What happened to the Lincoln Blackwood pick up truck? What a beauty.....??? ... View more

Never did nor would I ever want that in my car(s).Had Bose in 2 Cadillacs and both sucked and died way too soon and too costly to fix.Sound is a personal thing that people like tuned to their own ear.Good luck with Bose IF you like them.I don't nor never will. Sorry, but I have told this to Bose people face to face.Good luck and keep smilin'. ... View more

OK, Like i asked early on "What Happened to Blaupunkt? or did you all miss my comment before writing this stuff. After working at Bosch in Broadview ,Il. for over 33 years and closing down the original US headquarters on Long Island when it moved to Broadview in the mid-'70s, I seen it all. The radio repair/rebuild depatment was there,I had an AM/FM Blaupunkt & 8 track player in my '72 Grand Prix and my son got their AM/FM with the very first reversible cassette track players in his 1984 Buick Shylark and my boss,who came to the US in the late '60s had worked in Blaupunkt repair radios out of their headquarters in NYC back then.They were way ahead of the game selling their tape decks for GM car radios in the '80s and '90s plus their radios to Ford after that. Yes, they were big in all Euro made cars and I'll never forget the first time I jumped into the late '70s Bosch Automotive service van,I was always in the Bosch automotive OE and aftermarket service group, and found this huge stalk sticking out from the floor that controlled all the radio operations. Yes, the site I worked at did all the repair, rebuilding,proto type installations and custom work, like in the Vector if anyone remembers that car, back then and my '91 Cadillac STS with its Bose radio was the biggest disappointment for a car radio I ever had and my coisin confirmed that to me with the one he had in his GMC and many Corvette owners,from that era, will sing you the same song,too. The Japs brought an end to Blaupunkt and I miss their German quality,today. ... View more

What Happened To Blaupunkt (or Bosch GmbH)? ... View more

Does anyone truly know why the 1981 Cadillac 6.0 liter gas 4/6/8 motor got such a bad reputation that Cadillac killed it in 1982? I do because I owned one for many years and drove it for well over 130K miles until it literally the body rusted away and loved it so much that I recently bought another "cream puff" with low mileage. It was claimed that the engine would run away at stoplights by running up to 3000 RPM for no reason. The cause of that was the same as pointed out in this article. People went under the hood, owners or mechanics, that had no idea of how the new EFI systems worked back then and as a result they turned screws that caused this to happen. All it took was an owners complaint that the idle speed was too low. Up went the hood and they turned out the nut headed bolt in the IAC actuator/valve which caused the TPS calibration to be off and the EFI ECM/ECU to make incorrect adjustments which result in this happening maybe with a simple thing like turning on the AC system at a stop light. Those motors/cars had the best onboard diagnostic systems on them that would rival anything in a car today and that same system is back in use in many EURO and US made cars today but renamed as a "Variable Displacement" motor system. Luckily, I was working a the German OE/OEM parts supplier for all these EFI systems for cars around the World back then and they had hired in a Cadillac repair technician, sometimes called a auto mechanic or nut and bolt turner, who knew his stuff on that system. I learned it all from him and with knowing all those other systems in play at that time by working many years in the shop that evaluated the failures for all those cars that were sent back as warranty returns, I truly learned how it all worked. My own cousin tried to impress me with how his new GMC with its new updated SBC worked with this new "Variable Displacement" motor I just kinda just smiled and let him explain to me how it all worked. The basic origin came from HD trucks with "Jake Brakes" but that's another story because I worked 7 years for a World wide supplier of HD trucks made in the USA before moving on. If people truly know what and how things work, then fine, but if you don't please find someone who does before someone gets hurt and car companies get falsely blamed for your mistakes. ... View more

Thanks, Tomy T. I will giver a try and see if it will get 'er done. Grumpy, X USAC stock car builder & pit crew during the late '60s and early '70s. ... View more

OK, so I got most of that stuff already but having 20K miles and about 10 years use on these finned aluminum items, I see lots of crud and staining going on in the dulled areas between in the valleys below the polished fins. I have used many different solvents and polishes plus varied methods to clean these areas with only marginal looking results. Does anyone out there know a good way to do this without removing these items for cleaning and getting a nice appearance afterward without spending all day to "Get 'er done" ? Grumpy's Ride" is not a trailered show car but a very presentable street rod which goes a whole bunch of places when my health and this virus will let us do so. Grumpy would sure like to have some help on this one because Grumpy's wife is getting tired of breaking her finger nails while doing it, lately. Thanks...   ... View more

Thanks everyone. We wish we could get back on the road again but it sure don't look like any shows in Illinois will be starting up soon. Mr. Pit Crew, In the late '60s and early '70s, before Uncle Sam got me for Nam, I helped build 2 Grand national stock cars and a tilt bed truck to haul it on plus pitted the car a USAC events back then. We ran against AJ Foyt, The Users, Don White, etc. but we only ate their dust and rubber because we were an independent running against the factory cars back then. It was fun but hectic when you hold down a full time job. We sure hope better days come soon and thank you all for the Thumbs Up. Remember to keep the rubber side down. Stay safe and well. Grumpy ... View more

