Another one .. same vintage only from across the pond. Leyland Gas Turbine Rig.
On the move .. so you can hear it obviously.
On the move .. so you can hear it obviously.
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Heavy Metal
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barnfind
Old Man with a Hat
Thats a neat truck.
Nope, do not have this one .. Wow. Will investigate. thanks!
Article says it might be (after Holman-Moody bought it) at Ford's Dearborn Proving Grounds rotting away to this day .. I will have to "rustle the leaves" with my few remaining Ford contacts and see
Maybe it needs to be in Ok You Truckers thread too? The thing is turbine-powered (600HP) no less .. and white letter tires?? COuple vids. cool, short too.
The cab of the original truck is said to be made of fiberglass, be neat to see if it still exists. Would like to hear of your findings no matter what the outcome.
There are supposedly tin toy trucks floating around as well. Happy hunting!
Thats a neat truck.
Nope, do not have this one .. Wow. Will investigate. thanks!
Article says it might be (after Holman-Moody bought it) at Ford's Dearborn Proving Grounds rotting away to this day .. I will have to "rustle the leaves" with my few remaining Ford contacts and see
Maybe it needs to be in Ok You Truckers thread too? The thing is turbine-powered (600HP) no less .. and white letter tires?? COuple vids. cool, short too.
Had always heard that was sitting in the que for the museum to restore or show or something... rotting away seems consistent.
My Ford guy (emissions engineer, retired summer 2014) said it was there, sans the gas turbine, as late as 2013. Word was it was gonna get restored. He assumed it was still there when he retired a year later. I have a call into another guy still at Ford.
I tried a flyover with Google .. nothing obvious BUT that's a big a** complex. Note though the Henry Ford Museum (upper left-mid) is on the complex too, and the truck could be INSIDE any one of a number buildings EASILY large enough to hold it.
Google Maps
GM played too it seems. That truck is ALSO MIA but with NO CLUE where it went.
source: The Turbo Titan III and Ford’s Big Red – 1960s Turbine Big Rig Brothers From Another Mother
note a bottom of article a GM 'eyewitness" saw it at Milford late sixties .. says it was loud as hell which may have also contributed to its poor commercial possibilities.
source: The Turbo Titan III and Ford’s Big Red – 1960s Turbine Big Rig Brothers From Another Mother
note a bottom of article a GM 'eyewitness" saw it at Milford late sixties .. says it was loud as hell which may have also contributed to its poor commercial possibilities.
cm23uoc
Old Man with a Hat
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Steering reminds me of the Twist wrist System by FoMoCo.
This vid must be here somewhere, but it not, enjoy. Chrysler's Turbine car getting some exercise. 
Two vids are similar, first one more outside the car, second more inside the car.
That's a cool friggin' car .. even today.
And then some vintage stuff.
Two vids are similar, first one more outside the car, second more inside the car.
That's a cool friggin' car .. even today.
And then some vintage stuff.
1964 GM Bison Prototype Turbine Truck.
another article.
source: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2011/07/12/turbine-powered-oddities-no-657-gms-bison/
another article.
source: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2011/07/12/turbine-powered-oddities-no-657-gms-bison/
cm23uoc
Old Man with a Hat
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Looks quite a bit like the Chrysler recall wheel design.
cm23uoc
Old Man with a Hat
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Merlin engined car created by Englishman John Dodd in the late 60s IIRC. Still around with some Body modifications from the original design. This was always a beast, but looked a bit better in the orginal shape. Just checked: the front end looked better the back was some cobbled up Ford Capri design.
Source:March Madness Mecum's Way
“True 6 wheel drive; 6 wheel disc brakes; heated front and rear ostrich skin seats; onboard air and train horns; Alpine rear entertainment system; Kenwood XM; navigation; rearview camera; 7 inch chrome stacks; 12 off road lights; Toad armor front and rear bumpers; 12,000 Ramsey Winch; 37 inch pro comp tires.”
Gimme gimmie gimmie! I can’t afford it, can’t feed it, can’t insure it and have nowhere to park it, but I’ve never wanted a six-wheeled Super Ram more than I do right now. Everything about this truck shouts “gratuitous”, from the big-rig diesel “stacks” belching exhaust from above the bed inches from the rear window to the nine-gazillion-candle-power’s-worth of auxiliary lights, the Fort Knox-strength bumpers to the very fact that this thing has SIX WHEELS! I don’t know about you, but I need to keep track of this thing’s ownership so I know where to find it when the world ends in December or the Zombie Apocalypse comes, whichever happens first…
Gimme gimmie gimmie! I can’t afford it, can’t feed it, can’t insure it and have nowhere to park it, but I’ve never wanted a six-wheeled Super Ram more than I do right now. Everything about this truck shouts “gratuitous”, from the big-rig diesel “stacks” belching exhaust from above the bed inches from the rear window to the nine-gazillion-candle-power’s-worth of auxiliary lights, the Fort Knox-strength bumpers to the very fact that this thing has SIX WHEELS! I don’t know about you, but I need to keep track of this thing’s ownership so I know where to find it when the world ends in December or the Zombie Apocalypse comes, whichever happens first…
Thanks I don't recall that one... the story of Big Red seems to resurface regularly enough.
