. By order of the Battle of the Killer Can, you are hereby invited to join in and paint your can. Maybe Chris is an artist???
Hi there Rich. Just imagine the engines that stand has supported over the years! Isn't it awesome when an engine you've just rebuilt comes to life for the first time? Still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, really. Beautiful sound. Should you find your big blocks are cluttering up your place, well I'm right next door in Illinois and they'd be warm and dry here.
I refer to readers of this thread as friends I just haven't met yet.
I've got more in the works such as........
The weather is just starting finally get nasty here so I'm slowly moving back to inside work. Thank you for the kind words.
Thomas
You mean "personalize it" JC23??
The artist in our family is my son. Your toilet seat cover art is right down his alley I might add. I shudder to think of what he'd come up with. Thanks for the thought however, I appreciate it.
Thomas.
markviii
Well-known member
Sorry, JC23. No real artistic streak here when it comes to painting - I can even leave serious drips from rattle-can spraying! I've been following the Battle of the Killer Can and can't wait for the outcome. And, when it comes to details in Tom's shops, I steer clear.
Chris
Chris
Warg
Well-known member
Tom, when it comes to the extinguishers you seem pretty well set. There are a few things to think about though, as I learned a couple of weeks ago as I went through the training program for "hot works".
First off, size matters. The small 2,2 kg chemical units are only good for small well contained fires. You don't get many seconds out of them so I'd place them where I'd expect small contained fires, like a fire in a trash can or parts washer or such.
We seldom use any of those with less than 6 kg capacity.
Placement is important. All entrances and doorways should have an extinguisher in its close proximity. Easy access, and if the fire is too much for you, you got a natural way of retreat. You have done good in thinking about having extinguishers at places ready to reach for.
One thing I would do is to ditch the water units. They are not very versatile and in an event of a fire the stress factor would make one prone to just reaching out for the nearest unit, not looking what it is. Think about it, how many things will be a probable fire source in a shop, that do not involve either chemicals, petroleum products or electricity?
I would also place an extinguisher on the oxy-acy cart, together with a fire blanket and a fireproof glove. Good stuff to have there if something goes wrong.
By the way, did you know the if an acetylene bottle falls over and hits the floor, it may start a chemical reaction in the bottle causing it to blow up?
Every time an acetylene bottle falls over, or is subjected other forces, monitor its temperature carefully. If it gets hot (feels hot with palm of your hand) there are a couple of options... Either run as far away as you can, or be the hero of the day and dump the bottle in your pool for at least 24 hrs to cool it and stop the reaction. The hero option may not be the safest thing to do as you can't predict when it's going to blow.
One last thing to finish up my rant... The fire department really will appreciate if you store your oxy-acy kit right beside a door to the outside, and either put a sign on the outside that they are stored there or be there to tell them...
-Paul
First off, size matters. The small 2,2 kg chemical units are only good for small well contained fires. You don't get many seconds out of them so I'd place them where I'd expect small contained fires, like a fire in a trash can or parts washer or such.
We seldom use any of those with less than 6 kg capacity.
Placement is important. All entrances and doorways should have an extinguisher in its close proximity. Easy access, and if the fire is too much for you, you got a natural way of retreat. You have done good in thinking about having extinguishers at places ready to reach for.
One thing I would do is to ditch the water units. They are not very versatile and in an event of a fire the stress factor would make one prone to just reaching out for the nearest unit, not looking what it is. Think about it, how many things will be a probable fire source in a shop, that do not involve either chemicals, petroleum products or electricity?
I would also place an extinguisher on the oxy-acy cart, together with a fire blanket and a fireproof glove. Good stuff to have there if something goes wrong.
By the way, did you know the if an acetylene bottle falls over and hits the floor, it may start a chemical reaction in the bottle causing it to blow up?
Every time an acetylene bottle falls over, or is subjected other forces, monitor its temperature carefully. If it gets hot (feels hot with palm of your hand) there are a couple of options... Either run as far away as you can, or be the hero of the day and dump the bottle in your pool for at least 24 hrs to cool it and stop the reaction. The hero option may not be the safest thing to do as you can't predict when it's going to blow.