Thanks. ... View more

11 years ago, when I retired and being a nut and bolt turner all my life, I rolled over my 401K into an IRA and begged my wife of 40 years IF I could hold out enough cash to buy my high school dream car. A 1939 or 1940 Ford street rod. Well, after looking at a few, she would not let me buy a sedan like I saw in a "Cartoon" with a '40 sedan jacked up in the rear with the guy saying to his buddy "Well, at least I don't have to bend over to get the spare out!". She said a sedan was an old mans car. When I found the dream car in Florida off we went because I never drove a "street rod" version but a good buddy of mine, who work with Tommy Ivo back in the day, told me what to look for. Well it was a picture perfect '40 Ford coupe that was 100% done with the correct American Mags and the right flame job but everything else was wrong. Luckily I knew what a 400 SBC was about, I turned bearings in one because, well, I just don't know how to drive nice even today, and it had a straight axle under it, too. There were a few other things that just made this car a coffin for us IF I drove it home but the problem was not the car. It was my right foot. When we got home, there was a voice mail from my buddy, who was at a big car show with a car corral not more than 40 miles from us. He gave me the info, I drove it the very next day and we both agreed. It was in my driveway by the end of the week and it cost about 1/2 of what the car in Florida would have cost. It is a 1939 Ford Deluxe coupe with a stock 350 SBC, 350 AT, Mustang II FA with rack & pinion PS & PB. It is like driving a big over sized go cart. Well, 11 years later, everything has been up graded, improved,replace and all the latest creature features are in it. We have put over 20K miles on it and it has gone to St.Paul "Back to the '50's show" at least 7 times, to car shows all over Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan. We love this toy. Check out the photos and see if you like it as much as we do. Thanks from Grumpy and his squeeze. ... View more

Anybody watch "Greased Lightning" about   Wendell Scott ? A very interesting movie and a driver I never heard of and I helped build and pitted a USAC Grand National Stock Car in that era and never knew anything about him until I saw the movie. Yes, it has its flaws but a great movie if you truly want to get into NASCAR racing history. Still Grumpy ... View more

The video attached to" The origin of the “Jeep” name, how to buy a tank, and more " would not work. I left it download for over 4 hours and it still did not work. I tried it repeatedly on and off for a whole day and only could get a few words before it paused and tried it again at 7 am CST and still the same thing happened and finally, I tried to download and watch it with "cookies on" and "cookies off" the same thing happens, a few words come out then it pauses, over and over. Any chance of getting a direct link to watch this one? Both my son and I plus a few other friends are into this stuff and would love to watch it. Thanks, Grumpy   ... View more

My cousin decided to help me out by trailering a full size 1968 Mercury Colony Park wagon on his newly purchased 4 wheeled car trailer which, I thought he had experience with being a guy who drove trucks with trailers for work and pleasure for many years before. I followed him onto a ramp on a toll road communicating via a CB radio. He got just about up to 55 mph when the trailer started to do the Watusi , at first just a little bit but I could see it was going very quickly totally out of control. Me being a non-trailer but a crazy driver all my life could think of only one thing to do. I keyed the CB radio and said as clearly and loudly as I could "Punch it !" he did just that which stopped the Watusi motion and slowly pulled it over to the side of the road where I concluded that we should move the car more forward on the trailer to put more weight on the tongue of the trailer hitch. That did it, but that was the scariest time I ever experienced in my life while following an old car going to a car show. That Merc. wagon was a one of a kind in near mint condition with 50 K miles on it and only got a creased rocker panel from contacting the trailers fender because it was anchored down correctly but it was a miracle that no one got hurt and the car survived so well in the process. It could have been a lot worse. Yes, it was my cousins first time hauling a car and the many years of hauling my big Mercs. around after that, we never experienced anything like that again. Your article is great and you mention it first off and I just wanted to reinforce this point very clearly with an example. The rest of the article is perfect. Thanks for doing this even if the cars are not going anywhere right now. God Bless You ALL and Keep you Well. Grumpy  ... View more

In the early '70's and being a USAC car part of the builder and part of the pit crew of it, I had an original 390/401HP 1961 Ford Starliner which I repowered with a Holman Moody 427 side oiler blocked 427 with the reworded original tri-power and it had a top loader 4 speed, Hurst shifter, 3:89 open gear and I reworked the chassis. The engine machine shop work was done by American engine plus I ran headers with 4" dumps by Robin Hood Muffler's in Cicero Illinois. That car weigh in at about 4200 pounds and one late night coming home from work, a Chicago cop in his almost new 428CJ Torino tried it on for size. He had no chance after 4 of 5 tries. A lot of others tried that too but the tank always won but unfortunately, I was always busy with the USAC stock car and never made it to the strip to get any time on it in a 1/4 mile. Then Uncle Sam got me for Nam, so I let my best friend care for it while I was away. On my return, the car was not the same and I found out he tore the 3:89 gear out of it plus I was never home because of USAC and that car. There for, after being married 3 years I made the choice of USAC, My car or being married. I stayed married and have no regrets to this day and sold the car for $350, and the guy still owes me $25 to this day, and it originally came from a connection through the late and great Ford NASCAR driver Fred Lorenzen from Elmhurst Illinois of that era. ... View more

Cadillac Motor, What??? Ever hear of a SBC derivative in a Caddy before? Ever here what is worse than the HT4100? Try on a NorthStar V8. Caddy could not figure out how to stop the Mobil 1 from leaking out of it so now a days, they put in a synthetic blend mix oil but never recalled the engines they have built with "Use Only Mobil 1 Oil" on there oil filer plug, nor head gaskets that don't leak on the ground or into the cylinder causing hydro lock, or cylinder blocks that crack and in closing, they no longer have their own V8, but must rely on a SBC, to get the job done. How very very sad. Signed, an X-die hard all American Caddy owner who now drives a Hyundai because my last 2004 CTS unibody chassis and legs rusted through by 80K miles.  This is my first and only non-American based car company car I have ever owned in 60 years of owning and driving cars. How sad that is to say, but it is the truth. ... View more