Monday, May 23, 2011

Circle yer wagens!

We've all seen dummy spinners. But how about dummy wagon wheels for your early hot rod?

New for 1957!

There's no denying that the 1957 Ford Fairlane is a seriously cool car with the right set of wheels.


Saturday, May 7, 2011

10 Tips for Your Car Maintenance

A car is an important personal investment, but owning one, whether it's a new car or a used car, takes a lot of hard work. It has to be well taken care of to ensure its reliability and prevent breakdowns. Used cars especially need extra attention as they are more difficult and more expensive to maintain than new cars.



Following a regular maintenance routine will help extend the life of your car as well as keep your car's performance at its peak. It will also save you a lot of money in repairs. Here are 10 basic car care and maintenance tips to follow.



1. Drive with care



Do not accelerate your engine during start-up as this quickly adds to the wear of the car's engine. Accelerate slowly when you begin your drive. Shift to neutral at red lights to give the engine some time to rest. Be car considerate and you will be rewarded with longer time between repairs.



2. Wash your car once a week



Washing your car keeps it clean, shiny and free from corrosion. Remember to clean the car interior too. Dirt particles are abrasive while spilled liquids such as sodas and juices can be corrosive. Vacuum your car interior thoroughly and wipe the lenses on the dashboard with a soft damp cloth. Take your mats out and brush or hose them down. This will remove dirt that may otherwise create wear in your mats if they build up. Dry the mats thoroughly in the sun before placing them back in the car.



3. Wax your car too



Waxing your car regularly protects you car's paint job by slowing oxidation and by creating a barrier against bird droppings and pollution. It also makes the car look good by adding extra shine.



4. Park in the shade



Parking your car in the shade prevents interior damage by UV rays and protects your car's paint job. If a shaded area is not available, use a car shade to minimise the sun's impact.



5. Change engine oil and filter regularly



Many car owners manual today recommend increasing the interval between oil changes. But frequent oil change is still necessary especially if you are maintaining a used car. Frequent oil changes flush abrasive dirt and metal particles out of the engine, thus prolonging its life. Change the oil filters because the old filters contain build up of oil and dirt particles that will otherwise remain and mix with the new, clean oil.



6. Take care of your tyres



Check your tyre pressure at regular intervals and keep them inflated to the recommended pressure specified in your user manual. Another thing to look out for is uneven wear. If you have properly maintained the tyre's pressure, then uneven wear might suggest that it is time for wheel realignment. Uneven wear also suggests worn-out brakes or shock absorbers, a bent wheel or internal tyre damage.



Also have your wheel alignment checked every 50,000 km. Improper wheel alignment shortens the life of your tyres as well as causes steering problems. See if your steering is stiffer than usual or if your car pulls to one side. If it does, you need to have your wheel alignment checked.



7. Clean your car engine



Wash your engine at least every year. A clean engine runs cooler than a dirty one. A clean engine also enables you to easily spot leaks and service its components. You may have your engine professionally steam cleaned or you may opt to do it yourself. In this case, make sure you protect sensitive engine components including the air intake, distributor and electrical parts with plastic bags before getting started. You may use a grease-cutting detergent and a bristle brush to scrub the engine. Make sure to rinse thoroughly once done.



8. Change spark plugs



Many manufacturers recommend changing spark plugs every 50, 000 km. This ensures good fuel mileage and high engine performance.



9. Maintain your car battery



It doesn't matter if the manufacturer claims that the battery is maintenance-free, you still have to regularly check your car battery to extend its life. Start by keeping your battery terminals clean. You may wipe it with a damp rag with some detergent if needed. Also check the battery case for any sign of damage. Cracks or bulges are signs that your car battery needs to be replaced.



10. Select a reliable car insurer



No matter how careful you are, accidents or damages are inevitable. In this case, you need to have a car insurer you can trust. Choose a car insurer who replaces damaged parts only with original parts from the manufacturer and who can give you guarantees on repairs.

Some Benefits When We Use LED Bright Bulb

There are varieties of LED bright bulbs, which have come as replacements of fluorescent light bulbs. They range low power of between 5watts to 40watts incandescent bulbs. The highest power led bulbs used for replacing 60watt incandescent bulbs. These types of bulbs need about seven watts. There is 13-watt led bulb that is brighter as 100W incandescent. Most incandescent bulbs usually produce light at an efficiency of about 15.5W/lumens, which depends on voltage, and size of the bulb. European Union standards state that an energy efficient bulb is an equivalent of 60W tungsten with the ability to produce minimum light of 806 lumens.



LED bright bulb cannot dim while some do work with dimmers. In addition, most of these bulbs are directional. The cost of led lamps has declined by big percentage, thus affordable. They are more efficient in power as compared to compact fluorescent bulbs. They have the highest life span of over 30,000 hours. They can last even longer than stated under lower temperatures. Expectant life span of led bright bulb under normal use is more than 25years. The light intensity does not change over its life span.



Under normal operation, the bulb power can drop by 10% after 5000hrs and during worst operations; it cannot exceed 15%. This is according to energy star specifications. Some of the benefits of led bulbs over compact fluorescent.
  • They are mercury free

  • They are available in different color properties

  • They are energy efficient thus cost saving in energy

  • They are affordable as compared to other type of bulbs

  • They have long life span

  • They are easy to maintain

Led bright bulb is available in several companies. The companies specifically design the bulbs for lighting purposes. For instance, C. Crane Company designed 7-watt for replacement of 60-watt bulb. This 7-watt bulb (or Geobulb) has an efficiency of 59lumens/W. from the company; you also get wedge-base lamps, which you can use to replace low voltage fixtures.