One last thing to finish up my rant... The fire department really will appreciate if you store your oxy-acy kit right beside a door to the outside, and either put a sign on the outside that they are stored there or be there to tell them...
-Paul
Hi there Rich. Just imagine the engines that stand has supported over the years! Isn't it awesome when an engine you've just rebuilt comes to life for the first time? Still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, really. Beautiful sound. Should you find your big blocks are cluttering up your place, well I'm right next door in Illinois and they'd be warm and dry here.
I know that feeling very well, I've been a gearhead my whole life and been rebuilding things since I was a pimple faced teenager.
Big blocks are getting hard to find a good one, these will have homes in the near future, I have a 69 Camaro that I'm about done with that will get one of the 427's. The 396 is going in a 57 Chevy truck I've just started on. The other 427 will probably end up in 70 Chevelle I have stored out the barn, hopefully will get to that next year.
I do occasionally run across a rat motor for sale, I'll keep you in mind!
On the subject of fire extinguishers, I have 4 large bottles {don't remember what size they are} in my 50'x48' shop, one hangs right inside the man door and the others are in the far corners. They were hung probably 12 years ago by my Son who was a fireman at the time and have never been used.
I was wondering if they ever go flat and stop working over time?
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Stuart in MN
Well-known member
Amitygravel
Well-known member
Gosh, even the fire extinguishers add to the great look of the shop!! Thomas , you make a good point about the engine stand. You may have to fabricate an adapter plate for the Flat Head to go on it !!!
Craig.
Craig.
Warg
Well-known member
Yes they do go flat over time. Better have them checked and serviced!
There's no more frustrating thing than a fire extinguisher gone flat when you need it.
One thing that is a good practice when it comes to chemical extinguishers is to turn them over once a month or so and listen for the powder in it flowing evenly. If it sounds like it has lumps in it, get it serviced. Better once too many than once too little...
-Paul
JC23
Well-known member
Well, Thomas and Chris, I will take your 'invitation' to have your son join our band of merry paint bandits. The question is, 'Will he join?'
BTW, thanks for the tour of your fire ex. I picked up a few more this summer and need to place them for the best (non) use. Keep up the fine work.
BTW, thanks for the tour of your fire ex. I picked up a few more this summer and need to place them for the best (non) use. Keep up the fine work.
HOTFR8
Banned
Paul, all good points. The water units are a bonus and not all that useful but the chrome looks terrific!.
I'm confident my aircraft training would kick in during stress and I know where the good extinguishers are.Now more to the point about an acetylene tank falling over and the need to scoop it up and dump in into my pool...........wait for it............
.......Chris we have just found a VERY good reason to install a pool out at the shop. I'm thinking one that I could do laps in and maybe a diving well to boot. It might be much safer to dump the hot tank into the deep water of a diving well. And since it gets below freezing here in the winter we probably should build it enclosed. That just makes more sense. All for the sake of safety of course.
Wow thanks Paul, truly you are a pal!!! I owe you one for that.
All kidding aside if just one reader avoids a problem because of your timely suggestions you have done a great service, thank you.
Now Chris, where are those Speedo's I wore to the pool in high school, looks like I'm gonna need them..........
Thomas
Amitygravel
Well-known member
POOL?!!?! You're going to put in a pool? Thomas , I officially volunteer as your groundskeeper!
Craig
Craig
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Hi there Rich. Just imagine the engines that stand has supported over the years! Isn't it awesome when an engine you've just rebuilt comes to life for the first time? Still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, really. Beautiful sound. Should you find your big blocks are cluttering up your place, well I'm right next door in Illinois and they'd be warm and dry here.
I refer to readers of this thread as friends I just haven't met yet.
I've got more in the works such as........
The weather is just starting finally get nasty here so I'm slowly moving back to inside work. Thank you for the kind words.
Thomas
Took me a few minutes to figure out what that was.
Can't wait to see it finished.
markviii
Well-known member
The retirement home of the future is really taking on a life all its own, isn't it? Thanks guys for filling Tom's head with more ideas! That's all we need... (but, on the other hand, it may mean less grass to mow)
Chris
Chris
rickey1013
Well-known member
All I can say is money well spent.
