What's that one tool you never thought you needed until you used it?   No I'm not talkin' about torque wrenches, voltmeters, or anything else that's almost mandatory to easily (and safely!) restore/repair your vehicle. What I am asking about are the tools that people don't necessarily talk about, but make a huge impact on your vehicle.    Like my new (well, previously loved via Amazon) Bissell Spotclean machine that works wonders with a little hot water and carpet cleaning solution. I've owned my Ranger since new, but after 10 years it seems like every piece of fabric was looking a little off. The black cloth was looking kinda grey, the grey parts weren't getting clean anymore, etc. and it was starting to annoy me. The catch tank is proof that something was indeed a little off, and that this was $120 well spent. VERY well spent.    Now that I have it, I am also letting friends use it too. I have a longtime buddy (since high school) that is an UberEats driver and his Nissan Versa is getting kinda nasty. I told him to come to my home (since I work from home now, thanks Hagerty!) and I will show him how to use it and he can clean his car for free!   Saving a friend a $100 or so on a needed cleaning of his "mobile office", and its a friend that could really use the savings? Well that's priceless to me.  😉 ... View more

  All of the fluids and lubricants that keep our cars and trucks moving require special care in their disposal. That care also extends to the tires, batteries, and the worn-out parts that can accumulate after a maintenance session.     Motor Oil Motor oil is hazardous to the environment and can contaminate groundwater, so it should never be allowed to drain into the ground or onto the street. Luckily, while used oil does get dirty from combustion and additives break down with use, the base oil is recyclable and can be processed into useful lubricants. Drain your vehicle’s used oil into a clean plastic container that can be secured with a lid for safe transport and don’t mix in any other fluids with it. Most auto parts stores will collect your used motor oil and filter, and many scrap metal shops accept used oil filters, too.   Other fluids It may be more difficult to find a place to bring your old gear lube, coolant, transmission fluid, or brake fluid, but you can check with either your local government’s waste management department or Earth 911 has an easy-to-use locator that can show you the nearest recycling facility. Just as with your oil, drain the fluid into a clean plastic container with a secure lid and don’t mix fluids; that will contaminate them and make them more difficult to recycle.   Batteries Old batteries can leak acid, posing a risk to those that may end up handling them. However, both the plastic case and lead internals are recyclable. You should be able to return a battery to an auto parts store if you just purchased a replacement, sometimes for a modest store credit. Otherwise, check your local waste management department for locations that accept household hazardous materials and other automotive maintenance products including aerosol cans containing solvents.   Tires Used tires can typically be turned in for recycling or disposal at your local tire store for a nominal fee. This disposal fee is often included in the purchase of new tires, but it might be easier to contact your state or local waste management department to find a more affordable way to dispose of tires.   Metal If you have worn brake drums or rotors, extra sheetmetal from a donor car, a bent or cracked wheel, or a bad cylinder head, or other cast-metal engine part, your local metal scrap yard will likely pay you for it. Parts with copper (such as the starter or alternator) and aluminum are even more valuable! There’s always a market for recycling metal, so if you don’t have the means to deliver it, you’re usually only one Craigslist or Yellow Pages visit away from a scrap-metal recycler that will come and pick it up for free. ... View more

  Restoration and maintenance help keep our beloved vintage vehicles running and on the road; it also keeps them out of the junkyard and as a result, reduces their environmental footprint. So consider these points:    Tire selection Tires are the vital connection between vehicle and road, yet many enthusiasts give them nothing more than a passing thought. Removing stylish oversized tires for factory-correct-sized tires will likely last longer and also increase fuel economy, both of which decrease the consumption of fossil fuels and release of CO2. If maximum performance isn’t needed, consider getting passenger car tires rated as “low rolling resistance” to maximize your fuel economy.   Oil lifespan The oil in your vintage ride is likely millions of years old; for a vehicle that is rarely driven, you don’t need to stick to the “change it every three months” rule. If the thought of running your oil a little longer keeps you up at night, take a scientific approach. Send the oil out for testing by a lab such as Blackstone Labs and you will learn how far you can safely run your oil without ever going too far.   Quality above all High-quality parts typically last longer than cheaper parts yet require similar amounts of energy to produce. Spending the price difference up front to keep poorly made parts out of landfills will pay off in the long term.   Extended paint life Paint jobs—even those using modern, water-based systems—are quite harsh on the atmosphere. Work on preserving paint and proactively keeping corrosion at bay to extend the life of the paint job already on your vehicle.   Tight and dry The joke that “If it ain’t leaking oil, it doesn’t have oil” should remain that—a joke. Strive to maintain a vehicle that holds all its fluids, all the time. This keeps waste to a minimum. Pennies make dollars, and small oil leaks eventually add up to quarts on the ground. ... View more

