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