Many years ago my cousin bought a used imported car from a large rental company. Don't know what went on in that thing, but it always had a ...peculiar... aroma. The vehicle name and the smell rhymed with "It's too fishy." We removed the seats, the carpet and the door panels and scrubbed everything with diluted color-safe Clorox, followed by a heavy application of Windex. Before we reassembled it, we put a small plastic tub filled halfway with pool chlorine in the interior and let it sit over a weekend. Presto, smell gone. She traded it in the following Tuesday. ... View more

I'll never forget that famously PC-incorrect ad from Chevrolet that said "You've never seen an ugly girl in a Corvette." There would be a smoking hole in the ground where GM used to be if they ran that nowadays... ... View more

What about the millions of global citizens that don't reside in an urban environment? Are they to be relocated so that "mass transport" can be of use to them? ... View more

And back in the days of the horse as primary transportation, how long did one have to wait while the animal ate and rested? No top, no cupholder (except your hand) no infotainment. Comparing an ICE-powered vehicle to the old days ignores the right-now reality of long distance EV travel. And the ecological impact that will occur to expand and improve the electrical infrastructure will never be amortized. Your statement "you can't make gas" is true, but using a geological liquid that is replenished by the earth as opposed to trying to create electricity consistently and reliably is currently a better option. I am of the opinion that the ultimate answer is a gas-electric hybrid, which seems to offer the best of both worlds. Think railroad locomotive, which has proven to be the most cost-efficient means of moving people and freight. ... View more

Thank you for your service. Welcome home! From a fellow in-country veteran. ... View more

Probably the perfect size for Shaquille O'Neal! ... View more

Jeep CJ-5 and a Mahindra Roxor? First-gen Land Rover and a Willy's MB? Chevy HHR and a PT Cruiser? The original Barris Batmobile and a Lincoln Premier? (nod, nod, wink, wink) 67-68 Datsun roadster and an MG-B? The now-retired space shuttle and the Russian Buran? The similarities are endless! ... View more

Yep, this movie made "Smokey and the Bandit" look like a high school film project. Even Top Gear tried to recreate the mall thing a couple of times! ... View more

The last time I looked, the Chevy G-506 had two axles... Great story, otherwise! I really admire custodians of famous cars. A local resident here once owned Limefire, and we invited him to bring it to one of our annual car shows. He vociferously declined, stating that he "...bought the effing thing to drive, not look at!" ... View more

Wonder when my wife's '85 Hyundai Excel will make the list... oh, too late. It's already been turned into a new something-or-other from some other place by now. She loved it when it ran like it was supposed to (not very often) and despised it when it didn't (far too often.) ... View more

We found out that a 10-bolt and a 12-bolt share quite a few dimensions, and that GM bored the carrier to accept the larger axles. While the bearings may be larger, the affected area is somewhat compromised. We were able to run a carefully assembled 10-bolt with premium parts behind a nitrous-assisted 440 Chrysler in a '71 Dodge Colt, with a 4000 rpm converter and 13 1/2" slicks for three years! No axle problems at all. Couple of engines, though... ... View more

Getting the paint color to match isn't that difficult these days with all of the speciality paints available, and you may be able to recoat the entire panel so the match is not an issue. The texture is indeed a different story, but this has worked for me in the past: Find a section of whatever you are repairing that is intact. Tape off a rectangular section of it with blue or green painter's tape and apply a thin coat of Vaseline to the exposed area and mix up a small batch of your favorite two-part epoxy. Apply the epoxy to the coated area, pressing lightly to ensure good contact. After it dries overnight, CAREFULLY lift it off and you should have an impression of the surface.  After you have repaired the hole, counter sink it a bit. Mix up a bit more epoxy and fill the hole. Allow it to set up (just tacky to the touch) for about half an hour and then press your previously made "mold" onto the repaired area. Presto, matching texture that should match the rest of the panel. Clean the panel with some rubbing alcohol, prime and paint. Practice on some scrap pieces you brought home from the salvage yard until you are happy with the results. It won't be perfect, but it will look great from three feet away once painted. ... View more

Roy Clark, Flatt and Scruggs, Buddy Guy, Roger Waters, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Glen Campbell are among hundreds if not thousands of guitar virtuosos that are able to elicit any range of emotions depending on the listeners mood. And as music is right there with cars when it comes to subjective appreciation, this topic has no definitive end. Somewhere out there is someone that can pluck a stretched rubber band and make it sound fabulous; they just haven't been discovered yet. ... View more

