Category Driving Impressions

Austin-area residents are fully aware that only during  the months of March, April, October, and November, does the brutal climate of Central Texas allow top-down motoring or day-long motorcycle riding.

Although my biker buddy Nathan Gibson and I had recently returned from a 10-day biking adventure to Sturgis, SD in August, we were both eager to get in at least one more good ride before winter overcomes us.  So, when I suggested an overnight jaunt to the cutest town in the south, Natchitoches, LA, Nathan, as always, was eager to sign on.  Not only is the destination stellar, but the route from Austin has to be one of the most desirable rides in all of Texas… out Hwy 79 from Round Rock, through Taylor, Rockdale, Crockett, Lufkin, and beyond.  No freeways, no traffic, 70-75mph speed limits (err.. that is until you reach the Louisiana border, whereby the good governor Bobby Jindal presides over an inexplicable 55 mph limit, on the same exact highway!)

But, ...

Only 4 examples of this beautiful Maserati were ever built. When enthusiast Rex Butterfield first saw reference to this beautiful car, he knew he wanted one. Unfortunately, getting his hands on one of the 4 “real” coupes proved to be impossible. But that didn’t stop a determined guy like Rex.

In a quiet workshop just south of Austin, Rex is methodically constructing a replica of this car from scratch. Beginning with a full sized plywood mockup of the body, Rex has utilized the Italian “superleggera” style of construction.. a hand-fabricated tube frame covered with formed aluminum panels.

Rex utilizes the frame and engine of a donor Maserati Quattroporte. Virtually every thing else on the car is hand constructed in Rex’s shop. Click below to view a video of Rex’s project:

Let’s face it.. It’s still hot as hell here in Central Texas, forcing any rational person out of the garage and on to the couch. Well, as long as we’re all being sequestered indoors until Fall arrives, we might as well use that time to catch up on summer reading.

Honestly, most au...

I recently installed a flashing LED system on two of my bikes. The system automatically senses the bike’s deceleration, and flashes a series of LED lights to warn following drivers that you are slowing or stopping. The manufacturer of this product, Vololights, has as their motto: “MAKE OTHER DRIVERS BETTER DRIVERS”.

Being rear-ended ...

For most every human interest or endeavor, there is a “Mecca”, representing the ultimate pinnacle of that interest.  For climbers, it is Everest;  for pilots, Oshkosh; for adventure travelers, there’s Machu Picchu; for surfers, it’s Oahu’s North Shore; and for bikers, it’s.. well.. Sturgis.

For some 75 years now, motorcyclists have converged every August for a week-long celebration in the little town of Sturgis, South Dakota (pop. 8,000).  My own infatuation with motorcycles was rekindled about 5 years ago after a 20 year hiatus.  My “collection” has grown from a humble 70’s BMW airhead, to include a Norton Commando, 1980 Honda CBX 6 cylinder, and most recently, a new Indian Chief Vintage.

Wh...

Some people find pleasure in a beautiful flower, or tasty dish of food. While I too can appreciate those things of beauty, it is mechanical objects that seem to most attract me.

Ever since I was a kid I would take great delight in disassembling some object to see what worked inside and then (sometimes successfully) reassemble it!

I do especially like the idea of turning a hunk of raw material into an object of usefulness and/or beauty.

Thus you can imagine our excitement when my shopmate Doug and I recently acquired a huge metal milling machine for our automotive shop. Although we are both retired, and the shop is a hobby for us, this monster is no hobby machine, but a serious tool for fabricating just about anything of metal.

Recently, I had been thinking about adding a steering column-mounted switch to control the overdrive kickdown function (a.k.a. “passing gear”) on my 1951 Hudson Hornet Club Coupe.

The original method of “downshifting” out of the overdrive or 4th gear mode is to press the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor, activating a switch there.  This works great, but there are times you would like to ease into the lower gear without going to full throttle, so an auxiliary switch mounted at fingertip seemed the way to go.

My Hornet is in pristine, original condition, and the last thing I wanted to do was bore a hole in that beautiful dash for a switch.  Nor did I want to alter anything on the steering column that might contrast with originality, or leave permanent scars.

The Hudson steering column itself is a thing of beauty… all constructed of chrome or polished stainless steel.  To match that motif, the solution I chose was to fabricate a switch housing from a solid block of aluminum, and attach it to the back side of the existing turn signal switch housing.

The project began by slicing a disk of solid aluminum off a 2″ diameter aluminum rod I had laying around our 1930’s vintage Atlas lathe:

The next step was to use the milling machine to cut a recess in the back side of the disk as a pocket to mount the switch (which I sourced as a momentary spring loaded starter switch).  Additionally, the milling machine was used to shape the outer diameter of the (no longer) disk to match the contours of the steering column (the image below shows the switch already mounted in the housing, and the housing already mounted to the back side of the turn signal housing):

Finally a cover plate was fabricated of aluminum, and holes drilled and tapped in the housing to attach it:

Of course, prior to final assembly, the complete piece went through the standard polishing routine:  grinding, sanding, and multi-stage polishing to achieve a mirror shine.

Here is the final result:

Of course, just physically installing the switch is only part of the task.  In order to make this switch function in cooperation with the existing overdrive solenoids and relays, a few modifications were necessary to the wiring, including adding two additional relays to complete the task.

For the true gearheads amongst you, I created a documentation of the complete process, including wiring diagram showing the necessary changes, which can be viewed from the link below:

Installing a Steering Column or Dash mounted kickdown switch

Let’s face it, August is hot as hell in Texas. No person in their right mind would venture out of air conditioned comfort mid-day in Austin heat. No person, that is, unless it is a bunch of stir crazy bikers. Sometimes the lure of the road and the camaraderie of good friends of like mind trumps any concerns about weather or inhuman temperatures.

Thus it was that four friends, Phil Auldridge, Ben Schotz, Corey, and Nathan Gibson, with his friend Suzie as chief navigator, struck off near mid-day on a recent summer day for a little adventure ride down Hill Country back roads for lunch and back.

The group’s steeds ran the gamut: Vintage Norton, BMW airhead, Harley road bike, and a Yamaha V-twin. Never mind, the language of biking is universal, regardless of the make and model you are on.

For those of you who find yourselves transportation-challenged and constrained to 4 wheel vehicles, we offer our condolences, as well as this brief video to provide a few vicarious thrills from the road!

Our good friends at Petrolicious.com have created a new feature called “Market Finds” that focuses on special and unusual cars for sale.  Under the shameless commercialism department, it just so happens that your editor had recently decided to sell his 1972 BMW 3.0CS coupe.  To our surprise, Petrolicious has chosen that vehicle as its first “Market Find” feature.

This car made its way t...

Environmental consultant, and Lake Travis resident, Dean Mericas has always been a car guy.  His garage has proudly displayed his beautiful Triumph TR4 roadster and Alfa Romeo GTV coupe for well over a decade.  But recently, Dean’s desire to relive a cherished part of his childhood, reached fruition with his successful search for a 1963 Jaguar MK II Saloon.

It se...

The societal needs of the early 20th century spawned a new profession: itinerant “tinker”. A tinker would travel from town to town, usually by horse and carriage, offering to repair pots and pans of local residents. Frequently tinkers relied on the generosity of their customers to provide a meal and perhaps overnight accommodations as they practiced their craft across the country.

Barney Gayl...