Garage Vacation day 4

Today was a good day. Noone's car broke down, so I could work on my own car. :)



This picture is of a set of later Lockheed brakes for the Jensen Healey. These, now that they've been cleaned, sandblasted, painted, and reassembled will go into the current project car. It may seem a little silly, as I'll wind up putting disk brakes in the back later on, but I figure they'll work just fine until I get around to that.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day, so everyone have a safe and happy holiday. I'll be taking a day off from the garage to stuff my face.

Jody

Garage Vacation: Day 2 & 3 update

Yesterday night was spent doing a number of things. For starters, after having removed and replaced the spring caps (coil top) on the spitfire numerous times the dirt and grime on them finally got to me, so into the sandblaster they went! All cleaned up with a coat of POR-15 and they looked much better.

While I was out there I managed to get one side of the rear brakes assembled for the Jensen Healey. I need a couple more bits to do the other side (washers and circlips from Ace).

My buddy Chip came over and we put some new pads in the front of his contour. The transfer went well, but there was a very spongy pedal afterwards. Now the problem in bleeding his brakes was that the bleed screw on the passenger side was busted. So, that's all she wrote on work that night.

Today was spent finding a shop that could deal with the Triumph springs. I finally ended up at the MG Shop in Tempe, AZ. They'll be setting the springs for me tomorrow and I should have them back into the car tomorrow night.

A friend was having problems with her Saturn Vue. All I can say is bloody GM engineers need to be shot, repeatedly! The car needed some goofy ignition switch which was an annoyance to remove, but fairly easy to install the new part. The challenge, however, was the built in car anti-theft. To reset the GM anti theft you have to attempt to start the car, and leave the key in the on position. Then you wait 10 minutes until the security idiot light goes out. Once it does you remove the key and repeat. You have to do this a minimum of three times, possibly four. The fun part, if you don't get it started immediately then it faults again and you have to start over. Well, I guess it works, because I will never steal a Saturn. It's not worth the effort!

With that resolved we opted (Chip and I) to try and get the remains of the broken bleed screw removed from the caliper. 3 hours and a number of broken bits, ez-outs and the like later we finally opted to go buy a new caliper. Chip just got back to the shop after hitting autozone, so it's time to go back out and get the caliper installed.

eesh, one step forwards, two steps back!

Jody

A Tribute to Sir Joseph Lucas

I was pointed to this silly, yet wronderful little gem earlier today:

A Tribute to Sir Joseph Lucas.

If you've messed about with British cars, you'll appreciate this!

Jody

Garage vacation

Once a year, generally around Thanksgiving, I schedule myself a week's vacation with a single destination: The Garage (or as it's termed around here, "the Lair of Repair"). This year's goals are finishing up the alignment solution on mum's Triumph Spitfire and getting some good progress around the Jensen Healey.

We started in on the Spitfire yesterday, but I keep forgetting that the diameter of the springs combined with the shock absorber simply do not fit any known standard spring compressors. I even upgraded my current set to a better larger unit. But, the clamping arms are always too big for the springs. I'll be removing the existing assemblies again today, disassembling them, and running them up to my local tire shop to be mounted. Hopefully that should correct that last of the issues there and we can put some new shoes (tires) on the car.

The other issue that has been ongoing with the Spitfire is the fuel system. Nothing super suprising there. There's a little gunk in the tank (varnish, etc) and the driving is knocking it loose and clogging the fuel filter. That, in addition to old rubber fuel lines was allowing air into the system when the pressure was too great.

One of the tricks to dealing with this is to rig up a 2-liter soda bottle with a length of fuel line drilled through the cap. You also need a small vent hole near the top of the bottle. You fill the bottle with gasoline, and connect it up near the engine end of the fuel lines, cover the vent hole and squeeze the bottle. It will use fluid pressure to force gasonline backwards through the system and into the fuel tank. In theory, this should push any blockages out of the way and allow fuel to flow regularly again. It may be annoying to keep a stock of fuel filters in place and have to swap them frequently, but if there's only a little crud in the tank it's far simpler than pulling the whole arrangement and re-doing it!

Jody

Sandblasting and Differential restoration tip.

When I restore the read-end, or axle and differential assembly, I always prefer to manage the sandblasting and painting in two stages. You always have to be extremely careful about getting media inside of parts that will eventually be full of oil and moving parts.

Before I tear into the differential I go ahead and sandblast the entire unit in an assembled form. This allows for cleanup of 95% of the unit without the fear of getting media inside where it can damage things.



In the photo above you can see the rear axle and differential from my Jensen Healey project. I've completely sandblasted the unit in assembled form. Next it'll go back into the garage to be painted. I paint everything but the differential cover and he edge where the cover matches up with the differential. These final bits can have a final cleaning and paint during the disassembly phase.

Cheers!
Jody

French Maids teach you how to change your oil.

Ok, this hands down beats any tutorial I could ever do. Believe me! (*plus I think I'd look rather foolish in one of these outfits :)

Enjoy! May be NSFW (Not Safe For Work / Not Safe For Wife)

This video is a tutorial of How to change your oil by The French Maids.




Cheers!
Jody

Book Recommendation

How to Repair Your Foreign Car: A Guide for the Beginner, Your Wife, and the Mechanically Inept

The aforementioned book was mentioned in some discussions on an Austin Healey mailing list I am a member of. After hearing the book discussed back and forth as well as the glowing recommendations I had to find a copy. Please note that the book is out of print (my copy has a copyright date of 1968), but I found a used copy on Amazon easily enough.

My copy arrived in th epost this afternoon. Now, I originally had grand plans to go out and continue sandblasting on the JH rear, but I made the mistake of opening the cover of O'Kane's book, and well, there went the remains of the day light and a few more hours! I believe the subtitle really captures the flavour of the book: "a guide for the beginner, your wife, and the mechanically inept."

For such a short book, the coverage is suprisingly comprehensive and easy to understand, but best of all, the author's way of writing had me laughing throughout the whole thing. The wife wants to read it next.

