Mostly what I have read about synthetic oil has been good. Mostly what I have seen and experienced about synthetic oil has been less than good. I have tried it in my older cars and bikes, and gone back to conventional oil. Synthetic seems to work fine in late model cars that were designed for it ... View more

Sigmund Freud once said "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" . I see pickup trucks as a continuation of the big-ass, rear wheel drive, V8 powered, full frame, US cars that we grew up with and secretly miss.   As for the "red tribe / blue tribe" thing, it seems backwards. Shouldn't the socialists be red, they have been throughout history. Just ask Joseph Stalin or Chairman Mao. ... View more

This is a real coup for the marketing department at Geely.   Quoting your article "These days, the Swedish company builds full-on luxury cars". After reading about how proud Geely (the chinese automaker) was, with the launch of their new Volvos, made entirely in china.  So they are importing chinese Volvos into the American market. Is it possible that the US buyers believe they are getting a fine Swedish car ? ... View more

This plays into the fact that certain colors are not suited to certain styles of car. Like a tan Corvette, or a bright yellow Lincoln Town Car. It just doesn't work. I think the pea green Porsche is stunning, and really shows off the lines of the car. But I have friends that would rather see it in flat black, with flaming skulls. ... Gary ... View more

I would be lost without my "no contact" IR thermometer. Checking for a high temperature on an auto transmission or rear axle. Or that one cold exhaust port, or hot brake drum. ... View more

Great article. My older cars have grease zerks on the front suspension and driveshaft. There is a special satisfaction to getting just the right amount of grease in the right place. The gradual reduction and removal of grease zerks on late model cars is proof that they are disposable, bio-degradable, appliances. The "lubed-for-life" bearings and joints on newer cars have a limited life, based mostly on build quality (Hello China). The average new car owner would not be capable of greasing his own car anyway, or even knowing why it is required. My 1932 Hudson Essex hot rod has the original type suspension including 24 grease zerks (king pins, spring shackles, steering etc). and should live to be 100+ years old.  So I raise a glass to mister Zerk ... Cheers ... View more

Hagerty should have a contest based on these heavily photoshopped Charger photographs, with a drawing for a grand prize. Any people that find 20 mistakes can enter into the drawing.  To keep it fair, if you know anything about Mopars, you must find 50 mistakes to play.   ... View more

Since most new cars are already linked to satellites, a fully autonomous car could easily be controlled (driven) by an outside source. Miss a car payment and your car will refuse to start Failure to make the payment in a reasonable time, the car will drive itself to the impound yard. Maybe some hacker breaks into the system and takes the car for a virtual joyride (with or without you in the car). Would you ever actually know who really controls the car ? Think about that.   ... View more

I live in the North-East part of the country, and have been storing vintage cars during the winter for years. In an unheated storage area, a ceiling fan installed above the car greatly reduces condensation on the car. Even a small window fan blowing under the car works well. This is especially important in the spring and fall when temperatures and humidity vary greatly from day to night.   In my storage / parking garage I have a cheap ceiling fan that has run continuously  for 20 years. Even the bare sheet-metal parts stock is  clean after many years of storage.   ... View more

So the UV-sensitive flat black billboards, scoop, and wing are in great condition. Yet most of the original paint has been burned away by the sun. Then strategically touched up with rattle-can Allis-Chalmers orange.  It just doesn't add up ... patina my A$$. ... View more

I have several old cars, and carry a basic tool box in each of them. A roll of duct tape takes up a lot of space in a little tool box. So I wrap a couple feet of tape around the plastic cap from an old aerosol can, makes a nice mini-roll. ... View more

I have tried most of the variations listed here and they all work well. My favorite is a medical or mechanics stethoscope, but remove the diaphragm and replace it with about two foot of 3/16" or 1/4" steel brake line. It works on mechanical knocking sounds, noisy alternator and water pump bearings, exhaust leaks, and most vacuum leaks.  Plus you can swap a longer piece of brake line, or bend it to shape for tight areas. As always, be careful around moving parts on a running engine. ... Gary ... View more

I actually owned two CBXs. Honda dumped previous model years CBX inventory in mid winter. My local dealer had a sale on them for about $2,400 brand new. On the plus side, great smooth power and sound, excellent "straight-line" brakes. On the minus side, engine block leaks oil, wont start below 50 deg F, long crankshaft is like a giroscope combined with flexi-flyer frame (don't use the brakes on an off-ramp). Did not keep it very long. Years later I got nostalgic and bought a nice used CBX, rode it for a while, but the same gremlins were there. Great window dressing though ... Gary ... View more

The E-type Jaguar is a near perfect balance of style and function. It does not benefit from the basic 21st century (stretch, drop, shave, and add pimp wheels) re-design software. That Enzo whatshisname guy got it right, "Beautiful". Even 60 years later. ... View more

Another consideration, I would like to see a photo of the battery tray with the battery installed. I bet you can't even see it. Plus, with the typical  car batteries of the 1970s you would expect to see that the original battery tray would either be rusted through, or repaired. Your repair was nicely done so "no points lost" ... Gary  ... View more

  This car is really beautiful, and represents some serious engineering talent. I appreciate that there will always be a market for brand new, digitally scanned, custom made, blank check cars. This one should have its own reality TV show. But please don't call it a 33 Ford. It was not made by Ford, in 1933, and has almost no FoMoCo parts.   This "hot rod candle" is plastic, with a battery powered flickering LED flame.    The real "hot rod candle" is still burning in 2 car garages and backyards across America, as builders scrounge cool vintage parts and scrape knuckles. ... Gary ... View more

I think that these engine-disguise kits are as tacky and insulting. If you want to put an LS engine in your hot rod, go ahead. But if you are so embarassed by your choice that you feel the need to hide it with some fakey vintage looking parts. Then you have missed the point completely. You might fool the losers and wannabees in the crowd. But anyone with any mechanical sense will walk away feeling insulted. How could you convince anyone to buy this stuff ? What is this hobby coming to ?  ... View more

Great article, well written and fun to read.   I hope some day you can do a similar article on the early 1960 to 66 Darts and Valiants.    Like the Hyper-Pak slant six Valiants that dominated Daytona Beach in 1960.    Or the 273 Magnum (4 bbl solid lifter) V8, 4 speed Darts in 1965.    Or the drag strip ready "D-stock Darts" (the name says it all).  It would take some extra research, but cool 60s stuff from Mopar. ... Gary ... View more

I'm pretty sure Studebaker and Ford both made a 289 CID V8 ... View more

People please ! ... No matter what you saw on TV.   Don't use starting fluid to fire-up an engine that has been sitting for a long time. Ether starting fluid is meant to help gasoline vaporize, to start an engine under extreme cold conditions.    Ether will remove any oil that is left on pistons, rings, cylinders, and "yes" VALVE GUIDES.  If the engine does start on ether, all these critical parts will be running dry, and are subject to scoring and seizing.   If you are going to check out a project vehicle, and want to fire-up a long dormant engine, bring a squirt bottle of two-cycle gas and oil mix. It will quickly get some lube on those moving parts at startup, and maybe save the engine. ... V ... View more