"Fiat is never going to sell those cars if they can't even keep the paint from peeling!"

Today, while out at Lowe's, I came upon a Fiat test mule in the parking lot.  The extent to which companies will go to disguise their pre-production car is nothing short of amazing.  This particular Fiat looked like it had your typical 1980's paint peel, and then ran through the salt bath a few thousand times, and then some back woods rtv body panel repair on the roof line.

This car looked absolutely horrible, and I'm sure to the untrained eye, looks like a beat up p.o.s. going down the road.  I couldn't help myself, and pulled up next to the car and rolled down my passenger side window.  As the engineer behind the wheel saw this, he put his window down, and I stated "Fiat is never going to sell those cars if they can't even keep the paint from peeling!"  He laughed, I smiled, and told him that as a former automotive employee, it amazes me the lengths they go to these days.  I mean really, what's the big secret?

Chevy Pickup blasting through the mud

This is 10+ minutes well spent. Sadly, there are certain automotive ventures I will likely not have enough time in my life to enjoy, and a jacked up truck for swampin' is likely one I will never enjoy.

The 2014 Chevrolet SS has officially been revealed. While I am glad Chevy once again has a V8 powered rear wheel drive sedan, sadly, I just don't feel it lives up to what the Pontiac G8 left behind.  Even while the car is essentially the same car as the G8, with minimal restyling, I just feel it misses the mark.  It has what is becoming the Chevy Corporate front facia, and does little to separate itself from the other non-performance offerings.  It just lacks the muscular/aggressive look in which I was hoping for, much the way the late model GTO came across as rather bland.  Performance-wise, I'm sure the car will hit the mark.  That said, it does little to get my blood pumping. This is one of the RARE occasions where I actually like the Nascar version better than the production version.

GM unwraps 2014 Chevy SS

The Little Things

Sometimes its the little things that put the biggest smile on our face.  My light switch knob in my truck broke several months back. Ok, so it was probably more like 6+ months ago.  To make matters worse, I completely lost the knob about 2-3 months ago.  I figure during one of the many times it fell to the floor, it found its way out the door on one of those occasions, lost forever.  After finally ordering up the $10 part, it was like I had a new truck!  No more sore finger tips from attempting to turn my headlights on/off.

 

 

Bonneville: The Great American Playground

Interesting point regarding Bonneville as the last form of racing that hasn't been taken over by corporate sponsorship.  Probably the last SPORT that hasn't been taken over to be honest.  It's racing at it's purest in my opinion, and I can't say enough how amazing our few hours there were.  I will return some day.

1962 AMC Rambler Project

My friend just picked up this 1962 AMC Rambler for dirt cheap.  He plans on contributing to my blog this year, documenting the transformation into a straight axle gasser, hopefully making Goodguys Columbus, OH.  I have to admit, while I admired the size and weight of the car, which is about 2,700 lbs, the car didn't do much for me.  That is until I saw a finished product of the same car.  This car at the end, along with a few other straight axle gassers I came across, quickly changed my opinion on the car! Stay tuned for a complete build of this car.

Yoke, Gears, Pinion Support, and Installation kit all ordered

I ordered up the last of my parts to complete the center section.  I also submitted my taxes a few nights ago, and should have my return within a week or two.  I think I'm going to go ahead and order the housing with axles sometime within the next month and order a brake kit later, likely a Wilwood kit, after selling my 12 bolt. It's really starting to come together now!  I've looked at tires, and am leaning towards a set of Mickey Thompson Street ET Drag Radials.  I see cars are running in the 7's now on just a 275/60/R15, so it should be plenty of sticky tire for my car.