Rides with Chuck

I took my 2014 Mustang to Ziebart on Monday

2024-03-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

Zach from the Shooting Cars YouTube channel did a review of my Mustang recently.

I bought my 2014 Mustang convertible a couple years ago. Every part of the car that was visible was nice. I had the dealer put the car on the rack so I could see what the underside looked like. There was a fair amount of surface rust. I thought about not buying it. Then it occurred to me that every Mustang in the midwest would have the same surface rust. We closed the deal. That rust bothered me but not anymore. I took the Mustang to Ziebart on Monday. Yes, there are still a couple Ziebarts around.

I asked the Ziebart guy to take some before and after photos of the under-carriage.

It is taking quite a while for the smell of the undercoating to go away. It is not a pleasant smell. On the whole though, I feel a lot better about my Mustang now.

Today is May 23 and the smell of the undercoating is slowly going away but it is still very noticeable.

Wow! It's been over a year since my last post. Amboy Depot Days Parade 1998

2023-10-25T15:50:00.002-07:00

I had to dig into the way back machine for this video. Twenty five years ago in Amboy, Illinois, the Depot Days Parade. My family members that lived in that area have all left, hence I don't have a lot of reasons to go back. I enjoyed going out that way and I'm a bit sad that it ended. I'm glad that I took pictures and video.

This is actually David Browning doing his Barney Fife act.

https://youtu.be/H0qVrNYPNB8

2022-06-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I visited Iron Gate Condos on Saturday 11 June, 2022. I took some photos. I counted 6 visible McLaren cars and only one Allante. Have McLarens become common?

The end of the road for my exercise boots.

2022-01-20T14:29:00.001-08:00

I finally had to retire my exercise boots. They have somewhere around 3500 treadmill miles on them. I bought them to wear when we were shooting my cable program. When I accidentally got some varnish on them they were no longer usable on camera so around 20 years ago they became my exercise boots. I am sad to see them go...

I went to Lit Fest 2021 at Printers Row

2021-09-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I enjoy the Lit Fest event. I'm not a writer or much of a reader. I do read nonfiction material and have a fairly good reference library concerning the things that I am most interested in. I have never been much of a fan of fiction though. I've always felt that I had enough fiction of my own bouncing around in my head. As fiction goes I'll watch the movie based on the book.

All of that said though why do I enjoy Lit Fest? First off the crowds have all been friendly. It's also an event to show off some style.

From Lit Fest 2019

I have found that it is better to ask permission to take a photo. Though some writers dress to be noticed they still want to control the moment.

The first year that I went to Lit Fest it was to hear Sebastian Junger. The movie, A Perfect Storm was based on his novel. He was promoting a book about PTSD. I came away knowing a bit more that I knew when I went in. This was from 2018.

This brings me to 2021. There was no 2020... This was our first train ride visit to Chicago in a year and a half.

At one time my wife and I subscribed to the Chicago Tribune. When I found out that Dawn Turner was going to be interviewed by Mary Schmich there was no way that I was going to miss this. They were both writers for the Tribune before the Tribune changed hands. I will always listen to what a successful writer has to say.

When I passed this author she tried to convince me that I have the power. I told her that maybe at one time I did but I don't have that much power now. I am starting to feel my age. We talked about when things start getting back to normal and I think we agreed that normal was never really that good. We have to get better than normal.

Eva was promoting a number of things including this book, Just Leap. Eva M. Kennedy must be pretty good at what she does. We bought a book and a T shirt! To reach Eva, 1Evalution.com will get you there.

There will always be an author that you might want to meet at Lit Fest. Bring a camera because there is plenty to see.

Stearman PT-17 My next balsa project

2021-02-08T13:39:00.024-08:00

Some time in the late 1990's I had a ride in a Stearman PT-17 biplane. I've had rides in vintage roadsters before but this was something else. The Stearman is a roadster that flies, really flies. The Stearman that I had a ride in was hangared at Lord Palumbo's farm in Plano, Illinois. That property changed hands a number of years ago. I mention this because we eventually got invited to the Farnsworth House, owned at the time by Palumbo, to shoot video of a 1957 Chevy. Later through this circle of pilots and car collectors I snagged a few rides on a B-25 WWII bomber.

https://youtu.be/dlFIVUtmMNk

I haven't started this model yet. Heck, I just opened the box. I will post updates as I dig into this new project.

