For those who ponder how aftermarket parts and performance upgrades are available as soon as an automobile hits the market, this Honda CR-Z measuring session is the answer. The Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, or SEMA, brings the big car makers together with aftermarket gurus far enough ahead so that the good stuff is ready for action as soon as the automobile is. The … [Read more...]
Distracted by Junk
The Los Angeles Roadsters have wrapped up their 46th exhibition. While we didn't venture into the big show, we did spend quite a bit of time walking the swap meet trying to get our monies worth back from the parking and gate fees. There were certainly many show-quality examples of shaved '32 Fords, pastel-hued Hiboys, and bazillion dollar traditional (don't say rat) rods and … [Read more...]
Tool of the Week: Super Straight Edge
As we approach the beginning of Mitsubishi Astron engine rebuilding season, it is time for the first in a series of tools that can help get the job done. A quality step in transforming a salvaged engine block into a working short block is checking the deck for flatness. One might think they could lay any old reasonably straight thing across the deck and mark it good, but … [Read more...]
Say Chevy Chevette
The more or less recent edict handed down on high from the guys lighting Cuban cigars with $100 bills at General Motors was that they don't want anyone saying Chevy anymore. Only Chevrolet. This being the case, they would certainly spit gag mouthfuls of their single malt Scotch and lapse into a fits of coughing if someone were to utter the word Chevette. So here goes. Chevy … [Read more...]
Bug-In is Volkswagen History in Motion
The question when talking about the Bug-In is an easy one. Who doesn't like wheelstanding turbocharged Volkswagen Beetles that run 11-second quarter miles at over 100 miles per hour? Anyone? While there is obviously a large amount of Volkswagen and America that that became synonymous with an unfortunate granola munching Hippie shtick in the '60s, an intrepid few eschewed the … [Read more...]