My Black Brick

Volvo Redblock Tortoise T-Shirt Now Available

Jay B. — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 19:10:35 +0000

As part of my inaugural post on FCP Euro I created an illustration of the legendary Volvo B230 engine as an aged tortoise.

That image is now available on a range of T-shirts on my Zazzle store and will soon be joined by other gift items, like mugs and pillows. Buy one now!

The post Volvo Redblock Tortoise T-Shirt Now Available first appeared on My Black Brick.

1980 Volvo Concept Car

Jay B. — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 16:41:35 +0000

Apparently a hatch rear window was an idea for Volvos back in 1980. More images here.

The post 1980 Volvo Concept Car first appeared on My Black Brick.

Watercolor Brick

Jay B. — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 04:17:46 +0000

Here’s a cool drawing of the back end of a Volvo 240 wagon by Florian Afflerbach. I’ve posted drawings by Florian before and you can see many more of his car and architectural drawings on his Flickr site.

Did I mention I post many of my own drawings on Flickr? Well, I do.

The post Watercolor Brick first appeared on My Black Brick.

Pick-a-Part

Jay B. — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 20:22:16 +0000

I paid my last respects to the old brick today and signed the title over. It’s laying in state at Alton’s Auto in Congers, NY.

If anyone is interested, these parts are worth salvaging:
– Bilstein TC shocks and struts, less than a year old
– IPD Sport Springs
– IPD Anti-Sway bars
– 4 Virgo rims, only one of which is not bent.

Most interior plastic is cracked or chipped. Rear brake lights are decent, as is the rear hatch.

Alton’s Auto
146 North Route 9W
Congers, NY
(845) 268-4748

The post Pick-a-Part first appeared on My Black Brick.

R.I.P. My Black Brick

Jay B. — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 01:03:44 +0000

This looks like the end of an era for me. I got into an accident on a roadway in New York and smashed the front of my car in. It was a short stop at a traffic light and luckily everyone was fine. My daughter had a little scratch on her neck from her seat belt but other than that our only trauma was psychological. The compact SUV in front of me suffered a busted bumper and some damage to the rear hatch door.

The radiator is shoved into the engine and coolant was spilled all over the road. In light of that fact I’m not going to bother trying to save it. If it were just body damage it would be different but considering the situation it’s not worth it to me getting it fixed. I have no place to store and work on it so tomorrow I’m heading back to the garage, pulling out some valuables and saying good bye.

This has been a fun ride and I’ve enjoyed keeping this blog. This car was been a mixed blessing; I’ve learned a lot from working on it but always felt there was something else I needed to fix. It rode pretty well and maintenance was cheap. There’s been a great community of fellow enthusiasts and I’ve always loved checking out the Brick Board to figure out how to do things myself, with the help of a passionate group of shade-tree mechanics.

I bought the car when my second daughter was born and we’ve enjoyed some great trips as they were growing up over the past 9 years. We had fun seeing how much stuff we could fit into the trunk on trips camping and to the beach. They treated it like another member of the family and I think the worst pain for them is knowing that the car will be gone.

As we were talking about what’s next my daughter asked me if, when I was a kid, I ever thought that objects were alive like people. I told her that I had, that I remember thinking that my stuffed animals had feelings. “That’s how I feel about the car,” she said. “It’s like it even has a face, and it’s sad to say goodbye.” Yes, yes it is.

The post R.I.P. My Black Brick first appeared on My Black Brick.

Buy This Brick

Jay B. — Fri, 16 May 2014 22:00:49 +0000

A dramatic advertisement for a used 1993 Volvo 240 wagon. Sweet, it has plastic gills with triple backdraft.

BONUS: The Swedish version

The post Buy This Brick first appeared on My Black Brick.

Volvo 240 vs New York Auto Show

Jay B. — Thu, 15 May 2014 12:23:47 +0000

My latest post for FCP Euro has me pitting my black brick against all the cars at the latest New York International Auto Show. You won’t believe who won!

The post Volvo 240 vs New York Auto Show first appeared on My Black Brick.

Those Crazy Volvo Drivers

Jay B. — Tue, 13 May 2014 15:22:51 +0000

Buzzfeed has a list of 50 Unexplainable Stock Photos No One Will Ever Use and at number 32 we have this puppy lumberjack leaning against his trusty brick. Click to see the image an its full, watermarked glory.

The post Those Crazy Volvo Drivers first appeared on My Black Brick.

Redblock Tortoise Mugs, Trucker Hats

Jay B. — Wed, 07 May 2014 14:29:19 +0000

I’ve updated my Zazzle store with new items and a new design for my Redblock Tortoise t-shirt. Now you can get the illustration on mugs, stickers and even a trucker hat. Wear them with pride!

The post Redblock Tortoise Mugs, Trucker Hats first appeared on My Black Brick.

Honda Commercial Explores Tiny Engineering

Jay B. — Mon, 05 May 2014 22:57:13 +0000

As a die cast car collector of many years as well as an occasional stop motion animator, I found this ad for Honda in the UK to be a total delight. Flipping and folding, twisting and revving, an engineer pulls together a wide variety of Honda products. Motorcycles morph into mini vans and robots become jets. Impressive.

The post Honda Commercial Explores Tiny Engineering first appeared on My Black Brick.