Rob, if you pick up the car on your low rise lift, do you feel the need to put stands under it as well? ... View more

I worked on the Hydra-matic 425 transmission in these cars, when I first came to Michigan in 1965. I ran them on the dynamometer, tore down and rebuilt them, and helped with the final development. OK, I was a coop student, so I got coffee for the guys who did the real work. I was way too young to appreciate the dedication and expertise of the engineers and management of Hydra-matic who were determined to build an exceptional quality product. These cars worked perfectly right from their introduction, no recalls, no problems. I was also too young to appreciate the complete lack of torque steer. It wasn't until I drove later FWD cars that I had something to compare them to. Think about it: 425 or more ft-lb, through the front wheels, with bias ply tires, and not a trace of torque steer. And it's not my faded memories. I now have an Eldorado, with 500 ft-lb of torque, and it doesn't have a trace of torque steer. When I got the Eldo a few years back, everyone who came by had to go out in the garage and see the Hydra-matic 425. Eventually people stopped coming by. ... View more

How come there are 2 Avoidable Contact #105s ? ... View more

My BMW 335i, with direct injection, went over 200,000 miles, and was running strong when i sold it. One of the services BMWs like these need occasionally is walnut shell blasting of the intake valves. Carbon can build up on the valve stems and restrict airflow. In 200,000 miles, my car had that done twice. BMW strongly advises the use of only tier 1 gasoline to reduce this problem. Both times BMW paid for it. I'm told that new versions of that engine don't need this service as often, which, in practice, probably means never. I think the worst part of the soot issue is the unsightliness of he chrome tailpipes after a while. ... View more

I've had a lot of experience, mostly bad, with Ford and Lincoln alternators. One o the failures that happens, and it's not that unusual, is that the diodes fail and allow the alternator to put alternating current into the car' direct current electrical system. Newer cars, with electronics, go wonky. Older cars, like the Mustang, might only show a few quirks, like those jumpy needles. Measuring the car's electrical system with a DC voltmeter won't show tis problem. Sometimes an AC voltmeter will show AC voltage in the system. Other times you just have to test each diode separately. In any case, i would start with another alternator. And, preferably, a new, no rebuilt, alternator. There are some Ford cars, like the Lincoln Mark VIII, for which there are no new alternators available, from Ford or anyone else, ad that is nothing but trouble. Good luck. ... View more

I don't think the blower Bentley won at LeMans. I think it was an unsupercharged 4 1/2 liter Bentley that won. When I was at the Bentley factory, I was allowed to put my hand on the steering wheel that W.O. Bentley held. It was moving. ... View more

I'd like to see how this project progresses. I suspect that there will be a lot of stories before this car is done. A few years back I bought a Bentley for roughly the same reasons, and had some interesting lessons in British/German car engineering. ... View more

Gorgeous cars. I've loved these cars since i first saw one, 50 some years ago. A friend of mine, a few years back, bought an XJ6 with serious mechanical and electrical troubles. He replaced the engine, every electrical part, every wire and connector and every hose with comparable GM parts. In effect, he had a Chevy with a beautiful Jaguar body. It was a lot of work, but what a neat car. I should have bought it when he offered it to me. My memory is that the Jaguar even used a Hydra-matic 400 transmission, making the engine swap relatively easy. ... View more

Just for the record, the roof panel was not shared with other GM cars. Other GM, and others, copied the roof design on later cars, but in 76 it was unique to the Seville. ... View more

I had a 79 Seville for a number of years. I was taken with the elegant appearance, the clean sheer lines, the luxurious interior. I was not so taken with the complete lack of assembly quality, and the countless electrical failures. It took many tries before all the shorts and electrical leakages were fixed well enough so that the battery wouldn't go dead if you left the car for a few days. Cadillac eventually published a 150 page, 11 x 14 book about solving electrical problems in these cars. I suggested to the Cadillac exec I knew that they should have provided this in the glove compartment of every car. And my car was the 4th year of production, so these glitches should have been sorted. I wasn't too taken with the sloppy handling, either. Fortunately the chassis was shared with the Camaro and Firebird. A careful swap of suspension components made a large difference in the handling, as well as an upgrade in wheel width. Couldn't change the diameter because the wire wheel hubcaps wouldn't have fit, and you can't have a Cadillac without wire wheel wheel covers. The Olds 350 engine was a slug. Replacing the fuel injection setup with a carb and a new distributor, and a more aggressive cam, woke it up quite a bit. I should have just swapped in a 455. Altogether, a half hearted effort by GM to make an American Mercedes. ... View more

