Wednesday, July 23, 2025

The Legacy of the American Racing Equipment "Torq-Thrust" Wheel

 

Americans were always my favorite "mag" wheel. I had them on my little Ford Capri, both of my Corvettes, my El Camino, my race cars, and both of my Trans Ams. Clean, functional, and lighter than steel wheels. They weren't as popular as Cragar S/S "mags", but seeing as I never cared much for chrome, they were right up my alley.

The Hagerty Driver's Club just posted an article here, so if you're into old mag wheels, give it a read. 

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

And The Skies Were Opened.....

 Yowie....started raining about 45 minutes ago, and we've already received over ..4", and the rainfall rate just went up to 2"/hr as another cell moved over us.

Flash flood warnings are out for the burn scar areas, with some of them getting over an inch of rain in an hour, with more to come tonight, and through the rest of the week. 

The heat broke, going from 94* down to 67* in about an hour. So nice to have a rain like this. "Whiskey's for Drinkin', and Water's for Fightin'", and we thank the Good Lord for this rain. 


 

Friday, July 18, 2025

What's Up, More Paint, and Rain.....

 Another two weeks of Summer have passed. Got a decent amount of rain a few days ago, a full quarter-inch, and we got another tenth last night. Been high 90's here, but cooling off nicely at night.

Got a whole buncha parts cleaned and painted, and commenced work on the wiring harness. 

These are the headlight buckets with a their first couple of coats of "Super White II" on them.


 And the wiring harness, unwrapped and being cleaned and repaired in a few spots. Cracked wires, stiff wires, missing insulation, and things like that.


 This section of the engine bay is almost finished. I still have to scuff sand it and spray on the Super White II top coat, and then paint the bits that are supposed to be black.

 And I bought a new tool. It's a "Ratcheting Rivet Nut Setter", and is exactly what I need to put threaded inserts into frame rails and things.


 I'll be putting two 8mm inserts into the right frame rail so I can bolt my remote oil filter to the frame. The oil filter on these engines is located on the side of the block, angled UP. Which means as soon as you loosen the filter, a quart of dirty oil cascades down the side of the block, making a big mess.

And been doing yard work, chasing grandkids around, "Fixin' Things", and waiting a couple of weeks to get to see our Doctor again. She left the previous office (Yeah, THOSE guys) she was at, and has now joined UCHealth, which is the heavy-hitter out here, and whom our first provider with this Doctor was with. SLW saw her earlier this week, and she was able to get me an appointment much sooner than I expected. 

Enjoy the weekend, and always be alert! 

The Legacy of the American Racing Equipment "Torq-Thrust" Wheel

  Americans were always my favorite "mag" wheel. I had them on my little Ford Capri, both of my Corvettes, my El Camino, my race ...