You all will remember Bill from #ProjectBeepBeep, his 1968 Road Runner.
Bill is an engineer and has the skills to restore just about any classic car gauge.
Take a look at the work he did on the 1966 Barracuda dash gauge cluster.
If you need help with your muscle car gauges, drop me a note at agcarrestoration@gmail.com and I’ll pass it long to Bill.
Enjoy this short video.
Thanks for watching.
Tim
Finishing up the speedometer and tach bezel on my 76 Sting Ray.
I’m pleased with the outcome. They aren’t new, but they look much better and cleaner than the old gray color.
#ProjectSR76 is looking good on the inside.
Tim
There are still some major areas to tackle for the color conversion, but the T-Top inserts are done.
I had to do some repairs, and they aren’t perfect, but they will suffice for now.
Check out the video!
Tim
Just finished the rear shocks on the 76 Corvette (#ProjectSR76). The Air-Max shock are gone. There’s a couple tip in there so check it out!!
Thanks for checking!!
Tim
I’ve been driving #ProjectSportRoof a lot but there’s still work to do, but I have a back log of products that I need to review. So the next few post will be dedicated to testing out some of the those items, include other helpful tool organizers and a few products for detailing your car.
Olsa is a Canadian company that has their tools and products made in Taiwan and tested in auto shops in Canada.
I saw the ad for the Magnetic Socket Holders and purchased them, because my case for my socket set, well over 20 years old has final given up (not with out a fight) the ghost.
Here’s the video:
Thanks for checking in.
Tim
#ProjectSportsRoof
#AverageGuysCarRestoration
Bill gives some tips on cleaning up the valve covers and tries valve cover studs.
Thank for reading.
Tim
#ProjectBeepBeep
68 Road Runner Gets it’s Beep Beep back!!
Project BeepBeep – 68 RoadRunner – Body Bumpers Kit
Welcome back to the #ProjectBeepBeep. We are still following Bill’s progress on the front disc brake conversion for his 68 Plymouth Road Runner.
Did I say this is the final chapter? Well….
“I had to call in an expert; fellow I work with is a Mechanical Engineer and used to work as a Porsche/BMW mechanic before and during college. Together we got the wheels on the ground in about two hours. He recommended a last-ditch effort with the brake lines; we tightened all lines until the tube nuts were deformed. Also found an off center flare on one of the brake lines and he had a machine that fabricated the new line. Difficult to bleed; we bled the system 11 times (I counted) and went through lots of brake fluid (almost two quarts).
Took BeepBeep to the MOPAR show at Larry Miller Dodge almost immediately after getting the wheels on the ground! Car stops on a dime and gives you nine cents change. Don’t miss power assist at all. This car will STOP!
Check it out:
I need an alignment next, but otherwise I really have no other problems to report. Everything working; oil PSI is 35 at idle, 55 at running down the road, and temp was a tick under 195F all day long.
Time to enjoy this ride!”
Bill, thanks for the all the video and the tips you given the reader!
Looking forward to your next ‘little’ project on BeepBeep.
Tim
Auto Factoids (#AutoFactoids) for Week of April 30th 2017
May 1, 1954 – American Motors Corp Formed
Formed from Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merger. It was still referred to as Nash-Ramber and then AMC Ramber though the 1950’s. Styling didn’t change in the next few years and 1955-1956 Ramblers were badged as both Nashes and Hudsons, with no visible difference between the two. Rambler became a marque in its own right for the 1957 model year. The Nash and Hudson makes were continued as senior model only through 1957, after which all of AMC’s offerings were marketed as Ramblers.
 1958 4 Door Rambler Ad |
 1958 Rambler Statesman – 2Dr. |
May 2, 1918 – Chevrolet becomes part of GM.
GM was started Billy Durant by using the financing from his Durant-Dort Carriage Company to take over Buick Motor Company. He changed the name to General Motors (with Buick eventually becoming a separate brand later on). He soon brought in Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland company. He started Chevrolet (in partnership with famous Swiss race car driver Louis Chevrolet) to help off set the financial issues as a separate company. Durant eventually started purchasing more Chevy stock and eventually took control and folded Chevy into GM.
May 3, 1948 – Willys Jeepster Phaeton debuts.
These were mostly powered by the Inline 4 Cylinder, L-head engine. (134.2 cid, bore 3.13, stroke 4.38, compression 6.48:1 for about 63hp). Power got to the wheels via a 3 speed transmission. All the Willys had the same wheelbase length of 104″ with the total length of the Phaeton being 174.8″. Production was not well-defined through out all the models offered but approximately, 10,326 Phaeton were build.
1948 Jeepster Phaeton
May 3, 1949 – Packard’s 50th Anniversary 2000 Gold Packards.
These were Dealer Driveway. These weren’t “gold” cars but they were painted in a special paint code of Gold. Each were powered with 327 c.i.d., 150 hp engine. The number of ’49 2000 Gold Packards produced was about 600 (some say 1500) . The event was held at was the Utica Proving Grounds. Currently none are known to exists although you can see a few “gold painted” 49 Packards pop up from time to time.
