News & Events Archive

Aug 6, 2020

PowerNation's Detroit Muscle Gives its Buick Regal a Makeover with Summit Racing Paint

One of the many projects in Detroit Muscle’s garage is a 1985 Buick Regal. Nicknamed Street Regal, the car is being transformed from a plush go-to-bingo ride to a Pro Touring-style street hero under the guidance of DM co-host Tommy Boshers. We’re talking a custom-built chassis with QA1 coilovers; a 525 horsepower Chevrolet Performance LS3 under the hood; and Boshers-crafted touches like modified GNX Regal bumpers and a custom rear spoiler.

Tommy couldn’t abide the factory Boredom Beige paint and half-vinyl top, so off came the vinyl and on went Summit Racing’s On-Fire Metallic 2-Stage Paint. Fun fact: red has been Tommy’s favorite color ever since he painted a toy truck (and most of the area around it) GM Victory Red at the tender age of seven.

Jul 15, 2020

Comparing QA1's F100 Front Suspension Clip to a Crown Victoria Suspension Swap

In its infinite wisdom, Ford made lowering a 1965-79 Ford F-Series pickup a pain in the neck. Thank the Twin I-Beam front suspension for that. An attempt at a compromise between the ruggedness of a straight axle and the ride comfort, it featured two I-beams that pivot on the opposite side of the truck, suspended by coil springs and shocks. It was OK for the time, but if you wanted to lower your Ford like the GM guys do, Twin I-Beam made it tough. There are components like drop I-beams that will lower the front end, but once you’re done you still have a compromised suspension that doesn’t handle or ride as nicely as a coil-sprung A-arm setup.

There are better alternatives. One is to swap in a complete front clip from a 2003-09 Ford Crown Victoria or its Mercury Grand Marquis cousin. Just unbolt it from a donor car and voila—you get an A-arm/ coil spring suspension with a sway bar, 12 inch disc brakes, and rack and pinion steering mounted in a lightweight aluminum cradle. The Crown Vic’s clip shares the same 34 inch frame rail spacing as an F-100, and will drop the front end of the truck four to five inches with no other modifications. Replacement parts are easy to find, too.

The other option is QA1’s coil-over front suspension kit. The bolt-in suspension features a steel K-member, adjustable coil-over shocks, tubular control arms, spindles, and rack and pinion steering. Kits with standard spindles provide three to five inches of drop; kits with drop spindles provide five to seven inches of drop. The QA1 conversion also shaves 150 pounds of ugly steel off the front end.

No matter which route you go, you’ll have to remove the big bulky cross member from the frame. The steering column will need modification and brake lines rerouted, and the factory exhaust system may or may not work. It goes without saying that you will need new wheels and tires too, but choosing new rolling stock is part of the fun.

Jul 10, 2020

Reducing a Suburban's Case of the Wallows with a Classic Performance Rear Sway Bar

Nothing says I love you like a rear sway bar.

That’s what Kat Jones of The Kat Jones Studebaker project fame thought, too. She wanted to do something nice for her fiancé, Jim. Since he was complaining about the handling of his Chevy Suburban, Kat decided to install a Classic Performance rear sway bar on the truck. All she needed was Jim to skedaddle for a couple hours so she could put the plan in motion. Click on the Slide Show tab to follow the install.

Who says romance is dead?

Jun 29, 2020

Wilwood Shows You How to Measure Axle Offset

So you're thinking about a new rear disc brake kit for your solid-axle vehicle. Smart move. Before you go willy-nilly ordering one, you need to know what your rear axle offset is.

So what is rear axle offset, and how the heck do you measure it? Axle offset is the distance between the front of the axle flange to the face of the axle housing flange. this offset differs between rear axle types, and some axle types have several offset options depending on which vehicle it was installed in. If the axle assembly has been modified in any way, that will also affect the offset.

Because they are so many variations, brake companies like Wilwood need to know your exact rear axle offset to determine which disc brake kit will fit. That requires some disassembly in order to take some measurements.

