Wednesday, August 20, 2014
RP's Birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zplR71FYzsI
Oh Jesus I totally forgot today is Robert Plant's Birthday!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to have to go back to this and write some adventures we had together. Robert, Cozy and myself ripping through the Welsh countryside.
One of my favorite pieces written for a great artist...now a great friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8AT7sJkBejc
Lyrics are about racing cross country knowing that something drastic has happened to friends somewhere behind us. RIP David & Ron P
Also when Robert steps on the feather(his symbol in Zeppelin) he is leaving his past behind him.
Back in the day radio announced this song "here is Robert Plant's Big Log". When the song was written basically I had this old log that was covered by a drum skin. And when we went over the rhythm I was hitting this log our first time out. I wanted that slow subtle background beat. The song was built around that. Also those dam tight pants he wore some years earlier showcased why the radio guys announced it that way.
Note while Robert is swimming in the pool(Glass Pool Inn) that's my arm knocking on the pool window. One of several non appearances I made in his early vids. I was also in the vid "In the Mood", Little by Little and Heaven Knows. In Heaven Knows I was flying in the hang glider with a camera rig attached and sort of crashed. Those outtakes were included in a special edition VHS tape at the time.
When I had two friends pass and my mentor Gilles V died on the racetrack about 18 months later I joined the US Naval Special Forces. Two of my favorite lines form Robert. "Why did you do such a bloody foolish thing like that B!"
And of course the other one when I was playing the straight man against Cozy being the joker "Geez B you have no sense of Humor."
Ship Of Fools
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPyPT7fb0-Q
Great lyrics...STORM...I am the pilot of this storm.
Later on... No man is an "Island".."while I" end up in jeopardy... is a play on words.
Very poetic.
And of course when I think of Robert and Cozy the day magic struck with Slow Dancer. Cozy played drums on this piece. I won't get into the lyrics very obscure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QibiJtk10s8
By the way I finally figured out a name for those coach built armored extended LWB Rover's we are building. The ones I'm taking are going to be Special Edition "Black Dog". I was thinking of "The Rover" a song of Zep's but I like Black Dog better because it's a play on all those special Black editions out there. Going to send one to Jimmy!
Happy birthday mate!
And the name Black Dog is not based on this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgzs6pT26KI
I am talking about almost 700 horses from a blunt force trauma Jaguar engine brother.
Black Dog the original below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpigDGf6vXM
Friday, August 15, 2014
Conversetions with SRT
Some time ago I was watching an episode of Gas Monkey's where they were doing a COPO drag car build and during the episode they visited the GM Heritage Museum. I haven't visited there in over five years when they were selling some of their vehicles at the time. Made a few calls and took a day trip out there. Now they say vehicles are for sale but a handful that I had interest in were really not for sale. It was not a wasted trip because I had a chance to update contacts and actually had a chance to see almost 300 other vehicles in the collection that were in storage. Fast Forward to a few weeks ago and JaysCobras started to talk about the prototype HellCat Challenger that the Monkey garage had and was tearing up the countryside with. I stared to talk about this HellCat with some of the guys I employ who are currently working at Jaguar/Land Rover on a special project for the Arab market. And they told me to get my hands on one and they would fly back for a weekend and give it a run.
So while I was on my cross country trip visiting various national parks with my family one Friday night one of my assistants notified me that someone from SRT was trying to reach me. So in a short time I was speaking with the head of SRT. One of my guys must have spoken to him beforehand because he knew a little background on things.
I think I caught him off guard because I told him the first thing that went through my mind when hearing about the 707hp HellCat Challenger was that I would love to get one of those prototypes into Cuba for their Acceleration of Speed event.
I explained how Cuba use to host a Grand Prix but when the communist took over all racing was outlawed and viewed as an elitist sport. For years there was an underground for drag racing that was rarely spoken about. Only until recently has things begun to loosen up with an abandoned airstrip now used for 400 meter drag runs. And in the last two years associations have been forming events such as the Acceleration of Speed event. I told him we shipped several small & large block Chevy engines along with a rebuilt '68 Charger Bullitt clone and should arrive there by labor day since the shipment had to originate from South America. That's why I mentioned Cuba to him because that's what was on my mind at the time.
