6 Projects We’re Wrenching On

Car projects take all sorts of forms—exhaustive restorations, preventative maintenance, engine swaps. Often, it’s not on a project car, per se—in many cases, it’s simply a vehicle that needs work, either out of necessity or preference.

This week, join us on a progressive dinner of sorts as we travel to the garages of our staff and peek over their shoulders. If you’ve ever wondered what we’re up to after work, or on the weekends—well, you’re about to find out. We frequently end up in each other’s garages, lending a helping hand or simply drinking a supervisory beer, and when we can’t be there in person, we’re texting or calling each other.

Whether you’re new to wrenching, or an old hand at it, you’ll find friends here.

Fresh Carpet for a Pumpkin Spice-Colored Buick

Just finished a thorough interior cleaning and the installation of fresh carpet in my ’73 Buick Centurion. It looks and smells a lot better—the car sat unattended for 30 years and was a little on the musty side.

While I was in there (there’s always a while I was in there) and the seats were out, I replaced the rear speakers and both convertible top cables.

The carpet went in easily, but PSA: Carpet blades are extremely sharp (I’m fine, everything is fine). Despite a lot of searching, the new carpet is a couple shades lighter than the original saddle color, but fitment was good and the Centurion will be used as an ice-cream getter, not a trophy-seeker. One step closer . . . — Eddy Eckart

Acclimating to an Amazon, Safety First

Lots to do on the 1966 Volvo 122S I recently acquired. It’s a running, driving car, but it has needs. Main thing I’m working on now is moving my original three-point seatbelt hardware over to fresh webbing and a modern inertia belt. After that comes the installation of a starter switch to replace a breakage-prone ignition key, a mechanical brake-light switch to replace the original hydraulic-pressure one, and research into why the heater seems to be perpetually on. — Eric Weiner

Many Vehicles, Much Tires, Such Travails

If we are being honest, I probably have too many projects running right now and most are on hold to do the most unexciting task of annual maintenance in my shop: Tires.

This year, four of the seven motorcycles currently residing in my garage needed fresh rubber on at least one end. The Corvair is likely getting fresh tires over winter, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. That means the last three nights has been spent pulling wheels, cleaning, breaking beads, and generally wearing out my fingers and making any old tire machine off marketplace look like a great deal. At least this year all the replacements are due to wear, or long-term projects that are reaching the point that it’s finally time for tires, not due to storage rot. Replacing tires: the problem I enjoyed creating, but hate dealing with.

— Kyle Smith

Rebuilding ’70s Power Window Motors

Rebuilding both of the rear power window motors on a 1971 Continental Mark III. This is a serious haul, because the entire rear window assembly has to be pulled from the body (last pic) after pulling most of the rear compartment out of the car.

I knew this was going to be hard, and I wanted to just ignore it, but both the rear windows got stuck in the open position. If they ever get stuck again, they better fail in the closed position, because I never want to do this ever again! — Sajeev Mehta

Cutting a Path for New Control Arms

I just won a week-long battle with a class 10.9 suspension bolt on my 1998 Mustang, which I’m building into a drift missile. The nut came off just fine, but the bolt had fused itself to the metal bushing sleeve. No amount of hammering, MAP-torch heat, or penetrating oil would free it. Frustrated, I opted for the nuclear option and pulled out the reciprocating saw (my angle grinder wouldn’t fit in the confined space). Many blades laid down their lives, but I eventually got through it. My new control arms and bolts went in easily after that. — Chris Stark

Maintenance and Meatier Tires

Most of my wrenching right now is out of necessity, but it still beats not wrenching at all. Last week I changed the brake rotors on all four corners of my wife’s 2013 Toyota Highlander to remedy a pretty serious shudder that she had when slowing down. Thankfully, the fix worked and we’re back to smooth braking.

A few nights later I crawled under her car to change the oil. In the process, I learned that a drain pan alone is not sufficient to stop hot oil that comes rocketing down from on-high as you release the drain plug. Technically, I caught every drop of oil from the drain. It’s just that an alarming amount splattered off of the flat surface and went flying out in pretty much every direction. My driveway has a new stain on it, and it’s not even from a classic car!

The 1998 Montero just got a fresh set of Kumho Road Venture AT52 tires. I went up in diameter a touch to add some meat to the wheel wells, and I’m loving the way they look as well as what they’ve done to the ride quality thus far. Super impressed. We’re going to have a data-based story on some of what you trade off by upsizing tires soon. Stay tuned for that. I’ve got a new set of LED reverse lights that I want to get wired up before the colder months, and then I’m also going to try to get some rust encapsulating paint onto spots on the frame. It’s all just surface rust there but given how spotless the car was when I first got it, even a little bit of brown has me bristling. Short of the funds to dry-ice blast it and re-seal it, this will have to do.