Thread: A week off

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This guy has an affinity for the Chevrolet brand..

Here's the power plant in the 57.. Power Pack isn't it Em??

And some more eye candy...

Here's 1 of 2 cars on the property that I would love to own!

And some other stuff they collect..

And then there is still more! Of course, not in order!

More gorgeous old iron!!! Sure do enjoy seeing the old stuff redone, not all of them got crushed anyway!!!!!

I wonder how much bandwidth I'm consuming???
And here's the second car that I would love to own!! I had worked on one many years ago and will never forget driving it! When's the last time you saw a "77"?

The lower lamps have a spirit level to aid in alignment... I tried to capture a pic of it.

The "77" has a thermostatically controlled louver system in the grille, note in the pic above that these are closed, they operate on engine vacuum and a temp switch. once warm enough they will open to allow air in.

Big trucks like Mack use the same system today!

Here's the power plant.

And still some more pics... I'm gonna call it done with this post.. The pickup was being test driven by a potentially new owner so we got to see that one drive out and it was a sweetheart! I'd certainly make room in my garage for it!

Thanks for taking me Mr. Spears... this was a great place to visit (drool)

Okay... with that part over I drove over to Lincoln, NE to visit Speedy Bill Smith's Collection (Museum).... I snapped hundred of pics and I'll wade through them and present what I consider the best to you next.. This will probably take me a couple days 'cause I'm "particular" and I don't want to spoil the trip for those that may go there.. And during my visit there I learned that Bill Smith never intended to show any of this to anyone! He never wanted the general public plodding through his "stuff"! these were things that he had fond memories of and didn't want strangers "eyeballing" them.

That's why they have guided tours and don't allow children, and that's why the 2 PM to 4 PM hours. He wanted to make it difficult to limit the volume of traffic! But now that he's gone, the family has decided to revamp the format to honor his vision.

So they are adding another 50 thousand square feet to the building so they can share more of the collections!
Currently they have about half on display at any one time!!! ( that's about 60K sq.ft. on 3 floors!)
And some time next year, once they open the addition, they don't think they'll be able to continue the guided tours. They just won't have enough volunteers! Yes, every one who "works" there is a volunteer! The machinists, mechanics, bodymen, painters etc. etc. etc .. And I may have said this earlier, they don't do "restorations".. they only do "preservations" on-site.. if they decide something needs or is worthy of restoration, an outside source would be contracted for that.

So eventually, a visitor can go through at their own pace and study what they find interesting and pass by what they don't... I know I'd like that a lot better. I don't want to sound like I didn't have a great time! I DID!!! but some of the items your guided to and spend time at, really don't hold your interest... an example for me would be the Midget Racers and Indy cars... I wanted to spend more time there and not so much time at the pedal cars!

Well, now that I've rambled on and on... standby for some more pics! Hope your enjoying "the ride" !

And I'd like to again say thanks to Roger & Sue Spears for the hospitality / friendship / camaraderie, they made my trip special! (OH and Bones Too!!!)

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

More gorgeous old iron!!! Sure do enjoy seeing the old stuff redone, not all of them got crushed anyway!!!!!

Amen to that! I cannot fathom the tree huggers who would have us destroy any of this! And I think you already know that with my work in water and wastewater treatments.. I am a tree hugger / environmentalist! I guess I'm more moderate in my thinking and less "gestapo'esque" ..

Mike,
We were glad to have you in the area, and it was very good to "put a face with a name", as they say. Glad it worked out to pick you up at the hotel Sunday morning for the blast down to Ottawa for the River Run, and back to the house after the show to relax and do some grilling! You got to experience the "lakes pipe roar" of the '33 first hand, and you made a new friend with Bones, too! I probably should have made the three hour drive up to Lincoln for Speedy Bills Museum on Wednesday, but the new format next year, minus the structured guided tours and limited hours will fit my style much better anyway.

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip! Roger's friend sure has a nice collection! That's very cool.

Many thanks for posting.

O for Awesome (local joke)