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Watch this guy explore Detroit's abandoned Packard Plant on a dirt bike.
Autoblog ^ | 1/20/2014 | J. Ramsey

Posted on 01/21/2014 10:00:39 AM PST by nascarnation

Packard gave up on its automotive plant in Detroit in 1956, but the 3,500,000-square-foot complex of reinforced concrete remains - if only as remains. It is perhaps just as famous for being ruins as it was when it built cars, still attracting plenty of attention from entrepreneurs, paintballers, vandals and urban spelunkers.

Creative types love them some Packard Plant, too, evidenced by the short film produced by Cantini Pictures when they wanted to test out a homemade motorcycle and an aerial drone. The result is a few minutes of "motocross meets the monument."

Check it out in the video below. And in case it isn't obvious, you probably shouldn't try this at home... nor at the Packard plant. For a more traditional history with lots of photos, a piece in the Detroit Free Press can fill you in.

(Excerpt) Read more at autoblog.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Humor
KEYWORDS: abandoned; detroit; dirtbike; packard
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To: Jane Long

The Way Back Machine?


21 posted on 01/21/2014 10:34:29 AM PST by GeronL (Extra Large Cheesy Over-Stuffed Hobbit)
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To: ccmay

Yes I believe you are correct.
Many years after the fact I worked in the labs where the Allison V1710 engines were tested during WW2.
I will say they ran the living sh!t out of each engine before shipping it to make sure there were no premature failures.


22 posted on 01/21/2014 10:35:47 AM PST by nascarnation (I'm hiring Jack Palladino to investigate Baraq's golf scores.)
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To: pgobrien

Agree, but also ironic that so many of Honda’s cars and bikes are now built here in the US.


23 posted on 01/21/2014 10:37:03 AM PST by nascarnation (I'm hiring Jack Palladino to investigate Baraq's golf scores.)
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To: GeronL

Lol...yeah, that’s it.


24 posted on 01/21/2014 10:39:06 AM PST by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
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To: nascarnation

I’ll have to check it out later. Won’t load on my smart phone.


25 posted on 01/21/2014 10:42:16 AM PST by Conspiracy Guy (Did the ancients know they were ancients? Or did they see themselves as presents?)
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To: ccmay

“The first two Packard-built Merlins to be completed were demonstrated on test stands at a special ceremony at the Packard plant in Detroit on August 2, 1941.

Full production began in 1942 and by the end of World War II, 55,873 Merlins had been produced in the U.S.A. The Army Air Forces used the engine almost exclusively in the famed P-51 “Mustang”, for it provided greatly improved high-altitude performance over the Allison V-1710 engine used in earlier series of the airplane. The V-1650 Merlin also replaced the V-1710 in the “F” series of the P-40. The British also used Packard-built Merlin’s during the last three years of the war in their “Spitfire”, “Mosquito”, and “Lancaster” airplanes.”

http://www.456fis.org/PACKARD_V-1650_MERLIN_ENGINE.htm


26 posted on 01/21/2014 10:46:55 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: Jane Long

Things have a long way to go but things are changing in Detroit and other cities would be well advised to keep an eye on what is happening there.

Things like allowing private companies to compete with public services. When it comes to direct personal freedoms I doubt you could find a freer big city in the country. There is now a pro gun police chief who is doing the heavy lifting and there has been a significant drop in the violent crime rate.

There is a lot of Canadian investment going on in Detroit and big financial players are transferring a lot of people to Detroit from NY.


27 posted on 01/21/2014 10:47:00 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: KeyLargo

First car I can remember well..at age 6..my dad’s new 1953 Packard Caribbean coupe..the swan hood ornament was gorgeous..and he had those curb feelers on the fenders...I loved to play with them when the car was in the driveway.


28 posted on 01/21/2014 10:47:37 AM PST by ken5050 (This space available cheap...)
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To: cripplecreek
Yes, I'm impressed with the new Chief of Police. And, the investing taking place.

A buddy and I had "big plans", years ago, to go buy a bunch of houses that were selling for $1 in Detroit. We were dreaming of being a two-person revitalization team.

29 posted on 01/21/2014 10:58:07 AM PST by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
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To: mazda77; vette6387; Forty-Niner; tgusa; Foolsgold; Doogle; Windflier; overbore; JLAGRAYFOX; ...

PING


30 posted on 01/21/2014 10:59:20 AM PST by ExTexasRedhead
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To: ccmay

Enjoy the audio of this P-51 fly by with the Merlin engine humming along.

http://www.rrbew.co.uk/FeaturePics/MerlinSound.wav

I love the smell of high octane av gas in the morning..


31 posted on 01/21/2014 11:00:50 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: nascarnation

seeing all the graffiti in there, it might be good to use the buddy system when entering.


32 posted on 01/21/2014 11:05:38 AM PST by showme_the_Glory (ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government)
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To: KeyLargo

They were literally tearing up the floor as the last car cleared the line?? I hope it’s in a museum somewhere.


33 posted on 01/21/2014 11:12:55 AM PST by Cyber Liberty (H.L. Mencken: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.")
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To: cripplecreek

I read that the owner of the Ambassador Bridge is doing an effective job of tying up the land purchase for the new bridge to Windsor. True?


34 posted on 01/21/2014 11:14:36 AM PST by Cyber Liberty (H.L. Mencken: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.")
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To: nascarnation

“And in case it isn’t obvious, you probably shouldn’t try this at home.”

Why not? My home is well over 3.5 million square feet.


35 posted on 01/21/2014 11:37:02 AM PST by lowbridge
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To: cripplecreek

I’ll bet that makes the Noo Yawkers deliriously happy. /s


36 posted on 01/21/2014 11:44:47 AM PST by tgusa (gun control: deep breath, sight alignment, squeeze the trigger .......)
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To: nascarnation
I'll never get those two and a half minutes back.
Actually, I didn't get past the first few moments - pfft.
37 posted on 01/21/2014 11:49:51 AM PST by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken!)
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To: ETL

ping


38 posted on 01/21/2014 12:10:14 PM PST by Clay Moore ("To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." ~Voltaire)
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To: nascarnation

40 years of liberal control


39 posted on 01/21/2014 12:18:30 PM PST by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: KeyLargo
Sad picture. Detroit factory workers begin dismantling Packard assembly line ...

The last Packards that were built in Detroit were made in 1956. The car in the picture is, I believe, a 1954 Clipper.

40 posted on 01/21/2014 12:28:07 PM PST by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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