Insights

If you’ve read some of my restoration articles, you’ll know that I did the bodywork on most of the cars. I’ve often been asked about how I usually go about this process. There are certainly different ways of doing bodywork and the steps taken h...

Coming from a small family construction company with a loyal customer base, one of many things we were taught first and foremost was Customer Service.  Absolutely no business will survive without the customer.  Satisfied customers will usually retu...

There are a lot of folks out there that are intimidated by electricity, let alone the automobile electrical system. To bring some clarity to the mystery, let’s dive right into the basics. What are the main components of a car electrical system? H...

The year was 1976, I was 13 and for some unforeseen reason my father decided to do one of those infamous father-son projects.  Early on a Saturday morning, we piled in the truck with the trailer in tow and headed to the small town of Akron in the e...

Interestingly, while there are plenty of people who still snub the notion of a kit car, there are seemingly more motoring enthusiasts roaming the planet today who appreciate them.  What began in the 1950s with people scouring junkyards for frames or...

What is the Fiat Abarth? After exiting the North American market in the early 1980s, Fiat returned for the 2012 model year with the diminutive but adorable Fiat 500.  Available in a multitude of variations, the Abarth 500 would be the family hot ro...

One of the deepest communities in the motoring world is that of the hot rod.  At least, in the United States.  In the good ol’ US of A, the hot rod is really its own culture, it’s not just a community, it’s a way of life – truly.  Hot rod ...

Fiat concepts, celebrity producers, and a Plymouth Barracuda At the 1963 Turin Auto Show, the Ghia G230 S was set on display.  Based on the Fiat 2300, the G230 S used a specially designed and constructed tubular spaceframe.  Two convertibles and ...

In 2010, while visiting a local car shop, the shop owner told me about a guy with a bunch of cars that were going to be for sale soon. We've all heard various stories over the years, and some of us have even had the chance to chase these alleged cars...

The Nissan Skyline GT-R Arguably, the beginning of the Nissan GT-R can be traced to 1957, when the Prince Motor Company, which would merge with Nissan in 1966, introduced the ALSI-1 luxury-performance sedan. Shinichiro Sakurai would have a heavy han...

In the summer of 1981, I was 17 years old. Full of spunk, I was ready to take on the world and to buy my own car. Most of the guys I was running around with had Camaros, Chevelles, and a few Fords sprinkled in the mix. Always wanting to be a little d...

Was the Triumph TR6 an all-new car? In short, no.  The TR6 offered buyers an all-new, sharper, blockier, more modern body style designed by Karmann of Germany, but was based upon the familiar chassis with the new 2.5L inline 6-cylinder engine that ...

The new Z started with a V For 1984, Nissan would unveil the new 300ZX, a car using much of the outgoing 280ZX chassis and overall architecture, but sporting an all-new 3.0L V-6 engine.  This was a bold departure from the inline six traditionally...

The differences between a TR2 and a TR3 At the Earl’s Court Motor Show of 1952, Triumph showed the first iteration of the TR2.  It was a popular attraction, and the company felt it would succeed very well in the United States.  Once production c...

There’s a lot of things to consider when buying a car online. With so many listings that can yield from a single search, sometimes you’re lucky and the car might be within traveling distance, but in most cases, the car is not. Many have asked me ...

The History of Triumph The Triumph TR line of cars largely put Triumph on the map and saved the company by making it a more valuable property than it ever had been.  Triumph Motorcars originated as the Triumph Cycle Company when Siegfried Bettmann ...

by C. E. Bennett, CEO, Zymol Vehicle manufacturers apply a clear coat to paints to achieve extra depth, color, and gloss.  They look terrific, creating a finish that really “pops” when it’s properly cleaned.  To maintain that “pop,” cl...

I recently took a trip to visit Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska. This is a significant historical museum that offers visitors a glimpse into the past, showcasing the evolution of American life over the centuries. I found it quite fascinating and ...

The C3 could be a finicky car, especially in the latter part of the 1970s through the end of days in 1982.  However, if they are properly maintained and sorted, even the later C3s could prove to be a fine, fun car.  While some are cringing at our c...

What’s the story behind your first car?  How did you get it?  How long did you have it?  When did you part ways with it?  Why?  We can all probably answer these questions with clarity.  As we recall the past, we remember the highs and the low...

Plymouth had the idea of sporting up the Valiant for a little while, and Ford’s efforts with the Mustang concepts convinced them it was a good idea.  Using the inexpensive Valiant as the starting point, Plymouth designed a sporty, fastback-styled ...

Cars have an interesting way of finding me sometimes. In 2000, a 1969 Dodge Dart GTS, which I still have today, wound up in my possession.  Sure, there’s a whole lot more detail to this story of course. So…here it goes. I purchased this 1969 ...

Begetting a baby brother, Dodge hatched the Challenger alongside the all-new Barracuda in 1970.  Looking very similar to the Plymouth brethren, the Challenger had a slightly longer wheelbase and was meant for a more upscale crowd, and thusly held a ...

If you’ve read the tale of my first 1969 Roadrunner, then you won’t be surprised that I always knew that I would go and find another one when the time was right. Of course, just because I was looking for one doesn’t mean that the right one is a...

Learning about the story behind a barn or garage find never gets old.  We came across this 1936 Deluxe Model 3-Window Ford Coupe and its 90-year-old owner. We wanted to hear about the car’s story, and who better to tell it than Old Car herself. He...

1966 Charger When Dodge unleashed the Charger for 1966 filling the gap between the popular pony car and the personal luxury coupe, it was unexpectedly fresh and yet entirely en vogue.  The wide, full-width grille with hidden headlights was mimicked...

In 1993, while on break from my college studies, I purchased my first 1969 Roadrunner from its original owner.  I found the car one day while searching the classifieds in the Denver Post newspaper – there it was.  A numbers-matching car, it was e...

Being a Mopar fan with a serious weakness for the Dodge Charger, it should come as no surprise that the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard has long been one of my favorites.  So, when I had the chance to visit Cooter’s Dukes of Hazzard Museum in Nashvil...

The first pony car is arguably the Plymouth Barracuda – people will often contend it was the Ford Mustang, and there is a lot of credence to the claim.  Afterall, Ford had been teasing the public with a sportscar since the late 1950s with a Thunde...

Looking at the Pontiac GTO History In the early part of the New Millenium, former GM North America Chairman Bob Lutz read a magazine article about the Holden Commodore SS from Australia. With Holden being a GM subsidiary, Lutz wondered why GM North ...

It debuted for the 1984 model year, with no Corvettes built in 1983.  It featured a radical departure in styling, but sustained cues alerting everyone that it was a Corvette.  The body hosted a Targa-style roof and an openable rear glass hatch, aga...

Having stabilized Chrysler somewhat with sales winners like LeBaron, the bestselling convertible in America, and Town & Country, Caravan, and Voyager, the bestselling minivans ever, and proving with the Charger, Daytona, and Laser that a 4-cylind...

The Corvette is a born collector’s car.  Since 1953, it’s been sparking the imaginations of enthusiasts around the world, fueling passion and cultivating dreams in the young and not-so-young.  The word is popularly derived from the French langu...

Do you ever really need a valid reason to buy a cool muscle car?  The year was 1993.  I was on a year-long break from my college studies in Arizona (because I needed more money to continue funding my education), and my brother Chris had been search...