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RockAuto
certainly makes owning an American
vehicle
in the United Kingdom a lot more
bearable!
I can get virtually
any part I need for my 96 GMC Safari
from
RockAuto, to my door in three-four
days! That is excellent!
I am glad I came
across your website, and will certainly
be using RockAuto again soon.
Best Regards,
John |
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Upcoming
Events
If
you
would
like
your
event
featured
here, email us
with
details. |
|
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Kiwanis
Club Open Car Show
2/8/2009
Marco Island, FL
e-mail
Arizona's
Military Heroes 2nd Annual
Poker Run
2/15/2009
Phoenix,
AZ
e-mail
Home Runs,
Hot Dogs, & Hot
Rods
2/28/2009
Mesa, AZ
website
Mission Car
Show
2/28/2009
Mission, TX
e-mail
6th Annual "Silver
Magic" Car & Bike
Show
2/28/2009-2/28/2009
Port Charlotte, FL
e-mail 23rd Annual
Spring Meet Corvette Show
3/1/2009
Miami,
FL
website
29th Annual
MDA Car Show
3/6-3/8/2009
Roanoke,
VA
website
Portland
Roadster Show
3/6-3/8/2009
Portland,
OR
website
7th Annual
Charity Classic Car Show
3/7/2009
Semmes,
AL
e-mail
Dave Davidson's
6th Annual PT River Run
3/12/2009
Laughlin, NV
website
First Flight
Cruisers 2nd Annual Shamrock
Show &
Hooter's
Poker Run
3/12-3/15/2009
Devil Hills,
NC
website
Dallas Spring
Classic Chevy
Show
3/14/2009
Dallas,
TX
e-mail
12th Annual
Boys &
Girls Club
Benefit Car
Show
3/21/2009
Sierra
Vista, AZ
website
The Cars
of Palestine
Car
Show
3/21/2009
Palestine,
TX
e-mail
Corvettes
& Classics
Peoples
Choice
Car Show
3/21/2009
Rocky
Mount, NC
e-mail
Rally in the
Park Against Cancer Show
3/21/2009
Titusville, Florida
e-mail
8th Annual
Troop
363
Car Show
3/28/2009
Orange
Park,
FL
e-mail
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Deeza Chassis Parts |
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Deeza
Stabilizer Links, Stabilizer Link
Kits, Tie
Rod Ends,
Ball Joints, and Control Arms are
now available at RockAuto. You will
find these parts and more in the
"Steering" and "Suspension" categories
of the RockAuto.com
catalog.
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Forum of the Month |
|
The
SVT Owners Association is not just
another automotive forum, it's a
well-established club dedicated to
the historical preservation of all
SVT and other Ford performance vehicles.
SVTOA is a close-knit community made
up of dedicated SVT enthusiasts who
share a true passion for high performance
Fords and a desire to stay connected
to the latest news and information
within the world of Ford Performance.
The SVTOA online forum offers answers
to technical questions, product updates
and information on SVTOA activities
across North America.
Membership
in the SVTOA is open to anyone
with a passion for high-performance
Ford SVT vehicles – although
ownership of an SVT or any other
performance Ford is NOT required
to join. For more information on
all that the SVTOA has to offer,
please visit www.SVTOA.com.
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 jessa@rockauto.com. |
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Repair Mistakes & Blunders |
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In
my early 20's I worked at an Oldsmobile
dealership as a line mechanic when
one day I got an assignment to work
on
a classic Ford Mustang. The owner
had completely restored his "baby",
but the car was running horribly.
After a few minutes troubleshooting,
I figured out that the fuel level
float was way out of adjustment.
On this particular
carburetor
the adjustment procedure involved
removing a threaded plug on a weep
hole, loosening a lock nut on the
adjustment screw, and turning the
adjustment screw until the fuel level
is right at the level of the bottom
of the weep hole while the car is
running. In this case, the fuel level
was
much higher than the weep hole, so
fuel was leaking out onto the intake
manifold. No problem, it would only
take me a few seconds and the excess
fuel would stop flowing.
You can guess which
way this was going, and sure enough,
the customer
had wandered out of the waiting area
and was standing next to me. Well,
it was taking much longer than expected
to lower the level and the fuel filled
up the intake manifold, dripped down
on the hot header and then suddenly,
WHOOSH, the engine was on fire
with me leaning
over it! I jumped back and luckily
a fire extinguisher was close by,
and just as if I had practiced this
move often, I smoothly grabbed the
extinguisher and had the fire out
within a couple seconds.