Alfa still hasn't realized that it takes more than being different to win in the US. You have to be different, and also have something people want. Alfa isn't going to cut it with BMW copies (as Cadillac has discovered), or quirky and odd sports cars. And, at least in Ann Arbor, I am told that the dealer experience isn't very pleasant. Alfa needs o take a hard look at their products and ask themselves, "why would anyone buy our cars instead of a BMW or Audi"? Other companies could also benefit by doing the same. ... View more

Smokey Yunik wrote a pamphlet about "cheating" with Hudson Hornets many years back. One of the tricks was to reverse the engine rotation, to help cornering. Hudson Hornets had a very heavy crankshaft, and reversing the rotation helped the car turn left. There were other things, like lightening the flywheel by drilling radial holes in it, and then reinstalling the ring gear so inspectors couldn't see the holes. Reversing the pistons to minimize the piston pin/piston offset also helped in these engines. As did leaving off the 4th ring, below the pin. Hudson's dominated NASCAR for 4 seasons, until Hudson went out of business. ... View more

BMWs haven't had dipsticks for years. Lots of car haven't had transmission dipsticks for decades. Still, good tips for older cars. ... View more

Stories like these are one of the reasons I bought a Bentley a few years back. I programmed mine to play "God Save the Queen" every time I start out on a trip. When the Queen drives, the palace people put blue lights on the front of the car. Fair warning, I suppose. The Queen is a 96 year old, 5 foot tall woman, driving a 600 HP Bentley. Best to stand clear. ... View more

I just noticed a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker DeLux in the background. That was my first car, a really used car, when I was 13 years old. The DeLux meant it had the 235 hp hemi instead of a measly 195 hp hemi. ... View more

I owned a 79 Coupe de Ville back when they were just used cars. Nice car, but a little work made it even better. The underperforming 425 engine woke up with a slightly more aggressive cam, tweaks to the carb, and a recurved distributor. All at no cost to driveability. Handling perked up a lot with sway bars, front and rear, firmer shock absorbers, especially in front, and wider steel wheels. I had to retain the original wire wheel hubcaps. Wouldn't be right not to have wire wheel wheel covers. Made nice car for quite a few years. ... View more

The tires on my wife's Mustang are talking to me, and they're saying, "put us out of our misery and buy new tires". ... View more

I bought some special funnels that connect directly into the oil fill openings on the Ford, BMW and Bentley. Makes it a lot easier to fill the engine. Then I keep each one in a sealed plastic container. Keeps dirt off the funnel, oil off anything else. ... View more

Good article Kirk. When I bought my Eldorado, the radial tires had good tread. But the date code had weathered off the tires. I bought new ones. ... View more

The first Chrysler B series engine was a 350, in 1958. Used in DeSoto. Displacement shared, of course, with GM's many 350s. ... View more

I've owned both the SM and an Eldorado of the same vintage. The Eldo is by far the fastest front wheel drive car of 1970. That said, the SM was quite a car. I bought one wit a blown engine, and swapped in a 2.8 liter Ford V6. It was a lot of work, including making the Ford engine run in reverse rotation. Not as fast, but it made the car quieter and a lot more tractable than the Maserati V6. Mine had a 5 speed transmission. My understanding at the time, 1973-4, was that Citroen's could not be certified here because they didn't use DOT brake fluid. They suspension and the brakes used the same hydraulic system, and it used mineral fluid similar to AF. The fact that they had an adjustable height suspension had nothing to do with it. Later Lincolns had adjustable height air suspensions. Rolls-Royce used Citroen suspension and brake technology, but they used DOT brake fluid just to get around this problem. The rule was relaxed in later years, and R-R went to the mineral based fluid. Cars that are failing in the marketplace often blame government rules when they leave the US. ... View more

Sorry Sajeev, but Ford wasn't first with 4 wheel antilock brakes. The 1972 Imperial offered them as an option. Discs all around, too. I had one of these cars. Once I finished the development that Chrysler should have done, they worked extremely well. Rest of the car was a piece of crap, though. What was truly a breakthrough on the Mark VII was the modern air suspension. Ford did a heroic job reinventing air suspension, from zero leak connections for nylon lines to self drying air dryers. It was so reliable that lots of Ford owners didn't even know they had it, including untold thousands of cop cars. Millions of perps rode to the slammer never knowing they were riding on air. All modern cars with air suspension have copied most of the features of the Ford system. I was at GM when the Riviera came out with the touchscreen. It was terribly unreliable, warranty costs were through the roof, and customers were angry. Word came down from on high that "we're never doing this again". ... View more

