I've only ridden in one Checker cab and that was in Las Vegas. We hailed three hacks to whisk us from a hotel/casino to a "gentleman's" (!!) club for a bachelor party. Horrible rear seat and I think the sole of one shoe was still stuck to the floor of that thing when it was finally crushed. Ah, the good old days... ... View more

Would you desire to endure the treatment that you subject your son to? ... View more

In the early days of IMSA, a team that shall remain unnamed tasked us to improve the sealing of the rotary engine in their racecar. We devised a ceramic Apex seal backed by a high-temp Belleville spring that worked great... on the dyno. Real world testing in the racecar showed a distinct dropoff in power after about two hours of run time. A teardown revealed that while the ceramic seals were intact, they had decided to become very effective lathe tools and had enlarged the housings dimensions to the point where it wasn't as designed. We tried an experimental compressed carbon (very early version of carbon/carbon like current brake rotors) design, but it flaked badly in short order. We had a well-known piston ring manufacturer ready to produce a moly-filled seal, but the team pulled the plug on the program. We kind of pursued it in-house for a bit by designing a ceramic housing liner, but that octopus kept growing more arms and we shelved the whole deal.  ... View more

I have a magnetic multi-angle bubble level stuck to my toolbox, which is great for chassis set up. And if you are going to use feeler gauges for valve adjustment, get a good set of go/no-go's. When you get deep into engine building, you'll need a quality leak-down checker (which can also be used to set the initial barrel valve open point on a vintage Enderle fuel injection unit.) ... View more

Well, they have to mop the floors once in a while and the desert is low on water.  ... View more

You have to remember that Emporer-For-Life governor General Nuisance has declared everything in California non-essential EXCEPT his two wineries. I'm amazed that he hasn't fined the Pacific Ocean for making waves without a permit. ... View more

While I was in the Army in the early '70's and stationed in Louisiana, one of my platoon soldiers bought a lightly used Beetle from it's elderly first owner. Unbelievably, it had A/C and it cooled and dehumidified the cabin very well. Unfortunately, when it was on, one was limited to 45 MPH in 3rd gear, even downhill. And I think the signs are still on I-15 in California near Baker saying "Steep grade. Turn off AC next 5 miles." ... View more

Does the knock volume increase when the vehicle is under load? If it does, that would indeed indicate a possible rod bearing issue. If it stays consistent, I'd wager that the crankshaft is walking a bit, and the thrust bearing faces are getting thin. A backyard diagnosis would involve disconnecting one plug wire at a time to see if the noise changes. If it does, then that would be a hammered rod bearing. If not, then the crank thrust bearing would be suspect. ... View more

Hmmm. My 1963 GMC 4000 with a "granny low" offset first gear will run about three MPH at 2500 RPM. What's old is new again... ... View more

There was one in 1990 that with a little tuning and massaging to the engine caused some to tremble: 454 SS. And I wonder if Ford will recapture the past by bringing out a Big Oly Bronco... ... View more

Let's see here now... 450 horsies galloping through Dana 44's. Yep, those axles will last about ...that long when the tires finally get a grip on pavement. I foresee 3500-series Ram Dana 60's being ordered. Lots of Dana 60's. And the drivelines will be sacrificed to the gods when the lift kits are bolted on, along with the biggest Redeye superchargers that can be found (and some nitrous just because!) ... View more

The green translucent plastic that backlit the speedo on the 1955 and '56 Ford's was pretty cool. And the art deco font on the 1946 GMC truck just takes you back in time. ... View more

The Sturgeon General (P.I.T.A!) isn't always right... Let Mr. Iskenderian serve as a beacon of living life to the fullest! ... View more

And when the dust settles? ... View more

My mantra is "make the part fit the car, not make the car fit the part." As stated by others, make the upgrades and modifications bolt on as much as possible so as to preserve the originality of the car. Conversely, they are just cars, and cars are just things that in the so-called final analysis won't amount to a hill of beans. Express yourself (but tastefully!) ... View more

In 1986, I had the honor of being employed as a "fly in guy" for Peerless Racing, which at the time was campaigning a GT-O class Camaro. One of our competitors was the famous Mr. Newman, who would occasionally retreat to our hauler to escape the hordes at the Planters Peanuts Nissan pit. He was a genuinely nice human being first and foremost, and just wanted to be regarded as a capable race car driver. Another visitor we used to shelter was the then-Bruce Jenner. I once loaned him a Peerless crew shirt so he could get some lunch in peace at Laguna Seca. Fun times, great people. And then there was the time I got to chat with Dan Gurney when we were racing at Del Mar... ... View more

