Electric cars run on Natural gas and coal, yea, both fossil fuels. Why we’re not proving out Hydrogen is beyond me. Oh and no toxic waste from the batteries all these cars use, ... View more

First, the people back from the war were "building families and engaging in outdoor recreation", or if they were really lucky they were doing them simultaneously, maybe even in the back of the Vista Cruiser. My cousins had one of these gems, it was way cool as a 10 or 11 year old, I was unfortunately relegated to the way back of the Country squire, my cousins were a family of 8 and us 10, only Ford offered 10 passenger seating so the Country Squire it was. I'm not sure who thought there was room for 4 pairs of legs in that footwell, it was really cramped and full of "he's touching me" comments. And even now as I get ready to retire all these years later I still find myself often seated at the "little kids" table, when you're 3rd from the bottom of 8 kids you're always a little guy. Thanks for the memories ... View more

6 weeks ago I bought a 02 DB7 Vantage from a classic car dealer, I used the Hagerty valuation tool to make sure I didn't pay more than the market correct price, which 6 weeks ago was 55000 dollars. It's a beautiful low mileage car that's been collector owned and has an extensive service history, it's in excellent condition and has the 6 speed which adds another 25%. I looked yesterday and now the value is 64000 dollars. Inflation is hitting everything except interest rates, which I'm sure is around the corner. I looked at some values of my other cars, they too have increased markedly in the last 12 months or so. Interestingly, while they're all up with high double digit percentage increases, my 66 Shelby went up 5%, Odd I think. ... View more

V8s For Vocations had a drawing for a Cyclone Spoiler last year, and though I bought tickets I didn't win it :(. One of the cool features of the Spoiler is the flip down grill that allowed for removal of the cam (I think) with only removing the radiator, not sure how practical that was or if the NASCAR radiator had a hole in it for such things. Regardless, a cool car. And lest we forget the mid sixties Bonneville Fastback, that too was a cool ride with a trunk the size of Toledo. Check out V8s For Vocations, a good little charity with a gear head priest at the helm. It's a good way to donate 25 bucks to a worthy cause and a chance to win a cool car. ... View more

So, Alpina won't survive the adoption of the electric vehicle craze taking over the automotive landscape, neither will we. I was in Sacramento looking at an Aston Martin two weeks ago and was taken aback by the rental car bus that claimed it was Zero Emissions. Listen carefully people, electric vehicles run on fossil fuels just like internal combustion engines, they burn either natural gas or coal. But wait you say, what about all those wind farms, aren't they green and don't they produce a substantial portion of our power usage? They don't, look it up. Anyone caring to set the automotive landscape on a true greener path need look only to Hydrogen power. Hydrogen exhaust produces clean water and heat. Let's remember the problem is global warming, even our bodies, on most days generate more heat that the atmosphere, I don't think anyone of us is willing to give up our furnace or air-conditioning, and they both contribute to global warming. Our friends in California have now outlawed future natural gas furnaces and water heaters in homes, now you must have electric of each. Okay, the world has officially gone mad, let's electrify everything because it has zero emissions. Yikes!!! ... View more

Whoever said Fire Extinguisher was spot on. Almost lost my garage and the house that's attached to it (mine) because I didn't have them. You have missed the most obvious though, Rob and that's a lift. You can get a stubby little two post with the balancing cable in a very low bump on the floor into your low head room shop. A lift is a game changer! And, they're really not that expensive. ... View more

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First, let me say I didn’t even read the article, Rob, the subject was enough to spark good and bad memories about my experience with these devices, and yes, I still have the unit that damn near killed me. First, you need one to know when the exhaust cracks open and the intake finishes closing, if you know what I’m talking about you’ve adjusted your own valves before! Ca 1978, an 18 year old kid (who will remain nameless) was working at the Mobil Repair Center and someone came in with a nice Datsun sedan or coupe with front rotors that had broken away from the hubs (they were as thin as 45 RPM records) and the pads and their steel backs were gone, the pistons doing the only work, and it needed a tune up. The tune up is what got me in trouble, a dual point distributor and a remote start switch turned out to be a great life lesson. Now, after working on the brakes, rebuilding the calipers, new pistons, rotors and the like (there were no kits with calipers, pads and rotors back in the day) it was time for the tune up. I hooked up the Sun machine and got the dwell set just right (dwindle, dwarf and dwell, the only three words in the English language that start with DW), I popped the distributor cap back on and hit the remote start. It fired right up, back in the day all Datsuns were stick shifts, fast idle cam engaged, 2000 RPM, ran like a Swiss watch. Problem was, it was and automatic, and it was in Drive, and yes, I was in front of it. A year of not walking and you’ll never find me again in front of a car I’m not in control of. A lesson we’ll learned. There’s a lot more to the story though you get the picture. ... View more

