Solute to the Troops and Their Rides

Billy Jones is serving our country in the US Army and is currently deployed overseas.

Billy had his new ride only 3 months before he was deployed.  NICE Corvette Billy and thank you for your service.

Godspeed and a safe return.

Billy Jones Thank You!!!!!

 

His ride (my favorite color).

Aint she a beauty!!?!?!?!!?!?

Project Car Of the Week and Month

I’ve been think about doing this but the rules seem a bit tough to come up with.  But I’ll give this a try.

I’m looking for some project car posts from the readers. Your projects.  Anything from a huge wreck of car project to something smaller (bigger then an oil change).  It has to be your car and you are doing “some” of the work on it. That the only hard and fast rule.

I’ll need a couple photos and some brief details.   You can post them up here or find me on Facebook and post the them up or email them to me (timsweet@cox.net).  I’ll post them here and then on my website (www.tucsoncarevents.com) for everyone to look at.

If I get enough entries I’m pick a car of the week the week and then out of the we’ll vote on the car of the month (if I don’t get votes posted up I’ll have one of my regular readers pick it.  The winner the car of the month gets a $100.00 online gift card as an auto parts dealer (Summit Racing or even on tailored to your car).  Simple as that.

So let’s get started. Remember anything from a total wreck to just a transmission swap, body work, paint, interior upgrade, hood swap.  That all works.  Sorry Pdawg giving Burt a bath and vac isn’t going to cut it (but he could use one!!!…just kidding).  It doesn’t have to be done and I don’t need a before and after, just what you are working on.

I’ll this run until I get at least for to choose from, then we’ll vote.

Note:  If you noticed my site is not commercial, there are no ads, no click through links, no pop ups.  It’s just me type to hear myself type and a few of you reading it.  I like it that way.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Auto Factoids for 3/14/2010

Happy St. Paddy’s day!!!!

3/15/1960 Mercury Comet is brought to dealership windows.

3/17/1949 Porsche appears as the Geneva Auto Show and Gottlibe Daimler born in Germany in 1834.

3/18  a couple of notable birthdays.  Andy Grenatelli was born in Dallas (1923) and a little bit before that Ruddy Diesel was born in France in 1858.  Ok..Rudolf ….only close friends were allowed to call him Ruddy.  Guess what Ruddy is famous for?  

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Wrenchin’ Tip – Candle Wax Bolt Removal – 03/14/10

Follow the steps and you’ll be able to remove those rusted exhaust bolts and it makes using an easy out on broke bolts…um…well… easier!!!!

1.  Heat the bolt or stud with a torch errrkkk….”Yo…us averaged guys don’t have a torch set!!!!”  Yeah, I know…I use a regular propane torch from ACE Hardware.  ….errkkk  Double nut the studs.

2. Once it hot…doesn’t have to be glowing red, touch a candle to it, until there is wax penetrated between the threads.

3. Remove the bold or apply the easy out and you are home free.

If you have a tip, post it here in a comment.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Project update 70 Mustang

Dallas Mustang has just shipped my new dash-board for the Mustang.  Be here next week, should start the replacement shortly there after.

Tim

Muscle Car Peeves

Ok, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.  I have a couple of muscle cars and cars that aren’t but get “dressed up” like muscle car peeves.

So here are three right off the bat.

1.  Don’t put Yanko strips on your 2003 Dodge Neon.  It doesn’t look right, and you aren’t fooling anyone.

2.  I have nothing against body kits added to a car.  I, personally, wouldn’t do it to the two I have, but I’ve seen some pretty nice jobs done on Corvettes, especially.  I’ve even seen a lot of imports that look good with body kits.  But here’s my peeve, don’t put them on the car if you aren’t going to paint them the right way.  Save up the cash and get it all done at once.  And one more note on body kits, why would you want to take your Honda Accord and make it look like a 1946 pickup truck?  (OK, I’ve never seen one, but you know what I mean).

3.  I recently saw a 1970-something Camaro, mounted on the frame of a raised Chevy pickup…almost monster truck size.  Why people…WHY???!!!

Okay, there are a couple of mine muscle car want-ta-be peeves.

Post up some of yours. Come on, I know you’ve got them!!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Projects Reference Books – Book Review

I thought I’d take a minute and drop a couple book titles at ya!!!

These books are extremely helpful with average project that you can tackle on your cars.  I have complete several of them on my 70 Mustang and my 84 Vette. 

The books are from MotorBooks.  They are a series called  MotorBooks Workshop and they are extremely well written

I currently have the following titles (had I’ve used them!!!!)

101 Projects for Your Corvette  1984 – 1996  (Excellent)

101 Projects for Your Mustang  1964 1/2 – 1973 (Excellent) (Although it says Mustang, many of these projects you’ll be able to do on similar Fords..so no you won’t find one for Mercury Cougar Station wagon (love the car Mr. Sears) but the under-pinnings are very similar.)