There you go, that's why I married the young lady. Always looking on the bright side.
Thomas
(PS, thanks again Paul, you're welcome to the pool anytime!
)Here's something that might be of interest. Remember this photograph of the property taken in the late 1930's?
Here's a similar one taken in the mid 1970's about 35 years or so later.
If you look closely that's Mr.Johnson working in the open doorway of the lift room. Well OK, you have to look REAL close but that's him. It works better if you can see the photograph in person. This is actually a picture of a picture. It was framed and hanging over Mrs Johnson's dinning room. Good sized, it's about 24"(.6 m) X 18" (.45 m). The family thought I might want it and they were so right!
This is pretty much how I remember the property growing up. Different cars would come and go out back but most of the buildings are the same. There were only 7 cars including the Terraplane, left on the property by the time I bought it 30 years later.
And this was take 2 days ago. Best I could without a VERY tall ladder. It's fall so all the foliage is dormant and brown.
Thomas
Here's a similar one taken in the mid 1970's about 35 years or so later.
If you look closely that's Mr.Johnson working in the open doorway of the lift room. Well OK, you have to look REAL close but that's him. It works better if you can see the photograph in person. This is actually a picture of a picture. It was framed and hanging over Mrs Johnson's dinning room. Good sized, it's about 24"(.6 m) X 18" (.45 m). The family thought I might want it and they were so right!
This is pretty much how I remember the property growing up. Different cars would come and go out back but most of the buildings are the same. There were only 7 cars including the Terraplane, left on the property by the time I bought it 30 years later.
And this was take 2 days ago. Best I could without a VERY tall ladder. It's fall so all the foliage is dormant and brown.
Thomas
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Thanks for the vote of confidence rickey! I can already feel a ground swell of support growing for the pool. Clearly it's destained to be so!!
And all in the name of saftey. You guys rule!
Thomas
D.J.
Well-known member
Thomas; It looks to me as if someone was into Demolition Derbys from the cars parked out in front of the shop where Mr. Johnson is working. I would guess his son of some of his freinds were into or were they clients vehicles or they could have been brought by for them to pull the engines and running gear out of before going to the Salvage Yards? Do you have any info for us on these?
Thanks D.J.
________
Homemade soldering station
Thanks D.J.
________
Homemade soldering station
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Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
My curiosity got the best of me; since you didn't have a VERY tall ladder, I thought perhaps Google Earth might be of use. I 'flew' to the south end of Philo and thought this looked eerily familiar. I threw a 'pushpin' at this and came up with 39°59'47.81"N, 88° 9'31.00"W. Are we now in the neighborhood?
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll glance out the windows on the left side of the aircraft, you will notice my 'Fortress of Solitude'. To which I'll retreat as soon as we deplane!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll glance out the windows on the left side of the aircraft, you will notice my 'Fortress of Solitude'. To which I'll retreat as soon as we deplane!"
Warg
Well-known member
Paul, all good points. The water units are a bonus and not all that useful but the chrome looks terrific!.
Now more to the point about an acetylene tank falling over and the need to scoop it up and dump in into my pool...........wait for it............
.......Chris we have just found a VERY good reason to install a pool out at the shop. I'm thinking one that I could do laps in and maybe a diving well to boot. It might be much safer to dump the hot tank into the deep water of a diving well. And since it gets below freezing here in the winter we probably should build it enclosed. That just makes more sense. All for the sake of safety of course.
Wow thanks Paul, truly you are a pal!!! I owe you one for that.
All kidding aside if just one reader avoids a problem because of your timely suggestions you have done a great service, thank you.
Now Chris, where are those Speedo's I wore to the pool in high school, looks like I'm gonna need them..........
Thomas
I'm positive your aircraft training will make a difference when reaching out for an extinguisher, but what if it's not you who discovers the smoldering fire? Might be your lovely wife or your son... Make sure they're aware of what to use too...
Maybe a good thing to give them the opportunity to empty a couple of extinguishers in a controlled situation, just to get the feel of it...
About the pool... Well, as one of Asimovs creations would express it; "One is always glad to be at service".
