Fuzzy Bus

For some people working on motorcycles is their passion. While it can’t always be something that is done all the time, it can be done whenever there is a motorcycle to fix. For some that happens more often in the summertime, for others it happens more often in the wintertime. Those people who don’t have enough motorcycles to repair will often work on a blog or some other form of internet activity that helps them work on their motorcycle passion. There is one such blog that is fairly interesting and has a lot of good information. Dan’s Motorcycle Repair and Engine Repair Information Guide is a great website with Dan’s blog or as he calls it Blob in addition to the regular website.

Being a retired motorcycle repair man and having run his own motorcycle repair shop Dan really knows his stuff. As he puts it a lot of what he knows he found out from breaking some very expensive part. Part of the guide is really to make sure that other young repair fanatics with their motorcycle manuals don’t break too many important and expensive pieces. Do it yourself can be very dangerous, but at the same time very rewarding and he has the right idea that this will help people to repair their own cycles. He makes a good point that what he has learned about these engines though can be used for most engines and the kid who is trying to work on his truck using a service manual might have a little harder time following him or just figuring out where the part is in the different engine, but they too can be helped by some of his advise.

Based on the fact that he only repairs motorcycles in the summer it could be assumed that it gets too cold where he is for it to be a viable option to try to repair the motorcycles in the cold either because of a very cold winter there, the fact that no one rides in the winter, or because it hurts too much for some reason. Whatever the reason he has found a great outlet for those months and is helping a large number of people find out a little more about their own bike experience. He probably wishes he had something as cool and useful as the internet when he first started repairing motorcycles.

When I think back on winter as a child, I recall carefree days of playing in the snow, sledding down the hills, and rejoicing over the too few days of cancelled school. Now as an adult I am aware of the challenges that winter presents. Broken heaters, frozen pipes, sick children and icy roads are just a few of the many inconveniences that winter presents. But while we are busy trying to keep the house standing and the family healthy, we do not want to forget about the real troopers–our cars. Driving the hazardous, snowy roads with the possibility of sliding off the road at any moment is not the only potential risk to our winter-worn vehicles.
It is important, before those dreaded winter months hit, to take your car in for a tune-up. Checking all the belts, hoses, and wires should ensure that everything is functioning properly. Also, don’t forget to have them check the brakes. Sliding down an icy hill would be a most unfortunate time to have your brakes go out. You can also have your fluids changed at this time as well. Change out your washer fluid and make sure your vehicle is set on antifreeze/ coolant. Not enough and your fluids will freeze and cause key elements in your engine to crack–a costly and time consuming repair. Your auto parts store will have a variety of different kinds; some made especially for those who particularly cold climates.
Once your inside is set it is time to move on to the outside. To protect your paint from the massive amounts of salt it will be driving through this winter, begin by giving it a good wash. When it is nice and clean you can put a special sealant on your car to protect it from all the salt build up. The key is to keep it clean all winter. It sounds daunting, but by hosing down the exterior, and especially the undercarriage, you can prevent rusting which could lead to severe damage and more costly repairs.
While your looking at the outside check out those custom wheels and tires. Look for any tread wear or balding that could lead to poor traction on the roadways and a potentially dangerous situation. It is also important that your tires are properly inflated. If you have 20 inch rims made of steel, you will want to replace them with 20″ rims stock rims to avoid rust.
The key to keeping your vehicle in tip-top shape during the winter is planning ahead. If you take the necessary steps early on you are that much closer to ensuring a fun, safe winter.

I moved to Chicago in the middle of the summer of 2004. It was a couple of before I had to consider what it would be like drive on snow and ice for the first time, so we picked up a couple of repair manuals from a used book store in Wicker Park called Myopic Books. The Chevrolet S-10 repair manual gave us a lot of advice about the items we should carry with us in the car, for safety purposes, and of course, the removal of snow and ice from the vehicle once the storm has ended. Many of these items I had to go out and buy, as one really has no need for an ice scraper. The manual suggested that the plastic ice scrapers were better than the metal ones, so we got the scraper, a small shovel for digging out the snow if you get snowed in.

The Chevrolet Silverado repair manual stated that another good idea is to put some bags of sand or rock salt in the back of the car, especially in smaller and lighter models. This serves a dual purpose. It adds extra weight to the vehicle, and should one happen to get stuck in the snow either of these things will add in getting you out. The sand will provide traction, and the salt will melt some of the snow and ice, helping to get you out much quicker than just digging alone.

One of the suggestions in the Ford Explorer repair manual was the use of snow chains, however I had a four wheel drive and my friend stated that this is not necessary for driving in the city as the snow plows were usually quick to plow the city streets. We later found out that chains are not legal to use in the city, as the roads become too damaged. In all, it was not as bad as I thought it was going be that winter. We were snowed in a few times, but that was a very uneventful winter as far as Chicago snow storms go, the next winter? That’s an entirely different story.