Lenis lighting company in Netherlands also designs led bright bulb called pharox. You can also get Hydralux -4 from Eternleds Inc. this led bulb uses liquid cooling of led chips. Philips Company also produces led lamps that are generally available whole over United States and they have six-year warranty. Various small manufacturers sell led light bulbs that are screw-in replacement for compact fluorescent lamps. The technology of led bright bulb is improving at high rate. More new energy efficient bulbs are still manufactured. They are available in various shops and they are affordable.

Tips for Maintain Your Corvette Brakes

You probably need to look after your Corvette brakes more than any single item in your car. Your engine gives you mobility. It gives you the speed and the acceleration that you want at any given time. The suspension system gives you a great ride so that you can take even a rough patch smoothly instead of banging your head against the roof. The wheels and tires give you traction and can let you climb as easily as descend on the smoothest of state roads as well as the roughest of country tracks. The seats are important and so are the exhaust and the air conditioning system as well as the ventilation and heating systems. The audio is great for entertainment and the décor adds to your Corvette's looks. But, it's the brakes that could mean the difference between your life and a bad pile up that could cause serious injuries to you and others around you. You simply cannot take a chance with your brakes. After all you need to save yourself and your sweetheart too!



When you set about looking after your brakes, it is important that you do your check of the brake system every day. See how it performs under different road conditions. Regarding the actual maintenance of your C5 Corvette brakes as well as the C6 Corvette brakes; it is essential that you have a Corvette brake bleeder tool that could be a V 12 DIY tool with the bottle adaptor and tube. Whenever you go for a change of the brake pads you must invest in ceramic brake pads that reduce the black dust that accumulates on the wheels. These are great for racing and quiet as well. They have a great wear life too. Some of the common brake items for both the C5 and C6 are the brake caliper cover set of four that you could buy in body color matched too. Then there are Corvette brake rotors and the Corvette brake high performance package that comes with the rotors for the front and the rear as well as high temperature brake fluid and DOT approved stainless steel brake lines. Keep some Corvette brake fluid test strips handy with you.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Slow and Low! 1977 International Loadstar

We've all seen them at one time or another. A decked out big rig style commercial truck that's slammed to the ground and smoothed over with lots of chrome and wild paint. This is a take on one of those trucks. This '77 International Loadstar in it's stock form wasn't going to win any beauty contests back in the day. But by today's standards does have a nice sense of style compared to the cookie cutter looking commercial trucks today. Filled in seams, some minor reworking of some sheet metal and adding the cool suicide doors make for a unique look. Then add in the reworked frame, airbags, and the low pro tires and a new Ford diesel motor and you're starting to get a cool looking one of a kind truck. Rob from Ontario Canada had really built a wild ride! Just check out these stats below.

1977 International Loadstar 1600 – Complete Mods List

Chassis/suspension
-Full frame custom built
-3X6 ¼” wall, fully sealed and used as air tank (25 gallons)
-3 link front with custom solid beam suspension
-front hubs and brakes from 1991E350
-3 link rear with Sterling 10.25 differential
-10,000lb transport truck bags at all 4 corners
-3/8” air valves, ½” hard line
-digital air gauge
-york engine driven compressor
-5th wheel hitch
-dual fuel tanks custom built
Drivetrain
-7.3L Ford IDI diesel from 1991E350
-Ford E4OD transmission
-2001 Dodge intercooler
-2002Ford powerstroke turbo on custom manifolds
-massive transmission cooler
-turbo code injectors
-injection pump turned up and timing advanced
-5” exhaust to 5” slant cut stack
-3” intercooler piping powdercoated cream
-holley red electric fuel pump
Exterior
-floor and firewall from scratch
-suicide doors with fabricated hinges
-shaved door handles
-welded and smooth front body seams
-pedestal mount cab lights
-LED front and rear lighting
-HID headlights
-chrome visors over all lights
-cargo basket
-painted Chrysler classic yellow
Interior
-smoothed and painted dash
-seat from 1993 Chevy truck recovered by owners wife
-autometer gauges for- speedometer, tachometer, boost, egt, trans temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, volts, fuel level
-alpine stereo in glovebox
-soundstream 5 channel amp
-RE Audio 6.5” speakers
- 2 12” RE Audio subs
-triple trumpet air horns
Wheels and tires
Front wheels- 22.5” semi wheels milled to 22”
Front tires- 255/35zr22 Falken FK452
Rear wheels- 24.5” semi wheels milled to 24”
Rear tires- 255/30zr24 Falken FK452
Custom adapters

Source: Hemmings.
Photo Credit: Steve Wharton

Remember the bookmobile?

I remember visiting a book mobile at least a couple times in my early childhood. Sort of like rolling libraries, they would be stocked with a collection of books that you could checkout and return just like in a library, only it would be in the parking lot of the local strip mall. Now-a-days you don't see a bookmobile too often, if ever. Recently, the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Library and Research Center was donated a vintage bookmobile. The 1955 Chevrolet 3600 proudly served Anderson County, South Carolina. Dave Bowman (left) and Tom Gibson of Crossroads Restorations in nearby Anderson presented the bookmobile to the AACA at its recent regional meet in Charlotte. Looking very solid with it's nicely aged patina, the AACA is now accepting donations to fund a restoration.

This looks like a very cool restoration project. I can see this thing restored in its original livery with some AACA Library logos added for good measure criss-crossing the major car show circuit with a load of vintage auto books and magazines in tow to help promote the AACA and their museum in Hershey, PA and even their meets.


Source: Hemmings