Hot Rods | Grumpa Joe's Place

Late Summer Evening In Frankfort

Posted on 07/09/2012 by Grumpa Joe

Old Plank Road Trail (Photo credit: reallyboring)

Yesterday, after supper I took a long walk into town. I went by way of the mushroom water tower on route thirty and then south to the Old Plank Road Trail. I arrived in historic Frankfort and saw the remnants of cruise night. At least what was left of cruise night. It was after seven when I ambled into town and the sun was only a glow of pink in the western sky. There were still a few die-hard car guys sitting around chatting in front of their hot-rods. There were about six in all. Too dark to take pictures I thought. I kept walking to Oak Street and Kansas. There across the street was Francesca’s Fortunato restaurant lit up with mini-lights. Patrons sat on the new sidewalk seating area enjoying the warm humid evening while eating and drinking with friends. Neat, I thought to myself as I continued to walk. Then the same scene unfolded in front of the Smokey-Barq restaurant on the opposite corner. I’ve got to take a picture I told myself. I will be sorry if I don’t at least try. Besides, what have I got to lose, a few electrons? The only camera was in my phone. What the heck, point and shoot. Surprise, an image froze on the screen. That started me thinking about another photo essay on Frankfort.

Here are the few pictures I took.

: Smokey Barq with a crowd of patrons in the outdoor seating on balmy September evening.

: Smokey Barq specializes in barb-b-que recipes and sauces from around the United States.

: Frankfort Bowling Alley with six lanes and a billiard parlor is on the second floor. On the first floor, just below are several shops. One of the most unique and popular is the Dog Barkery.

: The Granary Tower is a village landmark. It is the only original part of the old post and beam granary building that burned in the 1970’s.

: The Trolley Barn on White Street at Kansas in low setting sunlight. It is dark enough to have the lights on.

: Inside the Trolley Barn a single business is still open and busy.

: A group guitar class underway in Down Home Guitars.

: Pricey guitars on display in the “for serious buyers only” room.

: The Frankfort Deli in the Trolley Barn. The Deli is one of the oldest businesses in town run by a Mom and Pop.

: That’s all folks.

You may read my writing about Frankfort, many times I whine about the high cost of living and the latest infra-structure improvement we don’t need, but overall I love this little (16550 souls) town, and will most likely be buried from here.

Fisker Electric Invades 1850′s Frankfort (grumpajoesplace.com)
I Need a Drink (grumpajoesplace.com)
Just the Way We Like It. (frankfortlionsclub.com)

Filed under: Cooking, family, Hot Rods, restaurants, Warm and Fuzzy | Tagged: Cruising (driving), Fortunato, Francesca's, Frankfort, Hot Rod, Kansas, Oak Street, Old Plank Road Trail, Restaurant, Smokey Barq | 2 Comments »

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, It’s Always a Day Away

Posted on 30/06/2012 by Grumpa Joe

Our first visit to Frankfort Cruise night was a huge disappointment. Usually, the place is jammed with cars. Hot Rodders begin streaming in as early as two o’clock to get a prime spot. The parking lots, and streets are all filled with classics. People come from all around just to gawk, talk to the owners, and to enjoy a pleasant summer night out. This night there was but a smattering of cars, and even fewer people.

Why? All I can figure is that our record setting temperature of 103 degrees did it. The heat was oppressive, and we got there too early. The sun was still too high to get any good pictures.

I snapped a few photos before Peggy and I escaped into the new ice cream shop called Mamma Rosetta’s for a peach gelato. Next week promises to be a better day. How did that song go from the musical Lil Orphan Annie, “tomorrow, tomorrow, it’s always a day away. . . .”

An early VW truck with air conditioning.

1960 Cadillac with loooong tail fins

Cadillac tail fin point at a Corvair van

Tomorrow (Lyrics) (socyberty.com)
Cruise night returns to Lancaster (wivb.com)

Filed under: family, Hot Rods | Tagged: Autos, Cruising (driving), Home, Ice cream, Recreation | Leave a comment »

Why Drive a Volt When You Can Soup Up Your Own Car

Posted on 27/03/2012 by Grumpa Joe

2011 Chevrolet Volt exhibited at the 2010 Washington Auto Show. The Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This do it yourself video is for my Green Friends who love to drive the Volt and other Green Cars.