  The first step in reducing your collector’s car impact on the planet is to make sure it’s in top running condition. Start by:   Tire pressure Setting your tires to the correct pressure each time before you head out on the road. You can improve your gas mileage by up to 3% in some cases by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by about 0.2% for every 1 psi drop in the average pressure of all tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer. Tire-pressure information should be either on the driver’s-side doorjamb or the inside of the glovebox door or in the owner’s manual. DO NOT use the maximum pressure on the tire’s sidewall.   Stay in tune Take your car to your mechanic for a tune up. (Or do it yourself, as it’s easy on many classic cars!) Have them check the spark plugs and plug wires, tune the carburetor if your car has one, and check the ignition timing.   Consider fuel injection If your car has a carburetor, companies such as Edelbrock, Holley, and others offer electronic throttle-body fuel-injection setups that offer superior overall performance. It's true, and even full throttle performance will improve; even our own Davin Reckow saw the results for himself. And when properly installed, no one will know it’s there except you.   Breathe easier A new air filter can improve both fuel economy and acceleration by a few percentage points under normal replacement conditions. Replacing a clogged air filter on vehicles with fuel-injected, computer-controlled gasoline engines—such as those manufactured from the early 1980s to the present—or diesel engines may not improve fuel economy (as the computer can compensate for the restricted airflow), but a fresh air filter will restore power that was lost from the clogged one.   Kick it into overdrive If you own an older collector car—especially if it’s a muscle car—and want better fuel economy, consider installing a new manual transmission with overdrive. There are complete manual five- and six-speed transmission packages from Modern Driveline. Gear Vendors has bolt-on overdrive packages for a wide range of vintage cars with manual or automatic transmissions. These are overdrive systems you can install in a collector car and only you will know it’s there. When overdrive is in engaged, your engine will turn significantly slower at higher speeds, ensuring your car sips fuel rather than gulps it. And five- and six-speed manual transmissions often have less RPM drop between gear changes than most original gearboxes, so your car will accelerate better, too.     Breaker, breaker If you drive a collector car that is still using breaker points in its ignition system, you’re very likely burning excessive amounts of fuel, while also dealing with the maintenance issues associated with these older systems. The electronic-ignition conversions from companies such as PerTronix, Mallory, and Accel are easy to install and improve both drivability and fuel economy. Every time a spark plug misfires, it means that precious fuel is lost out the tailpipe. The electronic-ignition conversions virtually eliminate misfires.   Drum technique If your collector car has drum brakes (which it most likely will if it’s more than 40 years old), they can be adjusted too tightly, which causes drag, and will result in your car consuming more fuel.   Keep it smooth Try to drive with gentle and deliberate inputs. Spend less time accelerating and more time at cruising speed, without resorting to jackrabbit starts, unsafe driving, or any other questionable tactics. Maintain a steady speed without heavy application of throttle or brakes. Anticipate traffic and brake accordingly. Avoid high speeds. Coast to decelerate rather than relying on heavy application of the brakes.   Drive with purpose Avoid unnecessary idling or carrying extra weight. ... View more

So I was in a difficult quandary with my 1988 Mercury Cougar XR-7 recently, as all of my resto-modifications in the last 20 years are starting to show their age. I mean the car needs another paint job, the modified engine's pretty darn tired, etc. but fixing that stuff costs a lot of money and plenty of labor.    So instead, I addressed a minor issue that was starting to bother me: The condition of the custom floor mats (and matching carpet from ACC) I installed back in 1999. More to the point, the fancy embroidery I spent on the floor mats was, for some reason, not as visible on the red carpet as you see here.    Why do the cats not face in the same direction?   Getting to this end result was a three step solution: use a carpet shampooer on the floormat, let the carpet dry, take grooming scissors (not the ones pictured below) to trim down the carpet around the stitching, and finally use a carpet brush (or your hand) to remove all the carpet trimmings. Start off small, cut as little carpet as possible. You will have to repeat this several times to ensure you cut enough material, as you MUST be careful where you cut when dealing with an oddly shaped logo like the Cougar's head.    Success!   So tell me please, with this information in mind, do YOU also need to trim your floor mats?  ... View more

The need to edit one's posting is natural, so don't worry because we got you covered.  Getting to the edit screen is either a one or two step process, depending on if you are commenting directly on a Hagerty Media article, or if you are commenting within the Hagerty Community.    Comments in Hagerty Media funnel down to the Community, so the first thing you'll do is click the three dots in the right hand corner, and click the "View in Community" option.     That will take you to your posting in the Hagerty Community. (Or you are already here, depending on where you started.). Now click the three dots (again?) and click "Edit Reply."  After clicking "Edit Reply" you will go to a new page that lets you, drum roll please, edit your reply!  Thanks and please tell us if you experience any issues with the editing feature! ... View more