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...]
Tool of the Week: Vacuum Gauge
From the atmospheric pressure and faulty carburetor adjustment division of Tool of the Week comes the large dial vacuum gauge. As the Starlet was going through its bi-annual carburetor meltdown, the time was right to bust out the vacuum gauge to see what was going on. Spark was there for sure. There was plenty of air. That left fuel and fuel delivery as suspects. This … [Read more...]
Tool of the Week: Digital Scale
From the turbocharged G54B-4G54 Astron engine department of Tool of the Week comes the digital scale, shown here in the process of measuring more Astron connecting rods than we have engine blocks to put them in. As yet another Mitsubishi engine buildup is in the near future, a small investment in an inexpensive digital scale seemed a good way to figure out was going on with two … [Read more...]
Breaker Points Ignition Upgrade
Along with technological miracles of the '60's and '70s such as urethane skateboard wheels and mood rings came the advent of transistorized electronic ignition. With no moving parts to wear out, this modern advancement relegated breaker points ignition to the trash bin of automotive technological history. Breaker points cause the ignition dwell to change as they wear out, … [Read more...]
Tool of the Week: Telescoping Magnet
From the Large Hadron Collider department of Tool of the Week comes the Telescoping Magnet, or magnetic pickup tool. Regardless of automobile make or model, there is always at least one fastener in a difficult if not ridiculous location. Getting to that bugger often requires ingenuity in action. After putting a box end wrench into a vice and using a sledge hammer to bend it … [Read more...]