That any 1961 Plymouth Belvedere survived is incredible by itself, but a New England car that still drives on is that much more impressive. Promotional materials from the period introduced the Plymouth as the new solid beauty. This particular car is not only solid, but powered by a polyspherical 318 cubic inch V-8 backed by a push-button controlled Torqueflite automatic … [Read more...]
Tool of the Week: Mitsubishi ECI Checker
One of the great laments of the mothballs-in-their-pants set of the vintage car world is the demise of carburetors. These newfangled kids don't know how to adjust a carburetor with a shoelace, crumpled up Chesterfield, and piece of elbow macaroni. Fuel injection is all part of a larger Trilateral Commission conspiracy to keep track of our special thoughts. And so on. Don't get … [Read more...]
Tool of the Week: Mechanic’s Stethoscope
The biggest trick to fixing something broken is diagnosis, or identifying what to fix in the first place. When it comes to vexing mechanical problems there is probably no greater source of mystery than car noises. Pinpointing the source of the sound in question is the key to victory, and there is no better tool for this task than the simple mechanic's stethoscope. For just a … [Read more...]
Nobody’s Name on My Behind
Just when you thought nearly everyone had well and truly forgotten about your Cazal and Adidas Superstar wearing days comes this 1984 Ford Thunderbird FILA Edition from a junkyard long ago. The FILA and ELAN Thunderbird editions were offered as part of the top of the line 1984 FoMoCo fleet, and were the only new additions to the Ford Thunderbird lineup in that same model year. … [Read more...]
Take it Easy, Turbo
Turbocharged automobile engines are experiencing a resurgence in popularity thanks in part to a more performance and efficiency minded consumer hive. This new swell of turbo madness would in fact be the second wave. The first wave of production turbocharged rockets occurred in the Eighties, as fuel control systems drifted away from carburetors and into computerized multipoint … [Read more...]