Today I finally started the model. I bought a new foam board and started building the fuselage with it's formers. I work in the basement and it has been cold down there. I'm either getting acclimated or it's finally getting warmer.

My old paint bottles have straight sides and are good for positioning the formers while the glue dries. The important thing is to let things dry completely before moving forward. Tomorrow is another day.

Saturday evening getting the fuselage completed. On a side note, Many of the Guillows balsa sheets don't have the parts that are needed sufficiently cut out of them. I have found that using a sanding block on the back of the balsa sheet allows the needed parts to be removed more easily.

I was having some trouble understanding how the tail end of the fuselage was supposed to be put together. I have to assemble the elevator first to see how it is meant to fit. This will help me with the fuselage build.

If you have ever built a Guillows balsa kit you know that the plastic parts are the most difficult challenge. The pilot in the Stearman takes the challenge to a higher level.

The pilot is in two pieces, a front and a back. Cutting them out as carefully as possible still left some gaping holes in his side. What to do? What to do?! I cut out some tissue from the kit and covered the gaps. I used watered down white glue to hold it all in place.

Then I gave him a coat of flat white paint.

I was able to paste a photo of my face to the pilots form. Still some detail work to be done.

The weather got better so I've been spending more time outside cleaning up after winter. I did finally spend some time on the Stearman. The fuselage, rudder and elevator is pretty much done. Soon I will start on the wings.

The wings have been started.

I bought these T pins to pin down the wing but couldn't use them. They were too thick and split the balsa pieces. They did turn out to be very useful in holding down the stringers while the glue set.

I think I'm just about finished with the balsa part of the Stearman. Next comes the tissue portion of this project. It always hurts just a bit covering up all of this beautiful wood work.

I have been slow to get back to the Stearman project. The pieces are starting to go together. I use a soft water based putty to smooth out the joints. A wet finger across the puttied joints eliminates most of the sanding.

One of the wings is attached. When I get that far, I'm not sure how I'm going to attach the upper wing.

I fell out of the habit of secluding myself in the basement to work on my Stearman. I think I'm back in the saddle again.

I started painting, glued the interior in place and I still don't know how I'm going to attach the upper wing. The thoughts of burning this are coming all too frequently.

I had to stop work on the Stearman when a tendon tore loose from the bone. That was a painful experience.

I didn't burn it after all! I finally finished the Stearman today, 8 November, 2021.

The first flight. https://youtu.be/s3mlgXV0er0

Balsa B25's Barbie III and Tondelayo

2020-12-27T14:10:00.009-08:00

Building balsa bombers is more fun than watching TV most of the time. I only build models of airplanes that I have had rides in. The B25 with only 2 engines is a bit more exciting than say a B17 , though the Collings Foundation B17 909 that I have ridden in has been destroyed in a crash. The B25 is a faster airplane and can be used as a fighter. When I was on Barbie III the pilot seemed to enjoy slamming it into the turns.

Tondelayo and Barbie III

My first build was Barbie III a B25H model

I started with the fuselage

Next I went to work on the wings

Because of the B25 gull wing this was the most difficult part of the build for me. The instructions are all there. Maybe I'm just getting old and confused. I did muddle through it.

These mini-clamps from Harbor Freight are indispensable. The elevator and rudder assembly are flat and fairly easy to assemble.

At this point the fuselage, wings and elevator are close to completion and it starts to look like an airplane.

Getting the plastic parts ready. I use shears and an Xacto knife to cut out the plastic stuff. If you screw up, Gullow's sells some of this stuff individually.

Putting tissue on top of all of that beautiful balsa work. There is some sadness doing this.

Now the engines and other plastic parts can be attached.

At this point the 2 B25 builds are the same. I didn't build them at the same time. Some of what you have seen so far have been photos of either airplane.

By the nose you can tell that this is Tondelayo.

I built the B25H according to the instructions from Guillow's. I realized that the nose on Barbie III is shorter, a snub nose. I had to fix it.

