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Old Crank

Old Crank's Journal
Old Crank's Journal
April 28, 2026

Oldtimers in Munich

They do this most every year. These cars aren't trailer queens of 99 point show cars. They drive them in and drive them out so you can see them on the city streets getting there. Quite a few get driven around town on sunny days. There is quite the Oldtimer group of rallys and tours every summer also.

There were 14 Porsche 356 versions and 2 Spyders.



Gun or starter assembly?


Gotta Gogo


Only fire trucks now


Adjustable shocks aren't new


Some American iron


Back when Bentleys raced, 1939


Oldest licensed Fire truck (ladder) in Germany 1913




REO Wolverine, 1928

April 27, 2026

BMW doesn't trust you to remember

What the firing order of their 4 cylinder engine.
A friend had a numbered combination lock and this was the combination for garage.
I was at an Old Timers show this weekend. And noticed this little detail on the valve cover.
Right of the oil fill cap.



I'll have some more pictures from the event tomorrow or a bit later.

April 22, 2026

Remember the Isetta by BMW?

Here is the electric version. Not by BMW. This is the Microlina. The bubble car comes in 2 + versions.
One had the speed capped at 49 kph (30 mph) and doesn't need a full license. Up 100 kilometer, 60 mile, range
The other can go faster and can reach near 100 k[h, 60, and has a couple of hundred kilometer range.
A 2 seater with a fair amount of storage. Meant to zip around town for errands and the like. The front opens like the Isetta for driver and passenger access.
I could probably park 2 in my garage space






More info than you needed here on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microlino

April 19, 2026

Chess set for the family gear head.

Saw this at the flea market in Munich yesterday.



Was dragged away before I could count the pieces .....

April 19, 2026

Meunchen Flomarkt

Munich flea market.
This is the once a year flea market held where Oktoberfest is held. At the same time Frühlingsfest, spring festival, is held. Or I call it the unofficial start of Dirndl season. Great weather, first sunny weekend in a month, brought out scads of people. Of course there was a great number of must haves.... For souvenir hunters I suggest the weekly, Fri-Sat Flomarkt at the old Olympic stadium rather than new at the stores.



Chess set for your gear head...


Krüge of course


And??


Nixed for the balcony


Get your souvenirs at Flomarkts






April 19, 2026

Got my e-ballot for CA

Now I have to sort out who to vote for for governor.
It will not be any of the 5% or lower.
Suggestions with reasons welcome.
Please no dragging down other candidates.
No candidate is ever a perfect match. I want to vote for who I think is best to push the needle the way I want it to go.
For the general election I will be supporting any chosen dem.

April 16, 2026

Discounted America?

A friend on BlueSky posted this..


It seems like the U.S. just isn’t valued like it used to be.

Rick Schmitz (@rickschmitz.bsky.social) 2026-04-16T07:11:39.749Z



I need to learn how to get the post to show.
April 14, 2026

Saw on Blue Sky.

Can someone check Apple maps? Supposedly village names have been removed from southern Lebanon. I don't Apple but they are still on Google maps at the time of this post.

April 13, 2026

Calmer times for us at the end of last week.

Years ago we befriended a young lady who was an au pair. After she went home I got to visit her parents in the former East Germany. We have been friends ever since. The parents were down to our place to discuss a bathroom remodel and fix some radiator controllers. Oma came along also. Great to talk about stuff and mostly avoid the US situation. Now that we (me) have a better handle on German we can get deeper into what goes on an explain why we may not head back to the US. They understand having lived in the GDR.

April 12, 2026

Advice needed.

I have a box grater that serves me well. Recently I saw conical grater. Should I buy one so I can have ,

A Cone of Grateness?

I'll see myself out.

Profile Information

Name: Ralph
Gender: Male
Current location: München, DE
Member since: Tue Nov 14, 2017, 07:17 AM
Number of posts: 7,186

About Old Crank

Currently living in Germany, enjoying the culture, enjoying the food, enjoying the travel. Not enjoying the winters, or the Deutsches lernen... Now on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ralphingermany.bsky.social
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