Buess Restorations

11/13/2024

07/21/2024

The Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4014 crossed the Sierras recently and I got to see it in person. I remember climbing on this locomotive as a boy when it was stored in Pomona, California and my grandfather was part of the group that helped to save it from scrapping back in the 1950’s.

This pacing video of 4014 on one of the steepest grades up to Donner Summit is just mesmerizing!

READ FIRST:Pacing between Gold Run and Monte Vista on Lincoln Road. The grade here is a stiff 2.2%. Enjoy and stay tuned =)Consist is about 1,550 tons behind...

07/01/2024

There is just nothing like a tri-plane. I could watch this amazing machine fly all day! Notice the ease with which it maneuvers in very little space. If you fastened a rope to the tail the pilot could tie it into a knot!

02/02/2024

Wow! Someone caught 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II 179XJ on the road after its big win at Pebble Beach!

01/12/2024

This is 23UB, a 1914 Silver Ghost my dad and I restored for Pebble Beach back in 2001 where it won Most Elegant Open Car. It went on to capture Best of Show at every Concours where it was entered. We sold it in 2008 after many miles of delightful motoring. It never once failed to start on the spark using the very reliable vi****or coil. In fact, with very high compression, I never cranked it live, but rather just turned it over twice by hand from dead cold even after sitting six months and then turned the ignition on. It sprung to life immediately every time this way during our eight years of ownership.

01/08/2024

Magnificent Doble Steaamcar! My dad rode in this car or its twin as a boy back in the 30s. He never stopped talking about the experience.

Abner Doble was convinced steam power was perfect for cars. By 1922, the model E had been developed; this could be said to be the "classic" Doble, of which ...

12/24/2023

12/08/2023

This is a Tesla model Y battery.
It takes up all of the space under the passenger compartment of the car.

To manufacture it you need:
--12 tons of rock for Lithium (can be extracted from sea water)
-- 5 tons of cobalt minerals (Most cobalt is made as a byproduct of
the processing of copper and nickel ores. It is the most difficult
material to obtain for a battery and the most expensive.)
-- 3 tons nickel ore
-- 12 tons of copper ore

You must move 250 tons of soil to obtain:
-- 26.5 pounds of Lithium
-- 30 pounds of nickel
-- 48.5 pounds of manganese
-- 15 pounds of cobalt

To manufacture the battery also requires:
-- 441 pounds of aluminum, steel and/or plastic
-- 112 pounds of graphite

The Caterpillar 994A is used for the earthmoving to obtain the essential minerals. It consumes 264 gallons of diesel in 12 hours.

Finally you get a “zero emissions” car.

Presently, the bulk of the necessary minerals for manufacturing the batteries come from China or Africa. Much of the labor for getting the minerals in Africa is done by children! If we buy electric cars, it's China who profits most!

BTW, this 2021 Tesla Model Y OEM battery (the cheapest Tesla battery) is currently for sale on the Internet for $4,999 not including shipping or installation. The battery weighs 1,000 pounds (you can imagine the shipping cost). The cost to replace Tesla batteries is in $US

Model 3 -- $14,000+ (Car MSRP $38,990)
Model Y -- $5,000–$5,500 (Car MSRP $47,740)
Model S -- $13,000–$20,000 (Car MSRP $74,990)
Model X -- $13,000+ (Car MSRP $79,990)

It takes SEVEN years for an electric car to reach net-zero CO2. The life expectancy of the batteries is 10 years (average). Only in the last three years do you begin to reduce your carbon footprint. Then the batteries have to be replaced and you lose all the gains you made in those three years.

Let that sink in.