technical cunning person

September 29, 2008

Big Ontario (California) street racing bust

Filed under: Car Stuff, Videos

Three arrests (two drivers and a flagger) for street racing, 184 citations for watching an illegal activity for the spectators, 47 juveniles popped for being out after curfew, more than 70 cars impounded…


According to KTLA, “More than 100 officers from 12 agencies, including the Ontario police department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department and California Highway Patrol were involved in the arrests, which took place at 12:45 a.m. on Airport Drive west of Etiwanda Avenue. The officers were part of a task force targeting street racing in different cities.”

September 28, 2008

If they had thumbs, we’d be in trouble

Filed under: Uncategorized, Videos

Ok, this has nothing whatsoever to do with cars, but it’s still absurdly cool. Dolphins might not have all the same tools to manipulate their environment that we do, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t found interesting ways to keep themselves entertained. Watch the following clip to see a group of dolphins creating and playing with bubble rings, then click over to Snopes.com for an explanation of what’s going on.


September 27, 2008

Right Hand Drive Lightning?

Filed under: Car Stuff, Videos

So I’m watching an old episode of Top Gear, and I discover something I had never known - you could get second-gen SVT Lightnings in the UK with the steering wheel on the wrong side! Clarkson, being Clarkson, hates it…


I know I have a Syclone I have shamefully neglected. And yet, I was filled with a desire to find an original RHD Lightning, or convert one myself… Unfortunately, a little research reveals that the conversion appears to be an aftermarket job, rather than Ford OEM. But that same research also turned up this website:

RHD S197

How much fun would that be?

September 26, 2008

I knew it was too good to be true…

Filed under: Car Stuff

So I came across this website for a company in Kansas called Fannin Fabrication that makes rollover simulators - they take the cabs of old S-10 pickups, bolt them to a rotisserie mounted on a trailer, and power it all with a hydraulic drive system to spin it around. The idea is for public safety agencies to use them to demonstrate the importance of seatbelts. I got all excited until I read the part about the company not providing the crash test dummies to be used in the demonstration - here, I thought they were actually putting volunteers in there and twirling them around like a hillbilly carnival ride. Oh well…

Determined to get hurt

Filed under: Batshit Insanity

If this doesn’t fit the “Batshit Insanity” category, nothing does. Let me set the scene for you: Twin sisters from Sweden, walking down the center median of the M6 in England, are approached by cops in a patrol car. So they do the sensible thing, and hop the guardrail straight into traffic, where both are immediately struck by cars, though neither is seriously injured. When more police and paramedics arrive to treat their injuries, both once again run into traffic, and get hit AGAIN. Think that’s the end of the story? Not even close. Well, fortunately, the whole incident was captured on Britain’s ubiquitous CCTV cameras and by a BBC crew.

The real victims here are the poor bastards these crazy broads stepped in front of…

September 25, 2008

More Golf Cart Hoonage

Filed under: Batshit Insanity, Videos

First up, a 650cc-powered cart:


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September 22, 2008

Godzilla vs. Fontana

Filed under: Car Stuff

Let’s say you’ve never, ever been on a dragstrip before. What better car to pop your 1320 cherry than a brand new, 420hp, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R?

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On Sunday, me and the rest of First Round Racing were out at Fun Ford Car Weekend, and amidst all the domestic iron hitting the track in the bracket class was a fresh, new ‘09 GT-R. As you can see by the level of help the track staff had to give the driver, he’d obviously never taken the tree before. It was also obvious that the car and driver weren’t legal for the 11.60 dial-in on the window. God loves drunks and idiots, though, and a redlight in the other lane gave the win to Godzilla despite a slow light and leisurely launch. Photos after the jump…

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September 18, 2008

Joie Chitwood with a Korean flair

If you’re a fan of precision driving, royalty-free industrial video soundtracks, or Hyundais, you’ll enjoy this eight-minute video…


I can’t imagine how many cars you have to wreck in the process of getting this kind of mad skill. I guess that explains why you’d want to do it with Hyundais, though - no big loss when you do wreck one (or six)

September 17, 2008

A golf cart with wheelie bars?

I’ve seen some over-the-top pit vehicles at our races, but this is something else entirely. A Yamaha R1 motorcycle engine that puts 125 horsepower to the wheels? Seems like an elaborate way to kill yourself, and I mean that in a good way.

Too much sugar today…

Filed under: Uncategorized

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September 8, 2008

This just in - Collapse of WTC 7 caused by rainbows!

Filed under: Batshit Insanity, Videos

I really, really hope that this is satire. The alternative, that it’s sincere, is just too absurd and horrifying to contemplate.


September 5, 2008

It’s a small world

Filed under: Car Stuff

Digging through some old photos on the server today, I came across some that I shot at SevenStock a couple of years ago. As you might guess from the name, SevenStock is an event centering around the Mazda RX-7 in particular, and rotaries in general. Why these guys had a table full of tiny, working piston engine models on display there is anybody’s guess, but I thought you might enjoy them nonetheless.

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September 4, 2008

Blowing off some steam

From a friend of a friend, I bring you this video of the British Steam Car undergoing static testing:

Based on the copious amount of steam coming out the back, you might assume that it’s powered by a reaction motor. You’d be wrong.

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