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Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113179
11/17/11 07:41 PM
11/17/11 07:41 PM
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Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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Driving back towards Woodward with Carmine in his beautifully aged Imperial and talking about Kirk Kerkorian, Jerry York and Robert Eaton I was totally hyped but also concerned that I would not meet Ed, the retired Chrysler Engineer and his engineer friends from Auburn Hills.



A rare sight, a Challenger R/T Sheriff unit at the Chrysler display;



I was seriously late and unfortunately he did not hear my call so after Carmine dropped me off at the Chrysler display and returned to work, I hurried south to Ferndale where an Emergency Vehicle Show was on...they already had the parade and it seems several cars took off after it but there was still quite a few interesting ones left. Since I'm a C-body guy there are few things better than a C-body Highway Patrol car and I like the beautifully finished American emergency vehicles in general, quite a contrast to the ugly cheap looking European ones! There were still a good variety of different MoPar bodystyles present including the fantastic Michigan State Police Fury familiar from the Nats;









The mandatory Blues Brothers car was present as well...this one was nicer than most and if I remember correctly it was a rare civilian 440 car...



Remember when ambulances used to be based on Cadillacs and other big sedans? Beautiful and luxurios Superiors and Miller-Meteors? What happened there? Downsizing of the sedans and thus killing that style? No, gubmint happened in 1973 (from coachbuilt.com);

"1973 EMS SYSTEMS ACT - The 1973 EMS Systems Act - passed in 1974, implemented four years later in 1978 - required that communities receiving federal funds for their programs had ambulances that met new federal specifications. Three chassis styles meet the criteria and are still in use today: Type I uses a small truck body with a modular compartment, Type II has a van body with a raised roof and Type III has van chassis with a modular compartment. Passenger-based vehicles were purposely excluded from legislation and the last American-made automobile-based ambulance was built in 1978. However a handful of automobile-based ambulances are still made in Europe using Mercedes E-Class and Volvo S-60/S-80 chassis."





Ford had a big display under construction in Ferndale;



Driving back to the Chrysler display I had a look at the Detroit Masonic Temple, another amazing structure with 1037 rooms and 12 million cubic feet of space!

http://www.detroitmasonic.com/





The Chrysler display was pretty much set for the big day tomorrow! Woodward Dream Cruise 2011!

















A silent moment...I never had the pleasure of meeting Gary...


Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113180
11/17/11 07:56 PM
11/17/11 07:56 PM
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Chicken coop
dustergirl340 Offline
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Always glad to see Gary's Challenger out. Great pics of the truck plant too.

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113181
11/17/11 10:17 PM
11/17/11 10:17 PM
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Turku, Finland
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The big day is here but since I have been watching cruising on Woodward for a week now I don't feel like going there early in the morning as there are many places to see still! First up is the Skillman Branch of the Detroit Public Library. They have the biggest automotive collection in the world!

http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/nahc/



I was concerned about how on earth I ever could leave this place but it was closed, maybe due to the cruise??!!! One day I'll be back!



I decided to take a walk in downtown for a moment before heading back north. Here is the stunning Wayne County courthouse that was close to being demolished in the 1970:s. What were they thinking??





Looking towards the Book-Cadillac entrance;













Pawnshop window in the Motor City;



Comerica Park was quite an impressive sight in downtown...stupid me drove right past the old Tiger Stadium though earlier, don't know how that is possible even if I thought that it has been demolished? I tend to be a bit more alert in neighborhoods where tireshops don't offer sizes smaller than 24:s in their windows...