If you are in to European and British cars, then this is a must read, regardless of your specific skill level. I just sincerely wish it was still in print. IT's also small enough to keep in the glove box, which should get you knowing nods and smiles from folks who've been around these cars since they were new.

Cheers!
Jody

Jensen Healey 5-speed rearend update

So, I've done a bunch more work on the rear end for the Jensen Healey. This will be turning into a full article once I'm done. In the meantime, here's some good teaser photos:




I love before and after type photos. These are the upper suspension arms. They've been removed, the bushings have been removed, and one has been sandblasted.




Here you can see all of the major rear end parts (short of the differential itself) cleaned up and sandblasted.



A little later you'll see it all with the first coat of POR-15.







And this giant mess of fiddly bits is the rear brake assemblies completely pulled apart, sandblasted and ready for paint.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to finish sandblasting the primary differential assembly. Then I'll be able to tear into it and keep going. This project is a good example of what you can do with only an hour of time a day!

Cheers!
Jody

Jensen Healey 5-Speed Rear End Restoration

Last night I dragged the 5-speed rear end into the garage that was salvaged from the parts car I bought a couple years ago. Since the Jensen Healey I'm building at present will utilize the Getrag 5-speed transmission I needed to make sure that I matched up teh appropriate prop shaft and rear end. All three pieces were taken from said parts car.

After dealing with light bits on the Jensen for so long, I forgot that there were actual heavy assemblies on the car. The rear end (when complete with brakes) is really freaking heavy. If you need to move one about I strongly recommend having two people to do the work. Since it was just me at the house I managed to wrestle it onto a dolly and then navigated it out of parts storage, across the back patio, through the house and into the garage. It's a good thing the wife wasn't around. :) Also, it really helps a lot if you can remove the upper and lower suspension arms.

Between last night and this morning I managed to get the bushings out of the suspension arms. As much as I wanted them to pop out I finally had to resort to Map Gas and manhandling. There's nothing like the smell of ancient burning rubber. Blech! Took a midday break to run over and visit Jim @ Delta Motorsports. The wife, Jensen and I sat and chatted for a bit while I racked up quite a bill getting new bushings, oil seal, and brake shoes.

The rest of the afternoon / early evening was spent running the suspension arms through the sandblaster. My media cabinet is just big enough to fit the longer suspension arms, but not big enough for me to clean the ends. That's ok though, I'll be doing some open air blasting tomorrow to clean up the differential / axle assembly.

Also, I was very suprised how flimsy the stock brake drums are on the JH. While the sides are pretty robust, the front face is, well, not. So, when you're removing your drums be extra careful about tapping that front face with your BFH.

Cheers!
Jody

Studebaker woes, side projects, and the Jensen healey

Well, after being totally thwarted on the brake install on my Studebaker Champion the other night (the threads on the half axle were no good, so I couldn't reassemble the passenger side rear end) I opted to take a day on my side project. I will say that right now I am very frustrated with Lotus and their documentation. Meh!

While I'm waiting for the axle half shaft to come in I plan on doing up a Jensen Healey 5-speed rear end for my current JH project. I'll drag it into the garage tomorrow to start disassembly and restoration.

Jody

1974 Jensen Healey for sale (Phoenix Area)

This 1974 Jensen Healey MKII happens to be visiting here at They Might Be Racing. It's presently for sale by it's owner for $4,000.

I've assessed the car and here's what I see:

Engine, Suspension and overall body in very good shape. Car runs and drives really well. There are a couple oil leaks, but nothing suprising for a british car of this vintage. The following has been uprated/upgraded on the car:

• Heavy duty suspension with aftermarket sway bars and Spax shocks.
  
• Pertronix Ignitor electronic ignition upgrade in place of original breaker points.
  
• Heavy duty urethane transmission mount.
  
• Aftermarket upgraded trunk carpeting and side panels.
  

Recent work:

• New high quality multilayer convertible top
  
• New cam belt and belt tensioner bearings.
  
• Rebuilt brake master cylinder
  
• Replaced driver's front brake caliper with rebuilt one from Delta MS
  
• Replaced rear transmission seal
  
• New passengers side motor mount
  
• Replaced exhaust header gaskets.
  

Now, on to what's wrong with it: There's a large (2" diameter) pain chip on the boot lid. Fairly easy to fill/color match. The interior was custom done, and still looks good except for some tears in the seats. The floorboards on driver and passenger side need replacing (which is *very* common). There's a crack in the exhaust header and it needs to be replaced (best option is the upgraded Delta one).

For the price, and a few weekends (or a winter as the folks up north work on things) of work you could have a very nice daily driver. I've not seen a decently driveable JH in this price range that didn't require significant work in a long time.

I have no financial interest in this car, just helping our a peer.

Contact information: Please E-mail or call with any questions or to get additional high resolution detail photos. Steve (678) 429-5837 or (480) 275-8324

Cheers!
Jody

A Good Mail Day

So, 90% of the time the mailbox is full of junk mail and bills. Not necessarily something to get excited about. Yesterday, however, was a nice suprise. Both the latest issue of Turning Wheels (the Studebaker Club magazine) and Austin Healey Magazine arrived.

High points of this month's Turning Wheels - photo coverage and stories from International Drive Your Studebaker Day! If it hadn't been the case that Annabelle's brakes were non-functional I would have been out driving too.

High Points in this issue of the Austin Healey Magazine - a great originality guide for the Austin Healey MkIII BJ8 and a perennial favotire over here is the restoration article (on step 27 as of this issue).

Jody

A Good Car Sunday

Spent yestday just doing car stuff. It was a nice change of pace as the past few weeks have been more hectic than I traditionally like. Yesterday morning went to visit a local Jensen collector Art DeKneef. He just dragged the carcass of a Jensen GT back from Utah. Now, as rare as these are (they made ~510) there's not enough of the car left to make it a viable restoration candidate. So, it's in the process of being stripped for parts. It's always interesting to go look at Jensens because rather than having much in the way of annual models, they just tweaked and improved things as they went. So, you're never quite sure what will or will not be on a given car.

