1968 Chevrolet Camaro C5R – 2013 Goodguys Muscle Machine of the Year Finalist

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The featured muscle car – 1968 Chevrolet Camaro C5R is 2013 Goodguys Muscle Machine of the Year Finalist! It has Doug Rippie Motorsports built C5R LS1 engine, Five speed TREMEC transmission, Full DSE suspension, Custom Forgeline wheels, C6 Z06 brakes, Custom fabrication everywhere, STACK gauges, 295 front, 345 rear tires![Via:musclevehicles.com]

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Let’s look at the evolution of this muscle car from it’s creators:

Larry’s been tearing around in this car (he calls it “development,” of course…) and wound up at Goodguys in Charlotte in October.  He was there to do some autocrossing, and finishes FOURTH overall out of more than 30 entries, including ALL of the pro class cars!  Not bad for an ‘ol Camaro with a guy who started autocrossing this summer behind the wheel, wouldn’t you say? Click on NEXT  for more information and   photos!

Our first mod this time around was to stick more rubber at each corner.  We managed to fit 295/35ZR19′s up front and 345/30ZR19′s out back…without cutting the exterior sheetmetal!  Sure, fabricator Pete had to cut back into his inner fenders for clearance, but that’s a small price to pay for more than DOUBLE the widest tire available when the car was new!  Out back, we had some rubbing issues, so we replaced the DSE suspension links with chromoly tubing and Teflon-lined rod ends.  For more stiffness around through the cones we ditched the big 1″ splined sway bar in favor of a huge .250 wall 1.25″ bar, and we went with AFCO double adjustable coilovers at all four corners.  Inside, we added a pair of Porsche GT2 carbon fiber buckets and Simpson harnesses to hold us in place.  We’re better informed thanks to a full complement of STACK programmable gauges, and we feel cooler shifting with our new CNC milled shift handle.  A Sparco competition steering wheel finishes off the inputs.

[Via:musclevehicles.com]

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Of course, the biggest change was bolting up a set of Forgeline centerlock wheels, 11″ wide in the front and 12″ wide in the rear.  We kept some flair with the polished lips, and the red locks echo the interior.  We dropped the car even further into the weeds now that it’s stiffer, and we can’t believe how this thing handles!

We’ve torn into the car again!  We’ve upgraded to an intercooled Magnacharger with 8psi of boost rather than the standard blower with 4psi.  This necessitated new coolers, and we went with an AFCO intercooler with twin SPAL fans as well as a CSR oil cooler with billet end tanks.  We’ve dumped some weight with a trick hood and decklid combo from Anvil, and JRi shocks are replacing the AFCO units.  There will be more by the time we’re finished!

Under the hood we added trick Katech valve covers and coil relocation brackets, upped the cooling with a new fan and baffled the power steering tank.  That’s the kind of stuff you figure out when you actually USE a car you build!Click on NEXT  for more information and   photos!

One of our own, dressed to kill with enough power to do it quickly. A supercharged, stroker C5R race block built up by Doug Rippie Motorsports resides within our custom engine compartment surrounds. The sound makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and those huge 335/30ZR18 Toyo R888 track day tires don’t stand a chance when you’re anywhere near full throttle in lower gears.[Via:musclevehicles.com]

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The Detroit Speed and Engineering catalog was thrown at the car, with their fabricated subframe up front a four link out back. Mini tubs hold the extra rubber. Corvette C6 Z06 brakes lurk behind custom Boyd Coddington black V-Twin wheels. Fat sway bars and killer coil overs maintain a level stance no matter the curve.Click on NEXT  for more information and   photos!

Outside, we’ve shaved the door handles and wipers, and we’ve selectively blacked out trim. All new glass is in place, and of course all of the chrome is perfect. You’ll see the custom exhaust outlets poking out from the rocker panels–we custom fabbed those, too.[Via:musclevehicles.com]

Inside you’re enveloped in materials beyond those found in any production Chevrolet, ever. Attitude rises from the faux ostrich pattern on the doors and dash, as well as the bright red seat and door panel inserts. We went with a Covan dash holding a full array of gauges, a classic chrome stick connected to the five speed below and billet touches as we saw fit. It’s buttoned down and bad ass all at the same time.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro C5R – 2013 Goodguys Muscle Machine of the Year Finalist

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5 Ridiculously Huge Handguns

The world of firearms is much like the world of male bodybuilding. Iron is pumped, stretched to its limit, and filled with all sorts of volatile chemicals designed to generate explosive power and an impressive aesthetic presence. Following the trends of the overbuilt, steroid-injected weight lifters of recent decades, the human obsession with disproportionately large firearms has only increased as the demand for “more stopping power and a bigger hole” has become the popular and widely accepted trend for judging a weapon’s legitimacy. This trend has literally driven certain weapons engineers stark raving mad, and has raised the issue among seasoned firearms experts: Size matters. But how big is too big?

