Streetable Manx

From Cycle Magazine Nov 1973; Dean Wixom of Wixom Brothers (fairings and saddlebags) poses with the streetable (barely) Manx Norton built by John Owen of Chula Vista Cal. A generator on a fabricated mount in front of the engine is run by a belt from a pulley outboard of the primary sprocket. Start is still run and bump and the megaphone exhaust has a handlebar lever actuated butterfly valve at the noisy end.
 

Williams fishing lures

Made by Williams Gold Refining of Fort Erie Ontario. 

The story is that the Williams boys of Goldenville, Nova Scotia joined the Yukon Gold Rush. After an apparently successful venture the boys split up, one started a gold refinery business to supply dentists in Kansas City, the other set up his own branch in Fort Erie, Ontario. 

They were obviously fishermen, entertaining dentist clients at their fishing lodge near Dorset, Ontario, and at some point it was decided to get into the fishing lure business, having the facilities in place to plate the lures with actual gold or silver to get the best possible high reflectivity finish. The company sold the business in 1986, and Williams lures are still be made in Quebec today. The Fort Erie facility shows "Permanently closed" on Google.

http://www.williams.ca/about.html

 

Canada, The Foundations of its Future

I found this book in someone's Little Free Library, and drawn by the quality of the binding (and the author's name) I borrowed it. 

 As a Canadian history written in 1941, the content is about what you'd expect, with illustrations by Canadian artists, but it turns out that the book was commissioned by the Montreal-based Seagrams company, one of the largest purveyors of alcoholic beverages and apparently, by the production of this book, a proud Canadian company. The book was apparently available for the asking, even- as the below letter states- into 1966. I just can't imagine a corporation producing a book like this in this day and age.
 

1911 Pittsburgh Auto Show

 That girl looks like trouble, how can I meet her?

Boston Auto Show, 1929

Twenty-Seventh Annual Boston Auto Show, Boston, MA, held at the Mechanics Hall in Back Bay. Mechanic's Hall.

Sidecar Sunday

Reader Graeme sends in this picture of Len and Harry having fun posing for the camera. Year unknown. Someone has retouched the photo so the badges read Invincible ( I think) but Graeme asks the make of the machine, it's a V twin with carb on the left hand side, by that and details on the fork, I'd guess it's a prewar Harley Davidson outfit.

 

Electric Corvair

Inspired by the NASA's use of fuel cells in the Gemini spacecraft, GM promoted this fuel cell electric car- the Electrovair- at the 1967 Detroit Auto show. 

Even as this mockup was being shown, plans had changed. Due to the size and weight of the system they had moved the testbed to a GMC Handivan. 

Tracjacks and aircraft skates

 

No idea when the Skyhi company shut down, the name is now used for a airline flight subscription service.
 

Hand me that Long wrench

No, that one is too short to be long...

 

1969 Chevrolet van

The long wheelbase van in nice condition. Brochure here.