Barbie III completed

I hang my models from the ceiling. I try to make the props appear as though they are spinning. If the airplane is hanging from the ceiling and has propellers that aren't spinning, that airplane is crashing.

Tondelayo also completed.

I was lucky, very lucky to swing rides in both of these fantastic warbirds.

https://youtu.be/cUoOdKXPMFU My ride on Barbie III

I paid a visit to Desert Rat B-17E project

2020-08-19T18:01:00.004-07:00

I had to put off my annual visit to Desert Rat this year because of Covid 19. I usually visit the B-17E project when War bird Squadron 4 shows up for a work day. That didn't happen this April as it usually does. I did shoot video and got some words from the regular volunteers. Here's a link to that video.

I also took some black and white photos.

This is where the magic has been happening.

Going into that barn is always an adventure.

That's Mike Kellner explaining something to the core volunteers.

This is from the other end of the Flying Fortress.

This is the tail of Desert Rat without the tail gunner position attached.

This is the tail gunners office, almost ready to be attached.

The wings are close to completion.

A lot of detail work is done in this work shop.

Some work is being done here on another air craft. More about this later.

Inside the nose.

Not a B17

This is the view one gets when the Desert Rat B-17E visit is over.

My Vintage Ames snow shovel.

2020-03-15T14:30:00.001-07:00

I must have purchased this Ames snow shovel sometime around 1977. This was when we bought our first home. It wasn't a big house, it sat on a city lot, 50'X150'. But the driveway was about 125' long. There was a public side walk and the side walk leading up to our front door and it all needed to be shoveled.
Later we moved to a bigger house. The driveway wasn't as long as at the old house but the drive was twice as wide. When the snow was more than 4" I would use a 2 stage snow thrower. Anything less and my mighty Ames was used. To save wear and tear on my snow thrower I raised the blade to leave an inch or so of snow on the ground. My Ames again went to work.

My Ames at rest. At this point it is about 43 years old. It is a deserved rest.

Over the years I have varnished both the wooden handle and both sides of the shovel surface. It is due for a re-varnishing.

Two things to note here. First, the nail holding the handle to the blade and second the nut holding the blade together. Many years ago the original rivet was ground away. I replaced it with a bolt similar to what is seen here. That heavy bolt wore away many years ago. This is the new bolt.

A close up of the newest bolt.

The nails that hold the handle to the blade. They seem to be holding up better than what was there originally.

I don't know exactly how much metal has worn away over the years but I think it was a lot.

Thank you Ames snow shovel for always being there when I needed you. I am sorry if I ever took you for granted or looked at you cross when a heavy snow was coming down.

Today, 31 March, 2022 something happened to my shovel. What was facing out has turned white. I have no explanation for this.

A great automobile collection in Chicago.

2020-03-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago before all of this virus business I had the privilege of viewing a part of a great Chicago automobile collection. I'm taking advantage of this national lock down to upload some of the pictures that took that day.

An original Kurtis before the car was taken over by Muntz, lengthened and turned into the Muntz Jet.

The 1954 concept car, Mercury XM800

The 1956 Premiere speaks for itself.

The Brewster might have been very stylish in it's day. What do you think?

A Ford Brewster.

IMHO the Chrysler Airflow does look better as it ages.

The 1953 Cadillac Eldorado is another car that speaks loudly for it's self. Is it too big to be considered a roadster?

This was an EV from I think 1991 by Exide Batteries. It is an unfinished concept car.

The 1941 Terraplane was a hot rod right out of the box.

Pierce Arrow knew how to make a hood ornament.

This was the first Mercury Lido that I had ever seen.

Cord L29

My selfie.

I hope this virus thing ends well and soon.

The MVPA Military Vehicle Convoy 2019

2019-08-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

This convoy of military vehicles is reenacting the first crossing of the United States of America by military vehicles in 1919. The convoy started in Washington DC. It left York, Pennsylvania on August 10 with 75 vehicles and it arrived at Cantigny Park August 20th. As far as I am concerned this is one brutal drive. I don't think I could do it. Oh yes, Dwight Eisenhower led the the first convoy.

