The Stealth Porsche—At a Shelby American Auto Club convention in Anaheim, July ’84, a member at a nearby table caught my attention when he unscrewed the top of his cane (more an accessory than necessity), and poured liquor of some sort into a dry water glass. The ensuing conversation revealed that he was the proud owner of a number of very high performance cars, including genuine 289 AND 427 Cobras, and a late model Porsche 957 “whale tail” coupe. He enjoyed Shelby outings at Willow Springs, Carroll Shelby’s original high-desert test track, but was becoming fed up with the hifalutin’ doings of the L.A. Porsche Club, which also held events there. 
   Members were just too darned snooty, he said, and they would order a catering service to bring everything for a splendid luncheon, from linen tablecloths to a champagne fountain. The Shelby folks just had fun, and, if Carroll showed up, there would be ample supplies of his home-made Texas chili (which ain’t f...

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   A basic truth:  There will always be tinkerers.  Many a worthy machine has been converted to junk by someone trying to find out how it works, or worse, how to “fix” it.
   In regard to the American invention of freedom from oppressive governments, with liberty and justice for all, the working parts are our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and its succeeding amendments. From this, our three branches of government, too. Used properly, this arrangement has kept us well for 234 years.
   But still, there will be tinkerers. About 90 years ago, some well-meaning folks thought they could “save” us from Demon Rum by passing the Volstead Act, which became known as prohibition.  Although it was finally scrapped after proving that one cannot legislate morality, the American Underworld (Mafia, et al) we have known since would not have prospered as it did without prohibition.
   Too many of us have been complacent; too many have vo...

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   First, let me set the stage for those dim days of my early youth—the little town of La Mesa, population maybe a few thousand, a place where agriculture is thriving in the waning days of the Great Depression.  Not far from the main intersection of La Mesa Boulevard (now Lookout Avenue) and Palm Avenue, rabbits and chickens are bred and raised. A packing shed for citrus and avocados is a mere block-and-a-half from the center of town, and a stone’s throw from the tracks of the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway. But, in this village, blessed with the sun and climate of Back East dreams, there is no wrong side of the tracks.  
   Here in La Mesa, just a block south of the main drag, at the corner of Lemon Avenue and Fourth Street, was the home where I would do my growing from l938 to l947. My mom had recently returned from two years of therapy for tuberculosis, first, in Monrovia, and later, in Alpine, for its high, dry climate. (I have no earl...

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   When one deducts those who DON’T WANT health insurance and those who are young enough to think they don’t need it, we are left with the 5 percent who are the illegals in our nation. A consistent 85 percent are satisfied with their current coverage, and in baseball that’s an amazing batting average.  
   That doesn’t mean that they don’t want improvement, but, given our government’s fiscal work at the plate, it is either foolish or too political to tinker with our healthcare system in the way you and your liberal comrades are lusting for.
   There is a better way, sir, based on sound business principles, which could make you look so much better in these shaky financial times; and produce true improvements without bureaucratic meddling: Call for a national conference of all healthcare CEOs. Not just a one- or two-day affair, but a continuous sharing of new ideas to improve this remarkable system, which brings people from other nations fo...

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   Yep, in these times of our “Big Bro’s Gas Attack” from D.C., it may be helpful and reassuring to have some plain old helpful advice from your faithful smith.  Herewith, some words of wisdom gathered from numerous sources, which may prove valuable as you take on each day, and for many years to come:

   Automobiles/light trucks: You’ve heard this before, but it’s still quite true—to get the most from your vehicle, check tire pressures monthly. Three reasons for this, (1) low tires take more energy to roll, (2) tires wear out faster, and (3) cornering is MUCH less safe.  
   Why check monthly? Because most tires cannot hold their air, owing to the porosity of the casing and rubber. Every vehicle should have a simple tire gauge on board, and please be sure to check the pressure when the tire is COOL. If you’d like to do this little chore less often, have the tires filled with nitrogen; many tire shops do this. There ...

