AutoPuzzles - The Internet's Museum of Rare Cars!

Puzzles, Games and Name That Car => Solved AutoPuzzles => 2007 => Topic started by: Otto Puzzell on March 17, 2007, 06:17:08 AM

Title: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Otto Puzzell on March 17, 2007, 06:17:08 AM
Know what it is?

Please, respond below and let us know the make and model designation of the car posted here.

If you haven't registered yet, you need to do so in order to reply with your answer.  You can do so by clicking here (http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?action=register).

Also, please be sure to check out our other puzzles, and, please post a puzzle of your own if you'd like - the more, the merrier. :D

Title: Re: Puzzle #258
Post by: grobmotorix on March 17, 2007, 06:31:51 AM
It´s american, it´s body is plastic or FRP and I´ve never seen it before.

Maybe it´s a pre Kaiser Darrin or Glasspar car.

The huge door hinges show the problems of the very early plastic bodies to keep things fixed...
Title: Re: Puzzle #258
Post by: JR on March 17, 2007, 08:21:53 PM
It looks like an early Saturn or the 1954 Ratio Mfg. Venus. More likely to be the Venus I think.

JR
Title: Re: Puzzle #258
Post by: Otto Puzzell on March 19, 2007, 03:49:09 AM
Venus it is.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: grobmotorix on March 19, 2007, 04:11:29 AM
do you know any link to get just some more information?
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Otto Puzzell on March 19, 2007, 04:32:06 AM
Sure - here you go...

<<< Link Deleted >>>
Title: SOLVED: Araknid #16 - Venus Roadster BY Ken McLeod in 1954
Post by: araknid on August 30, 2011, 12:19:12 PM
For one point, who is the person who made this car?   ;D
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Carnut on August 30, 2011, 12:58:30 PM
Link deleted
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on August 30, 2011, 01:01:25 PM
well,  what do you know.  I looked and did not find it.  I looked again and still didn't find it.  What is the trick?
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Carnut on August 30, 2011, 02:23:02 PM
well,  what do you know.  I looked and did not find it.  I looked again and still didn't find it.  What is the trick?

I don't know because it happens to me as well!
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on August 30, 2011, 02:47:51 PM
Maybe I should leave it open for someone to tell me who the person was that built it.  It would be really easy Rookie points at this stage.

 ;D

Then I can post some additional information and it can be merged.
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Ray B. on August 30, 2011, 05:11:17 PM
It's such a well-known car that they won't have no trouble at all.
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Carnut on August 30, 2011, 06:00:32 PM
Well, it would be a bit of a new idea to re-run puzzles for someone to add additional info.
Normally the additional info would be added to the old puzzle thread...
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Otto Puzzell on August 31, 2011, 04:17:40 AM
Well, it would be a bit of a new idea to re-run puzzles for someone to add additional info.
Normally the additional info would be added to the old puzzle thread...

Well,

I received an e-mail a while back from rickjames8, that asked, in effect:

"What about allowing puzzles in the rookie section that are, indeed, re-posts?"

With the ever-growing mebership roster here, and the ever-diminishing number of cars that might be puzzles, it seems to make sense. What if we just added the proviso that know re-posts be titled "Rooke Re-Post...."?

I see no problem with rickjames8's idea. The re-posts can be combined with their twins after they are solved. 

Thoughts?

Sorry for the delay in responding, Mr. J :)
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Ray B. on August 31, 2011, 05:15:24 AM
I don't like the idea at all. I have nothing against recycling, once used, stuff such as paper, plastics, metal, etc.
Not anything that's been already eaten or puzzled.
It would be an open door to a big whatever, and would drain all its soul out of Autopuzzles (I may be a little melodramatic here ;) ).
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Otto Puzzell on August 31, 2011, 06:31:38 AM
I can see you feel very strongly about this.  :)
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Carnut on August 31, 2011, 11:05:22 AM
Well, a lot of solved puzzles were done and dusted long before most of today's members were here, and at some distance in the future there are not going to be many cars left that haven't been puzzled already.  That's probably a greater threat to the existence of AP
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on August 31, 2011, 12:14:49 PM
geez, guys.  I didn't mean to stir up such a hornet's nest here.  As indicated in the post above, I did look for this car and couldn't find it, so I thought it was new.  I was surprised when carnut posted the link (hey, I thought we weren't supposed to post links), but I was happy to change the puzzle to identify the person who built it since it wasn't disclosed in the original puzzle.

I'm relatively new to AP and woudl have had a fairly difficult time finding this car in any case. 