I can go on with this for hours, though instead I'll share a few quick stories. Several years ago I found a great K Code Mustang convertible, it was supposedly located in the Netherlands. I contacted the seller and they instructed me to make the payment to someplace I didn't recognize. I told the seller that I have employees all over the world and I could send one of them within 24 hours with cash in hand and they would take the vehicle. Lots of crap about "we have to arrange shipping, do import documents and the like". I knew at the beginning it was a scam though I like playing them just for sport, I of coarse never heard from them again. Same thing happened with a beautiful Turbo Esprit V8, the car looked amazing and was priced market correct, I got the same thing as your reader, you pay the transport company and they keep it in escrow. I played with him for about two weeks, offered to have someone come to Hartford, CT where the car was stored and give cash in hand. The purported seller tried to keep me going for a couple of weeks and then realized I wasn't going to bite. Starting in January I've decided I need (need is a very strong word) an Aston Martin DB7, I found one in Chicago that was being sold by a dealer in CT. Since I'm in Milwaukee I drove down to the dealer that had it, not the selling dealer. I drove the car, they were asking 30K for what was likely a 3K car, timing chain rattles, super charger needed rebuilding and the leather, although good looking was not good. I took a pass. The next one was a car being sold in Florida and was supposedly in Texas. I called and spoke to the salesperson and it stunk of a scam, because this was more than a whim and I had a real interest in purchasing one, I didn't bother playing the seller. That brings me to my trip on this coming Monday morning to Sacramento to do an inspection of what looks to be a really nice car, it's a convertible though it ticks all the other boxes, low mileage, 6 speed and a V12, I would have rather had a coupe though this one looks like a really nice example. When I spoke to the seller it turns out he's an automotive author and we chatted for a good 45 minutes, and I could tell it wasn't a scam. I asked if I could send a deposit to hold it for two weeks until I could make my way there, he agreed. When I offed the 1000 dollar deposit (never offer more of a deposit than you're willing to lose) I asked him to e mail me when he received it, he did and then noted he wouldn't cash my check until I purchased it (more good feelings). He had initially agreed to have one of my local guys come and do an initial cursory glace and he said that would be fine, after talking to him and exchanging e mails I knew there was no need for that, and I still had to inspect myself. The seller has been great to work with, I found the car on Craigslist and must have been his first person reaching out from his post. When we spoke earlier this week he noted that he's received tons of inquiries though because he had my deposit he would wait for me to travel there. When I asked who services the car he said he did, after googling him and finding lots of online information, one noting him pulling the engine and transaxle out of his Pantera I figured the guy knew what he was doing. When I get back next Wednesday I'll let you know how it turned out. And, wouldn't you know it there's a 15K mile coupe on BAT with a 6 speed that's currently at about 10K less than what I'll pay for the Sacramento one. Looking at the BAT post it looks like a nice car, but who knows? I'm watching the auction which ends in 2 hours but I like my seller much more, I thing the seller on BAT is a flipper judging from the background of the photos and I'm not willing to gamble, we'll see what the final sell price is. I much prefer to touch, feel drive and inspect before purchasing rather than taking a gamble on line. ... View more

Okay Sajeev, I can relate, completely! 3/12 years ago my niece called me from Cincinnati and wondered what they should do about her husband's Corolla that was said to need either a trans or a clutch, they wouldn't know until the tore it apart. I advised her to spend the 500 bucks and find out, it was the trans. I then advised her to clean the car inside and out and put all the bits in the trunk, which she did. I then sent her to IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions) where the general public can sell a car, just not buy one. Two years later the car is still sitting in her apartment complex outside lot wasting away, I could take it no more. My bride and I loaded up the 4Runner with all the appropriate gear, jack, stands, ratchet straps, zip ties, big hammers in case the parking brake seized and the car wouldn't roll. Turned out to be a great mid pandemic get away and for 79 bucks for a U Haul dolly and we were on our way. We got it home and realized sitting outside was not good for the pressure plate, rotors or splined axle ends that are supposed to live in a lubed environment. Lots of parts from ebay, rock auto and I still needed a new trans. Manual gearboxes for a 2010 Corolla in Milwaukee were tickling 1300 bucks, and I had just given my niece 1200 for the car. Turns out, manual gearboxes from the same salvage company are 700 in Canada, and that's Canadian dollars. I had two issues, how to import it and how to ship it. I met with our traffic department who could get it from Buffalo to Milwaukee for 100 bucks, but how to import? Turns out that the Ontario CN LKQ makes regular runs to Buffalo, for freeeeee! A week of sorting and I had a great little machine, it's fun to drive, satisfies my salty road stick shift fix, and it's got front and rear factory spoilers, (it's a Corolla S). All I added was a BT45Toy Blutooth adapter to the factory radio so that I could talk on the phone while shifting. And, it gets ridiculously good gas mileage, even while redlining all the gears. Sajeev, ya shoulda bought the Camry, you're missing out big time. P.S. For those looking to get a really good price for a piece of crap car, I highly recommend the IAA people, it's the best place to get top dollar for something you don't want and you don't want to sell to someone else ... View more

