Odds & Ends: Underhood Service

Odds & Ends: Underhood Service

Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International LLC has developed the Hydra Spyder – an amphibious vehicle that can travel on both the water or on the road. Promoted as “unsinkable,” this vehicle contains positive floatation foam approved by the United States Coast Guard. The convertible Hydra Spyder can seat four people for comfortable drives on land, and can easily pull a water skier on your favorite lake. Hydra Spyder is equipped with power rack and pinion steering, four-wheel disk brakes and 5052 alloy aluminum plate lower hull construction. The upper body is light-weight fiberglass and the vehicle weighs about 3,300 lbs. It’s powered by a Corvette LS2 6.0L, 400 horsepower V8 engine with a 5-speed manual high performance close ratio transmission. Build time is about six months, and the Hydra Spyder has a base price of $155,000. For more information, visit www.camillc.com or www.hydraspyder.com.

Full Throttle The Life and Fast Times of Curtis Turner
Curtis Turner’s life embodied everything that makes NASCAR the biggest spectator sport in American history: the adrenaline rush of the races, the potential for danger at every turn, and the charismatic, outrageous personality of a winner. Turner created drama at the racetrack and in his personal life, living the American Dream several times over before he died a violent and mysterious death at the age of 46.

In gripping prose, and with full access to the files of Turner’s widow, biographer Robert Edelstein, the exclusive motor sports writer for TV Guide and the author of NASCAR Generations, thrillingly recreates the life of this American legend. Full Throttle is the first-ever full-scale chronicle of Turner’s legendary life, from his days as a teenage moonshine runner in Virginia, through millions earned (and just as quickly spent) in fearless finance deals, to his incredible comeback after four years of being banned from the NASCAR circuit.

Motor racing and mayhem, the non-stop pursuit of outrageous dreams, high-speed thrills and a really good time…these are the raw materials of Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of Curtis Turner.

This book should be a part of any NASCAR enthusiast’s library or anyone who enjoys reading about (racing) legends. It’s also a perfect book to keep in the break room of any repair shop.

“If there’s a $10 million Ferrari and a $5 million Bugatti, there’s no reason you can’t have a $1 million muscle car,” said Thomas L. duPont, publisher of the duPont Registry, a glossy monthly magazine that includes hundreds of sales listings for luxury, collectible and exotic cars. “One of the things that drove up the price of the Duesenberg was the same thing at work with muscle cars – nostalgia.” While in the sizzling ’60s, these rude, crude muscle cars snarled, burned rubber and spewed raw horsepower, today some of those rough old outlaws – Chevelle Super Sports, GTOs, Mustangs, Camaros and Road Runners – grace museum floors. Moreover, they’ve become the unlikely new stars of classic car auctions as wealthy middle-aged baby boomers hotly pursue a dwindling supply of the vehicles of their youth. In fact, muscle car values are going up 25% or more a year.
Source: Dallas Morning News

Legendary Woodpecker Celebrates 40 Years
According to wildbirds.com, the life expectancy of a “Hairy Woodpecker” is less than 10 years. The experts obviously haven’t heard of the legendary Thrush “Woodpecker” brand that manufactured red hot glasspack and turbo-style performance mufflers since 1966. The Thrush brand, still a popular choice among muscle car enthusiasts, will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year with a variety of consumer activities targeted at vehicle owners of all ages. Thrush mufflers and accessories are manufactured and marketed by Tenneco. The Thrush brand gained prominence in the late 1960s thanks to the deep, throaty sound of its canister-shaped “Glasspack” mufflers, which enthusiasts by the thousands mounted beneath Mustangs, GTOs, Chevelles, Corvairs and other performance models. But the Thrush experience transcended mufflers – thanks to “Woody,” the hot pink-and-yellow woodpecker displayed in profile above the brand’s ’50s-style script typeface – to encompass the friendly competition of hot rodding. Not surprisingly, the Thrush “Woodpecker” remains a common sight on vehicle bumpers and windows from coast to coast. “Woody” even made a cameo appearance in the Hollywood feature film Raising Arizona. For more information on Thrush mufflers and accessories, visit www.dynomax.com/thrush.stm.

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Several States Declare April As ‘Car Care Month’

Several governors across the country have declared April as Car Care Month in their respective states, urging their residents to be car care aware and perform the service necessary to ensure their vehicles are operating in a safe, efficient and clean manner.

Several governors across the country have declared April as Car Care Month in their respective states, urging their residents to be car care aware and perform the service necessary to ensure their vehicles are operating in a safe, efficient and clean manner.
The following governors have issued official state proclamations that April is Car Care Month: Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama, Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois, Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan, Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico, Gov. John A. Kitzhaber, M.D. of Oregon, Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina, Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin of West Virginia.
“We want to thank these governors for officially proclaiming April as Car Care Month,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “Car Care Month provides a unique opportunity for the auto care industry and the government to educate car owners on the importance of proper vehicle care. Motor vehicle safety continues to be a major focus for state legislatures and regulatory agencies across the country, so we commend each of the governors for making these important proclamations.”
Spring is the perfect time for motorists to make sure their vehicles are running reliably after a rough winter and before the summer driving season begins. Many independent repair shops and community organizations throughout the country will conduct car care events during April. These events have revealed that three out of four vehicles inspected are in need of some type of maintenance or repair.
The non-profit Car Care Council offers many free tools on its website to help consumers drive smart, save money and be more environmentally friendly, including the popular 60-page Car Care Guide and a custom service schedule and email reminder service.
“By following a service schedule and performing preventative vehicle maintenance, motorists can ensure that their vehicles are safe and dependable. Plus, auto care can help save money in many ways, including reducing fuel consumption and extending vehicle life,” continued White. “We encourage all car owners across the country to get their vehicles inspected this April.”

Intake Manifold Gaskets: A Service Rundown

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Monroe “Quick Rewards” Program Offers Incentives For Sales Of Monroe Quick-Strut Assemblies

Tenneco’s Monroe brand will offer an incentive to counterpeople for the sale of popular, ready-to-install Monroe Quick-Strut premium replacement assemblies. The Monroe “Quick Rewards” scorecard promotion – available for sales between April 1 and May 31, 2014 – will reward participants with a $10 prepaid card for each pair of qualifying Monroe Quick-Strut units sold.

Three AGM, Gel Cell Battery Myths

Chances are if the battery is not under the hood, it is an absorbent glass mat (AGM) or gel cell battery. These batteries pack a lot of power for their size and weight, which allows manufacturers to shave off a few pounds from the vehicle. That’s a big ­reason why they are being found more and more on late-model vehicles. Here are three AGM/gel cell myths.

10 Toughest Cabin Air Filter Jobs

There are still many late model vehicles that are not easy to service, and they require a significant amount of disassembly to gain access to the filter. For your shop, this is billable labor. Here are the 10 toughest jobs according to the editors of Underhood Service.

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