Meanwhile (as one would imagine)
the customer stood with bulging eyes,
mouth agape,
and a shocked look on his face just
as if he had been punched in the
stomach.
The extinguisher
had put out the fire and luckily
killed the engine
when it became starved of air. So
I calmly turned the ignition off,
washed the accumulated fuel off the
manifold. I now knew the
direction I needed to turn the adjustment
screw,
so I turned the screw far enough
to make sure that the fuel level
would be below the weep hole. The
only
damage
was a few wires with slightly bubbled
insulation. The customer was ecstatic
that his pride and joy was running
smoothly and none the worse for wear.
As for me, once the customer was
gone, I then took the opportunity
to collapse into a chair and shake
like a leaf.
Steve from Texas |
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Skip the Potions |
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There
was a slimy fog on my Ford’s
windshield and a faint coolant odor.
The heater core, that little mini-radiator
that warms the interior, was leaking.
Did I quickly find the correct new
heater core in the RockAuto.com
catalog,
buy it, and pop it in my car? No,
I thought about how cold it was in
the garage. I reasoned that the heater
core leak must be very small since
I had just noticed it. I looked in
my Haynes repair manual and found
the Crown Victoria is one of those
unlucky models with the heater core
buried behind the dash.
I decided to first try one of those
stop-leak type products for sale
at auto parts chains and variety
stores. Wouldn’t it be nice
if the heater core leak could be
fixed by just popping the hood and
dumping some chemical into the radiator?
The store I visited had numerous
choices ranging from $1.27 to over
$10. Paying $10 for a chance to stop
a leak in a $33 heater core seemed
like a bad bet. So I bought a familiar
brand with a middle of the pack size
and price. The label exuberantly
promised to seal radiators, heater
cores, engine blocks, etc.
The instructions said pour the bottle
in the radiator and run the engine
and heater for thirty minutes. Why
waste thirty minutes of gas? I poured
the murky liquid in and headed out
on a planned six-hour round trip.
My wife, brother, and some of our
kids were in the car. For the first
thirty minutes my brother and I optimistically
imagined seeing a reduction in the
windshield fogging. After an hour
our optimism began to wane and my
wife began to speculate on how breathing
a mist of ethylene glycol (antifreeze)
could impact the health of the children.
So the next five hours we drove with
no heat in the car. It got a little
chilly in there.
To pass the time, my brother and
I reminisced about the times over
the past quarter century when we
used cooling system sealers, metal
crack repairers, compression restorers,
gasket rejuvenators, and other automotive
potions. None of them had ever worked.
The “familiar brand” I
had just purchased had also not worked
when I poured it directly into a
different car’s heater core
inlet years ago.
All the labels promising quick,
cheap, painless fixes are hard to
pass up. If the goo does not work
then it must have been because my
cars’ leaks were a little too
big or a little too small. There
must be somebody out there driving
around a ’68 Chevy with the
radiator, heater core, piston rings,
oil pan gasket and exhaust manifold
all happily fixed with $3 bottles
of miracle chemicals? Hopefully,
the memory of this January’s
ice-cold drive will prevent me from
having these same delusions again
in the future. Any leak big enough
to notice is already a bad leak.
Next time I pledge to do the repair
the right way and skip the potions.
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com |
| 1980
Ford Fairmont Futura |
 |
I
had owned a 1978 Mercury Z-7 Zephyr
for 18 years that I loved, but sold
it on a whim, and nearly cried when
I awoke the next morning. After searching
for two years I found this one
online. It is
a one
owner 1980
Fairmont Futura that had
been parked in the previous owner's
garage for years. The Fairmont only
had 39k on it and was totally original.
It
has a 200 cubic inch six cylinder
engine, power steering, and power
brakes.
Bob in Oregon |
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Share Your
Hard Work
Do you purchase
parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto
would like to feature you and your
car or truck in our monthly newsletter.
Please email flamur@rockauto.com with
details.
© 1999-2009 RockAuto,
LLC - Madison, Wisconsin USA. RockAuto
name and logo are registered trademarks
of RockAuto, LLC. Manufacturer names
and logos in the RockAuto catalog
are trademarks of their respective
companies and are used only to identify
their products. All rights reserved.
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