The afternoon, short of a burst air hose and a quick trip to Harbor Freight, was spent pulling and sandblasting the last of the brake parts on Annabelle, my '53 Studebaker Champion. A few hours in front of the media cabinet, a couple coats of paint, and things look like this now:



There's nothing prettier than freshly painted parts! So, once the paint dries it's time to pull the axle, replace the seal, replace the axle and the brakes will be completely rebuilt. Then I just need to finish bending/flaring the brake line and the Brakes will be ready for filling/bleeding.

Hopefully, once that's done she should be back on the road again!

Cheers!
Jody

Gentleman's Express update

Hey all,

Just published a site update. I've now converted up through the first
half of Chapter 11. Instruments and Electrical System. That leaves
three and a half chapters to go as well as the ending Tips & Notes
section.


http://www.theymightberacing.com/Literature/GentlemansExpress.aspx

Why you should always fix things when you notice them

So, this evening I needed to run out to the corner store fairly late at night (11pm ish). It certainly isn't an uncommon occurrence around here, just a matter of process. I ran in, bought what I needed, hopped back into the car. Turned the key and heard nothing but the "Click" of all the electricals dying.

Now, normally this isn't a big deal. I've had on my "To-Do" list to change out the battery terminals for a while now. The stock Ford ones just don't age well. Then I pulled the hood release, and nothing. So, now I'm in the parking lot with a dead car that I can't fix because the hood release is stuck. Mind you, I noticed yesterday that the hood release was starting to stick a bit, and it should be added to the "To-Do" list.

After 45 minutes worth of farting around and getting nowhere I walked home (no big deal, the house is about a 10 minute walk from the store). I walked in, all pissed off and headed straight to the computer to see if I could find anything about the hood latch release online. Found nothing, but was made fun of by the wife in the mean time.

Grabbed a few extra tools (I'd already had a toolbox in the car from working on Mum's Spitfire) and walked back. Spent a good 15 minutes trying to work from the front through the grill to see if I could spring it. No dice. The Ford folks had kindly designed things to put the maximum amount of expensive breakable plastic bits of grill between me and the locking mechanism.

Then I figured, what the heck, and tried reaching up (blindly) from below behind all sorts of platicy bits. Finally, I discovered the release cable, felt across it until I found the release lever and miraculously managed to get enough fingers on it to get the hood to pop!

Then it was fiddling with battery terminals, cleaning corrosion, and adjusting them for best possible connection with what's left of the terminals. After a fw tries the car started right up, hood went back down (but not completely, as I still need to lubricate that locking mechanism) and it was back around the corner home.

Finished up, and I'm sitting here at 1 am reminding everyone, fix things when you notice them, or else!

Triumph Spitfire Carburetor - eesh...

So I started the latest round with the carburetor this evening. Headed over to Mum's with a spare carb, tools, and determination. Got down there, did some mixing and matching of parts, tweaked a bunch of settings on the carb, and got her running properly!

Made it around the block just fine, then drove Mum around the block. All excited we got ready to head off to the DMV to get the emissions test. As I wen to pull the car out to go to Emissions it just died. Dead as a doornail!

WE pushed it back into the garage, and I set back to work fiddling with the carb and timing. I'd get it running, then hop in to drive it and it would die. Finally, I noticed as I was watching the carb and mum was hitting the accelerator pedal that there wasn't any fuel coming into the carb. Disconnected the fuel line, turned it over a few times, and no gasoline. Now I'd already replaced the fuel filter and the fuel pump earlier, and figured that there was something in the lines or tank that was plugging the fuel system.

Got down to trace my way back through the entire system, and lo and behold, what do I find? A *second* fuel filter installed in a hard to see location. And the best part, this fuel filter was installed *backwards*!

Slapped a new fuel filter in place and in the correct orientation.....
Sucked a bunch of the air out of the fuel line to prime it with gasoline....
Got in, turned the key, waited a moment and VROOOOOM~!

Decided to see if it had power, so threw it into first, stomped on the accelerator and left rubber in the garage.

So tomorrow, it's time to retune everything and take it through emissions!

The Gentleman's Express

As a result of the discussions of late, and the great amount of assistance I recieved from Hal Kendall, I've been able to start converting The Gentleman's Express: Tech-Tips from the JIOC to the web. It took a little programming and a little editing, but I've managed to get chapter 1 online. I'll bee adding the future chapters over the coming weeks (depending on the rate of insomnia here, which is quite high). You can see the work to date here:
http://www.theymightberacing.com/Literature/GentlemansExpress.aspx

Cheers!
Jody

Lightened Flywheels

I ran across this article the other day. It's a great, but simple, explanation of the value of lightening your flywheel. It goes through the mathematics of the effects of removing weight from the flywheel and it's apparent effects.

Here's the link: http://www.pumaracing.co.uk/FLYWHEEL.htm

2002 Toyota Corolla Rear Struts

This weekend was spent changing out the rear struts on SWMBO's 2002 Toyota Corolla. It's a pretty easy job with the only real catch being having to disconnect the brake lines.

You can read more about it at: http://www.theymightberacing.com/Maintenance/TC02/RearStruts.aspx

Jody

Upcoming items

So, with the garage nice and cool, it's time to catch up on projects. Here's what's coming in the near future.

• Rebuilding the Stromberg Carburetor on the 1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500


• Rebuilding the brake master cylinder on the 1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500


• Completing the brake rebuild on the 1953 Studebaker Champion


• Replacing the rear struts in the 2002 Toyota Corolla


• Rebuilding the rear end for the 1974 Jensen Healey project (5speed rear)

And then on, and then on, etc.

Jody

The AC is in!