Okay, first let me proclaim that I'm an expert on gloves used in the garage, and for a whole bunch of other operations including construction, carpentry and electrical work. Oh, one small disclaimer here, I'm a Self Proclaimed expert, which may differ from your definition of an expert. For many, many years now I've been wearing gloves for everything I do, even in the kitchen to patty a bunch of burgers, I swear by them. I've tried them all, the disposable, the reusable, the Mechanix brand and everything in between, the hands down winner is the purple nitrile gloves manufactured by either Kimberly Clark or Halyard, they're both the same. They're thicker and more tear resistant than anything else on the market. Now I agree with Rob's comments on sweat, I can only remove them inside out or by doing a Howie Mandel inside my glove to inflate it and remove it in one piece right side out. In the old days I'd simply discard them after every use since pre pandemic pricing was 100 bucks for 1000 gloves. Now, unfortunately they're almost 400 bucks for 1000, so now I reuse until they're torn. For brake or exhaust work (a lot of sharp edges) I double glove, you'll never get a new glove on that sweaty hand, when the outer one tears I simple replace it with a new sheath over the base unit, it works great. And, they clean up easily with a paper towel and some brake clean so you can go from gear lube to burger pattying with the same set and know they're clean. I'm not a fan of the thick ones, you lose your dexterity, I'll stick with the Halyard nitriles all day every day and twice on Sundays. ... View more

Never used your rubber tip? How on earth have you been removing caliper pistons, cleaning fuel lines or filling up your basket ball? The rubber tip is much better for ball inflation through the needle than is a standard tire chuck, you’ll get exactly the right amount of air in your football, futbal, basket ball or volley ball. Happy filling! ... View more

Come on now, it’s not that bad. I have both a Series III XJ12 VDP and a pre facelift XJS and it’s got the Mirelli Ignition which makes it way faster. Yes, they’re both needy from a mechanical perspective though I wouldn’t say overly complex. They do suffer though from an accessibility issue with everything from engine bay to under dash to heat and AC to rear brakes, but as I said above they’re pretty basic, and the V12 is pretty bullet proof when properly cared for. Now that being said, I spent my formative years in the service department of a Jag and Lotus dealer so the Jags don’t scare me nor do Turbo Esprits. Now I AM a bit scared as I’m currently shopping for an Aston Martin and I have no familiarity with them at all other than to know they’re gorgeous to look at. It must have 3 pedals and I’d prefer it have a V12 though I must say the DB7 six is a tempting alternative. And, I’ve always thought the Turbo R was a cool car, I guess I like big British Saloons. Don’t let the article scare you away from a V12 Jag, Malcom Forbes was once quoted as saying something along the lines of “everybody should own a V12 once in their life” and I have to agree. Come on in, the water’s fine! And as Ed noted, the author has a Lotus (HMMMM, glass houses, bricks?) ... View more