It was a rainy Tuesday when the convoy arrived at Cantigny Park.

This Dodge started it's existence as a military vehicle. The fellow who was driving it was thankful for the day of rest. The Dodge had no trouble keeping up.

I think most of the big rigs were actually RV campers. This might be the best way to go if one has to live on the road for weeks on end.

Having had a 1948 Willys Overland Jeepster for 25 years, there's always a soft spot in my heart for anything Willys.

It doesn't hurt to have an alternative way of getting around.

In Vietnam I would tear off my dog tags in my sleep. If things had ended badly, identification of my body might have been a chore for someone.

Finally, a good old fashioned Jeep. A number of vehicles in this group were shipped to Normandy for the 75 anniversary of D Day. I'm not sure if this is one of them.

Something for the Ford people.

East Coast to West Coast is exhausting. No question about it.

If you have made it this far....this is me. "Hi!"

On April 13 Iron Gate had a Cars And Coffee Event.

2019-04-14T11:49:00.003-07:00

On April 13 Iron Gate had a Cars And Coffee Event. I was there and took some pictures. At one time I knew the names of all of the cars. Now I am mostly lost... Feel free to identify whats needs to be identified.

Dana Mecum gave us a tour.

2018-11-21T15:43:00.001-08:00

A week before Halloween the car club that I belong to went to Walworth, Wisconsin to view some of Dana Mecum's car collection. We started out at his Walworth Show Room. It was huge.

Dana gave us a complete tour.

I guess when you get right down to it, Dana Mecum is a used car dealer and truck, and tractor.

The Chrisman Bros. was a feature car at a past Iron Invasion Hot Rod Show a few years ago.

When I was a kid our family would visit a Kiddie Amusement park in Lyons Illinois. There was a ride very much like this fire engine. Could this be the one I rode on as a kid?

Who doesn't want a Massey Harris tractor.

After coffee, donuts and the tour we moved on to a Mecum warehouse. This appeared to be the building where restorations and touch ups were happening.

We all went to see the grown up stuff.....but all of the kid stuff was super!

Words don't do justice...

There were a few vintage racers in the warehouse.

Eye candy everywhere.

I don't know what this is but it looks expensive.

After the warehouse tour went went to Dana Mecum's house.

The weather was not nice this day. That white haze across the lake is an ice storm. But inside we were treated to Dana's private auto collection.

An Allard

An original Cobra

A Kurtis

A Ford GT

A Ferrari

A Ponchino?

I am a member of the Classic Car Club of America. This is the sort of place that we visit. I don't own a Classic car, one isn't needed to be in the club.

My ride on this tour was a white Cadillac Allante. Some might call it a neoclassic.

The Cantigny Car Show

2018-09-16T10:35:00.001-07:00

Back in the 1960s I would go to the big car shows in Chicago to marvel at what Roth, Barris, Starbird, Winfield and others were doing with cars. It was an amazing time. Later college and the army would take my time and I quit going to those kinds of shows. In the late 1970s I finally went back to a big car show in the big city. What a disappointment. I saw mostly vans with shag carpeting and electric fireplaces. WTF. The world had changed while I wasn't paying attention.

I went to a car show today at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois today. There was a van in the show.

Can shag carpeting be far behind.

An SUV and a doll. Are car shows on their way out?

I must have gotten out of bed on the wrong side this morning. There was a lot of nice stuff at Cantigny today. But if I have to hear "At The Hop" one more time, I might hurt someone.

Finally a breath of fresh air. Fender mounted mirrors but left hand drive, hmm.

A 1967 and 2 1966 Toronados

There aren't many Opel GTs left. It's nice to see one at a car show.

The Triumph Club was there in force. I once owned a Tr4a and a Spitfire 1500. There will always be a rusty place in my heart for these cars.

I remember when these VW Type 3s were everywhere. Then over time they were nowhere. You don't even realize that they are disappearing. I wonder what cars are slowly disappearing right now and no one is even noticing.

It wouldn't be a Cantigny Park Car Show without a rare and beautiful Army truck. One day I'll have to go back and learn more about this Liberty truck.