So, the garage here at TheyMightBeRacing.com has been revolutionized. We now have air conditioning and life is good! http://www.theymightberacing.com/ShopTech/AirConditioning.aspx.

Jody

Stupid Garage Trick #576

I don't think there's a single car guy that doesn't have one of these old Vitamin-D lights. Here's a trick I recently discovered. IF you swap out that old bulb for one of the new compact flourescents you can not only run a much brighter bulb, but it's also much hardter to break. The one in the picture above has been dropped, dragged and tossed multiple time and still functions perfectly. As a bonus side effect, it's a better environmental choice!

Cheers!
Jody

Getting ready for garage improvements

So, a lot of you will think I'm nuts, but considering it's 5 am and I'm sweating before the sun comes up, believe me I need AC in the garage. For the next week all my car projects are temporarily put on hold as I do some improvements to the garage, most notably will be the gattling-gun style overkill air conditioning unit.
I picked it up from Home Depot last night, got it home, and attempted to put it into the garage only to discover that I couldn't fit the box in the room. On top of the standard junk, the family junk, and the two cars, I'd forgotten about the Studebaker brakes spread out on one half of the workbench, and the Triumph Spitfire carburetor and master cylinder on the other half! Add that to a full Jensen Healey 5 speed rear end under foot and the random goodies I'd stockpiled since the last good garage clean, and it's just a nightmare out there.
So far, a good hour's worth of sorting and shifting and I can move around again, another hour or so, and I should be able to roll the Jensen Healey out of the garage, shift the Austing Healey 3000 over to it's spot, and then I can access the wall, once I move the rolling shelving. eesh.
From there, it'll be cutting a hole in the wall and reinforcing it, adding a 220V circuit (which I've been wanting out there anyways, - note to self, should probably put an extension electrical box on sometime soon I'm out of circuits for a big compressor) plugging the AC in, and then I'll be able to store sides of beef in there while working on cars. :)
I can't wait for my garage to be cold!
Jody

Always look for simple solutions first!

A friend had his 1989 Honda Civic towed over to my house the other night after it died on him on the road. I knew tht his electrical system had been gone over fairly recently, so I figured it was something in the fuel system. Fuel pump tested out ok, fuel filter was original, and since it should be changed every 30k miles, I changed it out. Traced the fuel system all the way to the injector, and we had fuel.

When I first popped the hood I'd pulled one of the spark plugs to check for spark. Now, while watching the plug I saw spark, which is why I hadn't bothered diving in to the electrical system. But, once the fuel system checked out, I figured it was time to check the interior of the distributor.

With the cap off, the problem was evident immediately, I could spin the rotor freely. The small screw that holds the rotor on to the spindle had shook free causing the rotor to not spin correctly. A little locktite, some fiddling and reassembly later the car runs!

This is a reminder to all, always look at the simple problems first!

Jody

Bulwer-Lytton and other things

So, my mum and I still believe in the postal service. There's nothing better than recieving a lett from her unannounced as it's always going to contain something funny or interesting. Well, today's installation contained a newspaper article about the Bulwer-Lytton prize. For those who don't know, it's a contest for the worst first line of a novel. Now, it wasn't necessarily this year's winner that was particularly appealing, but a reminder of 2005's winner. Here's the first sentence:

As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasingly formed, perched prominently on top of the intake manifold, aching for experienced hands, the small knurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to be inspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven of the shop manual.

Mind you, the reminder came from my Mum, a Spitfire owner!

Also, I recieved a magical envelope full of the BMW Part #'s for the Jensen Healey Getrag 5-speed. I'll be integrating those into the parts catalog in the coming weeks! Thanks to 2002AD for the data!

Happy bad literature!
Jody

p.s. more about Bulwer-Lytton contest

Auto Repair Services Available

TheyMightBeRacing.com is in need of article fodder.... So here's the offer.

If you're in the Phoenix area and have a car in need of repairs, vintage or otherwise, I'm interested in fixing your car. In exchange for receiving article fodder, I'll give you a significantly discounted repair rate (off of what shops normally charge around here which is in the $90/hr range for a decent shop). This ends up helping both of us: A) I get information for writing new articles, B) You get your car fixed, C) I get extra pennies to spend on my own projects.

So, if you're in my area and need help, or know someone who is, please pass on the word. Note, I'm not scoped for huge repairs, but normal stuff is easy to do.

Cheers!
Jody

Future collectibles (or, why collector cars will continue to flourish)

So, there's been a lot of discussion about what will happen to collector cars and what sorts of cars will be collected in the future. Mostly, it's been disparaging stuff about how noone will ever want to collect and restore a Prius in 30 years time. While I can't find fault with not liking the prius (I'm sorry, even if it had a hemi under the hood it's still as bland as american cheese and ranch dressing) I definitely think that all of this doom and gloom malarky is a bit over the top.

In one discussion with a fellow car nut I brought up the fact that there were tons of "econo-box" type cars built in the 40's, 50's and 60's. Most of these cars were inline six, stripped down models. How many of these do you see at car shows these days? I actually enjoy seeing the few that I run across as they're better representations of what everyone was driving at the time. So, like those inline sixes the civics, prius, corollas and such of our time will dissapear.

So, what will we be seeing more of at shows? Well, here's a quick list of cars that I think are either collectible or will become collectible that were built in the 1980's. Considering that the next generation of car folks are around my age (30's) these will be the cars they remember from when they were kids:

The cars:

• Alfa Romeo - Spider (What kid didn't have a friend who's hot mom or older sister had one of these?)


• Aston Martin - Vantage (Always a classic)


• Avanti - Avanti II (Yes, they built these in the 80's, and they still look cool!)


• BMW - 325I, M3, 633csi (I have to admit that the goofy front ends on these have grown on me in the past few years)


• Buick - Grand National (Jet black, mean engine, if you owned one you were considered a shady character, what kid didn't want one)


• Chevrolet - C10, Corvette, Camaro (C10's are becoming very fashionable, corvettes and camaros are classis, even in the 80's)


• Datsun - 280ZX (Classic body lines, simple engine, goes fast. :)


• DeLorean - DMC-12 (Doc, you built a time machine out of a DeLorean!?)