Long before face masks were a thing (and God knows we'd love to be back to a point where they're not a thing) I had to get my dad out of a manual transmission car and into an automatic. One too many strokes made his left leg not do what he wanted it to. The first part was easy, find him a reliable car with a slushbox, Volvo 244 was the answer, a nice used one with lots of life left in it, the problems first manifested themselves leaving my driveway, he went for the clutch. After peeling our faces off the windshield I reminded him to glue his left foot to the floor, an automatic has a much wider brake pedal. The next problem came up when he stopped for gas on his way home, the phone call was something like, this GD car won't start, I asked, what gear is it in? The response was something along the lines of JC, who thinks of the GD sh.t. Entertaining to be sure But, this is a mouse story, not a story about my dad, which I could write and write about for an eternity. His previous car was an '89 Honda Accord with all the bells and whistles, and, a stick shift which he could no longer handle. I tucked the Accord in a corner of my barn (we lived on a farm at the time) and let it slumber. 4 years later my niece learned to drive and she needed a car, the Accord was the perfect fit. I went and opened the door after 4 years and clearly the mice had made it their new home. I donned a Tyvek throw away suit, hooked up the negative battery cable and, to my surprise, it started right up. I backed it out of the barn and left it outside with all the windows, doors, hood and hatchback open for 2 days. I then got to the serious business of making it road worthy. I removed all the seats and shampooed them, I had to throw away the carpets though. My niece drove that car through high school and through college and she affectionately referred to it as the Mouse Mobile. Even after 6 years, every now and then you'd be treated to a little tufting of nesting material every time you turned on the defroster or the AC, and after 6 years the smell never really went away. Mouse piss is one of the few odors that can't be eradicated, ever! But, if you can get over the odre' a car can still fulfil its purpose. ... View more

This story reminds me of something I saw on an Early spring day at the local Speedway gas station in Germantown, WI. I was filling up my car and I heard this amazing sound coming from the street, I looked and it was the rattiest 53 or 54 Corvette I've ever seen. Tufting was oozing out of every seam in the seats, it was covered in pigeon crap and had what looked to be original 60 year old wide white wall tires. The most amazing thing though was the sound, it was tuned to the same level as a Swiss Watch and the mufflers were deteriorated to the perfect level to make that straight six sing. I'm guessing it was right out of storage from a local barn and the owner had just finished getting it mechanically sorted. To this day it ranks right up there as one of the coolest cars I had ever seen, it even topped hearing Bob Tulius' Group 44 IMSA car start and rev its engine. Why was it so cool you ask? It couldn't have been more original if it tried. Great story ... View more

Archimedes, someone who inspires you to use your leverage skills by using wedges, pry bars and shims to get stubborn things to move. I believe his quote is "Give me a place to stand and I'll move the earth". And, the lever may precede the wheel though I'm not sure, would love to know which came first if you're interested in replying ... View more

Believe me, a bus is much safer than a flight that doesn't leave Russia and is not subjected to international safety standards. I flew from Moscow to Ulan Ude in Eastern Siberia and back again on a Tupilov 154, what a POS!!. The flight home was delayed as the pilot had no money for gas, 15 hours later he hands a wad of Rubles through the cockpit window to the guy with the fuel tanker truck. On the flight home we never leveled out and the pilot kept coming to the back of the aircraft to listen to the engines that were making a very strange noise, I made it back to Moscow though had the crap scared out of me. The 154 is no small plane, about the same seating capacity as a 757. And it was filthy, not just the bathrooms but the entire airplane inside and out. ... View more

Isn't discrimination by race and gender against the law in this country? Good grief Charlie Brown. ... View more

Interesting note about license plate visibility. A great article with some very interesting stuff about the man behind the machine. ... View more

Certainly nothing to do with my procrastination problem, and let it be known my problem is very real and has manifested itself into two projects sitting idly by and another moving at a snail's pace. That being said I have also been able to complete 5 really big projects this year so I am making some headway., Perhaps I really shouldn't buy that next project, I'm getting old and won't last forever!! Seeing the Corvair reminded me of my teenage years, I had a coworker at the gas station that had a Corvair with the same body style as the one in the article though it was by no means stock. He had removed the rear body panel with the tail lights and welded it just behind the rear window. What you say, where was the engine? The engine was a HIPO 289 small block Ford with solid lifters and it was mated to a Pontiac Tempest transaxle in the back seat. He had large exhaust pipes that carried coolant to the engine which sat just behind the two front seats with a radiator up front. If you weren't carful with your elbow the water pump pully bolts would give you a not so gentle reminder of why you shouldn't relax in this car. The other reminder came with the accelerator, if you got too far into it the car would do a little side to side wiggle and you were instantly at a speed that would scare the pants off you. All in all he did a great job on the mechanical fabrication, the body fabrication not so much. It was that light purple metalic color and it was lettered with the name "Statutory Grape". It really handled incredibly well and as stated above, could be really scary. I don't think my co worker is still alive though the memory of him and that car live on. He also never went anywhere without a 6 pack of Mickey's Big Mouth bottles. ... View more

