Four-Links – stolen ute, Ape van, Lee Breedlove tether car, hand tool compendium

* As we did last week, we’ll lead off this week’s Four-Links with notice of a stolen car. In this case, it’s a Holden HQ Ute, painted “Kermit frog green” and powered by a 350. A Ford ZH Fairlane was also stolen from the same shop near Windsor in New South Wales, Australia. These thieves gotta be smoking something potent if they think they can hide something like a green ute.

* Never seen a bus built from a Piaggio Ape? That’s because, according to apevintage.com, some old bodyman in southern Italy built just one in the 1950s, using parts from Fiats and Lancias. He probably could have thought of a better routing for the exhaust too. (via)

* Over on the AMC Forum, member AMX09652 showed off his new tether car, bashed together from an Ertl 1/18 scale AMX model and a Veco 0.19 engine. I wonder why we haven’t seen more tether cars with unusual body selections?

* Old car guys tend to like other old mechanical things from the same eras, so we imagine a few of you would be interested in Alloy Artifacts, an “online resource for 20th century hand tools and the companies that made them.” (via)

* Ryan over at the Jalopy Journal is trying to track down info on the First Annual Car Club Day and Autocade at Disneyland exactly 50 years ago today. Some interesting comments in response, but nothing solid as of this writing.

* Finally, an article from the February 1929 issue of Modern Mechanics, highlighting a few re-uses of Model T Fords, including the two-cylinder air compressor above, similar to (and predating) the Schramm that we highlighted a couple years back. Nowadays, we just pour liquid glass down the throats of old Ford engines.

Related posts:

• Pics Aplenty: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor at Baja 1000 like a pig in mud
• Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX Delayed
• Ford Flex to Arrive in Dealer Showrooms in Early 2008
• VIDEO: 2010 Mustang GT burnin' rubber
• Ford To Offer Employee Pricing Plus 0% Financing In Desperate Attempt To Sell Cars [Financiapocalypse]

Related posts:

• Bob Lutz is Stepping Up!
• There’s a sample, normal & high quality version. .
• Bahara Golestani: Princess Of Persia
• Nostalgic Cars at Simpson Design
• If your Enzo Ferrari exhaust note isn’t doing it for you anymore, you might ...

Giant gathering of little cars

Had a chance to check out Charles Gould’s 14th annual Microcar and Minicar Classic Event on Saturday and came away impressed. Not only did Charles manage to attract a wide variety of little cars to his corner of Boston (in addition to his own eclectic collection), but as I sat on the hill at Larz Anderson watching over the event, I realized that there were more women and children at this one event actually enjoying themselves (rather than just appeasing Dad) than I’ve seen at any other event I’ve attended. I’ll have more on the event in an upcoming issue of Hemmings Motor News, but for now, a sample.

Related posts:

• Mini E - Electric Car 2009
• NHTSA listens to arguments against quiet hybrids
• New BMW M3 CSL Caught Testing in Germany?...It's the Ultimate M3
• Seanna Mitchell: Body Paint Girl

Related posts:

• Anyone wishing to see the car close up can see it at the Jacob Javits Center ...
• Who Cares About the Prius When the New MINI D Gets 72.4 mpg!
• Mini Cooper gets the Swarvoski treatment
• More Details Emerge on MINI 4X4 Crossover
• Mini Whimsy

Affordable Ford

So it’s not the Fairlane you always wanted. And it’s not the most iconic Thunderbird ever made. In fact, some may say it’s just another albatross – a product of the downsize era that should have never left the assembly line. A square ‘Bird. One that was never competitive on the NASCAR circuit against the GM G-body creations – and for obvious reasons.

But when was the last time you saw one of these forgotten ‘Birds – this example an ‘81 – in this nice of a condition? When they were new, comes time mind. The only thing we saw missing here – when we ran into it at Carlisle – was the hood ornament. Advertised as having a V-8 engine under the hood, everything indicated that it had hardly been used – even the interior was lint-free and sparkling new. How could this be? Try just 33,133 miles on the odometer. History since new, and recently traded in for a new car with a mere 32,880 showing. Even the landau top was fresh-like. And here’s the kicker: $4,900 or best offer. That’s about the current value for a #3 example; this was closer to a #2+. This Thunderbird was also 28 years old, making it eligible for any antique car show. Affordable and unusual – what a combination. Desirable? Well…

Related posts:

• An Intelligent Protection System (IPS) integrates airbags, restraint systems, ...
• The series is averaging a 2.4 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 7.4 million ...
• The Detroit 3's problem is really... "vehicle density"?
• Ford Fiesta ECOnetic secures First, Second, Fourth Place at Monte-Carlo Rally
• Celebrities Spotted in their MAD WHIPS

Related posts:

• What are the best and worst cars produced by the Big 3?
• Ascari A10 Fastest Car at Top Gear
• 2007 Gumball 3000 - Metacafe Video Contest
• Universal Electric Vehicle - The UEV Spyder
• Consumer Reports investigating motorcycle testing procedures