1525 Woodward used to be occupied by Chrysler personnel working for the top secret Manhattan Project (a-bomb development) for a period of two years. Chrysler not only built 7 of the 8 B-29 engines that carried the a-bombs to Japan, they also solved many engineering problems in the project;

http://www.allpar.com/history/military/a-bomb.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project



I also wanted to check out the Detroit Historical Museum, they have a lot of automotive goodies inside including a body-drop part of a Cadillac assembly line;

http://www.detroithistorical.org/main/dhm/index.aspx































I'd love to have one of these in triple white with a 500cid Cadillac mill...so sad to see one incomplete forever..but a cool display nevertheless;



There are a ton of old beautiful mansions just along Woodward Avenue;



A lot of stuff to see but so little time. I was off to see the cruise!



It was sad to see that the Vinsetta garage had closed shop after more than 90 years;

http://www.vinsettagarage.com/



I love Imperials;



OK...I want this car!



I guess the USA and Canada are pretty much the only countries in the world with purpose-built fire trucks and specially modified emergency vehicles in general. And the pride that people, who operate these, have is amazing. Every time I see emergency vehicles in the US I want to take photos.



A rare treat, a 1958 Imperial. It always amazes me how rare the Forward Look Chryslers are in the US.



Here's a couple for those late night runs on Woodward, Gratiot or Telegraph;













I don't think that I saw more than three Sweptline era trucks on WDC, this one, the 528 Hemi one that's famous from HRM and a flat black with a big block in Pontiac. What's up dudes, these are cool! Cruise in them!











If some of you wondered why there were lots of people carrying slicks around, this was the reason;



Love the stance on this one;



I wanted to get some Silver Bullet souvenirs and I did, including a diecast with Jimmy Addisons signature! The guy who was selling the stuff told me to talk to Harold Sullivan after the TV crew was done with him. I hung around for awhile and thought that he is probably too busy, no big deal. I was already on the other side of the Chrysler display when Harold comes running concerned about being rude! What the heck? He is a nice guy and invited me to sit in the Silver Bullet! Priceless!

http://www.silverbulletgtx.com/



Another shot by..."Don't you know who I am? I'm Galen Govier!" Thank you fellas!



Nothing like catching a ride in a boat on a trailer...but wait..it's not connected to anything??? This thing cruised around at a good rate of speed too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC9ojh8AJoM



Pontiac fans won't give up;











Detroit - Murder City?



More celebrities, Faith Granger of the Deuce of Spades movie fame seems to cruise everywhere;

http://www.deuceofspadesmovie.com/



Who wouldn't love a Gremlin X?



But suddely all hell broke loose, I did take notice way before when the wind picked up speed, it was a bit scary really, my truck was really far and trees started fall on powerlines all over. I have never been so wet in my life;





The police tried to stop the cruising but it continued somewhat later as the conditions improved;



It was also getting dark and besides some last moment cruising I wanted to check out a few places still. On 14 Mile Road and Eton is the site that used to be Ted Spehar's service station. I do not know if the buildings there have anything to do with that but it might be possible?

http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/woodward-aves-silver-bullet-last-words/





A rare bird, a 300G convertible;



One place I definitely wouldn't miss is the Howard Johnson restaurant where the High End Club would meet before the police made them gather at the Civic Center instead. I am not sure if the building on site is the old Howard Johnson restaurant with modifications or not though?



In the Civic Center parking lot, close to I-696 where the racing took place;



Halfway through my trip now, anyone awake still? Lol.

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113182
11/18/11 02:03 AM
11/18/11 02:03 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,397
Charleston, South Carolina
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67RT Offline
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This is a great post, please keep it up.


1968 Fury III Convertible - 383 4bbl - 4-speed - Black
- SOLD and going down under.

1967 Coronet R/T - 440 - 4-speed - Dana 60 - Red - FOR SALE

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: 67RT] #1113183
11/18/11 02:13 AM
11/18/11 02:13 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
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Round Lake Beach, Illinoisy
Rhinodart Offline
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Didn't know my truck came close to getting clobbered by trees, thank goodness I had a great guy protecting it! Next time you come over I am sticking with you!


The funny thing about science is that if you change one miniscule parameter you change the entire outcome to the way you want it.