We talked about all the Viper pre-production models that were called back due to a few that were taken on the road and crashed. I guess it cost the parent company a few million in settlements or lawsuits so I was informed most of the proto's were going to be crushed. I informed him that there are ways around that as in what was done for my grandfather. He was given one of the Chrysler turbines that was recorded and still recorded as destroyed. You know out the back door for VIP's since he was a major factor and pioneer of what we know as the military industrial complex. I started to tell him that back in the early '70's my sister had a plum crazy '70 hemi Challenger. She was into those purple and orange colors way back then. Two of her bedroom walls were colored hemi orange(or close) and two were purple. That Challenger was stolen in Connecticut and was used in a bank heist as a getaway car on the west coast. I hinted at a coach built special Hellcat in plum crazy as a tribute car since my sister is no longer with us.
I explained how many manufacturers are starting to do custom coach builds in order to increase profits and build less production models overall. Ferrari has been doing it for a few years now and Aston Martin has just announced it will be doing custom builds for clients shortly.
I went into a little detail of how Jaguar/ Land Rover has started it's special operations division for custom builds and restorations. I took a few minutes also how I put a few guys together to start prototypes of a stretched LWB Land Rover that will have various levels of armor for the Arab market. These will be special coach built and badged. I also mentioned the Jaguar F-Type R models that I should be receiving soon. I had announced the release of their Series 7 model before that intel was made public and a Stormbringer serial #1(series 7) would be arriving with the coupe and convertible. All three with engines massaged and output closer to 650hp as opposed to the 550hp models. Actually those engines are the ones going into the coach built Rover's. We just haven't thought of a great name for these special badges for that market. I do know that the first few produced will be badged as "Black Dog" or ''The Rover" Special Edition for me. I think since companies are doing black editions a blunt force trauma "Black Dog" badged Rover for my buddy Jimmy Page is going to happen.
So I went back and suggested a few special builds. Would his division consider doing a custom build in crazy plum in either format hardtop or convertible? I went on to explain how my friends in Led Zeppelin took a chain saw to their material when they were preparing for their unLedded concert years ago. And of course I always enjoy getting a Zeppelin reference in when I can. I said that's what I envision nothing crazy but take a chain saw to the drawings and see what comes out if it. Either in black or plum crazy or two tone. I told him it needs to look...and I took a pause to think and stated sinister. It needed to look sinister as it just sits there parked. At this time he was taking some notes and since he was the design expert I would leave that in his hands. I also mentioned that for years I wanted to rebuild an original Cobra and it will probably be done in my daughters generation. I also wanted a resurrection Cobra built from those collected in the past 40+ years. Either a Resurrection Cobra or a replica Cobra named Frankenstein.
I went on to explain I left the Naval Special Warfare Command in the late 80's but always wanted to do a build or tribute car and leave it in Coronado for the guys to use in that command. I just thought that a Vette or Cobra would suit the personalities involved better since I still provide advanced training with the NSWC/NAVSOC. This seemed to be of interest to him and he suggested a possible Viper build. I asked if the HellCat engine is planned for the Viper and he told me it would not fit and that the engine is too wide not to mention the clearance for the hood wouldn't even be close. We went on to discuss how Lamborghini taught them to do the casting for the aluminum engines and how they brought that technology to Dodge. Viper was going to get a boost in HP but not much. I told him if any vehicle was going to be chosen for a NSWC build then sitting parked it would have to look as if it would detonate at any second. That was the word that I chose carefully to describe the essence of a build. He told me he was going to put some sketches and concepts together.
He went back and asked me about the custom coach work with Land Rover. I explained that basically I'm from a family that evolved into one of the banking cartel families and had originated from Tube Works into US Steel/Bankers Trust and my grandfather was one that heavily invested to build our military from 17th ranked to number one at the end of WWII. That all began at first to lift this country out of the great depression and then you know we entered that war. Well with various businesses and foundations we have had over the years and employees working for us from generation to generation at times we start enterprises solely for these employees to own, operate and profit from. A sheik friend of mine whose father use to head the UAE gave me the idea that a void needed to be filled for custom armored SUV's. And after about a year pieces started to be put together. Talks with Land Rover doing an extended long wheel base vehicle seemed possible and as I said the rest is history. Ballistics with DuPont have been completed and I the first prototypes are completed. I told him all my guys are in Britain and I can't even get an oil change on anything in my garages. I put the contacts together and they will be running the show from now on. My brother spent some time putting a great business plan together and will be advising them when needed. I'm not taking any profit from this because I want them to profit for their families and their future generations if it lasts that long. I just want a few SUV's for my security details on both coasts. We already have close to 60 actual deposits because of my Arab friend recommending these vehicles. It going to be interesting for the Brits doing flashy custom work for this market.