I like the suggestion by Otto and C-nut.  The pool of suitable cars is drying up like a pond in Texas in the summer.
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Otto Puzzell on August 31, 2011, 12:24:50 PM
Well, a lot of solved puzzles were done and dusted long before most of today's members were here, and at some distance in the future there are not going to be many cars left that haven't been puzzled already.  That's probably a greater threat to the existence of AP

I agree
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Ray B. on August 31, 2011, 12:26:25 PM
No hornet's nest here , araknid.
Just some old autopuzzlers and jolly companions calmly discussing of a possible evolution of the site while sipping their beers.

And, about links: all links to other websites are prohibited, but links to other topics on Autopuzzles.com are totally allowed (and used quite often, especially to signal reposts  :).
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Ultra on August 31, 2011, 12:36:45 PM
Well, it would be a bit of a new idea to re-run puzzles for someone to add additional info.
Normally the additional info would be added to the old puzzle thread...

Well,

I received an e-mail a while back from rickjames8, that asked, in effect:

"What about allowing puzzles in the rookie section that are, indeed, re-posts?"

With the ever-growing mebership roster here, and the ever-diminishing number of cars that might be puzzles, it seems to make sense. What if we just added the proviso that know re-posts be titled "Rooke Re-Post...."?

I see no problem with rickjames8's idea. The re-posts can be combined with their twins after they are solved.  

Thoughts?

Sorry for the delay in responding, Mr. J :)

I think this is a first class idea.  It is a great way to flesh out the archives of old posts with new information as well as giving further incentive for the rookies to familiarize themselves with the old puzzles.

I fully support it and think it should be policy.
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on August 31, 2011, 12:43:37 PM
Okay, so now we just need a Rookie to step up to the plate and ID the guy so we can put this puzzle to bed and merge it with the orignal.  I have some cool stuff I found regarding this car that I want to post.

 :drink:
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: Carnut on August 31, 2011, 06:31:17 PM
OK by me.
Should be quite easy since I posted that link...!  I (or an Editor) could always remove it?!
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on August 31, 2011, 06:36:09 PM
OK by me.
Should be quite easy since I posted that link...!  I (or an Editor) could always remove it?!

No.  Leave it.  It'll still take a little bit of digging to find the builder.  We don't want to make it too hard on the Rookies.  

If, after a week, nobody has solved it, I'll ask for it to be merged with the other puzzle.  I think it would be way too easy for the experts.  
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on September 07, 2011, 02:57:09 PM
As they said in the "Jeffersons" theme song, "Well, we're movin' on up" to the expert side.  Any Experts want to have a go at this?  Should be easy for y'all.

 :lmao:
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: SACO on September 07, 2011, 04:15:47 PM
Venus roadster ?
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on September 07, 2011, 04:16:46 PM
I'm looking for the person who made it.
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: SACO on September 07, 2011, 04:23:35 PM
Ken McLoad in 1954
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: pguillem on September 07, 2011, 04:29:48 PM
=====
Back in the late 40’s and early 50’s, a 34 year-old Ken McLoad (my father), embarked on a venture to produce and sell a sleek, fiberglass-bodied sports car which he named the "Venus". It used a donor chassis and running gear from a '49-'52 Ford, though I suspect it would mount on almost any chassis. He began design work on the Venus while in Dallas. In 1950 or 1951, he took a job as an engineer at a geophysical cable manufacturing company in Houston known as Vector Cable. (He later became President and served in that position for 18 years before the company was purchased by Schlumberger.) Naturally, he brought the Venus project with him from Dallas. In the next few years, he built a complete full-scale "plug" of the car body out of wood (from which to make molds).

As if a full-time engineering job and raising 3 kids was not enough, he and two other guys formed a company around 1953 or 1954 called Ratio Mfg. Co. to build and sell this car. Mr. D.Y. Gorman set up the business and handled the management of the company; Mr. E.F. Rockett was the pattern maker; and my father handled all of the design work. One of Mr. Gorman's teenage sons, DeWitt, actually worked on the Venus bodies, applying additional sealing resin and making then ready for shipping.

They built a prototype (and probably several more), had it photographed, and a story was written in the May 1954 issue of Motor Trend. I suspect they sent the story and photos to Motor Trend, as opposed to Motor Trend seeking them out.
======
Title: Re: Araknid #16
Post by: araknid on September 07, 2011, 04:31:08 PM
Yep.  I knew it wasn't going to last long at this level.   :lmao:

Restoring a production car is difficult enough, but Patrick McLoad took on a much more difficult task by not only locating a rare Venus – a car his father, Ken McLoad, attempted to produce in the 1950s – but also undertaking the piece-by-piece restoration of the Venus and documenting the resto on his blog.

