Whether you collect classic cars or simply tool around town in the family vehicle, you want to keep your automotive investment in tiptop shape. Here are some helpful hints from someone who knows what he's talking about: NASCAR star Hut Stricklin. - Murphy's Oil soap is great for cleaning a car inside and out. Don't use dishwashing soap or laundry detergent on a car. Soap made for dishwashing removes grease from dishes, all right. The problem is, it also removes oil from the paint on a car -- and that's a bad thing! And laundry soap, which contains abrasive agents, can scratch the finish of your vehicle.
- Baking soda works well to remove tar and anything sticky from a car's finish.
- Oven cleaner -- the ordinary spray-on variety, is ideal for cleaning around engine compartments. It removes all grease and tar to make the engine look brand new.
Be a Car Detective So, how do you know if that classic car is original? Hot Rod magazine's Steve Magnante shares some professional secrets. Always check the VIN (vehicle identification number). Any car built from the 1950s on will have a VIN number somewhere in evidence. The numbers originally helped keep thieves from chopping up and selling parts of stolen cars; now they also help collectors know that a car is original. It isn't difficult to locate the VIN: On most cars built from 1968 on, look under the windshield on the driver's side. On cars built before 1968, the number will be inside the door, usually riveted to a metal plate in the area shown in figure A. Next, look at the last six digits of the number, then open the hood and look at the right-hand front corner for the trim tag (figure B), which should include the six digits from the VIN. Somewhere along the front of the car, those six numbers will appear again (in the car used in the demonstration -- a Plymouth Duster -- look on the radiator core support, under the antifreeze sticker). The entire sequence of numbers won't necessarily appear in every location on a car, but the last six digits will always be used. The VIN will also appear somewhere in the trunk area, typically under the trunk weatherstrip. Feel along the bottom of the strip: you can usually feel where the numbers are. Peel the strip up a bit, and you should find the matching digits. Also look on the engine block. The numbers should be stamped on the back of the block (figure C). (Note: To help with visibility, for our demonstration the engine has been removed from the vehicle.) You can also look on the transmission to find the numbers.
Web extra: More on classic car collecting with Hut Stricklin. Q: What's the toughest part of car restoration?
A: There's a lot of work in restoring these cars. Of course there's a lot of physical work. But to me, the hardest part in restoring old cars is finding the parts. It takes a lot of time to jump in your car and drive around to several junkyards to find this stuff. Q: How do people at the junkyards react to a NASCAR driver walking in?
A: They're like, "Man, we can't believe you showed up in old raggedy clothes and wearing a hat turned around backwards!" I think they're somewhat surprised. Q: When do you find time to work on your cars?
A: My car restoration takes place more in the winter. The summer months my farm really has to take priority. But there are times when I'm caught up around the farm that I do work on the cars. Maybe just start them up and drive them a bit. Q: When did you start working on cars?
A: My parents had a 1966 Chevy Nova at their junkyard. I started eyeballing it when I was 11 years old, and I started working on it when I was about 13 or 14. Q: Where did you get your Novas?
A: I bought the '65 at an estate auction here in North Carolina. The red '66 I bought from a friend of mine down in Calera, Alabama. It was a pretty rundown car when I bought it, almost ready for the junkyard. I also got the '67 down in Alabama. It was basically all original. Q: How much of this work do you do yourself?
A: I've done about 98 percent of the restoration work on these cars. Q: Why do you love the process?
A: Whether you're cleaning a hubcap or polishing chrome or doing whatever, it just takes your mind off of your everyday stress that goes on.
RESOURCES :
The Cobra Story: A Man, His Dream and His Automobile
Author: Carroll Shelby and John Bentley
1965, Trident Press
Carroll Shelby website
Classic Car Restorer's Handbook: Restoration Tips and Techniques for Owners ...
Model: 1557881944
Author: Jim Richardson
Order this book from Amazon.com
H.P. Books
Classic Car Restoration Guide: The Complete Illustrated Step-By-Step Manual
Model: 1850108900
Author: Lindsay Porter
Order this book from Amazon.com
Haynes Publishing
Auto Detailing: Step-By-Step Procedures for Complete Automobile Detailing
Model: 0801983940
Author: James Joseph
(1998)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Chilton Book Company
Westchester, PA 19380
Phone: 610-738-9280
Fax: 610-738-9354
| 
)
)
)
