Abandon Car Pics Contest Win a DVD

Hey..I’m still looking for abandon car pics. Email them to me timsweet@cox.net  or drop by Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing facebook group.  Pls include a general location.

I still have two DVD’s to give way!!!  Here’s my latest.

1939 Packard.  Originally from Texas, it got left here in AZ and now sits outside Boot Hill in Tombstone, Az.

1939 Packard.

 

1939 Packard Originally from TX.

 

Still got the flat head tucked under the hood.

Just needs a little TLC on the interior...yikes!!!

STevie Award – Fisker Karma 403 hp!!!!

Since its inception in 2007, Fisker Automotive, a privately owned, premium American car company based in Irvine, California has proven itself as a force in the automotive industry by leading the premium green car segment with the 403 horsepower, 100 mpg Fisker Karma. The Karma could be world’s first premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle when it arrives in showrooms early next year.

The company was based on the design capabilities of Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, founded by auto design veterans Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, and the PHEV powertrain capabilities of Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc, a major supplier of clean vehicle technologies to the automotive industry.

Fisker Karma

Wrenchin’ Tip – Priming a Holley 6/16/2010

YEAH!!!!  I know!! Where have these been…right?  Sorry, but I think I’m back on track. 

My Mustang has an old school 4 barrel Holley and although it starts pretty quick after a few pumps of pedal to get the mechanical fuel pump to push gas where it needs to be.  But if your old school muscle car or race rod sits for a while or you swap carbs often, you can spend some considerable time cranking on the engine.  This might seem like no biggie, but it can cause lobe failure on a flat-tappet cam. 

For my Holley there’s a better way.  

You need to locate your float-level sight plugs.  

Holley - image not from my mustang

 

A different configuration

 

Take a plastic squeeze bottle….  (Do you really need a pic of a squeeze bottle?)  Well just in case… 

Bottle Pic you don't need!!!

 

this type works the best…. and fill the float bowls with fuel until it trickles…(very little trickle…no fires…please.)  

Float Bowls

 

 This should be enough fuel to allow the fuel line to fill from the tank.  According to the specs a Holley can run 45- 60 seconds on full bowls. 

Keep your cam safe!!! 

Thanks for Reading 

Tim

Auto Factoids for the Week of 6/21/2010

Happy belated Father Day!! 

6/22/1954  Packard and Studebaker agreed to merge. 

6/22/1934  Hitler contracts Ferdinand Porsche to build cars with let to..you know  the VW and later the Porsche!!!!  

1934 VW

 

In 1958 on 6/26…just four days before I was born the first Datsuns was exported to the U.S. 

1958 Datsun.

 

We use to laugh at them.  My father and I once cut a wrecked B210 in half and replaced the entire rear and 1/2 of the roof from a donor car. 
That was kool!!!

The Art of Racing In the Rain

Ok.  I’m no Oprah but I just finished a book that race car people will love.  If  you love dogs, auto racing and a good story you are going to love reading  “The Art of Racing in the Rain”  By Garth Stein.

Go get it.  (no I don’t get paid for this…I just like it.)

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Auto Factoids for the Week of 6/13/2010

Oh..yes I’m behind. 

There was a huge one last week.. 

6/14/1832 – Nicolaus Otto was born in Germany…”Who?”   He invented the gas motor engine. An engineer and experimenter, Nicolaus Otto invented the first practical alternative to the steam engine in 1876 — the first four-stroke internal combustion engine. He called it the “Otto Cycle Engine,” and as soon as he had completed his engine, he built it into a motorcycle. 

The Otto Motor powered Cycle

6/16/1903 – The BIGGIE….Ford Motor Company was established. On the same day in 1953 Ford introduced the power steering.  (Two for the price of one) 

Also on 6/16/1896 Jean Peugeot was born in Paris.  Founder of Peugeot the auto maker.  The family began with coffee mills and bicycles and then cars. 

6/18/1943  Tom Gale was born in Michigan, Flint to be more exact.  His Dad was a designer for Buick and his grandfather worked the assembly for Buick.  Guess where he went to work when he finished school….nope….Chrysler.. Gale became head of design in 1985.  He previously worked on the some of the iconic cars such as the E-bodies-Barracuda and Challenger and was a major contributor to the  Chrysler Portofino concept car. 

1987-Chrysler-Portofinow Concept Car

 

6/19/1947 the Tucker shows up in Chicago. 

The Tucker-Torpedo - I love these cars!!!!

And on the same day, 1969 GM produced the 4 millionth Cadillac.   

This isn't actually "THE" 4 Millionth Caddy..but you get the idea.

Thanks for reading 

Tim

Hanging in Chi-town

Coming to you live from The Witt in downtown Chicago, it’s me typing on my laptop.   Three more days to enjoy relaxing and seeing the sights.

Speaking of sights..what I don’t see is a lot of muscle cars now or old…errrk… let me explain “lot” in this context it means…. “almost none”.  I’ve actual only seen one newish corvette (C6 – convertible) and a 1968 Mustang.  The Vette was on the street and the Mustang was parked in an alley.  That’s it!!!.