And finally, this fellow appears to be shipping out. I'll thank him for his service when he gets back.

A couple more things...

This electric people mover on the Cantigny grounds caught my attention. I'm not sure how it will work in the winter. I was at the International Manufacturing and Technology Show 2018 at McCormick Place earlier in the week. I shot some video of Olli, the people mover from Local Motors.
Olli @ IMTS 2018

I bought a Guillows B17 balsa model kit.

2018-09-08T13:26:00.001-07:00

I bought the kit. Then I had to build it. This was my first attempt at a balsa model. It was a daunting job.

The box was big but very light.

I hadn't made a balsa model in over 30 years and that last attempt didn't come out that great. I started my project with the easiest parts.

The wings came next. The kit came with one wing pattern that was used for both left and right wings and both of their under sides.

My airplane so far.

I attack the fuselage!

It is starting to look like an airplane

It just needs 4 motors, some plastic parts and some tissue.

The paint changes everything. I built the balsa propellers but I didn't use them. My plan was to hang this model from the ceiling in a flying pose. If the props aren't turning, it means the airplane is crashing. That wasn't the effect that I wanted.

It took a year of on and off work to finish this. I usually never spent more than a hour at a time. It was always important to let glue dry.

The Most Expensive Car in the World

2018-08-21T15:31:00.001-07:00

I was driving down the street through an industrial park when I caught the sight of a shiny automobile trailer. The side of the trailer had the words 'WeatherTech Racing Team'. As I drove passed the trailer I noticed a grey or silver car on the upper shelf of the trailer. It looked like it might be some sort of race car. I kept driving. I gathered my thoughts and asked myself why wasn't I taking a photo of what I had just seen. I had a camera and I had the time. I drove around the block. It was a very big block and when I got back to where the trailer was, I stopped to snap a quick photo.

I found this on the internet. This from "The Drive"

Fuelfed Cars and Coffee in Hinsdale, Illinois August 12, 2018

2018-08-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

The Fuelfed Cars and Coffee shows are one of the more interesting car shows to have arrived in the area. You have to visit the Fuelfed website to see when or if one of these shows will be happening near you. They usually happen on Sunday mornings between 9 and 11 AM. I took some photos.

Alfa Romeo

Ferrari 250 GT Coupe appeared to be original unrestored.

There's a bit of difference between my Maisto diecast Porsche and the real thing.

I don't know if I have ever seen a real Facel Vega before.

Not often seen anywhere anymore, a Saab.

As European cars go I'm not sure how this yacht fit the bill.

While this Pininfarina roadster sat the show out at the train station.

Last year I visited this show and shot some YouTube video.
Fuelfed Hinsdale 2017

I'm in a magazine article, finally!

2018-07-24T07:41:00.002-07:00

West Suburban Living recently did a story about the Car Culture in my area, the western suburbs of Chicago. I was interviewed by phone for the article. I thought it came out quite well.

Westmont, Illinois Thursday Night Car Show 2018

2018-06-11T18:48:00.002-07:00

I bet you thought I died. No, I haven't but I did slow the fuck down. I have been putting videos up regularly on my YouTube channel, RidesWithChuck™. Well, here I am. I stopped by the Westmont Thursday Night Car Show last week to take some pictures. Some of the cars pictured are also in videos so I'll try to link them..........Let's see if I can remember how to do this.

The weather was great on the 7th of June and the crowds showed up.

The band was Old School.

The cool of this Chrysler brought the temperature down 10 degrees within 5 feet of the car.

The hotness of this Riviera brought the temperature up 10 degrees within 5 feet of the car.

The Cadillac Allante is now one of my all time favorite cars. Maybe it's my age.

I actually prefer it to the BIG Cadillacs.

Back when station wagons were king. I think they still are.

A Hudson street rod and a stock Plymouth. Now both are orphans.

A Crosley, yes, another orphan.
We go for a ride in a Crosley

Big John Berg and his Model A Ford

Joe Ferrandino and his El Lincondino

And finally...this might have been the most dangerous ride of the show.

The Lemont, Illinois Wednesday night car show.