How to rebuild and Modify Your Manual Transmission (I haven’t used this one yet…I waiting to buy a test transmission to work on first…but finding one is tough for my 70 Mustang and then there’s $$$$ plus $$$ shipping.)  (Excellent)

I just pick up Weekend Projects for your Modern Corvette C4-C5-C6  (not very good – mostly C5 and C6 )

Each one has projects and it includes skill level you need may need (naaah….who needs skill when you have pictures!!!), tools you might need, time it will take and other handy tips.

You can find them at…yup…you guessed it  http://www.motorbooks.com/ 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Average Guy – Increasing Skill Set Training Parts

Now, I keep saying I’m an average guy with an average skill set and frankly there’s no one I know that will argue the point.  That being the current situation, it doesn’t mean that I don’t try to pick up new skills, I do.     

So since I also have an average guy’s budget (selling cans back to the recycler for car parts…ok…just kidding there) I don’t have what I’d really like to have for “training purposes”.  If I did however, I have two of each car (in this case a 84 Vette with a Crossfire engine –has to be exact there and a second Mustang with a V8) and I’d experiment with parts cars until I get it right and then I’d work on its twin.  Of course that’s not affordable, so I next like to have a spare Crossfire engine to mess with and a Ford V8 do to the same.  Now that might be possible, budget wise (I know a couple of guys that will let me pick up a an old engine for free) but I have an average garage, with my cabinets and work bench, I can only get one car in there–nope no 3 bay garage for me.      

My garage with the Vette in it.

 

(Was I kidding???? NOPE!!!) Errrk…..And don’t think I haven’t approached the subject…but the misses doesn’t see the need to move to a larger house just so I can have a place in the garage to play.  So having two engines on stands won’t work out too well. So how do I get around this……I purchase a part to “study”.   Back in the day you’d have to go to the junk yard and pick your part and you can pretty much do that today as well.  There are drawbacks to that, though… here in a AZ during the summer time…taking the parts off the a hot car is a killer…not stolen…but a car that’s been sitting in the sun when it’s 110 degrees out.  Those metal part will be a bit warm…trust me.  But the Internet is a great thing and I’d like to take a minute and personally thank former Vice President Al Gore for inventing it…nicely done sir!!!  I’ve found most of my training parts online.  But don’t over look the local car clubs either, you can get help and I can assure there’s one or  two guys there that have or know a guy that knows a guy that has the part you are looking for.    

  When I first got my Mustang, it had a 1 barrel Weber carb, so I purchased  an old one online to take it apart and look it over.  Then I order the kit and rebuilt the usable one.  I’ve done the same thing for my C4.  I needed a rebuild of the fuel injector towers, so I went online and found a set for $20 plus shipping and took them apart and back together and used them as a model for when I did the real set.  Worked perfectly.    

 Here is my next piece:    

84 Vette Crossfire Intake Manifold

 

Which is seen here on the Vette:     

Corvette Crossfire Engine

 

The manifold is unique enough that I wanted to learn more about it before messing with it.  Now if you’ve been reading my blog since the beginning or are new and went back through my older posts, you’ll know about my psychological issue with breaking it myself. So the test part makes it even odds…ok..fine 40 – 60 that I won’t screw it up. (That’s a 60% chance that I’ll eventually have to take to someone and have it fixed when I’m done fixing it myself.)  Now I’ve mentioned that an up and coming mod will be to put on a newly designed manifold for the Vette, but I need to keep the original and will eventually rebuild it myself…or attempt too. Look this picture over and you’ll see why I love working on my C4:    

Hood up.

 

 Yeah..no fenders to lean over!!!!  It’s great.  Easy access to the engine. Just toss an old blanket (STOP..NOT THE ONE ON THE BED..NO NO..BAD….) over the wheel and you are home free.     

 Thanks for reading.  Always up for a comment or two.    

Tim

AutoFactoids for 03/08/10

Here are your factiods for the week.  Enjoy 

3/7/1929  GM buys Opel….Really??? that long ago??? 

3/8/1969   Pontiac rolls out the Trans Am 

3/10/1927 200 mph barrier is broken by Sir Henry Seagrave.  He accomplished that in 1000 HP Sunbeam Mystery (also known as ‘the Slug’) 

SunBeam Tiger 1000 hp

 

A few birthday for 3/12 

1938  Johnny Rutherford (race car driver) 

1831 Clement Studebaker 

1921 Giovanni Agnelli – Agnelli raised Fiat to become the most important company in Italy 

3/12/1990 – First accident involving 2 air bag equiped cars. 

3/12/1948 – Honda was born.

Wrenchin’ Tip – Cold Starting Racing Engine – 03/06/10

Now I don’t have to worry about this too much, my cars are daily drivers and are pretty much stock.  But if you have car with a racing carb with no choke, starting it in the mornings is tough.  This might help.

1.  Pump the accelerator to the floor a couple times.

2. Start the engine while holding the pedal at about 1/4 throttle position and turn the engine over.

3. After the engine starts, hold the RMPs up around 2k or 3k this get the engine warmed up and she’ll be ready for the strip

Thanks for reading.  If you got a Wrench’n Tip post it up.

Tim