Michigan doesn't have an excise tax, but they have a very inequitable license plate fee system. The cost of the plate is based on the new price of the car. Forever. The guy who cuts my lawn pays as much for the plates on his 12 year old Camry as the well-off professor who bought it new. I have brought this up with state people. including my senator, but I haven't gotten much traction. I suggested that the cost of plates should decline 10% per year until the car i 9 years old, and then remain at 10%. Of course that means that new car buyers will have to pay more in order to raise the same amount of money each year, and that isn't going to go over very well wit legislators. ... View more

Many Bentleys were built in Derby, after Cricklewood and before Crewe. Lately Bentley seems on a tear. I can see why. My 2007 Bentley Continental GT has been nothing but a pleasure to own and drive. ... View more

Several nice stories lately Kirk, including this one. Bob ... View more

I had lots of pickup trucks, Chevys, over the years. Now that I'm retired, I have an El Camino. It's a truck for people that don't work very hard. The limited bed space keeps me from being roped into big projects by friends and acquaintances. The lowered suspension, big wheels, suspension upgrades, including a rack and pinion conversion make it as much fun to drive as my BMW. Jackis right about American pickups. I just like mine on a smaller scale. ... View more

I owned 4 Chevrolet B-Body coupes, 77 and 79. They are very handsome cars. I still have the last of my El Caminos as well. The rear glass always reminded me of a Ferrari 308. Bob ... View more

I've only had limited experience with these engines, but I wouldn't get into any engine work unless you have a lot of experience, and know about the construction of the engines. They have removable cylinder liners. If you have to remove the head to get the lifters out, you will probably have to remove the loners to replace the seals at the bottom of them. This is a total engine rebuild. A long shot for the noise might be the hydraulic pump. These Rolls-Royces have a hydraulic-pneumatic system, licensed from Citroen. French engineering, British craftsmanship. What could go wrong? Good luck. ... View more

If the newer master cylinder has the same diameter as the original, there should be no problem, other than the necessary plumbing. I've done this several times with Forward Look Chrysler New Yorkers. I think it's a worthwhile swap. Make sure the newer master cylinder has the type of lid as shown. The kind with a bail will not fit under the power brake unit. With these cars, there is, or should be, a vacuum reservoir. Sometimes it is out of sight near the wheels, other times it is obviously on the fender well. If the reservoir leaks, the engine will not idle properly. If the check valve on the reservoir leaks, there will be no vacuum left for an emergency stop if the engine stalls. I would check for both of these conditions. About 30 years ago, I built a disc brake conversion for my 60 New Yorker. No one made parts back then. In front, I made a bracket that mated to the bracket of a 70 New Yorker caliper, and I used a Dodge truck rotor. The rear worked with a Lincoln Versailles rotor, and a GM caliper. I replaced the archaic Chrysler booster with a more modern style, and used a Seville master cylinder, and an adjustable proportioning valve. By the time I was done, the only original Chrysler part was the rubber pad on the brake pedal. It works well, to this day. Note that in 1958, the Windsor was built on the shorter Dodge chassis. The front suspension parts are different than a New Yorker. Imperial is also different. If you are buying a kit, make sure it fits a New Yorker. These cars were famous for poor brakes, even when new. The 12 inch drums are so thin, and without a reinforcing rib, that they flex under pressure and the shoes lose complete contact. Swapping in the drum brakes from a 63-64 New Yorker will make a definite improvement. Good luck with your project. I've been fixated on New Yorkers since I was a kid, and 57 New Yorkers cost $25. ... View more

This is one of those cars that's crying out for a small block Chevy, and rear wheel drive. I did a study once, back when I was on a GM project, t convert the GM EV-1 to a Chevy engine, rear wheel drive. Eliminating the batteries and replacing them with the Chevy drivetrain actually saved some weight. It could have been quite the halo car for GM, but that was a time when GM was running out of money and courage. When I was young ad stupid, I replaced the 2 cylinder, 425 cc engine in my 2CV with an 1100cc, 4 cylinder engine from a Citroen Ami. Not too long afterward, I managed to twist the 2CV driveshaft right in half. The 2CV had inboard brakes, so most of the braking power was also lost. ... View more

I worked on the very beginnings of this car and the Wagoneer in 2015. Projected price for top modes was over $100,000. At one point, I was in a meeting with some top people, discussing the development of this Jeep, and I asked, "Where are you going to sell this car?" I got a lot of blank looks. The idea that someone buying a $100,000 car wanted a better experience than the usual Jeep Patriot or Dodge minivan was incomprehensible. Chrysler hasn't built a luxury car since the last of the body frame Imperials, and that was more than half a century ago. I suggested that they pay a visit to the Land Rover dealership, where i had been recently. Not because I wanted a Land Rover, but because they had a Bentley Continental GT in the used car lot. The ambience inside is a lot different than that of the usual CDJR dealership. But I got n takers. ... View more

