As most all of us have discovered when the tank ran dry, an engine requires fuel to run. As this fuel is flammable and generally explosive, it is kept in a tank away from the combustive action going on inside the engine. This setup presents the problem of how to get the fuel from the tank to the carburetor or fuel injectors that feed the engine fuel. Enter the fuel pump. The fuel pump draws fuel from the fuel tank and delivers enough to the engine to keep things moving.
When cars used carburetors, the fuel pump was usually a mechanical deal bolted up to the side of the engine. Carburetors are now about as common as console black and white console televisions with built in hi-fi phonograph and stereophonic sound. Fuel injection is the fuel delivery standard. A modern fuel pump is capable of maintaining the pressure and flow required by the electronic fuel injection system, itself powered by electricity created by the alternator. If the fuel pump quits? Game over.
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From the tools that support the use of other tools department comes this week’s featured tool of the week – the magnetic tool and parts tray. While there are dozens of different shapes and styles of this useful shop item, the simple yet effective concept is one that works as it should. Magnets attached to the bottom of the tray keep wrenches and errant nuts, bolts, and other fasteners in one place while working on your bucket. These same magnets allow for E-Z placement of the tray anywhere where there’s some steel or iron. On an engine stand. Under the lid of the toolbox. On top of a fender cover. And so on. One drawback of the magnetic tray is an unintended result of its awesome powers. The hours of mystery spent wondering where on freaking earth the 12mm box end wrench went can often be solved by turning the magnetic tray upside down. Oh – there it is.
Getting to breakfast in the City of Angels most likely always includes travel by automobile. On a recent trip to Los Angeles, the Clunkbuckets arrived for ham and eggs Politburo-style in a 1970 Tatra 603. The delicious breakfast came hot off the griddle at Nicks. Transportation was supplied by Paul Greenstein and his other privately-owned 
There are moments in the do-it-yourself automotive world where one truly wishes something didn’t just happen. One of the more famous of such moments is stripping out or rounding off a fuel or brake line fitting. Finding out that these fittings are often made of a softer metal the hard way is not fun. Since these fittings are captured by the flare on the steel line or tube itself, stripping either the threads or nut sides means far more work than planned. The easiest way to prevent stripping fuel, brake, or any type of in-line fittings is with a set of flare nut – or line wrenches. A few sawbucks invested now can save an enormous amount of time down the road. Most of them come in 2-in-1 configuration with both popular sizes on one wrench for bonus utility!
Why is this man smiling? Not only is he driving a big ‘ol Plymouth Satellite, but he also won a bunch of rounds on his first time out to the drag races. Longtime 
As a large part of the nation’s energy savings begin at home, it would seem twice as great an idea to combine home and transportation into one self-propelled futuristic automobile. If we could send men to the moon, we could most certainly motor around our great nation in a modern home! But wait – don’t we already have 
From the Mopar Lightwieght Vehicles Division comes this 1976 Spirit of ‘76 Dodge Dart Lite. Less than a thousand of these special edition Dodge Darts were ever made, with the lightweight Plymouth Division version known as the Feather Duster. As 1976 coincided nicely with the Bicentennial of the USA, the Spirit of ‘76 Dart Lite was built with 200 years of awesome into the red, white, and blue piped bucket seats alone. While the patriotic appearance package is itself genius, more amazing is that thanks to less wieght and creative engineering, the Spirit of 76 Dart achieved an impressive 36 mpg highway! Use of aluminum internal bracing, bumper structures, and an aluminum intake manifold lightened up the entire coupe. A specially prepared carburetor and distributor were mated to the leaning tower of power slant six engine under the hood. With a four-speed manual transmission linked up to some tall highway rear gears, the Dart made for 36 mpg. The Dart Lite came in just over the 4000 dollar mark with a few sweet options from your Dodge Dealer in 1976. Make mine a Dart Lite.
While new cars are not what Clunkbucket is about, there is legislation afoot that could well destroy the future of American automotive history before it even gets a chance to happen. There’s not much that gets me teeth grinding tire gnashing mad anymore, except things like this so-called Cash for Clunkers program.