• Excalibur - SS Roadster (I always thought these were wierd, but cool)


• Ferrari - 308, 328, 512b, Mondial, Testarossa (who didn't have a poster, t-shirt or trapper keeper with a Ferrari Testarossa on it?)


• Fiat - 2000 (See Alfa Romeo Spider)


• Ford - Mustang, Taurus SHO, F150 Lightning (I always wanted a SHO, even if it only came with an automatic)


• Jaguar - XJS (V-12 power!)


• Lamborgini - Countach (See Ferrari, I had a yellow Coutach t-shirt!)


• Lotus - Esprit (I still think James Bond when I see one of these)


• Maserati - Spyder (My maserati does 185, lost my license, now I don't drive)


• Mazda - Miata, RX-7 (Chick car turned spec SCCA standard, and the Wankel engine)


• Mercedes-Benz - 450 SL, 560 SL (Yeah I know, dads drove these, but they're cool because dads drove fast in them)


• Mercury - McLaren series of cars. (Never heard of a Mercury McLaren Capri? Look it up!)


• MG - MGB, MGC, Midget (Yes, it was the end, but it was the end of a great era)


• Nissan - 300ZX (I still remember the first time I saw one of these, I was floored)


• Pontiac - Fiero, Firebird, Trans Am (We used to laugh at these, but they've transended the red neck / crap barrier and have become cool)


• Porsche - 911, 924, 944, 928 (You may question the 924 & the 944, but I have one thing to say to that - Sixteen Candles. Don't get it, ask a woman)


• Rolls Royce - Corniche, Silver Spur (Big, squishy luxuriousness)


• Toyota - Supra, MR2 (I always loved the chunky 80's MR2 with all the bits glued on it)


• Triumph - TR8 (See MG, but with a V-8!)


• TVR - 280I (These are danged pretty, and rare!)


• Zimmer - Golden Spirit (See Excalibur)

Cheers!
Jody

1963 GMC V-6 Pickup

So I just learned something stupidly cool. Apparently there were a series of 1963 V-6 GMC trucks that had plaid valve covers. Now as a good Scot and a lover of plaid, I've got a new vehicle to add to my "must own some day list".

I mean, who wouldn't want Plaid valve covers?

Here's a link with more information.

Cheers!
Jody

Improving Fuel Economy

I was talking to someone the other day that has a similar car to mine (they have an '04 Explorer, I have an '02). The conversation started around the Cash For Clunkers program, but we all already know how I feel about that! At any rate, I average about 22.5 MPG in my Explorer. They topped out about 17 MPG, and couldn't understand how I could get so many more miles per gallon than they did. We chatted about it for a while, and I explained how to make things better, I figured I'd share this out with everyone else.

Fuel economy is based around 3 things: Engine efficiency, Rolling resistance, and Weight.

Engine Efficiency - basic

Engines just aren't as efficient as they can be directly from the factory. To ensure that your vehicle is as efficient as possible do the following:

Spark Plugs

Number one improvement is uprated spark plugs. The better the plug, the better the spark, which in turn allows the engine to more effectively burn the delivered fuel. From a cost efficiency standpoint I prefer the Bosch +2 or +4 plugs. I've seen (on my old Porsche 944) a 50 mile range increase just by changing to these plugs from stock.

Plug Wires

Now, plug wires are starting to go the way of the Dodo, many new cars have the coils directly attached to the plugs. This being said, there's still many cars that employ them. Check them periodically to make sure they are still in good condition, if possible uprate them to a larger diameter wire (e.g. go from 7mm to 8mm diameter). A good shade tree way to check your wires is to raise the hood and watch the motor when it's pitch black out. You'll see bad wires arcing across the engine. The better the plug wire, the more electricity that gets delivered to the spark plug.

Air Filter

The normal air filters you can buy at your local auto parts store are ok. On the aftermarket for just about any car are high performance air filters. These high performance air filters allow for greater volumes of air to enter the engine. The more air you flow into the engine, the more efficient it will run.

Oil

Engine oil is usually the most abused part of the car. It you go to a quick oil change place they generally use a cheap oil which breaks down quickly within the engine. If it's a new car, make sure you use a high quality synthetic from day one (e.g. the Explorer has only ever had Mobil 1 synthetic in its block). If it's an older engine, use a high quality engine oil, but it doesn't need to be a synthetic. Also, if you're switching up to a better grade of oil, use an engine cleaner for the first few oil changes to get out as much residual sludge as possible. And don't complain to me that high quality oil is expensive. First of all, your engine will last much longer. Secondly, for every dollar you put into higher quality oil that's multiple dollars less you'll put in as gasoline.

Fuel Injector Cleaner

I'm always amazed how few people use this stuff. Fuel injector cleaner goes through the fuel system and cleans out any residual particulate crap. This is especially true of the injectors. A perfect example. A friend had a Cherokee that just wouldn't run, it idled like crap, and it gave me fits as I couldn't decypher the problem with it. As it turns out, he'd put 70,000 miles on the car without ever running injector cleaner. After all the hours we spent farting around with the car a couple $5.00 bottles of cleaner later it ran like a champ!

Distributor & coil

On the off chance you have a distributor and coil on your car (most new cars do not) ensure that the distributor cap and rotor are in good shape, and are clean. These are cheap parts, replace them if at all questionable. If you have a traditional coil you can upgrade it to something like a Flamethrower one which will boost electrical output from the coil

Battery

Ok, you may be going "huh?" at the mention of the battery, but remember that it controls all of the electrical systems in the car. Periodicaly check the terminals for corrosion and quality of contact. Clean them and cover them with vaseline. This will help fight corrosion. The better the connection, the better all the electrical systems (such as the ignition system) will run.