 Here is a 49 Packard – painted gold. Is it one of the Drive-Aways? Slight chance. |
 Packard’s Utica Proving Grounds. |
May 4, 1923 First Le Mans 24 hour race.
The first Le Mans 24 Hour race was held just outside Le Mans, France. Initial the race was limited to ‘production’ cars and two drivers, now they require 3 drivers per car and the of course these cars aren’t in your dealers show rooms. The race was won by one of the French teams – André Lagache and Léonard driving a Chenard et Walcker with 3.0L I4 engine.
This is an awesome looking car!!!
May 6, 1928 Chrysler debuts the De Soto. The De Soto wasn’t available to the public until 1929. It sported an L-head six cylinder engine, displacing 174.9 CID and producing about 55hp.
First De Soto
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Average Guy’s Car Restorations, Mods, and Racing
#AutoFactoids – Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing
Auto Factoids for the Week of 2/22/2015 – Firebird, Thunderbird, AMX
If you follow this blog you’ve no doubt seen my posts on this past January’s Barrett Jackson event in Scottsdale, Az, you might even had caught my Facebook Live videos.
Of course I have to say it’s well worth the price of admission for all that there is to see and do.
One event is the Ride and Drive where you are allowed to drive some of the new cars. They also have a few of the more powerful cars that they only allow you to ride along with a driver, cars like the Hell Cat and Viper and some of the Mustangs. This year I chose to drive the SS and RS Camaro.
The key is to get there early because the line get long and the track gets crowded. We arrived at the right time and got a more personal touch. New for this year was the Breathalyzer test conducted by the Sheriff’s department, a smart idea, considering all the adult beverages available. But it was a bit early for that.
Here’s quick little slide show of my trip in one of the Camaro’s.
The auto cross course they had set up was pretty tight and for the novice this would a challenge and I think it was meant to keep the speeds down. When you attend these you are accompanied by a local drive either supplied by the dealership or by the car company for this event.
I drove the SS V8 LT Camaro first. I found the seat comfortable and driving position was really good. The car had quick response and the V8 really pulled great with hitting the gas. Not as good as my 2007 C6 Corvette but I was impressed. As an SCCA auto cross driver I found this course to be a bit tighter the standard down here at the regional I’ve driven often. The SS proved to be a bit sloppy in the corners at speed and it felt like a bigger car – of course it’s it a bit larger than my Vette. Although I made it round the course with out killing any cones, it would be understandable given how it handled.
Immediately after parking the SS, they had an V6 RS ready and I jumped in. I really appreciated that, having the SS drive still fresh in the never endign, it would make the comparison, a bit more visceral rather than homogenized by the thought process.
These days you know they can get a lot of power out of V6 engine and even 4 cylinders so I was curious to see how the RS’s V6 felt with my foot pressed to the floor. I didn’t have any specific expectations, but I was hoping to feel “WOW – this is a only a V6?!?!”, but I have to say it felt like V6. It was clear the power wasn’t there at the start line. However, it did get up to speed fairly quickly and by the first real corner you could feel it. The corner? Well, let’s say it was impressive. While driving SS the ride-a-long driver bet that I’d find the RS a much better handling car in the tight corners, due to the fact that the engine was set back a bit that changed up how the car made it though the corners. I have to say it was correct.
It’s true that in auto cross that horse power isn’t all you need, in fact, too much can make for rough runs. The key for any auto cross car is being able to handle the corner as the fastest speed possible. The RS made it through the course with much sharper corners and it felt really good coming out of them with not a lot of body roll, it was surprising.
So the V8 SS felt powerful (relatively speaking) – more what I’m use to with my Corvette. The RS felt like a V6 when getting off the line, but had the better cornering than the RS, basically verifying what the ride-a-long driver told me I would find.
It’s not often the average blogger, SCCA racer and car restorer, gets to take ride in or drive the newest cars which I think is a huge gap in what you see in the big time blogs and car magaiznes, so it’s always fun to poke them with the Average Guy’s thoughts when a chance for that experience can be documented.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
It’s Car Auction Season – Barrett Jackson Car Show – Westworld of Scottsdale
It’s always cool to catch a car show when you are traveling.
This past week (Super Bowl Sunday) while visiting family in Alpharetta, Ga, (just outside of Atlanta) I got the chance to ride into the ‘big’ city and take in the event – Thanks Brian!!
There often more than 1500 cars on the first Sunday of every month and even though it was cold and damp (and it being Super Bowl Sunday and the home town team was playing) there were a lot of cars!!!
We got there as it was starting to break up but there were still a lot of cars. Here’s a few pics.
Take a look at this awesome creation. Built on a C4 Corvette body to best look like a 1957 Chevy!
Check out this Nissan!!! It’s power plant is in the next pic.
Nice straight six!!!!
Nice custom ride!!
Here is a great look for a Road Runner.
No one standing around new anything about the car.
I wasn’t even able to scratch the surface. There were rows of Mustangs and Corvettes, long with 100’s of European and Japanese high-end rides and not all of them ‘stock’.
Check out more here: Caffeine and Octane – Atlanta
Thanks for reading.
Tim