That may get popular now if they can work out how to text while driving it.
Ah Ha... The real reason for the recall.
Anybody else remember the 1968 Lotus Turbine race cars at Indy 500?
I recall my Dad and his buddies railing away about some guy named "Granny-Telly" (I was in 3rd grade so that's what it sounded like to me they were saying) putting a "jet engine" in a Indy car.
Something about the driver being "in the war" too .. I probably mixed that up but learned later they were talking about Graham Hill and some WWII ('we saved them and see what they do") reference. My dad was Korean War vet but I know at least two of his good buds were WWII vets.
Anyway, the car competed but didn't win and then a "rules change" resulting them getting banned. They were faster then any piston car where Indy was invested .. so you know.
I recall my Dad and his buddies railing away about some guy named "Granny-Telly" (I was in 3rd grade so that's what it sounded like to me they were saying) putting a "jet engine" in a Indy car.
Something about the driver being "in the war" too .. I probably mixed that up but learned later they were talking about Graham Hill and some WWII ('we saved them and see what they do") reference. My dad was Korean War vet but I know at least two of his good buds were WWII vets.
Anyway, the car competed but didn't win and then a "rules change" resulting them getting banned. They were faster then any piston car where Indy was invested .. so you know.
A few of us like assembly plants -- cars, transmissions, engines, whatever.
Here's GM's Tonawanda Plant building the Gen V LT-4 V8. This is a good plant. Vid is longish at 11 mins but maybe you'll find it interesting.
I was looking for a Mopar plant vid that was aalso narrated to help people follow the operations. I you know of one (Trenton, or Mack Ave, etc.) post it up.
Here's GM's Tonawanda Plant building the Gen V LT-4 V8. This is a good plant. Vid is longish at 11 mins but maybe you'll find it interesting.
I was looking for a Mopar plant vid that was aalso narrated to help people follow the operations. I you know of one (Trenton, or Mack Ave, etc.) post it up.
One more. Didnt think of the "How its Made" series on the Science Channel. Love that show.
Five min vid on how aluminum engine blocks are made on a mass production scale in a foundry.
Five min vid on how aluminum engine blocks are made on a mass production scale in a foundry.
I've mentioned this before .. and many of you current/former local members know of this place. Maybe even worked there (or family friends) in its heyday/now?
Ford's Rouge Complex in Dearborn MI. This first one is a 1941 production video (its 20 mins long).
By the time I saw it as a teenager (circa 1973 - my grandfather worked there) it was still kinda like it was in 1941. Kinda made me proud to be an American as goofy as that may sound
Complex has changed a lot in 70 years but its still there and still a fascinating tour today (short vid, couple minutes long).
Ford's Rouge Complex in Dearborn MI. This first one is a 1941 production video (its 20 mins long).
By the time I saw it as a teenager (circa 1973 - my grandfather worked there) it was still kinda like it was in 1941. Kinda made me proud to be an American as goofy as that may sound
Complex has changed a lot in 70 years but its still there and still a fascinating tour today (short vid, couple minutes long).
MoPar Maniac
Well-Known Member
The Bison should have been named Toad.
A side note on Ford's River Rouge complex there is a steel mill on site also. Ford sold it to Severstal N. A. (a Russian company) which modernized it and made money. They later sold it when they sold all their assets in the country to Alcoa & Kawasaki.
A side note on Ford's River Rouge complex there is a steel mill on site also. Ford sold it to Severstal N. A. (a Russian company) which modernized it and made money. They later sold it when they sold all their assets in the country to Alcoa & Kawasaki.
A few of us like assembly plants -- cars, transmissions, engines, whatever.
Here's GM's Tonawanda Plant building the Gen V LT-4 V8. This is a good plant. Vid is longish at 11 mins but maybe you'll find it interesting.
I was looking for a Mopar plant vid that was aalso narrated to help people follow the operations. I you know of one (Trenton, or Mack Ave, etc.) post it up.
I've been in that plant. Unfortunately it was shut down at the time and I was kind of ushered in and ushered out without seeing much... I did have to go through their orientation/safety video and I think that took longer than my visit.
shoot, thats too bad. it woulda been hoot for ya im sure.
the "dreaded" safety video. not that its "bad" (its not), and safety is a top priority (it should be), but yes it IS (they all are with auto OEMS/tier 1-4 suppliers) LONG.
Yea, I sat through sooooo many of those videos.... and taken a bunch of tests about them. Found a mistake on a test form once at a large plant in PA and that caused a whole bunch of nonsense. The person giving the test just wanted me to correct my "mistake" and I refused. It ended with a "we've done hundreds of these and you are the only one that had the balls to say anything." Seems that everyone else just went with the flow.
It was the same stuff at every place. Same rules etc. The huge exception was the GM plant in Massena, NY. They did engine block castings (fascinating lost foam casting) and the fork lifts had the right of way.... It was safer to get run over then for them to abruptly stop with a large cauldron of molten aluminum.
That place also had molten aluminum brought to them... I saw the flatbed truck with this big vat on the back. First I thought they were just bringing it from Alcoa and that was just around the traffic circle from them. Turned out they were bringing it from Seneca Falls, NY, about 200 miles away... Just trucked it right up Rt. 81. I can't even imagine what would happen if they crashed.