#5. .50 Caliber Black Powder Wheel Lock Pistol

The .50 caliber flintlock or hammerlock pistols date back hundreds and hundreds of years. The need for the .50 caliber chambering was due to the production standards of the day. A .50 caliber round is exactly one half inch in diameter, making it easy to measure and reproduce accurately by any weapon or ammunition manufacturer. Back in those fabled times, little clamps were produced in the shapes of this common load, meaning that any regular metallurgist could melt down a block of lead or steel and create a projectile for his weapon. It was as easy as using a modern day hole punch. Couple this easy-to-replicate ball projectile (this is not a pointed bullet, rather a ball which is not rifled) with the fact that you can put a whole heck of a lot of black powder behind it, and you have created a weapon which can take down a horse—much less a man—with relative ease. But remember, you only get one shot, and that one shot is not going to be accurate beyond 15 yards and will severely decelerate beyond this distance. Why would you want one for self defense? You wouldn’t. Regardless, they are highly prized collector’s items.

Via: Toptenz.net

#4. Colt 45-70 Peacemaker

At some point during the 1970s some genius was under the impression that the .45 caliber Colt Peacemaker (John Wayne’s gun of choice) did not “have enough stopping power.” How anyone could arrive at this conclusion is beyond sane reasoning, given that discharging the standard .45 caliber load feels akin to slapping a brick wall. American engineering, however, devised a way to make this gun even larger and more powerful. Thus, the 45-70 load, originally developed for use in an infantry and/or “buffalo” rifle, was introduced into the sphere of modern day handguns.

Via: Toptenz.net

#3. Magnum Research 45-70 Government Hand Cannon

Despite what some people will tell you, there are variants on the standard 45-70 government load. Some feel like a jackhammer, while others feel like you’ve pulled the pin on a grenade and forgot to let go. The “Hand Cannon” delivers that good old “grenade-in your-hand” feeling. It is a weapon that should not be fired by the unsuspecting individual, or anyone for that matter. It is utterly beyond practicality in every sense of the word. Certain models measure over two feet in length and are impossible to wield (safely or effectively) with one arm

Via: Toptenz.net

#2. WTS .50 BMG (Browning Machine gun Cartridge) Pistol

Beyond all reasonable doubt, this is the largest and most formidable handgun you could ever actually wield in a gunfight. Following in the footsteps of Hitler’s obsession with giant railroad cannons, the Germans are still producing the biggest, most outlandish crap on the market today. The .50 Browning Machinegun cartridge was designed for use against tanks, airplanes, armored personnel carriers, and in some cases it may be used by high-powered sniper rifles. It is more than twice as powerful as the fabled 45-70 government round, and one can only imagine that shooting it in a pistol format would be painful, unwieldy, and quite hazardous for everyone involved. If a soft target is hit with a .50 caliber BMG bullet, it will be shredded/exploded into pieces. The gargantuan .50 caliber d.e.ath-monster projectile can fly at a breakneck speed for miles, even after penetrating one or two targets. Discharging it at your common household thief is ill advised… unless you don’t mind the possibility of inadvertently p.e.gging one of your neighbors. Would someone be scared of it? Yes. Would they run away? Yes. Would you be able to use your right hand to jot down the grocery list post-firing? Doubtful.

Via: Toptenz.net

#1. Pfeifer Zeliska 28mm Revolver

The biggest, most worthless manifestation of an inferiority complex ever created by one man. Originally manufactured under the name “Remington Model 1859,” this copy of the formerly U.S.-made revolver was built by Ryszard Tobys and measures 4-foot-(1.26 m) long. To give some basis for comparison, the 28mm projectile is 8mm wider than the U.S. military’s fabled “20mm Cannon,” a weapon used primarily for destroying tanks, sinking boats, or shooting down heavily armored airplanes. While entirely impractical and, one would guess, impossible to use as an even mildly effective tool for any purpose other than felling trees, the 28mm revolver has made its mark as truly being the world’s largest pistol. And simultaneously the world’s most comical waste of lead.

by Jesse Stretch

Please visit http://www.JesseStretch.com to find out more about this talented author and his publications.

Via: Toptenz.net

5 Ridiculously Huge Handguns

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Top 12 Gadgets That Changed The World

#12 Typewriters

Christopher L. Sholes created the modern-day keyboard. In the 1870s he studied letter-pair frequency and came up with what we now know as the QWERTY keyboard. In 1874, the Remington Standard 2 typewriter became the first to use this keyboard and that sparked the popularity of this style.

