Back In The Fast Lane!

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Since Stude’s spent the past 3 months suntanning her metal in the Mojave sun outside Gene Winfield’s shop…I’ve grown fonder then ever. The great news is (drum-roll please,) she’s back on the road!!! Not only is she back, she’s running better than ever!

Learning How-To Gap Spark Plugs

I’ve known for awhile that I needed to change the spark plugs in my Studebaker. But I’d heard things. Things like you could break the plug inside your motor if you did it wrong and to be sure to tighten the plugs to the correct tension. So although I knew they should be changed, I was scared to do it on my own, and my spark plugs in there were working…right???

As I’m learning, I’m seeing that spark plugs (although they don’t cost much and are small little things) are a major, MAJOR component of your engine. Without ‘em, your engine wouldn’t run. Without ‘em working at their best, your engine won’t run at its best.

So as part of last weekend’s wrenching adventure up at Gene Winfield’s in Mojave, I changed my spark plugs…for the very first time! Gasp! The fellow at the local parts store recommended Autolite over ACDelco plugs which I had been running. Then, when he informed me the gap for my application was .052 I was surprised, and a little confused. Gap…what?!?

While perhaps some people just throw a set of spark plugs in their engine – if you want your engine to run at its best, you’ve got to adjust the spark plug gap prior to putting them in.

What’s On Your Wish List?

I’ve found that everybody has their own unique approach to building and working-on their car projects. You’ve got factors like money, who’s doing the work, skill level, space to work in, time, end-result, and of course personal organizational style (or lack thereof!)

My 1955 Studebaker Champion is a work-in-progress. Since she’s my daily driver my top goal is to keep her on the road so I’ve got regular maintenance to keep done and of course unexpected events come up too! But that doesn’t rule out my desire to get her into better shape as time goes by.

So with it being the holiday season, I figured this would be a good time to step back and identify what I’d like to get done and what my priorities are for Stude. So I’m not sure whether this is a Christmas wish list or my 2010 New Year’s Resolutions… maybe you’d like to make your own for your project car(or even to work towards getting your very first classic!)

Changing a Tire 101

Once I’d decided to start gettin’ my hands greasy – the first thing I went for was the tire. It couldn’t be too hard to take a tire on and off, right? Right! Changing a tire is as easy as 1-2-3!

Air Filters 101

This sucker's dirty!

Now – I know that this is totally basic – but I wanted to take the opportunity to show you the air filter that came off my car today. Generally when I think of basic, routine car maintenance, I think “oil, tire pressure, transmission fluid, and is anything leaking.”
As I was at the shop today (P.S. I got the headliner completely finished and the new tranny will be going in tomorrow!…check back soon for those articles) I popped the hood to show off my engine (which is horribly dirty still from when the radiator blew…it was pointed out to me that a guy wouldn’t stand for the dirty-looking engine.)
Sitting there shootin’ the breeze, someone noticed my air filter, so we unscrewed the top and took it out. Evidently, the way to check if you need a new air filter is by holding it up to the light and seeing if any of the light shines through. Not counting the spots where there were holes in mine, there was absolutely no sunlight shining through this sucker. Handy to be offered not one, but two air filters (I love my shop guys!)…we exchanged the dirty one for a clean one. Changing this thing out is as simple as unscrewing a bolt.

Shiny and new!

Since I don’t know how often these things need changed, I looked it up and found a helpful article online. It says to change it every 20,000 to 30,000 miles (or when dirty). Although I’ve logged thousands of miles during Stude’s first year on the road – her milage is much closer to 10,000 than 20,000. Something tells me that between the extra exhaust my engine spouts out combined with what I’m guessing is probably increased air intake due to increased engine size – my car’s air filter will need to be changed more often than the average car. Thank goodness my car’s not average!
Tommy likened a dirty air filter to someone putting a cloth up to your mouth and telling you to breath. It would be hard. And the extra work makes for less-effeciant fuel milage – which I had been experiencing…AH-HAH…hopefully now I can get that extra 3-4 mpg back!
So there it is ladies and gents…the low-down on air filters!
Happy Trails!