JB Rhinehart, Realist

A-Body's RULE!
Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: 67RT] #1113184
11/18/11 02:27 AM
11/18/11 02:27 AM
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Kingston, IL USA!
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Kingston, IL USA!
Awake.


Mr. Norm's "Fanatic" (idiot)
71 Mr. Norm's Demon GSS
77 Mr. Norm's personal B250 GSS van
76 Mr. Norm's KZ900 Motor Sports Special
69 Mr. Norm's M code Dart GTS
69 D100
68 Barracuda
64 Valiant V200
07 Charger Daytona SST 6 speed test mule.






Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: gts340swinger] #1113185
11/18/11 02:52 AM
11/18/11 02:52 AM
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The Sierras
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LAST440 Offline
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WOW. You really know how to TOUR!

Amazing.

I want to go to Warren Truck next year.

Great pics, thanks for sharing


Truckin' Thru Life
Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: gts340swinger] #1113186
11/18/11 03:09 AM
11/18/11 03:09 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
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When you done giving us a Great American Automotive History lesson this thread needs to be moved to "The Best Of Moparts" What an Awesome Post & A Great Trip you took.. Sorry about the loss of your Mom.. Your making her proud..


"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: 1_WILD_RT] #1113187
11/18/11 04:05 AM
11/18/11 04:05 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,375
SoCal
MuuMuu101 Offline
I got lucky at Woodward!
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Quote:

When you done giving us a Great American Automotive History lesson this thread needs to be moved to "The Best Of Moparts" What an Awesome Post & A Great Trip you took.. Sorry about the loss of your Mom.. Your making her proud..




Just a great thread with so much history and cars.

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: MuuMuu101] #1113188
11/18/11 05:35 AM
11/18/11 05:35 AM
Joined: Aug 2003
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Mt.Gilead, Ohio
OhioMopar Offline
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This thread is awesome... Good detective work and great pics. You have a finger on the pulse, alright...
I would love to be able to plan an excursion like that. So much to see and do, I wouldn't know where to start!


1969 Dart GTS 340
1969 Super Bee X9 N-96
1969 Coronet R/T X9 N-96
2015 Dodge Dart GT
2019 Ram 2500 Big Horn.
Looking for the original block for my Bee. The last 4 are 7449
Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: OhioMopar] #1113189
11/18/11 05:21 PM
11/18/11 05:21 PM
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ALBERTA CANADA
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awsome thread!! Thanks for all the Great pics.

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113190
11/18/11 09:02 PM
11/18/11 09:02 PM
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Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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Thank you again for the kind words! It is fun to share these as I did most of this stuff by myself. That has its pros too though, it is hard to find nutcases like me who wouldn't start to compromise after a two week overload of automotive history and old stuff in general! So, no letting off the loud pedal, actually, now the faster pace starts after sitting mostly idle for a couple of weeks! One last look at Detroit stuff, I had a few places I had to skip but I think I did pretty good and accomplished a great deal of what I had planned.

Once again a fantastic structure with a rich history, the Plymouth Road Office Complex that was unfortunately vacated recently. 1.5 million square feet on 50 acres, built in 1926 to make Kelvinator refrigerators (God, I want a 1950:s Kelvinator Food-A-Rama!!) it made its way to being AMC Headquarters after Kelvinator first merged with Nash in 1937 and Hudson was then added in the mix in 1954. When Chrysler bought AMC in 1987 the complex served as the engineering location for all corporate trucks and SUV:s until it was cleared and the operations moved to Auburn Hills.

http://www.allpar.com/corporate/factories/PROC.html





Before saying farewell to Detroit I wanted to see the location of Stanford Dodge as they raced, among other things, 1960 and 1961 Dodges back in the day. If you want to get some awesome old photos like this, go to (Hi Patrice, will order some when I recover from this trip);

http://www.joestevensphotos.com/NHRADrag...049556160_58b3Q



The building seems to have survived very well, anyone have any shots of it from back in the day???





