Hot Rod Wiring

I’ve been exhibiting a lot of discipline lately, working weekends to get caught up on projects like Hot Rod Wiring and Into the Skin, our next new titles.

Saturday was a perfect day to be outside of course, 80 degrees and sunny, all of which makes it that much harder to hang out and work on our two new books. As the day slid slowly past I promised myself I’d work until 5 PM, and at exactly 5:01 I opened an adult beverage and headed for the garage.

It might seem like a small thing to you, but getting the intermediate link……

Rick Thompson and I repositioned the steering rack brackets weeks ago, but I never actually cut and installed the intermediate link. So on Saturday I went to work, double checking the length of the mock up link about ten times, cutting the new shaft to length, then doing a test fit. Next, it all came out again, so I could drill small little indents in the shaft where each set screw hit, before doing the final installation. All in all it was about three hours of work, though I shouldn’t even call it work. Because, it was just exactly the break from reality that I needed.

… and the tie rods hooked up is a sure sign of progress in the corporate garage. Our main mechanic and maintenance guy seems to be falling down on the job.

Deadlines and more deadlines.

Hot Rod Wiring and Into the Skin – our two newest titles - both go to the printer today. Jacki is doing last minute corrections as I speak, and by the end of the week we should have proofs back on both books from our printer in northern Minnesota. It takes about three weeks for production, which in this case includes duplication of the DVD that accompanies the Into the Skin book. Look for more information on the new titles, and the likely ship date, in next week’s blog.

Hot Rod Wiring, Into the Skin: The digital files for both these new titles are headed to the printer. Remember, order early and order often.

We are working away on a new Hot Rod Wiring book, done with long time collaborator, Dennis Overholser from Painless Wiring Products. In the summer Dennis spends much of his time on the road going from show to show with boxes of catalogs and a nice big booth.

This last weekend found Dennis in St. Paul, which created a perfect opportunity to have him proof-read the new book manuscript and make suggestions.

Look for a new Wiring book from Wolfgang Publications this fall, authored by our old friend Dennis Overholser.

The show that brought Dennis to town is the Car Craft Summer Nationals, which are not to be confused with just one more street rod show. The cars ran the gamut from 55 Chevys to late model ‘Vettes. Which might seem at first like no big deal. Until you understand that these 55 Chevys have two, four-barrel carbs sticking through the hood; and the Corvettes have an aftermarket blower installed, good for at least another hundred ponies.

The new blowers install so neatly under the hood of the late model ‘Vettes that without notice it’s easy to miss them entirely.

If you happen to be an old Mopar nut, like some people I know, the fairgrounds are kind of like Nirvana. More old GTXs, Road Runners and Dodge Darts than I’ve seen since 1972. And the Gasser look was much in evidence at the event, I even saw one early 60s Comet with the front end jacked up, a huge pair of slicks on the rear and some very serious rumblings coming from under the hood as it rolled past.

Back in the day there were muscle cars, and then there were Mopars. Nice to see the old war-horses out on the street where they belong.

If street rod shows are getting a little too tame for your tastes, try one of these. Instead of a thousand cars idling around in parade formation with everyone on their good behavior, the bad boys and girls with the old Mopars, GTOs and ratty Chevy pickups are just itching for a chance to let ‘er rip. They come by in first gear, running maybe 3000 rpm, the motors just at that point where they’re coming on the cam and really want to run. The driver stabs the loud pedal for just a second, the tires chirp and squeal, and then it’s back to 3000 rpm. Watching all the cars roll past, there’s this pervading sense of raw, unmitigated horsepower just waiting for a deserted street or just the right car in the other lane.

Lots of blowers, and plenty of tri-five Chevys.

So if you’re bored with car shows, or your testosterone level’s a little low, just spend a day with the crazies and their overpowered machines. The smell of burned rubber and unburned hydrocarbons is sure to make you drive like a NASCAR pro on the way home, and fill your head with a whole new bunch of fantasies – some of which you can even share with your wife.

More blowers, and plenty of Camaros. Looking at this I can’t help but think that it would be fun to take it for a ride, at least through the first two gears.

There is nothing so funky that you can’t convert it into a gasser – the funkier the better.