love my car: February 2012

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

50 Ideas For Car Themed Boys Rooms

Decorating a boys room can be out-of-the-box fun since it allows you to use decorative pieces that wouldn't work in most other rooms of your home. For instance - car tires made into a bed side table work in this kids room. I hope all of the 50 ideas inspires you to do something creative for your little or big guy! Nascar theme bedroom

Classic boys room with a transportation theme. The rooms focal point is a pedal push car. Also, liking the hub caps hung as art above the beds. Paint colors are Sherwin-Williams - Red Bay (SW 6321), Iron Ore (SW 7069), Extra White (SW 7006). Image from here.

Recycled tires turned into stools or side table.

Industrial shelves are an inexpensive solution to shelving in a car or industrial theme room. I love the grease stains on the wall and all the hubcaps.

How awesome is this filling station motor oil dresser?

Painted dresser with real working headlights. Love how talented this couple is.

Car themed room for an older child.

Sophisticated boys car theme room.

LOVING the cars repurposed into beds! This room (and the following 4 images) are from the V-8 hotel in Stuttgart, Germany. The rooms are designed to represent a gas station, car wash, drive-in and garage. All images by Frank Hoppe.

Diamond Plate Wall Border can be purchased on rolls. Doesn't this add the perfect accent for a car themed room?

Grunge Wall Decal

Have a lamp sitting around gathering dust? Restyle it! This car lamp is a quick and easy restyling project.

Vintage car nursery.

Tone on tone striped walls are a great background for hubcap wall art.

Vintage theme race car room featured here.

Recreate a vintage gas pump sign for the fraction of the cost of an antique one.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Progress

Here are a couple more pics of our B-pillar-kill-switch-box:

Paul's bondo work keeps everyone guessing
where factory Toyota stops and MRolla begins.

I really like Paul's bending and shaping work.

Paul and Will have been getting the spare engine rebuilt and it's nearly ready. It's going to live in the DOT.MATRIX for a few weeks to break it in before Infineon, where hopefully it will just stay in the back of the truck.

Monday, February 20, 2012

You can learn a lot from car guys, even ones that collect Lancias, in Pennsylvania... cool story from Car and Driver via the Vintage Racing League

I had no idea so many parts were the same in Ferraris and Lancias of the 60's

Mike Kristick: "The Lancia people tell me not to sell any tool kits to Ferrari guys. They’re the same pieces as Ferrari tool kits, but they keep telling me that the Ferrari guys will pay three times as much. The fuel pump for a Lancia Flaminia is the same as a Ferrari’s; the Fulvia ignition is the same as a Ferrari’s. The Ferrari parts guys buy up all of the Lancia parts and jack up the prices to the Ferrari guys."

What began as a search for parts for the Fulvia has become, three decades later, what may be the largest inventory of salvaged and new-old-stock (NOS) Lancia parts on the continent.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/ancient-grease-lancia-life-support-feature?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+caranddriver%2Fblog+%28Car+and+Driver%29

The first car into Sau Paulo (St Paul) Brazil was a French car, a Motobloc

found with the story at http://antigosverdeamarelo.blogspot.com/2012/01/motobloc-1908-sao-paulo-santos.html

For perspective on the year 1908, remember that there were several long distance trial runs happening around the world by car companies that were proving the durability of their cars, and by drivers that were making personal achievements. Like the 1908 New York to Paris race http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20York%20to%20Paris%20race

Gas prices

I was listening to an XM station and they were reading a letter from a cross country driver, who said that the price was 3.04 in New Mexico, but 4.49 in New York.

Seems like the same thing I found the last time I was driving long distance.

There are several (I think 5) refineries in New Mexico around Roswell, and oil fields there too, that's part of why they have it soooo cheap. New York City? Well, what isn't the highest priced in the nation if not things bought in New York, the culture there priced itself into poverty and prosperity depending on if you own or rent.

Hagerty has a news letter, a magazine, and youtube shows you can subscribe to (I can recommend all but what I haven't seen yet, the tv shows)

http://pages.news.hagerty.com/page.aspx?qs=472529ec60bdf32ab21019c30dd3241c856cd0f7042216e707ec210e4c7e36af1fa01aac56a370fe05b3eb054d51c0b8828b00b790bedb171acdc048bd9218816b2db67b7aba4802ec1b7ebfe97b364ca466b3be1d9b31114bf4c4b4e9508446a7522bba6cac61d38bab7d5a3a5135b9b995f54cb02ecd8240bc1eaaef4f8ca7eb0741f708eb63d0ee50afe057effe7e78ac0ef06906f307d6c17b96a222e32e497844058564047968dfc7ddb2bf3118b45d2c76d805fcbdd2666ec4ad68e5029919d402e6684f76

Ridiculously long isn't it!?