Wow, a lot of feelings hurt here in the posts. I have a completely different point of view. First, it's hard to get leather in any car these days other than some premium European or Asian brands. If you buy a Ford, Lincoln, Cadillac or anything else you'll be hard pressed to find the leather. Referred to now as "leather seating surfaces" you'll note the only real leather is directly under your backside (and it's a very small patch), everything else is made from the hide of the illusive Nauga Beast, the beast is rarely seen though it's hide can be found nearly everywhere. Not long ago, say a late 80s Fox Body Mustang, the entire seat face was trimmed in leather. Today you get the little patches and if you opt for the 3rd row it will have virtually no leather seating surfaces, it's all vinyl. Further, if you drive a Buick in China you will note the entire interior is trimmed with leather, if you drive a US made Buick you're lucky to get 4 square feet in the entire car. It's a sad day when a Chinese Buick is head and shoulders above a US Buick in terms of quality interior appointments. Lastly, leather is the best for the long haul, nothing can replace the smell of leather in an old English car, it must be the mix of leather, leaking oil and gasoline that give it its unique aroma, and that aroma can't be beat. Buy whatever you like in your Camry or Corolla, chances are no one is going to cherish it 50 years from now. If you're buying something to keep for life, do yourself a favor, order the leather. ... View more

I remember seeing a 58 Eldo at the Rank and Son show in Milwaukee back in the day. My recollection is the color was Pacific Coral and because it was a 58 I think it was a one year only body. A very cool car with a unique back end and tail light treatment. Wally Rank hosted the show every summer and had 100s of cars on display from both his personal collection and from individuals like me. I remember attending attending the shows and thinking these are some very cool cars on display, this is where I saw my first Skyliner and some cowboy actor's Caddy with longhorns on the hood. For a couple of years I even got to display one of my cars, my first collectible, a '63 Avanti R1 in Turquoise with Fawn accents. Everyone who arrived at the show with a car to display was greeted personally by Wally Rank, given a ticket for a free lunch and provided with a goody bag. As a 20 something kid he made me feel like my car was the coolest one at the show, a real gentlemen. Rank and Son Buick is now a field in a not so nice part of town though back in the day it was the centerpiece of cars on display for one weekend every summer. ... View more

I got to see the Clio in person, this very one I'm sure, at Road Atlanta back in 2014 or 2015, can't remember which. The gentlemen who drove it there did just what the author did, borrowed it from the Lane. I was fascinated by the engineering and how they stuffed that V6 in the back seat, it reminded me of a car I saw once named Shogun, I think it was a Ford Fiesta with a Taurus SHO drivetrain stuffed in the back seat. It takes all kinds of nut jobs to dream this stuff up, and dangerous or not they're all cool as hell ... View more

Love the bumper sticker, I need a few of them. Another sign I saw years ago at a friend's British car shop read "CARS PARKED IN FRONT OF THIS DOOR WILL BE CHEERFULLY DISASSEMBLED AND SOLD FOR PARTS" ... View more

In 1989 I ordered a 5.0 LX convertible, Red, White Leather and a Black top. When I ran a Marti Report I was surprised to discover it's only 1 of 273 of this combination. I wanted a black top for two reasons, first, white gets dirty too easily and second black looks much better, I think it's the black top with White upholstery that makes it so rare. I chose the LX over the GT for one reason only, those lovely big stainless steel pipes hanging below the rear quarters, an awesome look, I think. I still have the car today and it's covered 29000 miles in its lifetime, I've made sure to take impeccable care of it as it's the only car in my collection that I bought new rather than restored. That being said, nothing lasts forever. Turns out the rear window motors have a plastic clutch mechanism and the plastic shatters over time, the parts cost me 3 bucks though everything behind the front seats needs to come out to get at the window motors. No big deal really and a good opportunity to clean in the nooks and crannies. Put it all back together and all was well, or so I thought. I then went to replace the door striker on both sides, they're covered with a cylindrical plastic bushing, which like the window motor clutch plastic, had disintegrated. I'd like to get my hands on the engineer who designed this setup, as I unscrewed the striker I heard a clunk and I knew just what it was from, the nut on the back side of the striker was not a kept nut. So, back to unupholstering the rear again, only to find there is no access without removing the convertible top mechanism, obviously not something I had any desire to mess with. Instead I did some arthroscopic surgery with my magnet and retrieved the nut and carefully lowered it into position so I could mate it with the striker bolt. The first crap piece of the design is no kept nut, the second totally crap design was to cover the access to the nut with the convertible top mechanism. Arggggh All in all though it's a fantastic car with fantastic exhaust notes and it goes sideways when you step on the gas. I think it would be fun to have a hatch back as well since the convertible is less than rigid, but the top goes up and down for fun in the sun. ... View more