In 1984, I was managing a retail performance store in our town when a young F4 Wild Weasel pilot came in inquiring about the then-new Edelbrock Vara Jection water injection system. "What are you putting it on?" I asked. "I've built a turbo'ed 350 small block for a '69 Corvette I bought less engine. It was a big block car and I snagged it for three grand.(!)" We were instant friends! I told him that my store was going to be three weeks out on the kit, but I was sure that the SuperShops store 35 miles away in San Bernardino probably had one. He brought the car to my "secret projects" shop behind my house and there before me was the only Marvin Miller draw-through turbo system I have ever seen. It placed the 780 Holley in the stock location but it sat on a priority manifold that used a vacuum/boost flapper that redirected the intake air through a tubular casting into the turbo when the boost hit. The turbo sat on the right side of the engine and the exhaust actually fit down the right side with a tiny amount of room to spare. We tidied up a couple of exhaust issues and drove the car to Berdoo. He bought a Vara Jection and we installed it on the parking lot. The trip back up the Cajon Pass told us how much water the system needed and it did a commendable job of controlling detonation. I seem to recall that the return trip only took about ten minutes... fun memories! ... View more

I tend to be reminded of Jean Shepherd when I read your articles. His columns in Car and Driver were always great. And Bax was that old friend that you had known forever; a man that had indeed been there and done that. You write with a clarity and sense of purpose about things that you have done without sounding pretentious and patronizing. You give us the facts as you know them and for that, I thank you. Some unsolicited advice: Don't worry about comparing yourself or your writing style to anyone else's. Be the best father and husband that you can, and reap those rewards. ... View more

It's 1964, and we are heading home from a beach day. This trip involves climbing the Cajon Pass where the weather can go from nice to "uh oh" in a heartbeat. Following my parents car is my sister, riding with her best friend and the best friend's boyfriend in his '57 Olds coupe. As we passed Highway 138, it started to rain. A quarter mile farther, it's just bucketing down. My dad, checking his mirrors, sees the young man rapidly flashing his headlights. We pull over and the guy tells my dad he can't see to drive because the wipers quit. My dad notes the very tired Olds engine isn't making enough vacuum to run the wiper motor, even at an idle. So, my dad, ever the clever fellow he was, digs in our trunk and comes out with a piece of small-diameter rope about ten feet long. He tied one end to the left wiper arm, feeds the free end through the car via the vent window on the right door and tells the guy to get back in. Dad takes the free end, feeds it through the left vent window and tied it to the left arm as well. He told my sister and the friend to pull the rope left and right, and both arms started to clear the windshield! And that's how they finished the climb, only getting a little wet from the open vent windows. My sister's friend still talks about that trip! ... View more

There's an instrument cluster voltage regulator that could be on its way out as well. They aren't horribly expensive and are relatively easy to replace. The higher output of the new alternator may have hastened the aging of the regulator and it could be an issue. ... View more

That is the point, no? Too many people fret over too many things that really don't matter; they have neglected to remember that this isn't our "practice life." We only get one shot at this and we owe ourselves a good time whenever the opportunity arises. Ride on, Mr Smith, ride on. ... View more

"Choice" is a word not spoken in the world of Nissan. The MID4II would have complimented the lineup, and could have accompanied the Infiniti sedan as a two-door personal luxury coupe (and throw that V8 in there too.) The fact that it would handle on a par with other grand tourers could have seen it become a Maserati fighter at the least. People buy cars that tickle their fancy in the league where this car would have been marketed, and the initial production costs might have been recouped in the first two years of production. What a shame that the efforts of the engineers were never offered to drivers that would have loved them. ... View more

Wait! Shouldn't Ford rename this vehicle the F120 or F240? Y'know, for the volts? How about calling it a "60C" to acknowledge the hertz thing. They could honor Henry's old friend Thomas Edison and call it "Tesla's Boss" because Nikola used to work for him. Too weird? And now all of the light-duty vehicles will be E-series, not just the van. Hmm, Econoline becomes Electroline... and the Ranger becomes the Range Limited. Will this bring back the F(E) powerplant? Is the big boy going to be called the Super D(ependant on voltage)uty? So many questions! ... View more

Here in SoCal, if a trashcan in an oil refinery catches fire, gas prices shoot up like fireworks on the fourth of July. All some of these energy-related producers need is a scent of a reason to jack prices up. ... View more

The last time I looked, man does not "produce" oil. It is extracted, refined and recycled. Man "produces" electricity via dams, photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, geothermal generation and coal and nuclear heaters. That "leaking oil" is going back to where it came from. The giant open-pit mines created in search of the raw materials needed for battery production won't be being refilled any time soon. ... View more

Interesting. The previous two crew transports were made in-house by Clark and Airstream, respectively. The new one looks suspiciously like a Mercedes with a giant sticker on it. Wonder why NASA didn't cut out the middle man (Airstream) and buy it from M-B directly. Heck, they probably would have donated it, in exchange for a three-pointed star patch placed on the spacesuits. Seems to me that if all the thing needs is a couple of benches and some monitors, an upfitted U-Haul van would be perfect. They even have a slide-out ramp so folks can easily enter the cargo area. What am I thinking! It's the government! Too easy and way too inexpensive! ... View more