A group of anything from Great Britain could be referred to as a "grief." And of course, anything equipped with either Lucas or Bosch electrics could be called a "darkness." I like to observe a gathering of early two-stroke motorcycles as a "smoke." Watching videos of cars leaving car shows only to meet with disaster could qualify as a "crash" of Mustangs. But all of these things have but a single definition: sponges of money. ... View more

So, what are the "three words?" ... View more

The Hannibal 8 from the movie "The Great Race" is one of my favorites, because it actually ran! Add the too-cool scissor lift option, the cannon ("push the button, Max!") and the tandem rear axles: perfection! ... View more

I would recommend a leakdown check. That will tell you the condition of the rings and valve seats. Obviously, if you see more than a ten percent loss past the rings or valves, some work is in order. What a leakdown won't tell you is the condition of the valve guides and stem seals. To check the guides, remove  the intake manifold and visually check the bottom of the valve guide in the port for oil. Wet is not good. Do the same on the exhaust; proceed accordingly.  Venting the crankcase is a must! Remember, every time a piston goes down, it's moving air beneath it, and compression losses past the rings tend to accumulate in the lower part of the engine. Enough of that accumulation combined with those superior (!) British crankshaft seals and other gaskets results in oil going where physics tell it go. You mentioned that you have upgraded the aspiration to side-draft carburetors, so you might consider equipping the engine with a small vacuum pump to evacuate the crankcase. The discharge can be plumbed to a vented catch can which can then be emptied either back into the engine if you wish or into your used-oil storage container in your garage. I recommend the latter. If you decide that a vacuum pump will work for you, you will want to seal up the factory side cover vent to gain the most out of your new system. Another benefit of the vacuum pump is a slight bump in horsepower due to reduced pumping losses, but it's doubtful that you would feel it. ... View more

Does she work cheap? ... View more

Got a point-style distributor? Grab a plastic shower cap and a zip tie. Pull the cap down over the cap and wires as far  down as you can get it and snug it up with the zip tie before you get anything wet. And if you have any anodized parts like A/N hose ends or rocker covers, stay away from carburetor cleaner. It tends to strip the dye off of aluminum, leaving it streaky. I've had luck using 409 and an old toothbrush getting grime off of intake manifolds and cylinder heads. By the way, WD 40 is also an excellent solvent for cleaning slightly oily surfaces. Scrub the parts gently and wipe them dry. Allow the vapor to dissipate (about fifteen minutes) and go cruise. ... View more

An 8-or-10 to 1 ratio of distilled water and pool acid (WEAR GLOVES AND GOGGLES!) in a squirt bottle and a small tire brush works great for me. Hit 'em with some Simichrome polish and they'll look nice! ... View more

The Larsen Engineering two-piece rocker covers were eye candy for small block Chevy's. And the Rodeck 481 set for a big block told everyone that you were serious! Now, the cool thing is the fabricated type with "stack of dimes" weld beads. ... View more

This is what happens when a committee designs something. An old saw comes to mind: Definition of a B-52? A paperclip designed by a government committee. ... View more

A typical problem with Weber side draft carbs has to do with the air emulsion tubes that reside under a brass fine-mesh screen between the chokes. Also, was the distributor vacuum advance checked for the proper amount of movement? To get more out of a performance-enhanced engine, the installation of a standalone wideband O2 sensor would be a major benefit. Then, a more accurate diagnosis could be made regarding the fuel/air mixture. ... View more

Should you decide to go for that ride in the forest and the bike decides that it wants to rest, just stay with it. The rescue party can easily find you by following the trail of escaped parts and the trail of oil... ... View more

Wow. Written from beyond the... grave? The rose bush? The coffee table? Well, sent from wherever your ashes were deposited. All of these details that you so accurately describe, how is it that no one that you encountered would have marched you in front of St. Peter and lobbied for you to get a second chance? Because you, sir, and only you would be able to provide the provenance about these things we call cars. Only you could explain how that bump on the decklid formed, resembling a metal zit (an unfortunate attempt at trying to put your granddaughter's fully assembled Christmas-present tricycle in a space not quite big enough to fit)  And with that second chance, buy a better set of jackstands. By the way, just what is your current self-administered medication of choice these days? Nice side effects... ... View more

Umm..... maybe because it's round, like a wheel and doesn't look like a lever? Maybe it would please you to know that the device used to manually set the brakes on rail cars is called a "handwheel."  ... View more

I wonder if Professor Murray will apply the "less is more" thinking to the price... ... View more