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Another Happy Customer!

I recently gave my 92 Accord an overhaul. RockAuto had everything I needed in it's catalogue, and I saved so much, that I was able to buy more parts (Complete Exhaust system manifold to muffler, new gas Tank, and brake pads and rotors for $400).

The Dealership wanted $400 just for the tank, and NAPA and Carquest wasn't much cheaper either.

I look forward to shopping on this site again.

 

Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, e-mail us with details.

Wise County Antique Auto Club Event
3/29/2008
Decatur, TX
website

South Jersey Region AACA Car Event
3/30/2008
Sharptown, NJ
e-mail

Boulevard Cruisers Events
4/5/2008
Picayune, MS
e-mail

Southview Baptist Church 2nd Annual Car Show
4/5/2008
Hope Mills, NC
website

Cowtown Mopars & Dallas Mopar Show
4/15/2008
Arlington, TX
e-mail

Spanish Trail Cruisers Event
4/18/2008
Crestview, FL
e-mail

Cruising for a Cure II
4/19/2008
Lincolnton, NC
website

21st Annual Regional Mustang Car Event
4/21/2008
Lumberton, TX
e-mail

Royal Car Show
4/26/2008
Peoria, AZ
e-mail

 

New Rebates


Offer ends Nov 30, 2008

 

More Info

 

Big Savings PLUS Better Performance with Bosch
Offer ends Dec 31, 2008

 

More Info

 


Offer ends Dec 31, 2008

Buy any FRAM Oil Filter and any FRAM Air Filter and get a $3 rebate by mail.

 

More Info

 

 

Tech Tip


Find this part in the "Electrical" category of the
RockAuto catalog.

Here is a great tip from the RockAuto Part Advice Wiki posted by EricFish.

Diagnosis and Part Selection Advice:
How did you know this part needed replacement? Why did you choose a certain brand/part number?

If your car is stalling and sputtering on acceleration, try the VSS (Variable Speed Sensor). I know it sounds funny, but when my wife first had her 2000 Ford Escort ZX2 Automatic it was doing the exact same thing. Several trips to the dealer and they figured it out. The voltage output to the computer was out of range and jumpy. Now with 95000 miles on it, it began to do it again. I changed the VSS and no problems since.

Part Comments:
What came in the box? Were additional nuts, bolts, sealant, etc. needed for the repair?

The VSS is a simple plug and play component.

Repair / Installation tips:
Special tools needed? Have to remove other parts to reach this one? Any left-hand threads, sharp edges, messy fluids or other pitfalls to avoid?

It's a two wire plug with one bolt holding it into position. It is located on the top of the transmission in back near the firewall, mounted where the transmission is bolted to the engine. You will need to take the intake, battery, and battery tray out to get access from the top. Or go through the bottom of the car if you are able to lift it level. It bolts into the transmission, so lifting the car un level might spill fluid out.

 

 

Those 5 MPH Bumpers Worked Great...

RockAuto

The contractor my sister hired to remodel her house bumped his vehicle into the rear of her Pontiac G6 while it sat in the driveway. $600 in parts and paint fixed the Pontiac. The contractor covered the repairs and did a nice job on the house so the story had a happy ending. But the extent of the damage from a relatively minor bump got me curious. The latest new car designs are always reported to be sturdier than previous models and my sister’s G6 weighs well over 3500 lbs. so I could not just flippantly say “they don’t build cars like they used to”.

The cost of replacing an entire bumper assembly adds up quickly. A G6 bumper cover is only about $70 (RockAuto.com catalog), but it takes another $70 to replace the steel reinforcement under that. If an energy absorber needs replacing then that is another $100 and so on. However, bumper assemblies have been complex since the ‘70s. $600 is a relative bargain compared to some other new car models. The real question is not cost of parts, but why was there so much damage at driveway speeds. I remember a few years back running a ’77 Chevy into the back of my brother’s ’77 Lincoln when the Chevy’s master cylinder suddenly conked out. Neither car was damaged at all. Those 5 mph bumpers worked great...

Did you know the US bumper standard was cut from 5 mph to 2.5 mph in 1982! I didn’t. I clearly remember being awestruck when the giant 5 mph bumpers first appeared in ‘73. I must have been too busy graduating from high school and bondoing up holes in my old Dodge to read a newspaper in ‘82. I bet all those kids out there happily listening to their iPods, won’t have a clue ten years from now when their brand new Chevy blows across the driveway in a strong breeze. They’ll say, “35 mpg? When did that law happen?”

To make myself feel better, I checked the RockAuto.com catalog and found an ‘81 Caprice uses the same front and rear bumper reinforcements as a ‘90 Caprice. Lowering the bumper standard did not require car manufacturers to make any sudden design changes in 1982. 5 mph bumpers gradually disappeared as models were dropped or redesigned.

By the way, the Europe (ECE) regulation is also about 2.5 mph (4 km/h). The Canadian bumper standard is 5 mph (8 km/h), but the methods for testing are not directly comparable to or as stringent as the old US 5 mph standard. (Per www.nhtsa.dot.gov)

Overall the change in the bumper standard might not have been a bad thing. It took me 26 years to notice and great looking, almost bumperless new cars like the Pontiac Solstice might not have been possible with the old 5 mph bumper standard. New car designs have increased passenger safety over the years. I do know I won’t aim for my brother’s ’77 Lincoln if I need to stop my sister’s G6!

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

 

 

Dave's Datsun Roadster

This is my '69 Datsun 2000 Roadster, SRL-311. It's my second one, the first way back in 1985. I also have had two others since then, a running '68 1600 Roadster and a 1970 1600 engine-less project. Plans are to put in a Rover 4.0 aluminum V8 and T5 5 speed in the '70.

It's a unique car, from the factory, 2.0l engine, up to 150 HP, and gets 32 MPG with slightly out of tune twin side draft carburetors. They were made in three different models from 1963-1970. The car has nearly 50/50 weight distribution, a full steel "X" frame, and weighs just over 2000 pounds. They are raced and autocrossed successfully against cars with much more power and much bigger price tags.

The cars are not very common, but there are a bunch around. They have a strong following on both coasts and on the Internet. Prices are still reasonable, compared to other cars like Triumph and Austin-Healey. Best of all, RockAuto stocks a surprising number of parts for these cars, considering it is a semi-obscure 40-year-old import.

Dave in New Jersey

 

Share Your Hard Work
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