A: watch the video. B: As stated, the seals are pulled into place. There are grooves machined along the length of the rotors, and the seals are lightly lubed and pulled in from one end, generally grasped with ViseGrips. ... View more

If you have a fireplace or otherwise burn wood, save and sift the COLD ashes. Wood ash makes a great liquid sucker-upper in the event of a spill. Keep it in a paper shopping bag until needed, and shake it out when there's wetness underfoot. Dispose of the used ash in accordance with local regulations. ... View more

Your failure to mention MSD is noticeable. A -6 box is probably the most affordable performance improvement one can add to an older vehicle, and they can make spark plugs last much longer than just about anything else. And just to stir the pot a little, even today's ignition systems are still based on a mechanical principle: a reluctor that is rotated past a fixed pickup, either crank or cam driven. ... View more

My grandfather would use some 600 grit sandpaper followed by a short session with some steel wool to polish the end of the dipstick. Made an amazing difference. And it seemed like he only had to do it once. ... View more

Are the race tracks going to be compensated for the additional amount of electrical infrastructure needed to recharge the cars, or will some yet-to-be-identified vendor show up with a massive self-contained generator system that can supply the necessary current for a rapid recharge? Will there be danger to those pacemaker wearing spectators being in close proximity to the possible electromagnetic field? Will my cell phone be wirelessly recharged by walking by an e-racer? Is the steel plate in my head going to be attracted to one of the higher-powered cars as it zips by me as I stand by the fence? Will the Earth's magnetic poles be irreversibly altered by having this many electrical things in one place? So many questions! How about this: Pile up some dirt a hundred feet high, two (or four) lanes wide and an eighth-mile long. Pave it and presto, a gravity racetrack. No noise, no burning of hydrocarbons, no 'lectricity. As green as possible, everybody wins. And count me out if it comes to that. ... View more

Was the SS badge in the grille installed crooked on purpose? My '67 396 badge was straight. ... View more

Number one rule: make sure that the engine is cool or cold, especially on an aluminum cylinder head. Use an air blow gun to clean the plug recess prior to removing the old plug. You may want to invest in a plug reach thread chaser because you never know when you might have to clean up those first three turns. Always use dielectric grease on the plug boots when reinstalling the wires. And that pretty blue anodized gap checker is only going to be accurate once. The act of sliding a plug across the measuring face will start removing the anodizing and then start removing aluminum. Likewise, the leaf type feeler gauges are great for setting valve lash, but can be a pain when trying to stack up thirty-five thousands worth of them. The steel coin-type gauge is a better bet, but you might want to verify its accuracy with a digital caliper and make a note of any variances. Check the gap of the old plugs after removal and note the change (if you were the one that installed them.) Consider going one or two ranges hotter on a somewhat tired engine; it might help avoid oil fouling. Ohm-check the plug (and coil) wires to ensure that there's not a weak one that isn't sending all of the current to the plugs. And finally, consider buying a flex-head extended handle ratchet that is used for spark plug duty ONLY, such as the SnapOn FNF100. ... View more

From the front bumper back to about eighteen inches, this is pretty cool. The rest of it, not so much. Did the designers not look at this thing outside on a dry day with no clouds? Oh yeah, Scotland. I wonder if that's where the phrase "put it where the sun don't shine" came from. ... View more

As others have pointed out, Corvette offered a factory alarm in 1968. The IMSA race team I was a part of in 1986 was chosen to help develop the Delco CCR 1000 adaptive and driver-adjustable dampers that, in the prototype system that was on our race car, could raise and lower the ride height by over six inches. During one practice pit stop, our driver (who shall remain nameless) forgot to turn the system off as he approached the box. When the air jack probe was inserted, the car came up as it was supposed to but all four wheels stayed firmly attached to the surface. Ooops. Lesson learned. The system could also be programmed to react quite swiftly to cornering forces and allowed our team to set a record lap time at Sears Point raceway. And then there was the time we employed a... Sorry. Still can't divulge some things! ... View more

LS'em all, especially the Zipper! ... View more

This could now work with electric wheel motors. The hydrostatic unit could drive an alternator that charges the batteries, allowing the carapace to be moved under it's own power when boatless. Quick, let's cut up one of them Prius' real quick! Somebody call Ian Roussel and have him get the torch ready! ... View more

I celebrate the "hemi" every time I sit down... ouch! Sorry! It was too easy... ... View more

