- I'm a little teapot,
short and stout.... - °Phil°
Very strange...
I've no idea what is going on in this 1960s photo, which turned up in the offices of the classic motoring magazine I work for - and quite why the chap on the left has his foot in a bucket and is striking a rather awkward pose - but what is rather bizarre is how much the one holding the hammer resembles me! Everybody who knows me seems to think so...and even I agree. Even more spookily, all the vehicles are examples of significant cars I've owned in the past: a Volkswagen Beetle was my first car, I had Ford Anglia 105Es for years, and an original Mini was by far the worst vehicle I've ever owned!
I can only assume that, some years hence from now, I'm going to invent time travel and go back to the early 60s to set this shot up. Right, somebody find me a big, blue police call box, or a DeLorean with a flux capacitor, and I'll get started on bending the laws of physics...
And that's no place to jack up a Volkswagen Beetle from!
Taken who knows where, but probably somewhere in England, during the early 1960s.
Comments and faves
liam.jon_d, hongkonguk13, daviddb, dooogewalah, and 24 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Sedanman [deleted] (57 months ago | reply)
Great find, Rich! Which magazine do you work for? There's a couple of European magazines on the newsstands here in the US.
When you firgure out the time travel thing, can you please pick me up a 289 Cobra while you'e at it, and maybe a K-code '65 Mustang Fastback too? :O)
Rich007 (57 months ago | reply)
I work for Classic Car Weekly, Sedanman. You probably won't find it in the USA, but if you can find a copy of the October 2007 issue of Triumph World in selected Barnes & Noble outlets, I'm in there at the moment.
And I may be too busy picking up Aston Martins, signed early Beatles LPs, and the young Jane Asher, to source you some Mustangs. But I'll try...
Sedanman [deleted] (57 months ago | reply)
You're "in" the magzine? I don't know that I've seen it before, but I'll try and take a look asap before the November issues are put out.
Steve Masiello (57 months ago | reply)
That's funny...when I first saw the small version and hadn't yet read the details, I thought that might be you with the hammer. Classic shot. Like you said, it raises a lot of questions.
So Much Ice Cream (57 months ago | reply)
Um, I still think this is your Abbey Road photo album cover equivalent. Please agree!
BuckarooBob (56 months ago | reply)
and, of course, we always wear our ties when working on the vehicles, otherwise where would we wipe our dipsticks?!
Jan Hoogendoorn (56 months ago | reply)
Great story and a nice photo.
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Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)
Rich007 (56 months ago | reply)
I agree, So Much Ice Cream, there is an Abbey Road-ish air to this. This could be what might have happened after the LP cover photoshoot, when the Fab Four - plus George Martin - discovered that the white Beetle in the background had broken down...
And you wipe the dipstick on your tie, BuckarooBob? I always thought ties were there just to get tangled up in the fan blades and nearly strangle the wearer while investigating disturbing noises from deep within the engine...
Historum / Histozic [deleted] (56 months ago | reply)
YOUR PHOTO DESERVES THIS....
~[black and white]~ Group!
BuckarooBob (56 months ago | reply)
Rich--funny story in that, actually. In '76 I took a newspaper job, and once I got there, they casually mentioned in passing, "and oh, we like the gents to wear ties on the job, from September to June." I couldn't believe it! As a photog, all I needed was one more thing hanging around my neck. But I followed the rules, and cultivated the nastiest, chemical-soaked (frequently fell into the developing trays), dipstick-wiped, piece of neckwear known to man. I was soon given a pass on the necktie rule (and fired a few years after, incidentally).
Rich007 (56 months ago | reply)
And quite right too, BuckarooBob! All editorial staff should have accessories allowing them to be more easily throttled when they miss deadlines ;-)
Mark E Tisdale Photography (56 months ago | reply)
This is going to be one of those time stories that make my head hurt isn't it.
You have to take the picture, hold onto it 40 years, put it in the post, and send it to you in 2007, so that you'll go back in time the first place It's what puts you on the path to believing time travel is possible in the first place..
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Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)
Rich007 (56 months ago | reply)
Sounds like a good idea for a movie, Marksda1. Or, possibly, a series of three, featuring Michael J Fox...
Mark E Tisdale Photography (56 months ago | reply)
Nothing was said about you hitting your head and dreaming up the flux capacitor. ;-)
So, it's just the plot of a thousand hackneyed time travel stories.
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Seen in my recent comments. (?)
Rich007 (56 months ago | reply)
The Plot of a Thousand Hackneyed Time Travel Stories? Isn't that a song by the Scissor Sisters?