I worked at Chrysler in 86. A lot of the mid-level execs had these cars. I always felt like they had the air of a gussied up Plymouth, lacking the slickness, quietness and style of a Chevy Caprice. I drove a Chevy Caprice at the time, and, despite themselves, other Chrysler people were always impressed with it. Chrysler hasn't built a real luxury car since the last of the body on frame Imperials in 1966. ... View more

I used to have a French car addiction. DS, ID, Traction Avant, 2CV, plus Ami (the original), Dyane, SM and BX. All very interesting and innovative. But all very troublesome, and all having a fatal flaw or 2 that made them totally unsuitable for Michigan. After numerous rebuilding projects, I swore off French cars, sort of like a recovering alcoholic. I bought a Cadillac because it sounded French. Driving a 2CV is as different as can be imagined from a VW Beetle. I once put the engine from a Ami in a 2CV. It was a real screamer until the axles broke. ... View more

This Chrysler looks like it might have the swivel seats. Did you check them out? 2 door and 4 door Chryslers all had the swivel seat option. They were different between 2 door and 4 door cars, but still cool, and unique. ... View more

I spent a good number of years designing and engineering seats. I, personally, would work on a seat with air bags inside. The smallest amount of static electricity, or sometimes the moisture from your hands, can set off one of the bags. I have seen the results, and it ain't pretty. If you source seats from a junkyard, be sure they are the same year as the car. Otherwise, the car may not recognize the air bags, and set an error code. Of course, lots of people drive around with permanent error codes and check engine lights displayed, but it isn't a good idea. A lightweight seat cover shouldn't impede the air bags. They are very strong, and they will just tear the fabric apart. Police Crown Vics had special severe use seats, after a while. The earlier versions did not, and they failed, both the trim and the structure, so quickly that police departments threatened not to buy any more Crown Vics. GM cars never had this problem, as their seats, in cop cars, were already strong enough. One of the things I liked about my 2007 BMW was that the seats, and the entire interior, looked like new after 200,000+ miles and 10 years. My Mark VIII seats were sagging, and the leather cracking and delaminating after less than 100,000 miles and 5 years. ... View more

My ultimate hauler is a 1983 El Camino. Big enough for any car project, yet too small for me to get roped into major home improvement projects that would keep me from working on my cars. It can carry a big block Chrysler engine, but not a sheet of drywall. A good collection of Torqueflite transmissions, but not a hot tub.  Plus, it rides and handles like a very good car, especially after i massaged the suspension with a careful selection of G-Body parts, and 15 in wheels. It now has a GM Performance parts 350, which motivates it quite well, and upgraded brakes from a later Blazer, so it stops well now. And, as a bonus, it's now old enough to wear antique license plates and enjoy Hagerty's low insurance rates. I'm in Ann Arbor, MI, right around the corner from Hagerty's offices for the magazine. Bob Elton ... View more

This is a car I built from scratch. I built the frame and rear suspension, and I built the body from fiberglass after I made a full size plaster model. It has a Chevy LT-1 engine, and some other GM parts, and a few Chrysler parts, but mostly I made it myself.  ... View more

The father of all great engine designers has to be Stephen Fekete, the Hudson engine designer who invented the fully counterbalanced crankshaft for the 1916 Hudson Super Six. It made high speed inline 6 cylinder engines possible. In one stroke, it about doubled the horsepower of the Hudson 6 cylinder engine.   I think if him every time my BMW approaches red line. ... View more

The Chrysler speedo/instrument cluster is even better at night. It is lit with elctroluminescent lights. That is, the numbers, and the pointers, are coated with a paint that lights up when electric current is applied. So, at night, the numbers, and the pointers, are lit, hanging in darkness. Has to be seen to be appreciated.   Chrysler used these clusters for 3 years, 1960 - 62, in all their models. Only the F & G speedos went to 150, all others topped out at 120. The elctroluminescent lights needed high voltage AC current, so there was a device that made DC current into AC. Every year that device shrank in size. The first one, 1960, actually made a small noise. ... View more

I've had a number of Imperials and Chryslers, and one of them used a lot of oil. It turned out that it had the wrong dipstick, and the crankcase was being consistently overfilled. I would make absolutely sure that there are only 5 qts of oil in the crankcase, drain ad refill to be sure. Check the oil, and mark the dipstick.   That solved the oil consumption problem in my 64 Imperial. ... View more