Modifying Cars

  • Jet Beetle

    Nothing I could write could equal what you will find by going to this site: http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/ Continue reading

  • 1991 VW Jetta – part 1

    We have a new project at Jim’s Garage.  A good friend with a small web business (www.justgerman.com) lucked out and found a 1991 Jetta for $500.  He’s done some work on it, putting in a new clutch and changing out… Continue reading

  • Factory Five

      I knew it was always just on the other side of the canal, but once I was on the Cape for vacation it was so hard to cross over the bridge until I was leaving for home.  Then I realised… Continue reading

  • The Hanto Pinto

    Shelby had his Cobra and in 1974 John Hansen had the Hanto Pinto. It rated an article in Autoweek at the time.  John had his dream of putting a high performance engine in a compact car and creating a sports… Continue reading

  • The Grose Jet

    It was a classified add in the Competition Press, the newspaper that became Autoweek, that I first saw it.  “2 Balls do the Trick” was the tag line.  It was an inventor’s replacement for the troublesome needle and seat used in… Continue reading

  • Oil Changes

    Show of hands, how many of you change your own motor oil? A lot of us do and most of us are pretty good about having it changed whether we do it ourselves or have it serviced by someone else. … Continue reading

  • 1971 Superbeetle

    I was just starting college and my father provided me with a new car.  It sold new for $2100 dollars, which was a tidy sum.  Its color was Chinese red and it had a sunroof.  In a few years it would… Continue reading

  • A Balanced Approach – on to the brakes

    As I mentioned earlier it is great to go fast, but such a relief to be able to stop or slow down when you really need to. Hydraulic brakes have made some big improvements over the years.  The transition from… Continue reading

    A Balanced Approach – on to the brakes

  • A Balanced Approach

    Several folks have asked me what modifications I have done to my cars and why. It has been an iterative process. As I learned more about cars I integrated my performance goals with an approach that fit my budget and available… Continue reading

    A Balanced Approach

  • Let’s have a … Fiesta!

    Back in 1977 Ford tried their hand at a world car.  They were aiming squarely at the market that Volkswagon’s Rabbit and in a lot of ways they had developed a winner.  In the early seventies the American automobile industry… Continue reading

    Let’s have a … Fiesta!