This 16mm film from my archive is supposed to be a parable... So here it is: Work hard washing cars, and you can buy the most awesome build-it-yourself SSP (On Sale!), put it together in your basement, race it with your best friend, smash it to bits against the wall, and you get to put it back together and do it all over again. So... That's the parable! Honestly, every kid knows that smashing Thunder Rod was the best part! Worth a week washing cars. And aren't there rules about child labor and low pay? Anyway - The moral of the story is have fun, work hard, demand a living wage, and don't be a sour puss just because you don't think that repairing things is the most fun of all. As usual I transferred this reel with my own Telecine and corrected color to taste. Enjoy!
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- Intro Music by Fran Blanche -
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Fran's Science Blog - http://www.frantone.com/designwritings/design_writings.html
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Join Team FranLab!!!! Become a patron and help support my YouTube Channel on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/frantone
#franlab #Charger #SSP
- Intro Music by Fran Blanche -
Fran on Twitter - https://twitter.com/contourcorsets
Fran's Science Blog - http://www.frantone.com/designwritings/design_writings.html
FranArt Website - http://www.contourcorsets.com
Directed by Skeets McGraw
That "Thunder Rod" title card shot looks weirdly similar to Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof", when the title "Thunder Bolt" briefly appears until immediately replaced with "DEATH PROOF" 🤔
Hil ar e us
Born into a world of shoddy toys
But…Thunder Rod is based on a car that was never built! If you look at the roofline and side window (especially in the C-pillar area) the body is clearly a 1971 B-body Road Runner with a Superbird nose and wing modified to fit. Maybe it was based on what would have been of the 1971 Superbird until Nascar reduced the engine size of the winged cars to 305 ci., effectively killing that car.
Oh, for what might have been?
I believe the actual name of the film is "Spend, Spend".
Didn't anyone else notice the writer as Laura Ingram????
Those car were fun until you got your hair all tangled in the wheel
Interesting, these were sold in Australia. There is a SSP website but I don't remember any of the cars other than the purple rocket type one – I was probably to old to be interested and was into Scalectrix. Perhaps a local manufacturer lisenced them and made their own designs? I do remember the zip cord teeth wearing out though.
I had SSPs but I don't remember putting them together as a kit from parts..btw this film has a bizarre "Vanishing Point" kind of vibe to it…
A junk yard like that would be a Gold Mine today. A lot of those cars went to the crusher, then shredded, then melted down. I remember hauling away some pretty nice rides to the Midlothian, Tx. steel mill to be melted down into steel bars & slabs. Federally mandated. Pity. Classic stuff here Fran. Cool to see these type film reels again.
75p to wash a car? Even in the 70s that was robbery.
Love the music!