Fire safety is a pet peeve of mine, having seen what fire can do and felt the frustration of grabbing a bum fire extinguisher where I almost got caught in the fire.
Chris, you're welcome. I like the positive thinking, wish more people were like that!
There you go, that's why I married the young lady. Always looking on the bright side.
Thomas
(PS, thanks again Paul, you're welcome to the pool anytime!
Next time I'm over on your side of the pond I'll make sure I come by. By then the pool, pool house, and landing strip will be finished. Oh my, look how subtle I sneaked that in again...
-Paul
Canadian Charlie
Banned
Canadian Charlie
Banned
Great project Thomas, really enjoyed reading most of it so far, can't wait to read the rest.
I should have learned to be a pilot, looks like there is good money in it and lots of time off.
Keep on postin'
I should have learned to be a pilot, looks like there is good money in it and lots of time off.
Keep on postin'
cobraman
Active member
Very very nice.
Looks like a Eco model 98 wall mount air meter, I was at a estate sale recently and bid on one that was in fairly poor condition but restorable. I stopped bidding when it got to $300, when it got to $500 I couldn't believe it and they ended up the sale for $625. When I got home I did a little research and found them selling restored for upwards of a $1000.
Attachments
Raze
Well-known member
Epic, restoring a childhood memory, maintaining the patina, classy!
Sorry, I didn't mean to be cryptic but almost correct, it's an ECO 97 air meter wall unit. The pedestal units were Model 98's.
I thought I'd mentioned it before outside on the front of the shop. It's in all the pictures of the front of the shop.
I brought in inside to go through it and get it ready for the next 40 years. It worked just fine but had a small internal air leak that was annoying.
A couple of the copper line fittings were cracked and a diaphragm needed to be replaced. I also put stainless steel hardware where I could.
The service manual is essential. These are amazingly complex devices that just meter air. They're extremely rugged and were made to be serviced. This manual is highly detailed, well illustrated and covers just about every aspect of these air meters.
Since it's all apart I decided to powder coat it. You can see in the above picture it was in very nice condition as is but once I reinstall it I don't want to have think about it. I came very close to just buttoning it and using it as is but the finish was chipped in a couple spots so nows the time to correct it. Because it's outside I didn't think I could let the chips go. If it were only used inside I'd have left it as is no problem. These things tend to get a little beat up with the air chuck and hose and all. Powder coating is just so durable I just thought it was a good move. A bit of a hassle but that doesn't seem to be a deterrence to me.
I didn't mean to jump the gun here. I'll get a more detailed post on it once I finish it up. Waiting on the powder coating right now. Other than that it's all ready to reassemble and put back to work.
Thomas
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markviii
Well-known member
Thanks for posting in from Malta, Canadian Charlie.
Warg, I guess my sarcasm didn't come through strong enough about the pool. He actually thinks I'm agreeing to the pool?! At least he's given up on the landing strip to the south (as someone so thoughtfully suggested in the early days of this thread). We could actually run out of space on our little 5-acre space if this keeps up!
-------------
Here's an update of the state/country list (from page 82). If I missed anyone, sorry. Just let me know. I don't want to leave anyone out of the fun!
** indicate states that are represented so far. If you've posted, but haven't identified your location, you can PM me if you want and I'll ** the state or add the country of origin. So far 35 states have posted. (4/29/10 - we now have 37 thanks to Todd and Tom in Nebraska and West Virginia)(also welcome Jay for #38)(I can't remember who was #39, but #40 on 7/3/10 is wats56 from WY)(and #41 on 9/27/10 from NH). Only 9 more states to go!
As of 11/16/10, we now have 43 states (I know those other 7 states are lurking!).
