Dean Mericas has spent the past few months renewing his TR4 to its former glory.  Click below for the full story:

In 2008, My wife Dorothee and I spent several weeks in the U.K., primarily to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed 

While driving through Great Britain and Scotland, we spied an unusual little car on several occasions, one that we couldn’t identify.  After some further research, we learned this car was a Nissan Figaro.. built only in 1991, and never imported to the US.  In fact, the Figaro was built in very limited numbers (20,000 total) and intended primarily for the Japanese market.  But over the years, well over 4,000 of these right hand cars found their way to England, thanks to a less restrictive import bureaucracy than we have in the US.

Durin...

For several years now a British Ariel Square Four motorcycle has remained stubbornly on my bucket list of interesting bikes to own.  Nope, had never seen nor ridden one in real life, but I have just always loved the classic British lines and the unique ‘square’ cylinder configuration.

Many Americans are unfamiliar with the Ariel motorcycle brand, but the marque is well known in England, where the Ariel owner’s club is very much alive, active, and well. In its heyday in the ’50’s, the Ariel was considered one of the premier bike brands in England.  In terms of rarity, there were fewer Ariel Square Four bikes built than the well-known Vincent Black Shadows which now routinely command 6 figure prices.

In fact, Ariel, which produced its first motorcycle in 1902, could very well be considered the Harley-Davidson or Indian of British bikes. 

Although Ariel produced quite...

These days, we take dual circuit brake systems for granted (well, don’t forget ABS and all the other alphabet gizmos as well).  So, the younger generation could be forgiven for not knowing  that dual circuit systems weren’t always the norm.

In fact, the first patented dual-cylinder system (Wagner Electric) didn’t come along until 1960.  Yet, with few notable exceptions, most of the automakers ignored the safety issues inherent with an all-or-nothing single circuit system (a brake fluid leak anywhere in the system results in a COMPLETE brake failure) until 1967, when the feds mandated dual-circuit brakes.  Finally, all the manufacturers stepped up to the plate and introduced these “new safety brake” systems, duping the public into believing that this wonderful new feature was being provided out of the goodness of their hearts.

In 1983, an NHTSA report esti...

Ahh, Christmas!  Like everyone, I have many fond memories of Christmas’ past.  The nice chill in the air to break the summer’s heat; the opportunity to recommission the hot tub and restock the wood crib; sitting by a warm fireplace on a cozy winter’s night..

This is the time of the year my wife decrees that all the decorations from past years come down from the attic, and then devotes days and days into transforming our home into a winter wonderland.

But then there are the aspects of the Christmas season I could do without.. the blatant commercialism which begins earlier and earlier each year; the 10 Christmas songs played over and over on the radio, many performed by the most unlikely and unwanted candidates (Freddy Fender.. really?) 

The most egregiou...

You would have to look hard to find the “Martin Brothers Customs” shop.  It’s hidden just off Highway 290 near Henly, Texas (10 miles west of Dripping Springs).

But, you don’t have to look hard to find the new Velocity TV series featuring principal owner Joe Martin and his wife Amanda.  The series just started, and airs each Wednesday night at 9:00.

In the series, mild-mannered Joe and exuberant Amanda, find cars in serious need of attention, and then bring them back to life, usually with custom touches far exceeding the vehicle’s original design (first time viewers would never guess that Amanda’s other career (and personna) is as a demure and professional banker at a local Dripping Springs bank).

Joe has a lifetime’s experience ...

You’ve seen it before: an online ad appears offering a classic car represented as being in beautiful condition, for an unbelievably low price. When contacted, the seller always has some story about having to move to England, but will ship the car free to your location.. Yeah, right.. If it seems too good to be true then, it’s likely, well, too good to be true.

I encountered such a situation recently when my shopmate forwarded me a Craigslist link offering a nice looking 1962 Mercedes 190SL for $16,500. Even IF I don’t closely follow the classic Mercedes market, I’m savvy enough to know that values for 190SL’s have recently skyrocketed, following on the coat-tails of their rarer step brother, the 300SL (these beautiful cars now routinely bringing strong 7 figure prices), and proving the old axiom “A rising tide raises all boats”. Sure enough, a quick search through eBay and Hemmings listings proved that even a beater, “good restoration candidate” 190SL easily changes hands for $50-75,000, while nicely restored examples can easily bring in $150k.

With my “Fake-dar” alarm ringing loudly in my head, I...

It is always good to have the right equipment to effect a proper repair.  Our old Bridgeport-style milling machine came to the rescue last month when my friend Dean approached me with a problem with his beautiful Jaguar MK II Saloon.

It seems that Jaguar, in its infinite wisdom, designed the engine compartment of these early 60’s era cars so tightly that  was no room left up front for more than a single drive  groove on the crank pulley.  When Jaguar later introduced power steering as an option to their cars, there was literally no room to mount a power steering pump, given the cross-flow head, which fills the right side of the engine compartment with a pair (or more) of SU carburetors, and the left-side which is reserved for the dual exhaust manifold system.

Jagua...

I love online car enthusiast forums.  There is just an amazing wealth of knowledge out there on the internet, and lots of car-guys willing to share their expertise with other forum members. Recently, I undertook to rebuilt the Stromberg carburetor on my venerable 1940 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special:

A few months ago, while visiting my neighbor and good friend Matt’s house, he pointed out damage to his Suzuki Aero that was caused by an unfortunate encounter with a deer one early evening.  The car was in horrible shape, but, amazing, it seemed to be undamaged mechanically, and ran and drove fine.  But, with a busted headlight, and front bumper assembly broken and dangling, it was in no shape to be safely or legally driven:

Matt...