Moving really slowly towards Chicago here's one more Chrysler stop on the way, the Trenton Engine Plant Complex (North and South);

http://www.allpar.com/corporate/trenton-engine.html





Here something went very wrong! Maybe it was my looseleaf note system that failed or the stress of making all the planned stops during Sunday to be able to drive the longer distance in the evening before the sights on Monday but I completely forgot about the Chelsea Proving Grounds!! Well, excuses, excuses!

Here is another excellent read from Allpar, the 3,850 acre Chrysler Proving Grounds;

http://www.allpar.com/corporate/chelsea-proving-grounds.html

Next stop was Fords Willow Run complex that originally made the B-24 Liberators (read the first link, it is fantastic and it is another example of how Detroit to a great extent saved the western way of life, I wonder how the world got so screwed up that people make fun of it today??), then Kaisers and later Hydramatic Transmissions, trucks, Corvairs, Novas, Caprices and even M16 rifles! Unfortunately a severe rainstorm appeared just before my arrival to the complex and I was forced to continue as it was impossible to see anything. Besides, to get any kind of an idea of this facility you'd need a helicopter...this was at the time the largest building in the world and there were over 40,000 workers here at the peak, it is extremely impressive no matter how you look at it. There's also the fantastic story of GM putting together a Hydramatic transmission factory, after the biggest industrial fire in history, in just 9 weeks!! Here's some links and old photos, there's a lot of history here so there is a lot more to be found if one wants to do that;

http://www.strategosinc.com/willow_run.htm
http://liberatorcrew.com/06_B-24_Prod.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKlt6rNciTo
http://www.allpar.com/cars/adopted/kaiser.html
http://www.autotran.us/TheGreatHydraMaticFire.html










Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: gts340swinger] #1113191
11/18/11 09:49 PM
11/18/11 09:49 PM
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CA, Proprietor; The "PALOMINO"...
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CA, Proprietor; The "PALOMINO"...
Hans....
Sorry to hear about your mum....
Nice pictures....I always wanted to go and see where the stuff was made at....lots of history there...


Dinuba, California, Home of the PALOMINO ranch and 440 truck farm, where dodge trucks have a home. Have Four 1979 dodge PALOMINO trucks now.
Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113192
11/18/11 10:32 PM
11/18/11 10:32 PM
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Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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I had to hurry as I did have time for one more thing this day. I was quite certain that it would be cool but I had no idea how good it would be! I have been to a few historical automotive places in my life but I have to ask myself if this really isn't the best of them all? It is THE place if you love Hudsons! It is beyond fantastic if you want to know more about Willow Run! It is a wealth of info if you want to know about dealerships and automotive history in the area in general! If you love dealership memorabilia it is a showcase of especially Hudson stuff with even a realistic dealer showroom (well, it is an actual dealership, the last Hudson one)! This is a place where automotive history is king, the watermelon (green outside, red inside)mean greenies are somewhere in another dimension and yesterday is today! What a trip! I give you Miller Motors in Ypsilanti, Michigan! Go and see it if you have the chance!

http://www.ypsiautoheritage.org/





When the Willow Run transmission operations were shut down a lot of stuff was donated to the museum, the best thing is that the walls are covered with stuff along with descriptions, this is a place where you want to spend at least a day;







































How about a NOS Kaiser body with its ORIGINAL cart....



