Perfect use of the phrase "champing at the bit". You sir, are a literary scholar, seriously. ~and~ "Their drivers are required to work hard and not suck at adult choices." True. But nothing fixes the fact that NASCAR is a soap opera for men. ... View more

Brilliant article. One of your best. ... View more

A couple of observations: If one part of the brake system between the piston and the master cylinder is under 1000 psi, all parts including the fittings and the brake line are also seeing 1000 psi. In a dual piston system, if one piston pops out and the other remains in place, put the popped out piston partway back into its bore and place a piece of wood or a clamp between the piston and the opposite caliper face and continue to apply air pressure to get the other piston to pop free. Since air is compressible, on really stubborn pistons you may need to use grease by adapting a grease fitting to your hand grease pump and applying the non-compressible grease. Clean the grease contaminated cylinder thoroughly before proceeding. On aluminum cylinders, avoid the use of steel wool, and use scotch brite pads to avoid embedding steel filings into the aluminum which will rust and expand and leave sharp particles which can tear or damage the seals. Inspect carefully for corrosion especially in areas where the seals for the pistons ride on the bores. Orient the seals in their correct locations facing the correct way. Cleanliness is next to Godliness in Brake rebuilds... so act accordingly. ... View more

It's a great tip regardless of the folks trying to correct your writing. Thanks for sharing! ... View more

Watt's first steam engine was to move water out of mines, which previously had been done with draft horses turning pumps. So it was logical to relate the work his steam engine could do to the work a horse could do. The horse plodded around a circular path, pulling at right angle on a 12 foot lever projecting from a capstan at the center of the circle. The capstan, in turn, was geared to operate the pump.   Watt estimated that the horse pulled with a force of 180 pounds. The circle it followed had a circumference of 2 times π times a radius of 12 feet or 75.4 feet. The horse could make 144 trips around the circle an hour; and 144 divided by 60 results in 2.4 trips per minute, for a speed of 2.4 times 75.4 feet or about 181 feet per minute.   To convert the demonstration of the horse’s ability into measurable leverage, or what is known as torque, Watt multiplied 180 pounds times 181 feet per minute obtaining 32,580 pounds-feet per minute. He rounded that figure to 33,000 pounds-feet per minute or 33,000 divided by 60 which is 550 pounds-feet per second, which became the norm for one (1.0) horsepower. Many of his contemporaries doubted his comparison, not so much because of the math, but because they believed he was being too generous to the ability of the horse! His engine would do this work all day, while a horse under this kind of effort would last an hour or two at the most.   Watt’s draft horse generated force around a circumference of a circle, due to the lever on the capstan. An engine does the opposite; it delivers force at the output end of the crankshaft. Imagine it turns a one-foot lever attached at right angles to the crankshaft. As the crank rotates, the free end of the lever will follow a circle with a one-foot radius. In order to convert the rotational force into horsepower, you need to know the distance the free end of the lever moves in one revolution. The answer of course is 2 times π times a radius of 1 feet or 6.28 feet.   Therefore, the total distance the free end of the lever will go in one minute is 6.28 feet times the Revolutions per Minute or RPM of the engine. Multiplying the total torque (pounds-feet or foot-pounds) output of the engine by distance traveled by the free end of the lever in one minute, and divided by Watt’s pounds-feet per minute per horsepower number will yield horsepower:   Horsepower = (6.28 x RPM x Torque) / 33,000 ... View more

Three thoughts.   The offset drive of the distributer is easy to install correctly, even after the engine is built. A long 5/16 stud or bolt will allow the withdrawl of the drive and it is trivial to reinstall in the proper orientation.   You don't need to remove the valve cover to know the valves are rocking and you are on compression, just putting your thumb on the open spark plug hole and feeling the rush of air (or lack thereof) as you turn the engine will tell you all you need to know. From there it is 1342 CCW. And if you really mess up, knowing 1342 CCW allows you to get the right places in a maximum of four tries.   And finally, I can fix any set of points if needed on the side of the road. I can't fix a dead Pertronix... unless I carry spare points with me. Make sure your red and black leads INSIDE the distributor are not subject to wear and have an adequate balance of tie down and freedom because when the red shorts to ground you will melt the white wire from the coil all the way through the tachometer to the ignition switch. ... View more

66-67 Chargers did it better with rotating lights that looked good open or closed. ... View more

FC ##### would be an early Spitfire, a MkI or MkII. But none of the models ever had 6 digits after the two letters.   The GT6 MkI or MkII would have been a KC#####. Again not exceeding 5 digits. ... View more

Reading the article and the comments is a good lesson on why States rights are an important issue. It becomes an individual's choice to remain in a given state because you value the rules or to move to a different one if you find them restrictive. I'm not trying to be political, but anti-Federalism was a big deal to the founders, and something that everyone on all sides of the political spectrum should be able to find value in. ... View more

Great article that let us glimpse the business, the outside factors and the future impacts. I enjoyed reading it very much, and it is what I expect each morning from Hagerty.com. But I'm just one person with a purist's view of the collector car hobby. ... View more