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The “General” (Motors) has been around so long (1908) that many of us have no idea where such an industrial giant came from. Time was, 40 to 50 years ago, the corporation was building roughly half of America’s cars and trucks, as well as locomotives, and rail cars, too.
But, it started as the brainchild of a very successful Flint, Mich., businessman, one William Crapo “Billy” Durant, who, at a young age, along with his partner, J. Dallas Dort, had become millionaires (when the word really meant something) building carriages and wagons in the late 1800s. Their Durant-Dort Carriage Company was the largest in Michigan, and perhaps in the U.S. Eventually, both men would have their names on either cars or trucks, as well.  
Dort was one of a trio of boys at the Scottish Settlement School (grades one through seven) near the town of Dearborn who would become important founders of America’s toddling auto industry. The other two:  Alanson Brush, an engine designer who lat...

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It’s that time, again; mechanical IQ not required, merely an appreciation for the absurd, amazing, awful, and wonderful, life on a planet overrun with powered wheels. Sign said, “Do Not Pass.” Do not pass WHAT?  
The National Hot Rod Association got going in the early ‘50s, and soon after there was a national drag race meet, the first being held at Great Bend, Kansas, near the geographic center of the U.S.  By the mid-‘50s, the meet had been moved to Oklahoma City, and, in San Diego, two guys were desperately finishing their race car, and watching the clock in order to get on the road and be in OK City on time.
Conditions allowed for team-driving:  the pickup towing the trailer had a large fuel tank at the head of its bed; the men’s wives were preparing a large number of sandwiches, snacks and drinks for near non-stop driving, and a large cooler chest fit well on the cab floor. In addition, in the cab, a hose was connected to a funnel, which would allow for ...

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Longtimers will remember Rohr Aircraft, and, perhaps, its founder, Fred “Pappy” Rohr, whose company played a major role in U.S. military aviation in WWII.  But, before that happened, Rohr, as a young man in the mid-’twenties, was earning his keep as a metalworker at T. Claude Ryan’s plant on Harbor Drive.
His talent was with sheet metal, either steel or aluminum, or anything in between, and, in 1927, in the mad, 60-day rush to build Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis,” Rohr was the fellow who fabricated the large extra fuel tank, which made Lindy’s voyage possible, but also blocked his forward view from the cockpit.  A periscope was some help, but Lindbergh frequently had to turn the plane a bit to check conditions, and stay on course.  Out in front, leading, was the propeller “spinner,” an aluminum cone, which streamlined the prop hub, and that also was a Rohr creation.
At some point in that period, Fred Rohr began doing metalwork in the one-car garag...

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Herewith, the smith sounds off on current issues in a sort of annual rant . . . possibly irritating many, but hopeful of pleasing at least a few.
— A.G.S.

Recession/Depression?  The first Recession took place in l958. Ike was president, the country had enjoyed a long run of post-war prosperity, and it was inevitable that the gravy train would derail.
To top it off, the auto industry, having wowed most of us with some wonderful, high-powered and/or economical cars, ran out of ideas on what they should look like.  Virtually all of the ’58 crop was dull, homely, or, in the case of Olds, ghastly baroque. Underneath, they were mechanically sound, but the sheet metal was atrocious. The public avoided showrooms, Detroit laid off thousands, and, along with other nagging economic woes, we had what the money folks called a recession.  
Question of the time: “What’s the difference between a recession and a depression?”  A...

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One of my earliest is lodged in the glorious scent of a freshly cut tree,  of being small enough to wriggle under its lowest branches and gaze upward through the maze of needles and see the colored lights cast their annual glow upon the many ornaments and the carefully hung, slender, shiny lead icicles.  
I had little to do with the whole business. Dad brought the tree home, fetched a galvanized 12-quart bucket full of wet sand and, with a trowel, dug a socket in which the trunk would rest for the next two or three weeks. The bucket lasted until its bottom rusted out in the ‘50s.
About gifts in those days:  In the waning years of the Great Depression, most gifts were inexpensive and practical. Just as the young Capote complained, my Bro, Stan, and I were disappointed when opening a deceiving box, which held nothing more than socks or underwear.  (Bah!)  
Money was still tight. My doctor father often accepted crates of oranges, gunny sacks of f...

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