As we were discussing SUV's I was informed that they make a Grand Cherokee SRT model. I said really and asked him to educate me on it. He explained the engine and the new blackened out look of this SRT. They made special lighting to highlight certain parts of the car. Also they called it the night stalker look. I told him I employed one ex-Night Stalker in my detail, but told him most were ex-NSWC or naval aviators. As he was telling me about the Cherokee I grabbed one of my daughters ipads and looked up drivesrt and looked at it as he spoke. I told him that they captured a certain look and that with a little more special treatment I told him he has a winner. I asked could they drop a hellcat engine in this SUV. He went on to explain it already can go 160mph as advertised on the site and I asked him but could it be engineered into the Cherokee? I told him I would purchase one for personal use and another for my "night stalker" employee. It would have to have some kick ass graphics and custom work too. He said let me see what can be done. I told him I wish I had the hellcat engine for these SUV's because it took 8 months of development to make these Jaguar engines bullet proof with the additional horses for these builds. So that basically ended the conversation.
Since then I have received a few sketches and re-worked sketches and concept ideas.
Have to ask if a Hellcat and tranny can be retrofitted into a 1970 Challenger body.
Talk of Hellcats and .......getting hot in here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZZr_p6vB8
So while I was on my cross country trip visiting various national parks with my family one Friday night one of my assistants notified me that someone from SRT was trying to reach me. So in a short time I was speaking with the head of SRT. One of my guys must have spoken to him beforehand because he knew a little background on things.
I think I caught him off guard because I told him the first thing that went through my mind when hearing about the 707hp HellCat Challenger was that I would love to get one of those prototypes into Cuba for their Acceleration of Speed event.
I explained how Cuba use to host a Grand Prix but when the communist took over all racing was outlawed and viewed as an elitist sport. For years there was an underground for drag racing that was rarely spoken about. Only until recently has things begun to loosen up with an abandoned airstrip now used for 400 meter drag runs. And in the last two years associations have been forming events such as the Acceleration of Speed event. I told him we shipped several small & large block Chevy engines along with a rebuilt '68 Charger Bullitt clone and should arrive there by labor day since the shipment had to originate from South America. That's why I mentioned Cuba to him because that's what was on my mind at the time.
We talked about all the Viper pre-production models that were called back due to a few that were taken on the road and crashed. I guess it cost the parent company a few million in settlements or lawsuits so I was informed most of the proto's were going to be crushed. I informed him that there are ways around that as in what was done for my grandfather. He was given one of the Chrysler turbines that was recorded and still recorded as destroyed. You know out the back door for VIP's since he was a major factor and pioneer of what we know as the military industrial complex. I started to tell him that back in the early '70's my sister had a plum crazy '70 hemi Challenger. She was into those purple and orange colors way back then. Two of her bedroom walls were colored hemi orange(or close) and two were purple. That Challenger was stolen in Connecticut and was used in a bank heist as a getaway car on the west coast. I hinted at a coach built special Hellcat in plum crazy as a tribute car since my sister is no longer with us.
I explained how many manufacturers are starting to do custom coach builds in order to increase profits and build less production models overall. Ferrari has been doing it for a few years now and Aston Martin has just announced it will be doing custom builds for clients shortly.
I went into a little detail of how Jaguar/ Land Rover has started it's special operations division for custom builds and restorations. I took a few minutes also how I put a few guys together to start prototypes of a stretched LWB Land Rover that will have various levels of armor for the Arab market. These will be special coach built and badged. I also mentioned the Jaguar F-Type R models that I should be receiving soon. I had announced the release of their Series 7 model before that intel was made public and a Stormbringer serial #1(series 7) would be arriving with the coupe and convertible. All three with engines massaged and output closer to 650hp as opposed to the 550hp models. Actually those engines are the ones going into the coach built Rover's. We just haven't thought of a great name for these special badges for that market. I do know that the first few produced will be badged as "Black Dog" or ''The Rover" Special Edition for me. I think since companies are doing black editions a blunt force trauma "Black Dog" badged Rover for my buddy Jimmy Page is going to happen.
