When I was enrolled at UM my first year (1966/1967) I may not have been a stellar student but I did take advantage of some of the concerts available to the community. Not all were as impressive as Dave Brubeck, although I also saw Dick Gregory whose humor came on a saber and the Ann Arbor crowd loved it. Both concerts were at Hill Auditorium if memory serves.
Anyway, seeing this in black and white perfectly captures the event.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Gardening, Turbines and Test Drives
When I was fifteen years old I worked part time as a gardener for a very nice couple, Tom and Mary Marker. They had a great house on a few acres and a Basset Hound named Morgan. Their house was actually built as a carriage house, but eventually the estate was split and the carriage house was on its own.
But what a carriage house. Slate floors and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the yard.
Mr. Marker worked for Jam Handy or Ross Roy or another of the companies that made industrial and promotional films back then.
Like most people living in Bloomfield Hills, the Markers had a broad collection of friends from the upper levels of the automotive industry, not least of which was George Huebner, the man who headed Chrysler's venture into turbine powered cars in the mid 1960's.
It so happened that my first car was a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe which was built by Chrysler. Although the car was only 18 years old, cars didn't last very long back then so the old Plymouth turned a lot of heads in Oakland County (and on Woodward Avenue).
One day Mr. Huebner stopped by driving a Chrysler Turbine car. Mr. Marker and he spoke for awhile and as I was mowing the lawn I couldn't stop staring at the Turbine car (probably much to the detriment of the lawn). Eventually Mr. Marker waved me over and introduced me to Mr. Huebner. We shook hands even though I'd been working in the yard all morning. He smiled and complimented me on my Plymouth and asked if I'd like to join them for a ride.
Dear God, yes!
I sure can't remember all the details, but I remember him telling us that the turbine developed peak torque at stall; essentially at 0 rpm. He demonstrated it a few times with rapid starts from a dead stop. It was quick and didn't make any of the noises I associated with fast cars. In fact it made very little noise at all.
After maybe ten minutes we returned. Before I went back to restart the old green LawnBoy Mr. Huebner opened the hood. It The engine area was wedged in so tightly I don't think you could see the ground under it. That's pretty common now, but back then I could have probably stood next to the engine in my Plymouth's engine compartment.
It was a lovely car, a deep red/orange with a soft white leather (vinyl?) interior. The instrumentation was different from other cars and I remember he took the time to explain their functions on our drive.
Most of the Turbines were destroyed when their "testing period" was over. Two remained in private hands and Jay Leno has one of them.
But what a carriage house. Slate floors and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the yard.
Mr. Marker worked for Jam Handy or Ross Roy or another of the companies that made industrial and promotional films back then.
Like most people living in Bloomfield Hills, the Markers had a broad collection of friends from the upper levels of the automotive industry, not least of which was George Huebner, the man who headed Chrysler's venture into turbine powered cars in the mid 1960's.
It so happened that my first car was a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe which was built by Chrysler. Although the car was only 18 years old, cars didn't last very long back then so the old Plymouth turned a lot of heads in Oakland County (and on Woodward Avenue).
Dear God, yes!
I sure can't remember all the details, but I remember him telling us that the turbine developed peak torque at stall; essentially at 0 rpm. He demonstrated it a few times with rapid starts from a dead stop. It was quick and didn't make any of the noises I associated with fast cars. In fact it made very little noise at all.
After maybe ten minutes we returned. Before I went back to restart the old green LawnBoy Mr. Huebner opened the hood. It The engine area was wedged in so tightly I don't think you could see the ground under it. That's pretty common now, but back then I could have probably stood next to the engine in my Plymouth's engine compartment.
It was a lovely car, a deep red/orange with a soft white leather (vinyl?) interior. The instrumentation was different from other cars and I remember he took the time to explain their functions on our drive.
Most of the Turbines were destroyed when their "testing period" was over. Two remained in private hands and Jay Leno has one of them.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Time for Popeye
When I'd get home from school I'd jam through as much homework as I could so I could watch Poopdeck Paul, Captain Jolly, and Popeye cartons. This is the 1st Popeye short and has Betty Boop in it as well as Olive Oyl and Bluto.
And of course, a can of Spinach saves the day.
And of course, a can of Spinach saves the day.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
I'm From Detroit...
...and this is how we prospered and grew.Believe me, it wasn't pretty and you'll see it wasn't easy.
Making Chevies in 1936.
The opening pictures of the Chevrolet Power Plant are similar to the Power Plant from the Ford Highland Park Plant which is on display in The Ford Museum. Actually it was the first exhibit on site there as it was moved to Dearborn and they built the museum around it. The Ford Power Plant made 6,000 HP at 60 rpm.
About half way through the film you'll see a worker sizing the engine cylinders with a dial gauge. I performed the same work at Pontiac Motors 31 years later working in Engine Plant 9. The dial gauge was divided into sections, each section being assigned a letter of the alphabet. We had a set of dies in front of us, one for each letter, and with a hammer we'd stamp whatever letter the gauge read in the steel right below the cylinder.
While the plant closed for model "change-over" to ready the plants capabilities for the subsequent model year in July, the 326 engine was phased out and when we returned at the end of July we were inspecting Pontiac's new 350 cubic inch V-8.
Making Chevies in 1936.
The opening pictures of the Chevrolet Power Plant are similar to the Power Plant from the Ford Highland Park Plant which is on display in The Ford Museum. Actually it was the first exhibit on site there as it was moved to Dearborn and they built the museum around it. The Ford Power Plant made 6,000 HP at 60 rpm.
About half way through the film you'll see a worker sizing the engine cylinders with a dial gauge. I performed the same work at Pontiac Motors 31 years later working in Engine Plant 9. The dial gauge was divided into sections, each section being assigned a letter of the alphabet. We had a set of dies in front of us, one for each letter, and with a hammer we'd stamp whatever letter the gauge read in the steel right below the cylinder.
While the plant closed for model "change-over" to ready the plants capabilities for the subsequent model year in July, the 326 engine was phased out and when we returned at the end of July we were inspecting Pontiac's new 350 cubic inch V-8.
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