Small engine repair manuals come in handy when embarking on a cross country road trip. Especially when that trip is to be taken in a 1973 Volkswagen Bus. During the summer of 1991, Nick and I decided to escape the summer heat of Phoenix, and head to Northern Minnesota. We would stay with his brother on the shores of Detroit Lakes, he already had a job as the captain of a double-decker dinner cruise ship. I had no job lined up, but I was ready for an adventure.

Before we were to head out, my two uncles, familiar with road trips taken in VW buses from their days of youth in the 1960’s, had a bit of advice on DIY auto repair. They told us to make certain that the battery of the bus was clean. We, having no experience in cars and their engines, listened but didn’t do. So we headed off. By the time we got to Albuquerque, New Mexico we realized that we had made a mistake.

The bus, loaded up with summer supplies, which included two bicycles and boxes of things we thought we couldn’t live without, needed to be push-started. This involved Nick, not super physically fit at the time, pushing the bus and me trying to ‘pop the clutch’. We got to Denver and took the bus to the VW dealership. While looking through car manuals, the mechanics stated that we needed a new starter–$350. I don’t know much about cars, but it seemed—off.

We left Denver, but by the time we were sufficiently out of town, we were back to push-starting. This was the way it was all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Nick’s hometown. Exasperated, we pulled into a one-pump gas station. A mechanic came out, we told him what was happening and he said, “Yep” and took a look at the engine. He pulled the battery out, cleaned with an old toothbrush, charged us $7.50 and the bus ran for the rest of the trip, and for three years following.

Finding the best way to improve the look and function of your truck is easy to do. One of the most popular trends today is using chrome door handles, for example. This is going to give you the look you are after, and it will definitely give character to the truck. You can purchase them for a variety of types of trucks, too.

In addition to chrome, you can find other items that will help to add the flare, look and function you need. The more customizing you do for your truck, the more personalized it will be for you. For example, you may want to invest in a bull bar. This is a popular choice today for its look. There are several styles available to choose from, too. Perhaps the most important and most sought after investment in truck accessories today is the bed liner. It makes senses since it provides so much protection to the truck.

When it comes to personalizing or customizing your truck with chrome or other details, it is important to look at it from the viewpoint of function first and then character. You will find that you can accomplish both with the options available. With the new concepts in trucks out there, you may have even more fun customizing those!

Back in my days in high school, the neighbors next-door would restore a car every summer. It was so much fun anticipating what model would be brought in during the late spring. Most of the time, I had to watch the process from a distance, but every so often I’d be invited to assist. Even so, I felt very privileged to witness the transformation of old, rusty metal into a majestic like-new vehicle. My favorite over the years was probably the ’49 Volkswagen Bug, with its classic white wall tires and smooth lemon paint job. Part of the thrill was having some hands on knowledge of the older model just before the new beetle hit the market.

Now that I’m a little older and wiser, and many car shows later, I’ve started thinking about restoring cars of my own. It’s a big project and nothing like the small custom wheels job I had done on my college ride. Getting started is the hard part, because you have to choose which car you want to work on out of the ones that are available. In making the selection, I know for certain that I’d like to use whitewalls – as homage to my childhood memories. There have also been some great retro-style designs lately for specific car parts – take this grant steering wheel selection for example. Finding parts that will fit just right is somewhat of a challenge, but like a treasure hunt it’s a thrilling adventure.

General Motors has reported a three month net loss of $15.5bn (£7.8bn) as North American sales fell by 20%.

GM took a $3.3bn charge for buying out the contracts of 19,000 hourly workers who left at the end of June.

It also wrote off $1.3bn because of reduced values of big, used cars, which cut the value of formerly leased cars owned by its financing unit, GMAC.

Without one-off charges, GM lost $6.3bn compared with a net profit of $891m in the same period of 2007.

It is the third biggest quarterly loss in the carmaker’s history.

GM shares fell 4.7% in early trading.

I sit in front of a computer all day so when I get off of work I really like to use my time doing things that I love. I jog a lot and I work on an old car that I’m fixing up. Jogging is great exercise but sometimes it’s just too hot and when that’s the case, I head to the garage to work on my ‘66 Mustang.

I have a custom rim order that should be arriving any day now and those will really make it look great. It’s funny how people that have physical jobs like to spend their evenings watching television or surfing the Internet and people that sit all day like to get out and move.

The funny thing is, is that sometimes when I’m in staring at my computer, like now, I can’t keep myself from thinking about the chrome wheels that might be at home when I get there. I bet there’s a mechanic somewhere that can’t stop thinking about surfing the web.