So I went back and suggested a few special builds. Would his division consider doing a custom build in crazy plum in either format hardtop or convertible? I went on to explain how my friends in Led Zeppelin took a chain saw to their material when they were preparing for their unLedded concert years ago. And of course I always enjoy getting a Zeppelin reference in when I can. I said that's what I envision nothing crazy but take a chain saw to the drawings and see what comes out if it. Either in black or plum crazy or two tone. I told him it needs to look...and I took a pause to think and stated sinister. It needed to look sinister as it just sits there parked. At this time he was taking some notes and since he was the design expert I would leave that in his hands. I also mentioned that for years I wanted to rebuild an original Cobra and it will probably be done in my daughters generation. I also wanted a resurrection Cobra built from those collected in the past 40+ years. Either a Resurrection Cobra or a replica Cobra named Frankenstein.
I went on to explain I left the Naval Special Warfare Command in the late 80's but always wanted to do a build or tribute car and leave it in Coronado for the guys to use in that command. I just thought that a Vette or Cobra would suit the personalities involved better since I still provide advanced training with the NSWC/NAVSOC. This seemed to be of interest to him and he suggested a possible Viper build. I asked if the HellCat engine is planned for the Viper and he told me it would not fit and that the engine is too wide not to mention the clearance for the hood wouldn't even be close. We went on to discuss how Lamborghini taught them to do the casting for the aluminum engines and how they brought that technology to Dodge. Viper was going to get a boost in HP but not much. I told him if any vehicle was going to be chosen for a NSWC build then sitting parked it would have to look as if it would detonate at any second. That was the word that I chose carefully to describe the essence of a build. He told me he was going to put some sketches and concepts together.
He went back and asked me about the custom coach work with Land Rover. I explained that basically I'm from a family that evolved into one of the banking cartel families and had originated from Tube Works into US Steel/Bankers Trust and my grandfather was one that heavily invested to build our military from 17th ranked to number one at the end of WWII. That all began at first to lift this country out of the great depression and then you know we entered that war. Well with various businesses and foundations we have had over the years and employees working for us from generation to generation at times we start enterprises solely for these employees to own, operate and profit from. A sheik friend of mine whose father use to head the UAE gave me the idea that a void needed to be filled for custom armored SUV's. And after about a year pieces started to be put together. Talks with Land Rover doing an extended long wheel base vehicle seemed possible and as I said the rest is history. Ballistics with DuPont have been completed and I the first prototypes are completed. I told him all my guys are in Britain and I can't even get an oil change on anything in my garages. I put the contacts together and they will be running the show from now on. My brother spent some time putting a great business plan together and will be advising them when needed. I'm not taking any profit from this because I want them to profit for their families and their future generations if it lasts that long. I just want a few SUV's for my security details on both coasts. We already have close to 60 actual deposits because of my Arab friend recommending these vehicles. It going to be interesting for the Brits doing flashy custom work for this market.
As we were discussing SUV's I was informed that they make a Grand Cherokee SRT model. I said really and asked him to educate me on it. He explained the engine and the new blackened out look of this SRT. They made special lighting to highlight certain parts of the car. Also they called it the night stalker look. I told him I employed one ex-Night Stalker in my detail, but told him most were ex-NSWC or naval aviators. As he was telling me about the Cherokee I grabbed one of my daughters ipads and looked up drivesrt and looked at it as he spoke. I told him that they captured a certain look and that with a little more special treatment I told him he has a winner. I asked could they drop a hellcat engine in this SUV. He went on to explain it already can go 160mph as advertised on the site and I asked him but could it be engineered into the Cherokee? I told him I would purchase one for personal use and another for my "night stalker" employee. It would have to have some kick ass graphics and custom work too. He said let me see what can be done. I told him I wish I had the hellcat engine for these SUV's because it took 8 months of development to make these Jaguar engines bullet proof with the additional horses for these builds. So that basically ended the conversation.
Since then I have received a few sketches and re-worked sketches and concept ideas.
Have to ask if a Hellcat and tranny can be retrofitted into a 1970 Challenger body.
Talk of Hellcats and .......getting hot in here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZZr_p6vB8
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