A lot of interesting Tucker stuff too;











The original car that Herb Thomas raced back in the day! This was the time when Hudsons ruled NASCAR! Jack Miller told me a cool story how it was found. A long time ago a customer was looking for some parts for what appeared to be a factory severe usage suspension and eyebrows started to raise...yes, it turned out to be the Herb Thomas racecar!

http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Herb_Thomas.htm







There was also a letter to Herb Thomas and Smokey Yunick, who prepared the cars, signed by no other than Vince Piggins who later became a legend at Chevrolet. He was responsible for stuff like Z16 Chevelles and Z/28 Camaros;



Mentioned Severe Usage Parts in Factory Bulletin and NOS form;





The dealership parts display was unbelievable with factory race parts and everything else;









Stuff, more stuff;







The service area was a mess but in a cool way;



I sure hope I can get back to Miller Motors one day, what a place! One more thing (actually there would be several but I'm always in a hurry) before leaving Ypsilanti, the home of Preston Tucker! Unfortunately some worthless soul had burned down the garage but the house was renovated and is in beautiful shape;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Tucker
http://www.economicthinking.org/Americanhistory/tucker-greg.html
www.tuckerclub.org



Ypsilanti Machine Tool Company, the Tucker family business was located here;





I had to skip the Gilmore Car Museum which would have housed a wealth of info on Tuckers along with other fantastic things but some other time I am sure?

http://gilmorecarmuseum.org/

OK, looks like the Photobucket bandwidth was exceeded even if I used three different accounts...I upgraded to pro so hopefully it works when we enter the next stop, the fabulous Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum!

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113193
11/18/11 10:39 PM
11/18/11 10:39 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,515
Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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What gives? I upgraded to Pro but some images still don't show up even if all the images in the last post are in the same account? Can you guys see all the pics in the post above?

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113194
11/18/11 10:42 PM
11/18/11 10:42 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
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Today? Who Knows?
1_WILD_RT Offline
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There are 23 photos visible..


"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: 1_WILD_RT] #1113195
11/18/11 10:47 PM
11/18/11 10:47 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,515
Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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Quote:

There are 23 photos visible..




OK, much appreciated! All is well then, I can see only 11.

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113196
11/18/11 11:30 PM
11/18/11 11:30 PM
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Posts: 3,515
Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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The Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum is the perfect place to visit if you want to see what class meant back in the day. This was something else than a Model A Ford. These cars made a serious statement. If you had money you could at least make the impression that you had style too when tooling around in your new Duesenberg. But many people driving them had style, not to mention the factory showroom in these photos. This place was cool in another way than Miller Motors, not that many small trinkets all over but like Miller Motors it was a time machine to a different era, just a bit farther away. This is one of the few moments in my life when I wish that I would have been wearing a suit, Levi's and t-shirts are taking away from this environment.

http://www.automobilemuseum.org/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.acdclub.org/





The original layout of the grounds...I could write a lot about this place as well but there is still much to post and I'm a bit tired...it is another place I urge everyone to visit if you have the chance!






















Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: Forwardlook] #1113197
11/18/11 11:38 PM
11/18/11 11:38 PM
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 22,873
Chicken coop
dustergirl340 Offline
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When I refreshed the page all the pictures showed.

Kinda funny that you forgot the proving grounds...that was the first thing I asked you after you got back; if you had seen it.

Definitely try to make the Gilmore Car Museum some day...it's pretty far away from the Detroit area but it is worth the drive. They have a big Mopars at the Red Barns show there every July. But the Tucker is always my favorite car there.

Re: 4 week MoPar Midwest tour with lots of pics! [Re: dustergirl340] #1113198
11/19/11 12:06 AM
11/19/11 12:06 AM
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Turku, Finland
Forwardlook Offline OP
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Quote:

When I refreshed the page all the pictures showed.

Kinda funny that you forgot the proving grounds...that was the first thing I asked you after you got back; if you had seen it.

Definitely try to make the Gilmore Car Museum some day...it's pretty far away from the Detroit area but it is worth the drive. They have a big Mopars at the Red Barns show there every July. But the Tucker is always my favorite car there.




That's odd because I refreshed too and no help? In fact, I still can't see them. I guess I need to remove some history from the puter for it to work? Anyways, missing the Chelsea Proving Grounds ISN'T FUNNY AT ALL!! Lol. Yeah, the Gilmore seems to be a real trip, have looked at a lot of pics from there!

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