More cool tidbits regarding this car:

[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4]
[attachimg=5]
Title: Re: SOLVED: Araknid #16 - Venus Roadster BY Ken McLoad in 1954
Post by: Ray B. on September 07, 2011, 05:46:03 PM
Now that it's solved, if nobody minds, I'll call it a repost of this:
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=1294.0

Since I'm not the majority here, I'll leave it to the editors to see if it must be merged.
Title: Re: SOLVED: Araknid #16 - Venus Roadster BY Ken McLoad in 1954
Post by: araknid on September 07, 2011, 05:53:51 PM
Now that it's solved, if nobody minds, I'll call it a repost of this:
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=1294.0

Since I'm not the majority here, I'll leave it to the editors to see if it must be merged.

Yes, please merge.

 :D
Title: Re: SOLVED: Araknid #16 - Venus Roadster BY Ken McLeod in 1954
Post by: Carnut on September 07, 2011, 06:04:56 PM
Your Dad pguillem?  I'm mightily impressed..

You must know your own name so I assume that McLeod is a typo because they didn't believe he was called McLoad!!
Title: Re: SOLVED: Araknid #16 - Venus Roadster BY Ken McLeod in 1954
Post by: pguillem on September 07, 2011, 08:03:15 PM
Your Dad pguillem?  I'm mightily impressed..

You must know your own name so I assume that McLeod is a typo because they didn't believe he was called McLoad!!

I'd be glad to be Venus' father's son.  It would give me the chance to be called Eros...  :nerves:
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Otto Puzzell on September 08, 2011, 04:19:23 AM
Merged
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Carnut on November 01, 2013, 07:05:33 AM
It's interesting to read the whole thread again, esp. the discussion about resposts!

Here's a nice picture of a Venus; I don't know if it's been posted in this thread already because like a lot of pictures at the moment on AP they've all vanished and I can't see any of them.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Wendax on November 01, 2013, 07:23:45 AM
That one is new to the thread.  :)

Funny, I can see all pictures, but I do have problems seeing my own newly posted pictures when adding new puzzles.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Paul Jaray on November 01, 2013, 02:29:41 PM
I can't see pictures but if I download them they do exist!
It's quite annoying... >:(
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Otto Puzzell on November 01, 2013, 02:46:56 PM
Paul,

In this thread, which photo or photos can you not see?
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Paul Jaray on November 01, 2013, 03:18:28 PM
Araknid's ones on Reply 29.
I can't see just 5 thumbnails here:
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?board=35.0
the Venus, Ferver, Isotta Fraschini, Motto MG and Audi 100 Coupe.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Carnut on November 01, 2013, 04:30:11 PM
I have exactly the same as PJ.
They are there if I click on them and download them but up until a day or two ago they were all always there within the thread automatically.  I wondered if I'd changed some setting on my computer at work by mistake but it's just the same on my one at home, so it seems the problem is not at this end.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Otto Puzzell on November 01, 2013, 04:36:04 PM
Can you see the pics in reply #29 now?

I can still see the pics OK in the threads.

As to the thumbnails here: http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?board=35.0 

... the missing ones are the result of the poster including a hotlinked puzzle pic (i.e., the puzzle pic is hosted on photobucket or another site). As time allows, I re-insert the pics into the puzzle threads. I'll take a whack at doing more of these over the weekend. 


Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Paul Jaray on November 01, 2013, 05:01:57 PM
I still can't see them.
I think I found a car from the Black Hole, it was a formula car of the sixties but I can't see 9\10 of the pics that are there and I can't remember who post it...
I don't think you'll be able to re-insert all the pics I can't view (they are hundreds!)...but what happens?
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Carnut on November 01, 2013, 07:44:50 PM
No, I still can't see them either.
A lot of members' avatars have disappeared too, for instance Wendax's is just an empty box with a red 'x' in the top left corner and no amount of clicking on the cross (or right clicking and asking to see the picture) will bring it up.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Otto Puzzell on November 02, 2013, 04:40:22 AM
 :scratch:

I've viewed the site from a work PC, my home PC, a tablet, and a phone - no problem viewing the pics. Two other things come to mind.

1. Have you cleared your cache lately?  That might be worth a try.

2. Have any new internet rules gone into effect in the EU?

I'll submit an inquiry to the keepers of the code to see if they updated the forum software.
Title: Re: Puzzle #258 - Solved! Venus #1
Post by: Carnut on November 02, 2013, 10:21:59 AM
Haven't cleared my cache, no, but it would be a bit coincidental if that was it as the pictures have failed to appear both on my work and home computers at exactly the same time, and it's the same pictures that don't appear.  About 60/70 pct of them do still, but the older they are the less likely they seem to be to appear - even ones I've posted in my own puzzles..

Don't know of any new rules; as mentioned the pictures are there but need to be downloaded.  It's just that they don't appear off their own bat like they always have..