I had a similar experience with a radiator out of one of myh V12 Jags, here in Milwaukee, WI there is only one shop and he only does trucks, really big trucks and Caterpillar earth moving equipment. One of guys who has helped me greatly with guiding me through my Shelby Mustang restoration mentioned a guy in Wausau, WI, in the north central part of the state. I called him up and he said "sure, I can rod it out" (rodding out is a lost art where you take a rod shaped like the tube and clean each and every tube of scale). I used many local radiator shops back in the day when I worked for a Jag dealer, it was completely hit or miss, usually miss, that someone would really go through the painstaking process of rodding out the core, couple that with the complexity of removing a radiator from a V12 only to be disappointed it still overheated after re installation!! Bob from Glen Ray Radiators turns out to be the premier Mopar radiator restoration guy and he did a phenomenal job on my XJS radiator, hasn't run hot since. I asked if he could re core my Shelby radiator and he said he's done them for years, this guy is a real craftsman for any model radiator and it's nice to have someone still in the business, even if they're 3 hours away. ... View more

The Deuce thought it was a revolutionary car as well. Hagerty released a bunch of internal documents on the birthday of the Mustang and all the design research was based on the Corvair's success. They were trying to build a Corvair Beater, which it turns out, they did, and handily too! ... View more

I knew of one of these instances though not when the car was a classic. We had a customer at the gas station who had a very troublesome 914, he convinced a co worker of mine to steal it and burn it, he'd had all the German engineering he could take. He collected on the insurance policy and my co worker collected some money, I have no idea how much. The kicker was, the owner of the 914 was a cop!! BTW, thanks for closing the article with "that's a whole other story". I keep looking through Websters to find the word "Nuther", as in a whole nuther story. It's not in there yet, though I'm sure it will find it's way in someday. ... View more

I'm not sure why the entire industry wants to go entirely EV. Jaguar announced it will be all EV, so much for the great american road trip, instead drive 300 miles and spend the night. Maybe, just maybe, welcome back to Route 66 and all the Radiator Springs like towns along the way, nah, been there done that. ... View more

When I was 17 I worked in a gas station with a guy who had one of these, actually it was a 67 Eldorado but it shared the front drive transmission. The guy who owned the car was a bit of a nut job and liked to get the car airborne, quite the feat with a tank sized car. On one entrance into the station parking lot he got the front wheels off the ground and when they reconnected at full throttle the chain (the one noted in the article) broke. Turns out the whole mess has to come apart to change the chain even though it is accessed through something like a timing chain cover on the back of the trans axle. We pulled back the carpet, took an air chisel and opened up the flat floor and replaced the chain, all in about 3 hours. A hack job for sure but he got his car back on the road. ... View more

Sure looks like there's a lot of Bondo in that right rear quarter, and a rust hole to boot. Someone out there is crazier than I am or they know something about the car that makes it special, I have no idea what that could be though. ... View more

My first brand new car ever was an 83 GLT2SRO, it was an awesome car and I had it for 18 years. It was as nice when I sold it as it was when I bought it. I was working as a Jaguar and Lotus technician and Volvo was our main line, if I recall I paid $13,382.00 for it and I sold it 18 years later for $8,000.00. While the above description may be confusing it was Volvo's official name of the car, it was a GLT, 2 Door, Sunroof with a 4 Speed and a Laycock Overdrive Unit. These are great cars and go on for ever if they don't rust away, I think they're also very good looking cars, I like the boxy look. ... View more

Let us not forget the popularity was so great that America's Group wrote a hit song about said Honda 50, "I'm gonna turn on the light so I can ride my Honda tonight". And this happened less than 20 years after Japan was America's arch enemy. Too bad Bagdad, Iran and others aren't smart enough to follow suit. ... View more

Because I'm old and human I expected to read about mechanical injection and I was wondering why a distributor in the pictures, early Bosch type injection used a trigger board or even extra points to trigger injectors, but that's electronic injection, not mechanical. Reading a little more closely I realized it was ignition, not injection. A couple of tips for checking key items on your distributor. First, if you have a vacuum advance or retard, check it by simply attaching a hose and sucking on it to see if it holds vacuum, the distributor plate should also move. Second, check to see the mechanical advance is working, grab the rotor and twist it, in one of the two directions it should move/rotate and then return back home on its own. Lastly, if your car runs like crap, wiggle the rotor from side to side, if there's movement you likely have bad bushings in the distributor causing all kinds of timing and dwell problems with each rotation. Rebush your distributor and your engine will run like a dream ... View more