States (& Possessions included because Tom flew there at one point in his career)
** = posted
**AL
**AK
AMERICAN SAMOA (AS)
**AZ
AR
**CA
**CO
**CT
DE
Wash DC
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA (FM)
**FL
**GA
GUAM (GU)
HI
ID
**IL
**IN
**IA
**KS
**KY
**LA
**ME
MARSHALL ISLANDS (MH)
**MD
**MA
**MI
**MN
**MS
**MO
MT
**NE
**NV
**NH
**NJ
**NM
**NY
**NC
**ND
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (MP)
**OH
**OK
**OR
PALAU (PW)
**PA
PUERTO RICO (PR)
RI
**SC
**SD
**TN
**TX
**UT
VT
VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI)
**VA
**WA
**WV
**WI
**WY
Countries represented so far (24 as of 11/16/10)(I know there are more!):
France
UK (many locations)
Scotland
Switzerland
Australia (several locations)
Canada (many locations)
Sweden
Netherlands
New Zealand
Ireland
Iceland
Portugal
Hong Kong
India
South Africa
Turkey
Afghanistan
Iraq
Denmark
Philippines
Peru
Norway
Malta
Belgium
Warg, I guess my sarcasm didn't come through strong enough about the pool. He actually thinks I'm agreeing to the pool?! At least he's given up on the landing strip to the south (as someone so thoughtfully suggested in the early days of this thread). We could actually run out of space on our little 5-acre space if this keeps up!
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Here's an update of the state/country list (from page 82). If I missed anyone, sorry. Just let me know. I don't want to leave anyone out of the fun!
** indicate states that are represented so far. If you've posted, but haven't identified your location, you can PM me if you want and I'll ** the state or add the country of origin. So far 35 states have posted. (4/29/10 - we now have 37 thanks to Todd and Tom in Nebraska and West Virginia)(also welcome Jay for #38)(I can't remember who was #39, but #40 on 7/3/10 is wats56 from WY)(and #41 on 9/27/10 from NH). Only 9 more states to go!
As of 11/16/10, we now have 43 states (I know those other 7 states are lurking!).
States (& Possessions included because Tom flew there at one point in his career)
** = posted
**AL
**AK
AMERICAN SAMOA (AS)
**AZ
AR
**CA
**CO
**CT
DE
Wash DC
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA (FM)
**FL
**GA
GUAM (GU)
HI
ID
**IL
**IN
**IA
**KS
**KY
**LA
**ME
MARSHALL ISLANDS (MH)
**MD
**MA
**MI
**MN
**MS
**MO
MT
**NE
**NV
**NH
**NJ
**NM
**NY
**NC
**ND
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (MP)
**OH
**OK
**OR
PALAU (PW)
**PA
PUERTO RICO (PR)
RI
**SC
**SD
**TN
**TX
**UT
VT
VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI)
**VA
**WA
**WV
**WI
**WY
Countries represented so far (24 as of 11/16/10)(I know there are more!):
France
UK (many locations)
Scotland
Switzerland
Australia (several locations)
Canada (many locations)
Sweden
Netherlands
New Zealand
Ireland
Iceland
Portugal
Hong Kong
India
South Africa
Turkey
Afghanistan
Iraq
Denmark
Philippines
Peru
Norway
Malta
Belgium
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My curiosity got the best of me; since you didn't have a VERY tall ladder, I thought perhaps Google Earth might be of use. I 'flew' to the south end of Philo and thought this looked eerily familiar. I threw a 'pushpin' at this and came up with 39°59'47.81"N, 88° 9'31.00"W. Are we now in the neighborhood?
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll glance out the windows on the left side of the aircraft, you will notice my 'Fortress of Solitude'. To which I'll retreat as soon as we deplane!"
'Fortess Of Solitude', now that's got a great ring to it, oh yea I like that! Take a look on page 29, post #577. Now that was taken with a tall ladder all right.
Thanks Omphaloskeptic.
Thomas
Hi D.J., yea my buddy was doing demo cars at that time. You know how you're not suppose to strengthen them, well he'd bring them into the shop and take scrap metal and weld the heck out them front and rear. They were real tanks when he got done. They'd crumble up to his reinforcement area and then nothing could bend them any more. Look at the ones in the picture and you'll see they're crushed up to the wheels front and rear but no further.
I don't know if other countries do demolition derbies much, but here in the mid west it's almost a birthright every summer to drive in them or in my case at a much younger age, watch them at the county fair.
As a side note...
... one of the family members requested this Monte Carlo for parts for demo duty about 6 months after I bought the property. Never knew what happened after it got towed out of sight.
Thomas