I was standing right there and wanted to ask him how many flat tappet cams he's wiped out running conventional on a 1969 350 before I just paid and walked away, anyone else had to bite their tongue lately?
I've been running synthetic for years cause everyone says it's better but he said these old engines need the zinc and seal swellers in conventional. Swapped to a high-zinc 10W-30 last month and the lifter tick I've had for 2 years is completely gone now. Anybody else been told to go backwards on oil choice?
Last winter my 68 Chevelle wouldn't fire up after sitting for two months. A guy at the parts counter told me to just spray starting fluid straight down the carb and hit the key. Did that, and a backfire blew the flame right back at me through the air cleaner. Lucky I wasn't leaning over it. Anyone else had a close call with that stuff?
A buddy of mine who restores Mustangs watched me torque down the carb on my 1965 Falcon last month. He said I was cranking it way too tight and that would warp the base plate. I changed my approach and now I only go to 12 foot-pounds with a torque wrench. The idle smoothed out and I haven't had any vacuum leaks since. Has anyone else been told they were over-tightening stuff on their classic engines?
I watched a guy at a car show last month pour DOT 5.1 into a '67 Mustang master cylinder... cringed so hard. Old systems with natural rubber seals will swell up and leak within 6 months if you use anything but DOT 3 or silicone DOT 5. Found this out the hard way back in 2019 when my '65 LeMans pedal went to the floor on a test drive. That rebuild kit cost me 80 bucks and a whole Sunday. Why do people ignore the little warnings on the reservoir caps?
I was out in the driveway on Saturday after replacing the entire fuel line on my '72 Spitfire... turned the key and nothing. Turned out it was the ignition coil all along, $30 part. Anyone else ever chase a problem for weeks only to find it was something simple?
He said the paper ones swell up right with ethanol gas and the rubber ones don't. Swapped to the old style cork gaskets on my '66 Mustang last weekend and the float bowl leaking stopped cold. Anyone else run into this?
I have a 1965 Ford Mustang with the 289 V8 that I bought back in 2009. Last week, I decided to check the valve lash for the first time in a while and realized I've been doing it slightly wrong for years. My old mechanic in Portland told me to always adjust them hot, but I found a forum post from 3 years ago saying cold is better for solid lifters. Has anyone else run into this confusion on older engines?
I was grabbing some parts at the big Phoenix swap meet and noticed three separate sellers pushing unmarked gallon jugs of brake fluid for $5 each. Two of them tried to convince me it's the same as the name brand stuff but the smell alone told me otherwise. Has anybody else seen this going on and actually tested if it's safe to use in a drum brake setup?
I used to set points gaps by feel and a matchbook cover back in high school. Got pretty good at it, but the car always ran a little rough in the rain. Finally put in a Pertronix kit last Saturday, took about 45 minutes. Starts up instantly now and idles smooth. Anyone else make the switch and notice a big difference?
He was dead serious too, said it's better for the seals and he hasn't had a leak in 3 years. Has anyone else made the switch from conventional and noticed a difference?
So my grandpa always swore by mixing automatic transmission fluid with acetone for seized bolts. Said it works better than anything you can buy. I tried it on a rusted exhaust manifold bolt on my '65 Mustang last weekend and it worked like magic. But then my buddy at the car meet said I'm basically just wasting acetone and ATF, and that modern penetrants like PB Blaster are actually better. I got the bolt loose but I'm wondering if it was the mix or just luck. Has anyone actually tested both side by side or is this just one of those old timer things that stuck around for no reason?
I went with the rebuild kit for $35 and it took me 4 hours but the old girl fired right up on the first turn after I finished, has anyone else had luck with the cheap kits or is it worth just swapping the whole unit?
I was sitting at a stoplight in downtown Austin when my '66 Mustang started spewing fuel out of the top of the carb like a lawn sprinkler. Turns out the float needle decided that day was its retirement party and just gave up completely. Has anyone else had a classic car part fail in public at the worst possible moment?
Bought a remanufactured Rochester Quadrajet from a parts store and my '68 Camaro started surging and dying at every stoplight. Took it to an old school mechanic and he said the float was set wrong from the factory. Anyone had luck rebuilding carbs themselves instead of buying remans?
I figured swapping pads and rotors on my '67 Mustang would be a quick thing, but one of the caliper bolts was seized so bad I had to torch it and drill it out for nearly 4 hours. Anyone else run into rusted hardware that just refuses to budge on old cars?
Tried it on my '65 Mustang after it sat for 3 years and the thing ran like a dream after 20 miles, but now I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this backfire or if I got lucky?
I bought a barn-find '67 Mustang about 3 years ago from a guy outside Dayton. Last month I finally got around to sorting out the electrical. The original harness was a mess of cracked insulation and electrical tape from the 70s. I spent three weekends tracing wires with a multimeter and a shop manual from eBay. Found out the previous owner had spliced in a modern fuse box under the dash with lamp cord wire. That thing could have caught fire driving down the road. I ordered a reproduction harness from a place in Ohio for $220. Took me a full weekend to pull the old one and route the new one. Anyone else run into sketchy wiring jobs on their projects?
I swapped out my old points for a Pertronix electronic ignition kit about 4 months ago. The car starts instantly now even in cold weather, and I noticed my gas mileage went up by about 3 mpg over 2,000 miles of driving. But part of me misses that old-school feel of adjusting the points with a feeler gauge every 3,000 miles. Some guys say electronics ruin the character of a classic car. What do you all think, is upgrading worth losing that original experience?
I need something way better than a standard tarp or cloth cover for my '69 Mustang. Last winter I had a huge moisture issue in my unheated garage, and I even found some mouse droppings in the trunk when I pulled it out for spring. Does anyone have a solid recommendation for a storage solution that actually seals the car and prevents rust?