Rob, I feel your pain. 20 Years ago when I resurrected my 71 Elan Plus 2 I put in brand new Metalastic Rotoflex couplings in the half shafts, at the time I couldn't afford the $1600 CV jointed half shaft upgrades. Well, this spring during the annual servicing of the fun car fleet I was met with a leaky heater core on my 30 year old 5.0 convertible, a leaky heater core and a bad rear suspension fulcrum bearing on my 91 Series III XJ 12, and, you guessed it, a broken Rotoflex coupler on my Elan Plus 2. I guess some spring services are more involved than others. Now, being near retirement age I could finally afford the $1600 CV half shafts, I rang up my friend Ken at Dave Bean Engineering and the new shafts arrived days later. Last weekend I set about installing the new shafts, and in true Lotus fashion the first one went in with about 3 hours of work, the second one in about an hour. Now it was off to the test drive to see how much springiness would be removed from the drive line under acceleration and deceleration. They worked great. However, I've always had a sticky rear caliper on the left side and it's something I've known about for 20 years, no effect on braking so it's not been an issue, until I removed the rubber dampener (the Rotoflex) from the drive shaft. Now when cornering I get a harmonic noise from the dragging brake pad that used to be isolated with the Rotoflex, now it sounds like someone swirling their finger on a giant wine glass in the back seat, I guess I'm going to have to rebuild the rear calipers in the fall, I'll bear with the noise for the summer. Now off to the Heater core races, YUK ... View more

Okay, this guy is completely nuts, bonkers, twisted, flip city and so on. I own one of these wonderful machines and couldn't imagine doing any of these repairs on the street with a floor jack and jack stands. I'm not sure how he got the spring out of the front suspension, you need a special Jaguar tool that's about 2 1/2 feet long that fishes up the center of the spring from the bottom and then you can remove the spring seat pan from the lower A arm and relax the spring, he's either got the tool or he's lucky not to have a spring embedded in his head. These are great cars and ooze a quiet sophistication, though without a lift and a full set of proper tools they will eat you alive, starting at your wallet. ... View more

Is that a Laada Niva I see in the garage next to the 100? In 1999 my bride and I took a trip to Ulan Ude in Siberia, we had two daughters and her OB told me if I got her pregnant again I would be in deep trouble with her (the doc, not my bride), though our family wasn't complete and our trip was to gain a third daughter. I could wax on for hours about our trip, Aeroflot planes, the Tupilov 154 that I thought I would die in, having a US passport when waiting in line at the US Embassy (that was a wonderful feeling), and making new friends on the other side of the world, but I'll stick to the Laada for this story. Our facilitators in Ulan Ude were a couple, the wife from Minnesota and the husband from Ulan Ude, he drove a Niva. While I was there the Niva was acting up and being a car guy I was compelled to do something about it. I asked if there was and auto parts store and he took me to an open market, not tents, just vendors with their wares spread out on the grass. I secured a rebuild kit for the Solex carb (which I was surprised by though it was probably from those East German relationships) and a set of front brake pads. I asked my friend Andre if he had any tools and from the look on his face when he answered I decided to pick up a Russian Leatherman, two screwdrivers and a metric crescent wrench. Two evenings later we had it running like a song. I've always wanted to buy a Niva and give it to our youngest daughter though I've not yet found one on this side of the pond. I did see one in Bavaria on a recent pre pandemic business trip, I left my card under the wiper though no one ever called me. Too bad, I know she'd love working on it. I've answered the whole nature nurture question, my third Daughter, Galina, is exactly like me, though in much better ways. All in all it was a fantastic trip and our daughter has made our family complete. I made a new friend in Siberia, Sascha, he owned the only Chevy Suburban east of Moscow, for many years after our adoption trip I would have prospective parents mule Chevy parts to Siberia for my new friend. If I had one wish for prospective adopting parents it would be for them to know that weather they come from the womb or from a trip to a far away place there is no difference at all. My bride says the look on my face was exactly the same when I held all my daughters for the first time, even though one was a year old at the first hold. Funny how cars seem to have a connection in everything we do. ... View more

I agree, an excellent review that hit on all the right stuff. In the 47 photos they could have lifted the bonnet to include a few from there ... View more

Doesn't Mary host that BBC show with Paul Hollywood? I wonder what she'll bake up next!! ... View more

I've always wanted to try to clay bar a car though it seemed like so much work and I do not have a soft touch, for anything! I'm going to go out and buy this stuff today and as soon as it's warm enough I'm going to wash all the play cars with the Griot's one during their spring bath and service. I love stuff for dummies!! Now if only I were brave enough to tackle the swirls on the old giant black Series II XJ12, I'd sure like to try though I'm positive I'd screw it up, permanently. ... View more