As much of an evolution as that car was compared to the C3, it was an electrical nightmare as far as the under-dash wiring was concerned. Three of them came in to our shop after being out of warranty for two years with massive electrical faults (one actually caught fire) and it took us weeks to sort out the issues. Some of the harnesses and circuit boards were "spiking," wherein the solder joints were growing little conductive hairs which allowed current to travel where it shouldn't, like to ground. The fuse panel(s) couldn't protect a problem in the middle of the wire run so disaster was always lurking, waiting for a chance to come out and play. ... View more

Wow, Jack. Either you secretly don't like Honda's or you despise plastic trash cans. Tsk, tsk. ... View more

Given that these leviathans are all based on trucks, wouldn't a more appropriate name for the segment be "Sport Luxury Utility Truck?" No? Oh, wait. I see the problem now. Copyright infringement lawsuits from every red-light district around the world... ... View more

Hey, Hagerty Community! Let's send this guy a 1995 Caprice 9C1. He can remove the Chevy body and drop the Jacked-you-are body on a reliable chassis. Then, he can indulge his body, paint and trimming skills to his heart's content. The first photo is typical, a Jag next to a pay phone. Not visible are various vital fluids slowly oozing onto the tar macadam... ... View more

"Carbon neutral." Quite the catchphrase when attempting to convey a corporation's holier-than-thou attitude when the real truth is just the opposite. Does Matchbox use ink sourced from multicolored squid for its packaging? How does one recycle paint for the tiny cars? How many recycled steak and kidney pie tins do they use to make the molds? And that electricity that runs the place, how about that? Produced by a pack of unemployed foxes running on a treadmill turning a dynamo now that traditional hunting will be considered offensive and hence cancelled? We won't go into how some of the employees are riding in diesel-powered buses to and from work. So many questions, too few answers. ... View more

I wonder if the design team assigned to the Matador was impressed by an elephant seal. There seems to be a resemblance ... ... View more

Smith's instruments were and are very accurate, to the point of a steadily dropping needle on the oil pressure gauge telling you that the last bit of oil is rapidly escaping your British-built (fill in the blank) 's engine and is about to expire. ... View more

So, if the glorious State of Ohio won't allow businesses to take a non-refundable deposit, do they allow a restocking fee? Seems to me that that would solve the problem. Call it an "order cancellation fee" which would be protected by the FTC. ... View more

Mr. Siegel, may I suggest that you invest in some Permatex Right Stuff sealant? It works wonders on oil leaks and comes off when you need it to, unlike Yamabond or the dreaded Hondabond. I use a new version of Hylomar on rocker (some people call them "valve") covers that I also seal with silicone gaskets. And I'm curious if potential buyers of your cars are that concerned about "factory branded" hose clamps. If it runs and stops well and doesn't leak, would a particular hose clamp impact the sale price to a large degree? Just wondering... ... View more

I know that "Bearing Buddies" are convenient, but the old grease has to go somewhere when the new grease is squirted in, and that means the old stuff goes past the inner bearing seals. Not good. Be diligent and lube the bearings correctly. If there's water in the hub cavity, the seals are toast. They are designed to keep water and other debris out. If you are operating a boat trailer, use grease designed for occasional submerged use. Your bearings will thank you. ... View more

To everyone that says I'm wrong about crossing tiedowns, allow me to refer you to DOT rules regarding securing equipment, regardless of type, to a trailer deck. Many YouTube videos are available to watch, and then you can tell those people that they are doing it wrong. ... View more

"...the front wheels came right off the ground." Really? In a pickup truck? On street tires? The author obviously failed to mention the six tons of pine needles that must have been wedged between the rear bumper and the tailgate in order for that event to have happened... Cool truck, though! ... View more

If I gave Mr. Hart a screwdriver, I wonder if he would know which end to use... I'm not jealous of the fact that he can drop big money on what catches his eye, because sooner or later, his collection will be a liability in one way or another (just ask Reggie Jackson) should something untoward happen to them or, God forbid, him. But the positive side of this is that Mr. Hart is helping to keep people employed and is keeping interest alive in our hobby. Who knows, some young person that was unaware of the fact that Corvettes existed before 2020 and weren't mid-engined will see Kevin's latest purchase and rediscover the joy that we all experience when we twist the key and hear old iron making beautiful noise! ... View more

Why would you recommend not to cross the tie-downs in an "X" pattern but you do endorse crossing the safety chains? It's the same principle in essence. And as a former large-car (Freightliner, KW and Pete) operator, tying a load down on one of our lowboys involved left-to-right and "X" pattern chains and binders. Also, whenever possible, try to position the ratchet mechanisms on the right side of the trailer. That way, if you have to re-tighten the load, you won't be standing in traffic. ... View more

The process of making dry ice involves liquefying carbon dioxide (CO2) that separated from the air and freezing it. Hence, once dry ice is allowed to return to its gaseous state, the molecules return to their previous place in the atmosphere. ... View more