Muscle Car Drought..the only Vette I've seen!!

Ok…hang on,  if you think I just sit and type uninterrupted..nope…not much chance of that.

 My better half is here in the Windy City, at an international interior design event, where she’ll be giving a talk on….um…some interior design subject….um….yeah…I pretty sure that’s right and I tagged along. Nice little vacation where I can tool around a big city, which I enjoy doing from time to time.  What’s my point…umm…oh yeah….so I just ran out to get pick her up a couple of items while she is practicing her presentation.   On my return trip back to our hotel I spied  a beautiful custom 2010 Mustang..so..that makes three!!!

 Would you drive  your vintage or newish muscle car around a large city?  Let me say that I’ve been walking and taking cabs and even ridding on top of the double-decker tour bus and I’ve seen how these Windy City dwellers drive….I’d have to day…..I don’t think I would.  These folks drive 50 miles an hour between stop lights…but..still I might consider it early on a Sunday morning!!!

Oh…bTW…I know these guys!!!

My Parts Guy.

Oh and in the category of hanging 1930 Chevy’s….here ya go…a 4 door sedan at Portillo’s.

1930 Chevy..hanging in an eating establishment.

And up close:

1930 4 Door Sedan.

Engine and all are there for you to see.

Thanks reading.

Tim

New addition to the C4

It’s been a few days since I posted last, every once in a while life gets a little busy, business travel and a vacation.

However, this blog might have been idle but I wasn’t.

For as long as I’ve owned my vette, I’ve dragged around the original Bose stereo.  Yup, 1980’s technology, with a cassette  and AM and FM radio.  (You kids won’t remmmbbberr….hang on while I put my teeth back in…there…better…remember these and I use to walk to school when I was a kid, up hill both ways and snow up to here!!!!) It sounded really bad.  The cones were mostly dried out from the AZ heat and I think I’ve spent enough on original used speaker and amps (each speaker had its own amp) to buy four stereos with big amps and have the vette vibrate down the street without starting it.  I just didn’t want to get read of the thing….because it was original equipment.

Well, I finally broke down and replaced it.  HOWEVER, not with just a cd player and radio.  Nope.  I wanted something a little more fitting for the car. 

The 1984 C4, as more Corvette peeps know, was the most technologically, advanced car at the time.  It was the first car with computer controlled fuel injection, electronic shifting, and a dash-board with digital and graphic displays….and you can switch it from English to Metric.  So I wanted a stereo, befitting the other technology, but…..say it with me….Average Guy with and Average Budget!!!!!

So I couldn’t go to crazy.  What I did find was an all digital Pioneer Media Center.  No CD.  USB connection for IPODs or just a thump drive.  HD Radio that finds adds all the radio stations and …..wait for it…..drum roll………blue tooth phone connections.  KOOL or what…my wifes’ 08 Lexus has got nothing on my 84 Vette now…..ok..well she does have air-conditioned seats and navigation (…but my phone has that)  and the rear camera and a back seat (over rated!!!) and moon room (but my roof comes off!!)…away there’s more.

I did not want any thing to happen to the original speaker covers nor did I want any new holes, I wanted great sound and an original look.  So I added Alpine SPS 699’s in the rear, 260 watts and 85 RM and Alpine SPS 400 for the door speakers, 140 watts peak and 45 RM.  She sounds great.

 The original Bose system is safe,  all packed and stored.

Thanks for reading.  Drop me a note.

Tim

Auto Factoids for 6/6/2010

Here ya go:

1928 Plymouth Code Q

7/7/1928 First Plymouth is made, some research suggest that it was actually  built on June 11, 1928.  It had  engineering code (or model) Q and had a 4 cylinder engine.  Check out the video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGfwjTI1ahA

6/10/1951  A Jaguar wins the 24 hours Le Mans – it was a C-type version of XK120.  Here are a couple pics:

Jaguar at a race

XK 120 C

C Type

6/10/1927 – The Graham boys purchased what was Paige_Detroit Motor Cars.  The Grahams started out as farmers and glass bottle makers.  One of  the brothers invented a rear axle that would allow converting Ford car platforms in to light duty trucks.  Oh they are still in business – owning/running Madison Square Gardens and hosting sporting events.

Graham-Paige auto

6/11/1955 Horrific crash at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Here are the details from History.com

Prior to the race, Levegh complained that the course was too narrow near the pit-stop area and the grandstand. This observation proved prescient. As Levegh was racing for the lead near the pit-stop area, he swerved to avoid fellow racer Mike Hawthorn s Jaguar as it moved toward the pits. Levegh s car, going about 150 miles per hour, came up too fast on Lance Macklin s Austin-Healey and was catapulted upward. The car crashed into the grandstand and its exploding parts went straight into the crowd. Levegh and more than 80 spectators, packed into the grandstand, lost their lives in the fiery crash.

6/12/1954 – Packard offers the first tubeless tires.

6/12/1975 – The last Chrysler Imperial was made.

1975 4 Door Chrysler Imperial

Thanks for reading.

Tim