#11 Handheld GPS

GPS was originally a U.S. military tool. It was an important way of tracking and finding directions. It became available for civilian use in 1983 and the first handheld unit was sold in 1989.

#10 Vacuum Cleaner

The vacuum cleaner was invented by James Murray Spangler in 1907. This was a gadget created with an electric fan, pillowcase and rotating brush. Though this great invention didn’t come cheap. It was $60, which is close to $1,500 in 2012 dollars.

#9 The Alarm Clock

Primitive alarms were used by Plato and the first mechanical alarm clocks were established by the 15th-century and used in Europe. These days alarm clocks can use sound, light or sensors to alert the user.

#8 VCR

Video cassette recorders (VCRS) were a household item in the late 1970s. Even though they were very popular by 1982, some of Hollywood had copyright concerns. Jack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Associate of America even said “I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer … as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone”

#7 Modem

The first modems were made to convert U.S. Air Force data from radar into sounds. At the time, in 1949, the transmissions were slow. In the 1990s, modems began to hit 56 kbps and have been crucial to the way we live ever since!

#6 Remote Control

In 1950 the first remote control was created by Zenith, the popular electronics company. Originally sold separately, now remote controls come with their television sets. They originally make a clicking sound when operated and that is what gave them their nickname, “the clicker”

#5 Answering Machine

The Phone-Mate Model 400 was the world’s first answering machine. Introduced in 1971, these changed the ways we used the phone and received messages. Though the answering machine could only hold 20 messages, it was a revolutionary device for users at the time.

#4 Laptop

The first successful laptop was an 11-pound computer from 1982 known as the GRiD Compass 1101. Though, it took a while to laptops to catch on, they are now owned by more than 52% of adults.

#3 Sewing Machine

Singer created a portable version of the first mechanical stitcher. It was unveiled at Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress fair 80 years after the stitcher. At 11 pounds, the life-changing device took the time down from 14 hours to one hour to sew a shirt.

#2 Brownie Camera

The Brownie cameras were some of the first point and shoot cameras available. This was the way to bring snapshots to the masses in 1900. In the first year of production, they sold 100,000 of them.

#1 Hi-Fi Receiver

The first integrated hi-fi receiver (short for “high fidelity”) was designed by Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon. Companies like RCA, Marconi and Westerrn Electric were designing systems during the 1930′s to make a successful receiver. The first was created in 1954 and was known as the Festival D1000.

[Via: Tinybytes]

Top 12 Gadgets That Changed The World

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20 Animated Gifs that Explain How Things Work

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an animated gif must be priceless! Below you will find a collection of simple and elegant animations that explain how various things work. From geometry to mechanics and everything in between, these animations help educate and explain how the world around us functions.

Through these animations I hope you will have a greater appreciation for the ingenuity of humans and a newfound respect for the great thinkers and inventors throughout history. Enjoy!

 

 

1. How a Zipper Works

Animation by Dominique Toussaint

 

2. Illustrating Pi: Unrolling a Circle’s Circumference

Animation by John Reid

 

3. How a Pill Press Works

Animation by Jeff Dahl

A tablet press is a mechanical device that compresses powder into tablets of uniform size and weight. A press can be used to manufacture tablets of a wide variety of materials, including pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs such as MDMA, cleaning products, and cosmetics. To form a tablet, the granulated material must be metered into a cavity formed by two punches and a die, and then the punches must be pressed together with great force to fuse the material together. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

4. How Walschaerts Valve Gear in

Steam Locomotives Works

Animation by R. A. Booty

The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear invented by Belgian railway mechanical engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844 used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in Steam Engines. The gear is sometimes named without the final “s”, since it was incorrectly patented under that name. It was extensively used in steam locomotives from the late 19th century until the end of the steam era. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

5. What a Tesseract (4D Cube) Looks Like

Animation by Jason Hise

In geometry, the tesseract, also called an 8-cell or regular octachoron or cubic prism, is the four-dimensional analog of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of 6 square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of 8 cubical cells. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

6. Knight’s Tour: How a Knight Visits

Every Square Once

Animation by Ilmari Karonen

A knight’s tour is a sequence of moves of a knight on a chessboard such that the knight visits every square exactly once. The exact number of open tours on an 8×8 chessboard is still unknown.