Engine efficiency - advanced

Air intake

Engine efficiency is goverened by three things, amount of spark, amount of fuel and amount of air mixing with the fuel. As we want to reduce fuel, the other two need improving. An aftermarket air intake (particularly when paired with an exhaust) will improve fuel economy by increasing the amount of air consumed into the motor. While we laugh at cold air intakes in Arizona (since we have no cold air to intake), these sorts of improvements will pay for themselves many times over during th elife of the car.

Exhaust

A free flowing exhaust manifold (also known as header) and matched exhaust pipes will help the exhaust gasses flow out of th eback of the engine more efficiently. They are espcially critical for improvements when paired with an uprated air intake.

Now, the nice side effect of the engine improvements is that you'll not only have fuel economy improvements, but this will and can also improve the amount of horsepower delivered by the engine (and who's going to complain about extra horsepower?!).

Rolling resistance

Tires

The number one on tires is ensuring that they are properly inflated. Keeping them at the appropriate pressure not only aids fuel economy, but it's also much safer for the occupants of the vehicle. When it comes to fuel efficiency and tires, it's also about rolling resistance. The thinner and harder the tire compound, the less the rolling resistance will be. Yes, I know it's popular to put ridiculous sized racing tires and rims on a car, but not only are you paying out the wazoo for "bling" but you're costing yourself money each time you hit the pump!

Shocks / Struts

Shocks and struts are responsible for two things, managing the ride quality of the car and keeping the tires on the road as much as possible. If you're driving on aged shocks/struts you're actually losing fuel economy because the power driving the tires is not 100% on the road. This is also a safety hazard, as your effective stopping distance decreases over the life of the shock/strut.

Lubrication

Now, the number of lube points on cars has decreased dramatically over the years. My old Studebaker has 23 lube points, I think my Explorer has maybe 10. Even though there are less of them, that doesn't make them any less important. The second the power from the engine is transferred through the transmission you start to lose it because of driveline and vehicle friction. Periodically lubricating all these points will minimize the internal friction loss

Transmission

Most people do not realize that transmissions need flushing, which is just like an oil change. Now, it certainly doesn't occur with the same frequency, but it certainly needs to be done. Changing or flushing the transmission and replacing the filter, if so equipped, will improve its performance, which minimizes power loss through the drivetrain.

Weight

Go on a diet! Not necessarily for you, but your car. If you're anything like me (wife, 2 kids and 2 dogs) you'll note that over time your car becomes a dumping ground for left behind toys, baby strollers, and junk of that nature (or in my car's case, piles of car parts). Every additional pound of unnecessary weight reduces fuel economy. Go through your car and purge it of unnecessary stuff.

Hopefully with these tips you can take a car that performs like my friend's (17 mpg) and get it to run like mine (22.5 mpg)!

Cheers!
Jody

Internet Movie Cars Database

Sometimes I find that I take for granted that there are sites out there that I use all the time and just assume that everyone else does as well. Once of these great sites is the Internet Movie Cars Database (http://www.imcdb.org/). If you're familiar with the site you'll know what I'm talking about.

For those who haven't used it, here's why I think it's great! Ever wanted to know what movies your make/model/year car has appeared in? For example, there are 7 different movies on record that feature Jensen Healeys. Even better, ever been in the middle of watching a film and you see a car that you don't quite recognize, or flips past so quickly you can't get a good look at it? Just hit the IMCDB and you can look up the film with the cars and screen shots listed out for you. For example, here's their page for the 1969 version of The Italian Job (one of my all time favorite films!).

Cheers!
Jody

Craiglist find - 1966 Austin Healey Sprite project

Stumbled across this today. The price is a little high for what I would pay, but then again, the current owner has done the expensive bits (body & paint).

CURRENTLY IN MID-RESTORATION
See photos here: http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss88/wgsa001/1966%20Austin-Healey%20Sprite%20-%20Restoration/
• Bodywork Complete
• Primed & Painted
• New Canvas Top
• New Rubber Gaskets for Doors, Windshield & Windows
• New Rear Bumper
• New A-H Hood Insignia
• New Seat Adjusting Tracks
• Engine Runs Well
• Original Trunk Mounted Luggage Rack
• Includes Roll Bar
• Includes Black Tonneau Top
• Includes Prized Black California License Plates
WILL CONSIDER TRADE FOR “BUGEYE

Craigslist link: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/1320320755.html

Vinyl, Adhesive & Magnetic numbers for cars

So I've been looking (but not seriously) for a while now to find out about getting number decals to put on my Jensen Healey project when it's done. You know, the vintage type circular racing numbers. The challenge has been that I want either static cling ones or magnetic ones. Well, through one of my forums I came across this site yesterday: http://www.squierdesign.com/.

These folks make all sorts of nifty different designs in adhesive, static cling and magnetic formats. I think, when the JH is done, that I'm going to order some of the 18" vintage meatball number magnets from them.

Jody

Why Cash for Clunkers (aka the CARS Program) is a mistake! (Part 2)

Yesterday's focus was on the direct consumer aspects of the Cash for Clunkers (aka the CARS Program) how how expensive it really is to leverage the program.

Today's segment is on the impact of the program to the secondary car market. You can read more about why this program is a failure, specifically in terms of the market economics.

Jody

Why Cash for Clunkers (aka the CARS Program) is a mistake!

I'm not normally one to pay attention to the rest of the world, I've got too many things going on in the garage, and new cars, short of what appears on Top Gear bore me to tears. But, with all the commotion on the automotive forums I finally had to look into things and understand the value or lack thereof with this program. So far, I can only determine that there is a tremendous lack.

The first article in this series focuses on the cost to the consumer of the program.

--EDIT--

Blogger just couldn't handle the length and data appropriately. Because of this I've moved the information to it's own page. You can read it at: Why the Cash for Clunkers program is a failure.

Cheers!
Jody

Why safety always comes first - scary article!