I couldn't agree more. I have an old Lotus Elan Plus 2 that has about 100 hp though it feels much faster since you're riding so low to the ground. Even with speed limits of 35 it's a blast to run through the gears, tach up on down shifts and go around corners at slow speeds, and even that feels fast. And getting out for a ride to nowhere is pandemic proof and pandemic relief all at the same time. Motor On ... View more

Very interesting article, and I can confirm that all the data is pretty accurate. I usually ship a car every two years or so for one reason or another. My most recent acquisition was a 2010 Corolla, nothing sexy to be sure, though it belonged to my niece in Cincinnati and the failed manual gearbox was in the trunk along with all the ancillary items and I'm in Milwuakee. The car sat in her apartment complex outdoor lot for more than two years in this condition and I had no idea of its mobility capabilities. My last shipment was a Vanden Plas V12 from Florida to Milwuakee, it was 750 bucks and came, to my surprise, in an enclosed trailer. The Corolla didn't need more money thrown at it, I was merely trying to help my niece get rid of this car. I ultimately decided a road trip was the best method, and I was able to take my bride along with me for on overnight get away. We rented a vehicle dolly from U Haul in Cincinnati for 79 bucks one way, which I thought was a bargain. I used points to stay at the local Hilton and was able to visit my niece and her family for a few hours. The trip did require loading all the possible things needed into my 4Runner, floor jack, jack stands, come along, tools, brake clean and anything else I could think of. Being a manual gear box I thought maybe the parking brake would be stuck on so I made sure I had all the necessary items to remove the rear drums and un seize them. Turns out I only needed my portable air tank to fill the tires and a package of zip ties to tie up all the hanging cables, wires and slave cylinder so they wouldn't drag on the road. We had a great trip, my niece got a fair price for her car and I had a project to put back together. Turned out to be a great little car and the roadtrip with my bride was a nice get away. ... View more

A lot of folks out there with some unkind words about the Lotus. I was a tech for a dealer in the late 70s and early 90s, we picked up the Lotus line in 83 and since I had all the Jag service I got trained on the Lotus as well. While this was a fragile car (Renault transaxle) and could easily be destroyed if driven incorrectly, it was the fastest thing I had ever driven at the time, and mind you I was servicing lots of E Types, both 6 and 12 cylinder. The icing on top though was its handling prowess, nothing stuck to the road, especially in corners, like the Turbo Esprit. And to boot it looked like a bodied race car under the skin. And as Collin preached, "build a great car and add lightness" (my quote might be a bit off. ... View more

I think it would be awesome in my daughter's 1966 Donzi Ski Sporter 16, it would have to be a marinized version though.  It would probably look like the Dallas breaching in The Hunt For Red October when she "Hit It" ... View more

I'm fortunate to have a 1991 Series III Daimler Double Six, the car is affectionately known as Lizzy as the Queen had one as well, which she drove with some regularity.  Jaguar Heritage Trust had that one too and before delivering it to the Queen Jaguar put 4000 Miles on it to make sure it was in good nick before the Queen got it. ... View more

Great article that brings back some great memories.  I grew up in Country Squires, 8 kids and mom and dad all fit, that's why mom drove a Ford since only they offered 10 passenger seating.  And since I'm on the bottom end of the 8 I got to share the club seating in the rear with three of my sisters, one older, two younger.  The color of Tom Cotter's unit I think is Sauterne Gold, my mom had a 65 in that color and followed it up with a 72 red one, both sans a 428 with 4 speed and center console, that would have taken up a valuable passenger spot, which was needed unless they left me behind, which only happened once.  Everyone went out to dinner in the Wisconsin Dells and when they came back I was sitting on the motel stoop, ever since then role call took place before any family departure.   Thanks for the fond memories ... View more

Lots of people upset that the Opel GT and Corvette were excluded.  The author mentions they did not include pop up head lights which both the Vette and the Opel had.  Not sure if the Cord was a pop up or a an moving panel exposing the lights.  Great catch on the Galaxy by someone, only the LTD and the XL (and Country Squire wagon) had 'em.  Riviera though has to be the best. ... View more

A hoarder never throws anything away.  A collector makes regular trips to the dump.  A hoarder has an unrealistic emotional attachment to junk.  A collector understands what's valuable (at least to their car) and what is junk and has no problem getting rid of the junk.  This is at least the hoarder definition that I'm holding on to :). ... View more