[Supras] Treadstone intercooler (now off-topic)

[berniek at technicaldevelop.com]

Dear Bob:

      
    The bomb making episodes ended 46 years ago, although every so often....


    Seriously, four of us approached the subject from a standpoint of 
technical fun.  The idea was never to hurt anyone or cause damage.  The 
idea was to do things that others could not do, as that small group of 
friends (had several groups counting cars, ham radio, chemistry, etc.) 
and I had a great emotional release from watching the fuse burn into the 
casing, some small sparks, then BOOM!  The concussion on the chest felt 
great, with a fireball as high as the trees, as did the knowledge we 
gained, ultimately resulting in synthesizing nitrocellulose (too late in 
the game, near the time we got caught).  But related groups of friends 
and I at that time used to make our own booze doing distillation of 
anything that would ferment (fusel oil content was awful), building 
illegal broadcast band radio transmitters (100W output with TV 
horizontal output tubes), and of course... cars!   Some of the picnic 
area roads in West Orange NJ (off Northfield Rd., for those who are 
familiar with it) was where I first learned to hold my parent's '55 Ford 
on the edge of a four wheel drift (the 272 CID low compression pig had 
barely enough power for it in a tight slow corner).  In the mid '60's 
most of us were out of undergrad school, graduated to GTOs, some of whom 
did buildups to varying degrees (yours truly had a Crane cam, highly 
modified factory 3-2bbl carbs, shorty headers, Crower roller tipped 
rockers needed to avoid valve guide wear).  Strangely enough a number of 
us were and still are into classical and baroque music (I play violin, 
viola, some piano and Bach organ, and was first chair violist in the NJ 
Allstate Orchestra).  Most of us that had a post high school education 
wound up in engineering, analog and RF electronic design in my case. 


    I could not have asked for a better period of fun and learning from 
age 17-1/2 to about age 23.  Of course much of what we did before 
carried on afterwards, but not bombs or illegal radio transmitters (many 
of us got ham licenses in our early teenage years).  My best friend at 
that time and I went to neighboring high schools in Newark and Irvington 
(NJ).  We were each physics and chemistry lab assistants.  Guess where 
the KNO3 for the bombs came from?  


    Well, building up the '91 Supra is a return to one of many interests 
in a very long cycle of interests. 


    Take care, and have a good new year.


    Bernie

Bob wrote:
> Congratulations, you meet the criteria for Homegrown terrorist according to
> the newly passed House Resolution 1955, the Violent Radicalization and
> Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007! 
>
> Of course, I'm being a little paranoid...but I'd hate to see you disappeared
> to Guantanamo. 
>
> Bernie
> At least it doesn't snow there...  and I hear the food isn't so bad....
>
> Bob
>
>
>
>