It's articles like this that scare the crap out of me. This is why you should always read the Materials Safety Data Sheets for any products you use in the garage, and should always be very careful even with chemicals that you may use frequently!

After reading this aricle I was really worried, as it's the sort of thing I might think to do while working in the garage, now I'm going to double and triple check a lot of the things I think up in terms of new/better ways to do things.

Cars and restoration are fun, but be careful out there!

Brake cleaner gas highly poisonous

Stay safe and have fun!
Jody

"Found" Studebaker Projects

So, yesterday evening I followed up a lead on a couple cars that had been passed on to me. This was a 1966 Studebaker Lark 4door (built in Canada, last year of production) and a 1960 Champ 1/2 Ton (first year of production).

Here's what I found:

The Champ truck (body tag was 6E-T8)

Front passenger side of the Champ Truck. Fenders are kinda beat up, but overall the cab looks pretty solid. Who knows where the rims/tires are for the front.


Still not sure this is really a 1960, it's the wrong bed if it is. It *could* be a 1961, or they may have replaced the bed at some point. Bed's more solid than it looks, though there's a fair bit of cancer where the tailgate has been sitting on the ground.



Dash is just like my old '59 Lark. I love this dash style, it's just SO simple and clean.


Upholstery is toast, but that's standard procedure on something like this.


Engine is complete and assembled. The nice thing is that this has the V-8 rather than the straight-6. MOAR POWAR!


The front grill and everything is intact if not pretty.


Driver's side of the fenders and cab are much cleaner than the passenger side.

The 1966 Lark 4 door:

This isn't the right engine. The final Studebakers (1965/1966) used a McKinnon engine (Canadian chevrolet).



Based on the bits floating around the engine compartment I can't decide if the engine install was actually completed or not. This is an early Studebaker 259 V-8.


The front is intact, the bumper's got a big whang in it.


And here's what causes old Studebakers to be laid to final rest... rust! If it's here, it's likely to be everywhere. Take a good look at the bottom of the doors.


Here's something that suprised me. The interior's fairly intact for an Arizona car. It makes me wonder where this car came from... lots of rust but an intact interior.


Ruber floormats... nothing holds moisture better than rubber floormats with the horsehair insulation underneath. Lots of rust under there, likely goes completely through in parts.


Again, a surprising interior condition.


Rear end shows that it's A) been painted, and B) has had some serious munging done to it. Trunk lid won't shut and the locking assembly is gone in lieu of a manual trunk release hidden in the back seat.


Here's what I could get to of the undercarriage. Because the tires were rotten it sat really low, almost on the ground.

So, in the end I convinced the wife that these were worth buying for the price. The overall likelihood is that the Champ truck is restorable, but the Lark is truly a parts car. I'll need to find some rims/tires for the truck, haul them out, clean them up, get a better assessment of what I'm looking at, and then store them away until I'm ready to mess with them.

I've wanted a Champ truck since I first saw one, and I'm hoping that this will end up being a good tow rig for other cars.

Cheers!
Jody

Anticipated garage upgrades

So, after suffering through the hottest July on record for the city of phoenix (article here) I've decided that I have to get to the point that the garage is air conditioned. My northern friends thught I was being a whiny baby, but when the average day temperature is 110+ and the night temperature doesn't drop below 90, then it's just freaking hot!

So, I was poking around on the Home Depot web site and found this in-window air conditioner listed online at Home Depot. Now I've tried portable AC units in the past, but they just didn't have enough oomph to keep the garage cool. As I was looking at window units I found much of the same. The BTUs were just too low to do the job, unit I found this LG unit. This thing puts out a whopping 24,500 BTUs, double what the average window unit produces. In fact, people use it to cool 1,400 square foot houses in Florida. I figure if it can do that, it'll easily keep the garage cool! The only complaint I saw listed was that it's noisy... well, when I've got the compressor, sandblast unit, and other tools going, who cares if the AC is a little noisy?

Also, to make the unit run better I'm going to need to better insulate my garage door. I've had this design in the back of my head for a while that I've really wanted to do. It allows you to insulate your garage door (good for those in the north as well as us in the south) and create a giant diagramming whiteboard. Whiteboards have become critical to my work at my real job, and I know that I would use the heck out of one in the garage (not to mention, they're also great for keeping small children occupied when they're with you in the garage). You can have child/grandchild wall art to decorate your work space.

Cheers!
Jody

Sharing my late birthday present...

So, I recieved a copy of this as a late birthday present:


It's a great silly little book on how to cook a meal using your car's engine. Halfway through the book I'd designed a complete oven add-on to my Studebaker Champion. If you're looking for something whimsical, silly, but ultimately useful, then this book is for you.

For those of us that drive hundres of miles to car shows, here's how to arrive at the show and have a gourmet meal ready when you arrive!

Bon Appetit!
Jody

Some upcoming Phoenix British Car events!

September 12th is the annual Charity Car Show in aid of the AZ Humane Society at Mesa Marketplace, 10550 E. Baseline in Mesa. It is open to anything on wheels, not just British Cars so talk any of your friends into showing their car, motorbike of whatever year etc. We have had everything from quarter midget race cars to RC cars and Tonka toys ! It will be on Row C, under cover and with the misters going. Entry forms attached.

October 24th & 25th is the 11th annual British Vintage Voyage which this year will head up through Payson to Cottonwood to visit a winery and then to an overnight stop in Prescott. Proceeds from this event will be added to the Mesa Marketplace collections and be donated to the AZ Humane Society.

November 7th & 8th is the Tucson Celtic Festival and we have been invited to display our cars as we have done for many years at the Phoenix Highland Games and more recently at Prescott.

More articles

Here's two more articles that resulted from the past weekend: Replacing the front brakes on a Toyota Corolla, and Replacing the front struts on a Toyota Corolla.

Now I just have to get her rear struts swapped out and I can go back to focusing on the more interesting cars.