Creating a program to find a knight’s tour is a common problem given to computer science students. Variations of the knight’s tour problem involve chessboards of different sizes than the usual 8 × 8, as well as irregular (non-rectangular) boards. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

7. How a Caliper Works

Animation by Joaquim Alves Gaspar

 

8. How a Constant Velocity Joint Works

Animation by Pwld

Constant-velocity joints (aka homokinetic or CV joints) allow a drive shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed, without an appreciable increase in friction or play. They are mainly used in front wheel drive and all wheel drive cars. Rear wheel drive cars with independent rear suspension typically use CV joints at the ends of the rear axle halfshafts, and increasingly use them on the propshafts. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

9. How Circle Strafing Works

Animation by grm_wnr

In video games, strafing is the technique of moving the player’s character from side to side, rather than forward and backward. Circle strafing is the technique of moving around a target in a circle while facing it. Circle strafing allows a player to fire continuously at an opponent while dodging counterattacks. By rapidly circling the opponent, the player evades the opponent’s sights. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

10. Proving the Pythagorean Theorem

Through Rearrangement

Animation by Joaquim Alves Gaspar

 

11. How a Radial Engine Works

Animation by Duk

The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a “star engine” (German Sternmotor) in some languages. The radial configuration was very commonly used in aircraft engines before turbine engines became predominant. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

12. How the Geneva Drive Works

Animation by Mike1024

The Geneva drive or Maltese cross is a gear mechanism that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion. The rotating drive wheel has a pin that reaches into a slot of the driven wheel advancing it by one step. The drive wheel also has a raised circular blocking disc that locks the driven wheel in position between steps.

The name derives from the device’s earliest application in mechanical watches, Switzerland and Geneva being an important center of watchmaking. Another application of the Geneva drive is in movie projectors: the film does not run continuously through the projector. Instead, the film is advanced frame by frame, each frame standing still in front of the lens for 1/24 of a second (and being exposed twice in that time, resulting in a frequency of 48 Hz). This intermittent motion is achieved using a Geneva drive. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

13. How the Spinning Dancer Illusion Works

Animation by Nobuyuki Kayahara

The Spinning Dancer is a kinetic, bistable optical illusion resembling a pirouetting female dancer. Some observers initially see the figure as spinning clockwise and some counterclockwise. Additionally, some may see the figure suddenly spin in the opposite direction. The illusion derives from an inherent ambiguity from the lack of visual cues for depth. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

14. How a Hypotrochoid is Made

Animation by Sam Derbyshire

A hypotrochoid is a roulette traced by a point attached to a circle of radius r rolling around the inside of a fixed circle of radius R, where the point is a distance d from the center of the interior circle. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

15. How an Alpha Stirling Engine Works

Animation by Richard Wheeler

A Stirling engine is a heat engine operating by cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas, the working fluid, at different temperature levels such that there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work. Or more specifically, a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine with a permanently gaseous working fluid, where closed-cycle is defined as a thermodynamic system in which the working fluid is permanently contained within the system, and regenerative describes the use of a specific type of internal heat exchanger and thermal store, known as the regenerator. It is the inclusion of a regenerator that differentiates the Stirling engine from other closed cycle hot air engines. [Source:Wikipedia]

 

16. How to Draw a Yin Yang Symbol

Using Circles

Animation by O’Dea

 

17. How a Wankel Engine Works

Animation by Y_tambe

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating pistons. Its four-stroke cycle takes place in a space between the inside of an oval-like epitrochoid-shaped housing and a rotor that is similar in shape to a Reuleaux triangle but with sides that are somewhat flatter. The very compact Wankel engine delivers smooth high-rpm power. It is commonly called a rotary engine, though this name applies also to other completely different designs.

The engine was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel. He received his first patent for the engine in 1929, began development in the early 1950s at NSU, completing a working prototype in 1957. NSU then licensed the concept to companies around the world, which have continued to improve the design. It is the only internal combustion engine invented in the twentieth century to go into production.

Thanks to their compact design, Wankel rotary engines have been installed in a variety of vehicles and devices including automobiles, motorcycles, racers, aircraft, go-karts, jet skis, snowmobiles, chain saws, and auxiliary power units. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

18. How a Sewing Machine Works

Animation by NikolayS

 

19. How the Sun and Planet Gear Works

Animation via Wikimedia Commons

The sun and planet gear (also called the planet and sun gear) was a method of converting reciprocal motion to rotary motion and was utilised in a reciprocating steam engine. It was invented by the Scottish engineer William Murdoch, an employee of Boulton and Watt, but was patented by James Watt in October 1781. It was invented to bypass the patent on the crank, held by James Pickard. It played an important part in the development of devices for rotation in the Industrial Revolution. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

20. How The New York Times Crossword

Before the 1996 Election Worked

Animation by Unknown

20 Animated Gifs that Explain How Things Work

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