Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Old Tool Swap Meet (at Andersen Plywood in Culver City)

Yet another tool box...  This one is actually in near new condition (the few scratches in the picture are actually superficial and the paint condition overall is very good...)

Looks like a Kennedy box but is labeled as "LUMIDOR" and says Los Angeles California...  Based on some seaching, this company appears to have started in the 1940s and was based in LA.  It mainly supplied tool boxes for Sears (under the Craftsman label) but also sold tool boxes with it's own branding...

I'm guessing there must be a connection to Kennedy Tool boxes because the design of this box is so very similar (almost identical) to the Kennedy boxes...

Bought this "plank" of Walnut wood...  It's about three feet long and about a foot wide with one raw bark edge. It's about two inches thick.  It could be made into a table or a bench or ?  With a little sanding and a light coat of oil, it would look pretty attractive...  Certainly would be sturdy...


This is a very small card ( about 1 x 2 inches).  Very nicely lithographed in Canada...

Can never have too many feeler gauges...  Especially ones made in Lancaster PA...

German brand (Stahlwille)...  7 mm Allen socket.

I think this might be an old pickup truck gas cap...



Spoke Wrench with 8 sizes... could be very handy...
No markings at all (manufacturer or location...) so I suspect NOT made in the USA...



Craftsman socket.  Interesting idea of putting a plastic sleeve at the bottom of the socket for making the size and also for easier turning of the socket by hand...  But I wonder how easily it could be damaged or fall off...

Saturday, February 20, 2016

New Front Derailleur -- Shimano Ultegra FD-6700 -- From the Whittier Bicycle Swap Meet

NOS Shimano Ultegra front derailleur FD-6700 for 10 speed setup (Ultegra is second to the top of the line for Shimano.  Top of the line is called DuraAce...).  The front derailleur on the bike I ride is corroding due to the pretty severe salt environment along the beach...  Still works OK but may not function well for too long so this is a potential replacement...  Don't really need it yet...

If you look closely at the castings and the finish, it's incredibly well made.  The individual pieces are like works of mechanical art.  The only piece that's not super nice is the chain guide (not that it's not nice but the cast pieces are so much nicer...).  Considering how functional (the tolerances in the moving joints is phenomenal...  everything moves/pivots with nearly zero slop...), reliable and durable this is, it's a pretty much the highest level of mechanical engineering achievement, for the masses...


Bike ride to Marina Del Rey on Valentines Day -- Sunday, February 14, 2016

A particularly beautiful day... (not super hot like the next day...)  

Friday, February 19, 2016

Original GT40 Brochure






Long Beach Car Swap Meet, Part 1 -- Sunday, February 14, 2016

This is an older hood ornament for a Jaguar.  It's the smaller version (there's a larger version that was used on some of the cars).  I plan to clean it up a little bit and mount it on a piece of purple Brazilian wood that I already have...

Radio Blanking plate for 49/50 Plymouth...

Radio Grille for 1940 Plymouth

Audi AVUS...  Was built as a concept car around 1990.  I remember buying a  1/87th scale model of it made by Herpa.
As I recall, the tiny model was very expensive... ($20?).

Boat Fuel Filler...  (should be chrome plated brass)

Don't recall what era Corvette hood badge this is without doing some research...  Guess is early 1980's...  It's cast metal and is very nicely made.

Late 80's Buick Riviera Horn button.  It's amazingly well made.  The center badge is cloisonne and the outer is covered by real leather with precise cuts on the back so that it can be folded over and made smooth without wrinkles at the edges.  This is of the highest quality!!!

At the top of Palos Verdes Drive East at Marymount University Entrance -- February 13, 2016 (Saturday)

This is the 1/2 way point of the 60 mile ride.  I lay on the grass a minute to recover from the exertion of riding up the hill...





Sunday, February 14, 2016

Bike Ride to Marina Del Rey -- Thursday, February 11, 2016

Almost sunset...  The days are getting longer!  Pretty soon (in about a month on March 13) the time change will happen...  and the sun will set closer to 7 PM by then!


Hard to see in this picture but there's a crew team practicing near the far shore of the Marina Del Rey channel...

Friday, February 12, 2016

To the top of PV Drive East -- Sunday, February 7, 2016

Rode the same ride both days this weekend.  Total mileage for the two days was about 120 miles.  It gives me an inkling of what the professional riders must go through...