Jody

Articles Update

So, after all the work this weekend, I've managed to get two articles on it written up and posted. The first is on replacing interior door handles in a Toyota Corolla, the other about replacing the catalytic converter in a Toyota Corolla.

Soon to follow will be the front brake system, as well as front and rear struts.

And then, hopefully I can finish up my article on Studebaker Brakes.

Another day in the garage

So, now that I'm showered and hopped up on Tylenol I'm feeling better. Spent another day out working in the heat and pooped myself out. That being said, I managed to get the rear brake assembly reinstalled on the Studebaker, cleaned the garage, and helped my friend Steve prep his Jaguar for a prospective buyer.

Last night I couldn't sleep, so spent some time with my latest automotive book acquisitions:
	The Cobra in the Barn is Tom Cotter's first book on various barn find stories he's accumulated over the years. For anyone who's found a car in a similar situation, it'll be a walk down memory lane of your own find. For those who've never had such a find, it's proof that these sorts of things do occur, and you just have to keep looking!
	The second book The Hemi in the Barn is the first book's sequel. While I'd known of (and read bits of the first) I was happily suprised to learn he'd written a second book. This one was awash with great stories of finds. He also indicated in the book that there will likely be a third to follow. I can't wait.

Finally, on the off chance that anyone's looking for some Jaguars or a Jensen Healey, my friend Steve has a couple Jags, and one JH for sale. My particular favorite is the grey market XJS with the manual transmission, but there's a few nice options to choose from.

Cheers!
Jody

Mid-summer working in the heat woes

So, it never seems that I successfully make it through the worst heat of the summer without having to do major/extensive surgery on one of the daily driver cars in the family. Today it was SWMBO's Toyota Corolla. I already knew it needed a new catalytic converter, and then last week three of the four interior door handles disintegrated, making those doors inoperable from the interior.

Then, the other day I made the mistake of driving it. The Struts front and back were totally worn out. She'd also mentioned to me that the brakes needed a little looking at.

So, picked up the door handles from a Toyota salvage yard on friday, and last night picked up the new struts for the front and back of the car. At the same time I ordered the catalytic converter (for delivery today). I got up extremely early to beat the heat this morning. Managed to get the door handles in with only one minor issue.

Then it was time to pull off the front tire and get into the struts. The first thing I noticed after pulling the tire was the grooves in the rotor and the almost lack of brake pads. Made a mental note to self to go pick up rotors and pads when I went to pick up the catalytic converter. Continued on with the struts. I don't know why, but I always have it in my head that the springs magically appear on the struts. I think it's due to being afraid of having a healthy respect for spring compressors. I don't like using them, but once I know I have to it's a long and slow process because I'm very careful when I use them.

Eventually the struts were done and installed, just in time to go out to the shop and pick up the catalytic converter, rotors and pads. Changing rotors and pads on the Toyota Corolla have to be the simplest process I've ever done for this. Had both sides of the car completely done in under 30 minutes. Finally, a bunch of elbow grease, dirt and minor pain and the catalytic converter was in place.

I was pretty burnt out at that point, and my wife's sister is bringing her car over for me to look at this evening, so I've opted to put off the rear struts until tomorrow morning.

Plus, the AC is fritzing on the explorer, so I get to fix that next. argh.

Site update, new Frame off restoration article

This morning I finished up another article for the web site. This article is part of the frame-off series and involves dealing with the car's glass: windows, windshield, rear window, etc.

You can read the full article here: http://www.theymightberacing.com/Frame-Off/Glass.aspx

Parts stash, the sorting begins....

Ok, spent the evening sorting. Did a rough sort and then went through the lighting bits. There's parts in there from all over the LBC world. My wife thinks I'm nuts because I'm as happy digging through boxes of bits as I am driving the cars. She doesn't understand the discovery and excitement of going through old parts to find those perfect bits.

Here's photos of tonight's results:

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Jody

Jensen East 2009

So, being out in Arizona, making Jensen East (which was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania this year) is not something that's easy to do. I had this little gem passed on to me this morning though. Apparently one of the writers from the New York Times blogged about going down there: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/jensen-lovers-gather-in-pennsylvania/

Cheers!
Jody

Post from the Road: Pensacola, FL

So, I wasn't really intending to post anything while I was off on vacation. The basic idea was to turn off the computers all together and have a "non-digital" holiday. This morning, however, I had to take a moment for this "vehicle"



Yes folks, that's right, this beauty is a "Schort bus" tow truck rig. Note the faux exhaust pipes sticking out around the "hood." So, as far as I can tell it's a shorter school bus that's had most of it's body chopped away to create a cab. The front end has been "uglitized" and the rear end is a tow truck. What I'm not entirely sure of is whether the frame and engine are from the school bus, or are from somwhere else...



On an additional side note, I was cruising down Pensacola Blvd in our rental car (a Chevy Aveo) which has been dubbed the "Brave Little Toaster." It's a gutless wonder with a wonky transmission, but it does go from point A to point B. During my little cruise I ended up traveling alongside a blue (possible metallic blue) Studebaker GT Hawk. So, if anyone knows this car/drive, say howdy for me.

If I run across any other gems on the road I'll let y'all know!

Cheers!
Jody

Parts stash, the pictures!

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Here you can see the front fender collection and some seat backs.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Anyone need a steering rack? I have 40 million of them now.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Factory hardtop, two roll bars.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Convertible top frames.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Rubber bumpers. Some MGB. You can also see driveshafts, axles, some springs.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Metal bumpers.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Doors, doors and more doors! All metal is solid.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Boot lids to match the doors!

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Box #1

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Box #2

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Box #3

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Box #4

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Underneath the radiators are brake drums and more unknown bits.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Box 5

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Fuel tanks (I believe the big one is MGB)

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

A stack of boxes. Tiers of rims behind.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

More parts!

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Rear axles. Some of the rims.

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Some heads

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

a 1500 and 1800 engine, numerous transmissions

From Spridget & LBC Parts stash

Carboard boxes full of whistle pretties.