Mark E Tisdale Photography (56 months ago | reply)
Is it? I'll have to take your word for that one, I've heard of the band but couldn't match a song to them to save my life!
What's that gun for? Eek!
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Seen in my recent comments. (?)
Rich007 (56 months ago | reply)
The gun is, hopefully, to shoot the Mini. Repeatedly!
Sherlock77 (James) (56 months ago | reply)
What fun... This is hilarious...
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Old Photos, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Sherlock77 (James) (56 months ago | reply)
I know... I'm an admin of way too many groups...
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Period Photographs of Transportation (pre-1980), and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
daviddb (56 months ago | reply)
What a hoot! Loved this shot ( and all the comments)
barspeed1 (55 months ago | reply)
Hi, anyone heard of the myth that Ford bought a Mini, took it apart nut and bolt and valued its construction to find that BMC where making a loss on each Mini sold, I have a feeling this could be that evalution, that is if the same myth is that Ford also took apart a VW Beetle to establish if it where true for the Beetle as well?
Rich007 (55 months ago | reply)
I think the Mini story is fact, Barspeed1...Ford couldn't believe that the Mini was being sold as cheaply as it was, bought one, took it apart...and discovered that the completely disorganised BMC was making a loss of £5 on each car. And thus relaxed a bit. And that's one of those stories that helps explain why the UK doesn't have a car industry anymore...
Sharlini (55 months ago | reply)
This is what Pimp My Ride would look like back in the 60s. =)
Rich007 (55 months ago | reply)
Just so long as the Mini gets real flames instead of just painted ones...
Sharlini (55 months ago | reply)
Hehehe, you really don't like Minis, eh? My Mum used to have one. It was fun, no a/c (windows rolled down), no radio (so we sang out loud for the unfortunate world to hear).
Rich007 (55 months ago | reply)
Minis are great fun until they break down. Which mine used to do every five minutes. I prefer something more than just 300 seconds of entertainment...
ognavneterjanne (54 months ago | reply)
great story. good luck with you travel!
°Phil° (54 months ago | reply)
yebbut nobbut yebbut.. why is geotagged in Peterborough??
Rich007 (54 months ago | reply)
Well, it turned up in Peterborough, and seeing as I have no idea where (or when) it was taken, my home city seemed as good a geotag as any!
Neuköln (54 months ago | reply)
the bloke with his foot in the bucket must be management.#; )
from memory, the only time one needs a VW that far up in the air is when one is about to drop the engine (or transaxle) out, hence pushing the jack under there (there was a time when my friend and I could get a VW engine out in under 20 minutes)... I can't make out what the gent on the far right is doing, though. What tool is he threatening the VW with?
Rich007 (54 months ago | reply)
Definitely looks like an engine swap. The bloke on the right has a drill though...not necessarily something I would expect in a Beetle engine-out job. Unless he's intending to drill out bits of broken studs and bolts...
°Phil° (54 months ago | reply)
righto :)
Dean Groom @ large (44 months ago | reply)
if it's an engine swap, you only need 1 guy, maybe thats the point.
schapitz (42 months ago | reply)
Hallo, ich bin der Administrator der Gruppe Mini & Mini Cooper, und wir würden uns freuen, wenn Du dies zu unserer Gruppe hinzufügen würdest.
Please join also our group :-)
morrisoxford61 [deleted] (42 months ago | reply)
did you notice the clean walls, strong overhead lighting and ventilation system
I wonder if it was one of the companies that published service manuals for cars they used to strip them and photograph them in this way in clean sterile areas with lots of room to move
unlike a car bodyshop or mt workshop
but I might be wrong
the floor is spotless linoleum and the crossply tyres on the bug are unworn it could also be a motoring magazine taking pictures of the engine bay etc
qiute common in those days
some place in this tip i reside in
I have a period wartime road test of the VW beetle still on pool petrol and it tells how army officers in germany are using them and think they are excellent mag dates from 1945 late
Rich007 (42 months ago | reply)
You could well be right, Morrisoxford61. This shot was obviously staged for some reason...I just wish I knew why!
morrisoxford61 [deleted] (42 months ago | reply)
get several men together strong ale and no excuses or reason are required
I have a fw gonzo shots myself that defy description
fpo22p (35 months ago | reply)
I think its some sort of VW Management night out after a few too many.
MGD LE [deleted] (33 months ago | reply)
This reminds me of the Genesis video 'I Can't Dance"!
tsienni (25 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Humanistic, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
This photo was invited and added to the Humanistic group.