One of the great unanswered questions of long-term automobile ownership is the mystery of the alternator. If the collective automotive powers can design and manufacture a car as complex and modern as the Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, it would seem but a minor detail to install a bulletproof alternator under every hood. Why automakers cannot produce this alternator that serves in … [Read more...]
El Mirage is No Illusion
While far saltier dry lake cousin Bonneville gets most of the glory, it was in the dusty Southern California desert where drag and dry lake racing got going on a grass roots level. Miscreants, racers, nerds, and tough guys alike motored out from Los Angeles and Orange County to the high desert in hopped-up gow jobs and jalopies. The goal was to run flat out in an unlimited … [Read more...]
Van Nuys Cruise Night Returns
It's time to face facts. You need more Van Nuys in your life. A lot more. Every second Wednesday of the month means that after a twenty-something year hiatus, the Van Nuys Cruise Night is back in the San Fernando Valley. The former orange growing region experienced an influx of homes and people after WWII, to the point that by 1960 over one million people were living in The … [Read more...]
Skid Plate Racing Rules the Oval
Skid Plate racing rules are straightforward. Any 1980 or newer four or six-banger front wheel drive car with a 90-inch or longer wheelbase is OK. No secret reinforcements or buttressing allowed. No added weight. Hitting the buffet a few times to add weight to the driver before the race is OK. A Skid Plate Race car must be stock at its core. If you are going to run a V6, two of … [Read more...]
Merkur XR4Ti: The Inside Story
Ford of Europe, from about 1975 on, was considered a training ground for Ford Motor Company’s highest-potential executives, engineers and designers. Succeed over there, in that cauldron of competition against Fiat, VW, Renault, Peugeot-Citroen and GM, and you MUST be smart! Or willing to work 20 hours a day, and seven days a week. That was the thinking. Over the long haul, … [Read more...]