It's not hard, and the Wilwood website has a page devoted to helping you correctly measure axle offset. It has a work sheet, video, and axle flange diagrams to make the job go smoothly. Get measuring and enjoy your new stopping power!

Jun 3, 2020

Binge Some Awesome Tech with Jeff Smith's Ask Away! Column at OnAllCylinders

You’ve been staring a hole in your TV watching the same movies, cop shows, and reality series for the 743rd time. Turn off the blather and binge Jeff Smith’s Ask Away! tech column at our OnAllCylinders blog.

We’ve got an archive of 320 columns in which Jeff provides fixes for various mechanical maladies, makes parts suggestions, and dives deep into the hows and whys behind his answers. You can’t help but learn something useful.

May 25, 2020

The Kat Jones Studebaker Project: Paint and the Pandemic

In this third installment of The Kat Jones Studebaker Project, our heroine sprays paint on Stew, her 1954 Studebaker Commander, and also reflects on the trials and tribulations of building a car during a pandemic lockdown. Spoiler alert: you can do it.

May 23, 2020

And the Winners of the DeBoss Garage International Quarantine Car Show are...

The first annual DeBoss Garage International Quarantine Car Show is in the record books, and boy, was it a success. There were 1,500 entries in the IQCS, over $11,000 was raised for Doctors without Borders in their effort to assist countries with the pandemic (nice job, everyone!), and a good time was had by all.

May 21, 2020

Don't Let Your Hybrid Vehicle Sit Idle--Here's Why

Image: J. Golson

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting more than us humans. It’s also having detrimental effects on hybrid vehicles. With people staying home and not driving very much, hybrid vehicles are sitting idle for long periods of time. According to Dave Callari of DC Battery Hub, that causes serious issues with their battery packs.

“Inactivity kills a hybrid battery,” Callari explained. “Vehicles are sitting for long periods of time and some have a low amount of miles driven in the last year. This does not bode well for the life and performance of the hybrid battery”.

Callari goes on to explain that hybrid batteries need to be ‘exercised’ or used regularly to maintain optimal performance. If you own a hybrid vehicle, read this hybrid battery story on our OnAllCylinders blog and learn how to keep yours in tip-top shape.

And if you need to replace that battery, Summit Racing carries DC Battery Hub battery packs to get you back on the road.

May 18, 2020

Tom's Turbo Garage Project Firebolt LS Toyota Tacoma: Handling

A giant cow on a trailer. Yeah, we don't know why either.

What we do know is that Tom Tharp of Tom's Turbo Garage uses Project Firebolt, his turbocharged LS-powered 2002 Toyota Tacoma, as a truck--daily driver, mulch hauler, and apparently a tow vehicle for fiberglass cows.

The truck puts a smile on Tom's face every time he drives it. Well, almost every time. He wasn't thrilled with Firebolt's nose down-tail up stance thanks to the iron block LS, or the effect that heavier engine had on handling.

The solution was a simple one thanks to a set of QA1 coilovers from Summit Racing. A few modifications to the factory Tacoma control arms was all it took to get the coilovers installed. You can read all about it and watch the video in Part 15 of Project Firebolt at our OnAllCylinders blog.

If you didn't catch the rest of the Project Firebolt saga or just want a refresher, those episodes are available at OnAllCylinders too.

Apr 30, 2020

Herb Stuart's 1969 Shelby GT500: In His Own Words

Back in 2019 we posted some parts combos for Herb Stuart’s 1969 Shelby GT500 Mustang. The 428-powered car has been in the Stuart family since Herb’s father purchased it in 1970. Like most of these stories go, the Shelby was eventually parked until Herb dragged it out of storage and rebuilt it from the wheels up as a Pro Touring/HPDE/autocrosser. Shelby purists may get the vapors, but we’re sure Dad would approve.

Normally we would wax poetic about the car’s history and resurrection, but this time we let the man who built it tell the Shelby’s story—head over to our OnAllCylinders blog and hear the tale.

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