Planning Ahead for Christmas?

Are you in need of some gift ideas? Consider sprucing up loved ones' interiors with...

Dash Designs Seat Covers: Custom Seat covers are tailored to the seat specifications of the most popular Cars, SUV's, Trucks and Vans. Whether you have basic bucket seats or complex split benches, Seat Designs™ precision patterns and the finest materials are utilized to create the finest finished premium look. Durable foam insulation on all fabrics and easy installation!

ACC Floor Mats: Made to OEM specifications from the same high quality material as ACC carpet flooring and griplock, non-skid backing. Die cut or molded to fit each vehicle perfectly. Available with embroidered logos.

For more ideas and to see the multitude of available colors, look in the Body-Interior category of the RockAuto catalog.

Dorman Seat Heater Kit: Why not give the gift of warmth?! Dorman has a Universal Seat Heater Kit available. (Part number 628040 in the RockAuto catalog)

Forum of the Month

NewBeetle.org began life in November of 1999. It didn't take long before the forums section of the site had a few hundred members, and it was obvious that NewBeetle.org was well on its way to becoming the top Internet resource for Volkswagen New Beetle drivers.

Years later, NewBeetle.org has seen over 22,000 registered members, and averages between five and eight new members per day. Anywhere between 300 and 500 new discussion posts are created and over 20,000 pages are viewed by 1,000 unique visitors each day.

If you are the administrator or member of a forum and you would like to see your website featured in an upcoming newsletter and receive a discount code to share with your members, contact cynthia@rockauto.com.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Probably my biggest auto repair blunder involved an early 1980's Toyota Tercel back about 1988. I had re-installed the head after having it re-built. It was a simple job I had done on various cars in the past. I was careful to torque the head properly, pre-oil the lobes on the overhead cam, and test drive it. No problems. Good. The next Monday I drove down the hill to work. Still no problems.

But, on my way home up the 1800 ft. hill, I noticed a loud hammering noise. The car lost power and I barely made it to a place to safely pull off the road. When I pulled off the valve cover, I was aghast to see the cam snapped in half!

I had ignored (or at least overlooked) the uneven valve spring pressure on the cam due to the various lobe positions. I matched up the break on the cam and carefully bolted the cam back in place. It was a very rough and noisy ride the rest of the way over the hill. Somehow, someway, I made it the over the top of the hill and coasted half the way home. To this day I find it hard to believe that I made it home. My wife was not happy that I took the risk, but hey, I was young and bold then. I swallowed my pride, bought a new cam, installed it the right way, and got the Tercel back on the road.

Troy in California

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder or unconventional fix. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes or share off-the-wall solutions that worked (at least for awhile!). Please email your story to flamur@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and shirt size (large or extra large) and we will mail you a RockAuto "Do it yourself?" t-shirt if we publish your story (see the t-shirts under Extras in the catalog). The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

Automotive Trivia

A customer in Felton, Pennsylvania is rebuilding this car. What is it?

A. 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster
B. 1951 Plymouth Cambridge
C. 1958 Triumph (Standard) 10

Answer below

Winterizing Against Vermin

Is that prized car tucked away for the winter? The oil changed. Fuel stabilizer elixir added to the gas tank. The car up on jack stands. Each spark plug removed and a little oil sprayed into the cylinders. A trickle charger attached to the battery. A car cover carefully fitted. The garage alarm system activated. Time to put on the slippers and curl up by the fireplace. Wrong! It is time to panic! As I learned last week, that car is at risk!

The season for storing classic cars is also the season when millions of vermin look for a safe, snuggly winter home. My 1992 Dodge van is not (yet) a classic. I did not even put it away for the winter. I happily drove it on Sunday and on Tuesday I discovered the check-engine light was on and a rough running motor. When I pulled off the engine cover I found evidence a rat had decided to bring a few tree leaves and move in next to a valve cover. Was he watching with bags packed when I backed the van into the carport on Sunday?

Rat (and mouse) incisor teeth grow continuously. They gnaw on things to keep those teeth from getting too long and probably just to pass the time. My rat gnawed the wires off one of the van’s fuel injectors. In less than 48 hours, a rat disabled the Dodge. Imagine what gnawing, pooping, peeing rats or mice could do to a vehicle sitting quietly for months. A car could be totaled.

I am now nervously popping the hoods on my entire fleet almost daily. The carport area is fitted with three spring loaded rat traps, two poison bait boxes and an ultrasonic thingy that supposedly makes a noise rats don’t care for. I plan on redoing the fence so our dog can patrol the carport along with the yard (with poison and traps out of reach).

So far, a spring loaded rat trap has killed one rat. His teeth had that just polished with Mopar copper wire sheen. However, I am not under the delusion that he/she was the only one. Rats breed several times a year, around ten to a litter. It is a never-ending, worldwide battle. Frequently check on any stored car.

The good news is this could be another excuse to spend more time in the garage than the house. It could be another reason to adopt a cat or dog. More good news is that my van is back on the road and I discovered Dorman makes replacement Bosch type fuel injector connectors. Find them under Specialty Connectors in the Extras section of the RockAuto catalog.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

This is my 1991 Isuzu Stylus XS, 16 valve 1.6L DOHC, 5 Speed manual with a “Lotus Tuned” suspension. This car is relatively hard to obtain parts for, however RockAuto.com has become my exclusive source for all maintenance and repair parts as the prices and delivery cannot be beat.

The story:

The first car I ever purchased was an Isuzu Stylus found in a local newspaper classified. I had no idea what it was at the time, but the listed $900 price tag was certainly something my minimum wage job could pay for. I immediately fell in love with the snappy engine that happily revs to nearly 8000 RPM, as well as the tight go-kart like ride it had. I drove that car for 5 years until it met its demise when I was clipped by a truck and sent into a utility pole.

I stripped the wrecked car to a bare frame, saving all the good body and mechanical parts until I could find another of these rare obscurities to build. In late 2004, I found an example in Florida with a bad engine but a pristine, rust free body. After months of hard work, and lots of RockAuto parts, I had a practically new car assembled and roadworthy by fall of 2005. A “Mazda MX5 Red” paint job sealed the deal.

Parts I have used from RockAuto in building/maintaining it: Raybestos brake pads & rotors, Raybestos suspension components, Moog tie rods, 4 Seasons heater core, KYB GR-2 struts, and the rest of the ignition system including spark plugs, distributor cap, and sensors - and probably tons more I’ve forgotten.

Regards,
Scott in Massachusetts

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