Road trains and worlds longest trucks

thanks Roy!

Edelbrock's annual Revved Up For Kids car show and fundraiser is on the calendar! May 5th and 6th!

Stude love... this guys got it

found on http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?59350-1910-Studebaker-Car-Hauler

Friday, February 17, 2012

2011 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational to premiere on SPEED channel Saturday, February 25 at 2 p.m. ET, 5pm west coast

OPTIMA Batteries today announced that the 2011 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by K&N Filters and Wilwood Disc Brakes, will be nationally televised on SPEED, premiering Saturday, February 25 at 2 p.m. ET. This one-hour action-packed broadcast brings viewers an insider look into an event that takes 50 of the hottest street-legal cars from import and domestic manufacturers, and puts them to the test through a series of performance and design events, in order to crown the 2011 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car.

The 2011 OPTIMA Invitational TV Show is scheduled to re-air on SPEED during the following times:
· Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 3 a.m. ET
· Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. ET
· Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 11 a.m. ET

Please visit http://www.optimainvitational.com/ and the OPTIMA Batteries Facebook page for more information on the OPTIMA Invitational, additional air times, participants, official rules and more.

The list of 2011 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational sponsors includes: presenting sponsors K&N Filters and Wilwood Disc Brakes, and race event sponsors BFGoodrich, Ridetech, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Raybestos, and Detroit Speed and Engineering. Additionally, The Roadster Shop, MagnaFlow, RECARO, Harman Kardon and Pioneer provided associate sponsorships for the OPTIMA Invitational.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Maserati on Karamelocycles

found on http://karamelocycles.blogspot.com/

VW Kombi trivia

It is the only production vehicle in Brazil that already had all the possible configurations of fuel by the law:

gasoline,
alcohol,
diesel
and flex.
There was even a CNG option approved by VW.

Awesome new art concept by Max Grundy

Above is a photo I took from an understanding guy who appreciated that I liked his style, and taste in art... and we both think that this version of the american flag as a tire tread and shift pattern is utterly genius!

Below are some of the art pieces / tshirts, you may recognize as Max Grundy's because they have been getting magazine coverage ( I think it was Rod and Custom Illustrated... but I'm not sure) and that last one of Von Dutch's flying eyeball is way cool.

To get your copy of the prints, or tshirts, or to check out the other cool stuff that Max has made, see http://www.maxgrundy.com/welcome.htm and select from the left side of your screen the menu of "Fine Art, Commercial Art, or Online Store"

PST (Performance Suspension Technology) has fast ratio Pitman and Idler arms to get your Mopar steering to what you'd prefer!

PST®'s new Fast Ratio Pitman and Idler Arms will turn your stock steering into fast ratio steering.

With these Fast Ratio Pitman Arms, your steering will be ~12:1, (2 3/4 turns lock to lock). These arms will work with both power and manual steering.

The Fast Ratio Pitman and Idler Arms are 1 1/2" longer than stock arms. Our Fast Ratio Pitman Arms are manufactured with universal spline timing to ensure correct steering wheel centering in every application.

Note: Will not work with aftermarket headers

Will fit:
1967-1972 A-Body Cars
Note: Only fits cars using 73-76 Center link and spindles. May not clear some aftermarket headers, except Schumacher Tri-Y and 440 (High Deck)

1973-1976 A-Body Cars
Note: May not clear aftermarket headers, except Schumacher Tri-Y and 440 (High Deck)

1966-73 B-Body Cars

1970-1974 E-Body Cars

Note: May not clear aftermarket headers.
The following header brands and models are known to fit on B&E Body Cars.
Flo Tech, Hedman Big Block part #78030 & 78038 HD
Hooker small block 1 5/8” comp. 1 ¾” comp #5208
Mopar Performance Big Block 1 ¾”
TTI Small Block I ¾” with slight dimple to tube.

In the example for the 1969 B Body with big block, my car, the cost is $200.00 http://www.p-s-t.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7660/.f?sc=12

To see all the upgrade stuff that PST makes for your year make and model, just select from the upper left drop down menus, and then pick from dozens of suspension parts http://catalog.p-s-t.com/index.php?c=Sg_Homepage&year=1969&makeID=40&vehicleID=32026&engineconfigID=16087