2016-08-15T15:55:00.003-07:00

A month or so ago I visited the Lemont show and took some photos of the cars that caught my eye. Cars that catch my eye are the cars that one doesn't often see at shows. There will always be GM, Ford and Chrysler cars. One doesn't usually see Checkers or Lister Jags.

VooDoo Larry's Open House in 3D It's just like freakin bein there.

2016-08-11T16:57:00.002-07:00

To view these photos in 3D you have to cross your eyes just a bit while viewing them. Try to bring the 2 black dots together. At that point you will be in 3D land.

You should have a pretty good headache going by now. Thanks for watching.

Voodoo Larry's Open House 2016 August 7

2016-08-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Another year has gone by. This year at Voodoo Larry's Open House the big deal is The Voodoo Sahara Car. This is Larry's biggest project so far. It is really a throw back to the great custom cars of the 1960's.

The real attention grabbers are the cars in the street and alleys around Larry's shop. These are the cars that were driven to the show by the true believers.

Yes, there are bikes too.

And of course there are the wives of the customizers!

I build a Balsa Bomber I will be posting updates as they come along.

2016-06-30T10:11:00.001-07:00

As many of you know I have been following the Desert Rat B 17e restoration for a few years now. I am so grateful to have a project like this not too far from me.
The May 2016 Desert Rat B17e update

So I says to myself I should build a B17 too. Mine will be a bit smaller.

I broke down and bought a Guillow's balsa B 17. I started on May 9 and I have a long way to go.

I knew this would be a major undertaking. I wasn't wrong.

I pinned my first pieces of balsa to my work board on May 10.

A completed rudder. I chose to start out with a smaller part of the airplane, rather than the fuselage.

Next I built the stabilizer.

The wings were a bit trickier. I'm glad I had some practice with the smaller pieces.

June 4 and the left wing is starting to look like wing.

Now I battle the right wing.

Now all it needs are 4 engines and a fuselage.

On June 28 I started the fuselage.

The left fuselage is starting to take shape.

July 1, Day 53 of the Balsa Bomber Build. The wings fit properly, oh what a relief it is!

This is day 56 of the Balsa Bomber Build. I didn't realize what a pain gluing the stringers to the fuselage was going to be..... well, maybe I did.

This is day 64 and the stringers are done!

I don't know what day it is anymore. This was shot about Oct 20, 2016.

Day 247 of the Balsa Bomber Project. I finally put some paint on the fuselage. 11 Jan. 2017

It is finished. I am currently working on a balsa B24.

The Sandwich, Illinois Car Show was today and I was there.

2016-05-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was there. I make a point of this because last year I showed up for the show one day too soon. There was nobody there. This is the kind of show that if you survived the winter you need to show your face there. If you don't show your face there, people will think that you are dead. Anyway, I have been enjoying this "first show of the season" for many years. Many of my videos started out by making contact with an owner at this show. It is a great drive into the country even if you aren't all that interested in the subject.

Right off the bat a two tone Mercury Capri.

I have always preferred the real convertible as apposed to the retractable hardtop when it comes to the 1957 Ford. The lines are so much cleaner.

Even a guy I met at the show who worked for Ford in the 1980s never heard of a Ford Durango. Can this be real?

I did mention death at the start of this blog entry.

One of the sexiest American convertibles ever! 1953?

A few days after the September 11 attacks I shot a video of this 1937 Hudson. It had been scheduled before the attacks. We all decided that we should try to live the days after 9 11 as normally as we could. We shot the video but I will never forget those days. Coincidentally the video was shot at the restoration shop of then Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert. Now we find out that Hastert was a serial child molester. Some would say that they are just cars. I say there is a whole lot of history in these cars.
We go for a ride in this 1937 Hudson.

I found myself in Chrysler wood car heaven today.

2016-05-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

I took a drive to Rockford, Illinois today to visit the John Sanders Auto Collection. There was a bit of Chrysler Town and Country restoration going on.

The convertible Town and Country is nice but so is the sedan. How often do you see a T&C convertible with the top down anyway?

And then there's the barrel back wagon. In one of my YouTube videos from years ago we go for a ride in one of these. Chysler Barrel Back wagon
Pieces of wagon wood.