With another winter mostly behind us, we can start to think about the classic car driving season beginning to blossom across the country. I’m already hearing from many of my cruising buddies who are scheduling weekend day-long cruises in my area. After all those wild winter and spring storms ravaged the middle and southern states, I’m sure that’s the case where you live as well. With a new car-show season about to begin, I wanted to share some of the various things I’ve been doing and considering in preparation for this year’s automotive activities.
PROMPT PARTS
I’ve had to order a few replacement parts for my ’65 GTO ragtop that I put off while it was in hibernation. Given the recent supply-chain issues we’ve all experienced, or at least heard about, I had concerns about getting the items I needed. I placed a small order on a Monday morning using one of the long-time Pontiac parts advertisers in this magazine and received it just two days later from the other side of the country. Now that’s what I call service! It sure made quick work of getting the old girl back into dependable driving and show condition.
SHAKE-DOWN RUNS
There is a drag strip about an hour’s drive from where I live, and several of us muscle heads usually make a trip there each spring to wring out any mechanical problems that might have surfaced during the winter months. We don’t go crazy for speed on these day trips, we just work the cars enough to make sure there are not any glaring problems that need to be addressed before regular use on the street during the good driving months. Plus, it gets the blood flowing through a lot of old veins that were relatively dormant during the winter. March typically brings good weather here in Southern California, so we like to take advantage of it after laying low during the winter. One of the guys works at an automotive repair facility and he borrows the shop’s flatbed auto carrier for this exercise, just in case someone breaks something critical — it’s happened in the past.
SHOP TIPS
In the August 2022 issue of this magazine, Jim Smart, an old magazine buddy of mine, wrote a good article about setting up a home workshop. He brought up many good convenience and safety ideas and items to make your home workshop look and function better. If you’re not a subscriber, order a back issue and take a few good tips from an old pro.