Porcelain Carburetor

Filed under: economy, family, Hot Rods, Satire | Tagged: Chevrolet, Chevrolet Volt, Electric car, friends, General Motors, Toyota Prius, United States, Volt | 5 Comments »

Car Auction Surprise

Posted on 07/11/2011 by Grumpa Joe

GRAHAM

A car enthusiast friend of mine sent a link to a car auction that took place last weekend November 3,4,5, 2011. It is the Lee Hartung collection in Glenview, IL. I learned that Lee Hartung collected anything that interested him. Most of it dealt with transportation, i.e. cars, trucks, airplanes, motors, toy cars, bicycles, motor cycles, out board motors.

He lived on a four-acre plot surrounded by upscale subdivisions and accumulated an amazing amount of junk since he started collecting in 1949. There were no upscale subdivisions in Glenview in 1949, so he got there first and did what he pleased with his piece of heaven. I spent an hour watching the videos on u-tube showing the various stuff. Today I thought, why not see if there is anything on the auction results. For fun, Google Results Lee Hartung Auction and look at some of the stuff and the prices it brought.

I had to learn about Lee Hartung. Who was he? What did he do for a living. There is not much about the man, but I did find one news article that said he dealt in scrap metals and hauling. I guess there is money in junk. His collection is testimony to that.

All of this stimulated my memory to recall a work associate Carl Swanson telling me in 1964 that when he was young there was a car company for every letter of the alphabet. Carl was already sixty-eight when I met him so his youth went back to the nineteen ten through twenty period. I started a spread sheet and began listing American car companies by the letter of the alphabet. I thought I did pretty good listing thirty-eight cars and covering nineteen letters. Then I got the idea to Google American cars A to Z. I got a pretty extensive list, but the one I chose to study was the Wikipedia list of defunct United States automobile manufacturers. WOW! The list put me in shock.

Not only are there manufacturers for every letter of the alphabet there are hundreds of them. I counted seventeen hundred and ninety-four manufacturers. All out of business by bankruptcy or by assimilation into another company.

The early nineteen hundreds was a prolific time for car makers. Everyone had a better idea for how to make a car, but only a few have survived. When you think about it, there are only three manufacturers left in the United States, Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Between them they produce Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Dodge, and Chrysler. Eight out of seventeen hundred and ninety-four is a worse average than I had with my list.

Collectors have a long way to go to find a single item from each company. I think it would be just as hard to find a photo of all the defunct cars listed by Wikipedia.

What happened? Competition. The weak fell or were bought out. Currently the American car companies continue to struggle in the competitive battle against foreign companies to decide who will eventually win.

What is your guess? Will the United States automobile industry fade into oblivion, or will it survive for many more years?

Here is my list:

111107-American Car Companies A

Hartung Hoard Brings $4 Million at Auction (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com)
Wheels Blog: Piece by Piece, the Hartung Collection Is Dismantled (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com)

Filed under: economy, Hobbies, Hot Rods, Manufacturing | Tagged: Automotive industry, Chicago, Chicago metropolitan area, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Glenview, Glenview Cook County Illinois, Lee Hartung, United States, Wikipedia | Leave a comment »

A Revolutionary Car Design Era

Posted on 20/08/2011 by Grumpa Joe

Image via Wikipedia

Ford revolutionized car design in the nineteen forty-nine era. The forty nines were amazingly streamlined and beautiful. The stodgy look of the earlier designs lost favor to smooth flowing lines. The Mercury Division of Ford hit a home run with its body style. The nineteen forty-nine through fifty-two Mercury is a favorite among hot rodders around the world. When chopped, Frenched, and smoothed beyond its original flowing lines, the car transforms into fluid motion.

In the sit-com Happy Days the character Fonzi reminds me of a friend from my old neighborhood. The kids nick named him Dago. Dago’s jet black hair swept back into a duck’s tail. He wore a black leather jacket and engineer boots decorated with chrome carpet tacks. Dago became the inspiration for “The Fonz.” Dago drove a nineteen forty-nine Mercury coupé, jet black; what a car, what a character.

Recently, I had occasion to visit with Dago during a meeting of the kids from my old neighborhood in Burnside. His real name is Bob, and he is still a vibrant character with very black hair, and the same panache he had as a teen. This one is for you Bob.

My collection of Mercury’s from 1949-1952