Hemmings Motor News Blog

Not all V-8 engines are designed and built the same, as proven by the astute engineers at Pontiac. In addition to the Pontiac V-8′s noted long stroke that created huge amounts of torque to its racing-inspired windage tray that reduced crankshaft drag, a variety of cylinder heads were specially designed for specific car models in order to maximize that particular car's performance potential. Those are just some of the many unique design attributes that make Pontiac V-8 engines so unique, and why, if you are going to rebuild your Pontiac's engine, this is the book that will ensure the job is done right.

Like all S-A Design series books published by CarTech, the information is written in a clear, concise manner that is easy to understand. All of the 400-plus step-by-step photographs are in full color and perfectly shot to illustrate the pertinent technical information that the author is trying to convey. And in this case, the author, Rocky Rotella, is a well-known Pontiac expert and contributor to High Performance Pontiac magazine, so he knows well all the different details about these engines.

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Whether it's true or not, we Americans love to think we can do anything we put our minds to and make anything we put our hands to. Sometimes, it's just a matter of having the right tools, we tend to tell ourselves, and that project would get finished lickety-split.

With the advent of TechShop, we might no longer be able to use that excuse about the tools or the shop space. TechShop is a membership-based workshop that makes an incredible array of tools and equipment available to members, along with expert instruction on using them. Currently, California-based TechShop operates five workshops: Menlo Park, San Jose, and San Francisco, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Detroit. They are currently in the planning stages to open their first shop in the Northeast in Brooklyn, New York. Current plans call for rolling out TechShop in three to five new cities each year.

While set up to support a burgeoning DIY movement, the TechShop may be just the ticket for an amateur restorer. They have equipment for power coating parts in the finishing room. They have sheet metal brakes, large, industrial punches and even an English wheel.

Having a hard time finding that unique plastic piece that has been broken for five owners and 50 years? How about just printing a new one? That's right; TechShop also has state-of-the-art 3D printers that can rapidly create plastic parts from a CAD file.

<--High-pressure Flow Jet water cutting system in action at TechShop. Image courtesy of TechShop.

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Some cars you learn about in dribs and drabs. A hint here and there, and after a while, you eventually find the whole story. This mystery trackless train, however, has absolutely refused to give up its secrets since we first came across it last year.

This time, thanks to H.A.M.B. member ehdubya, we discovered it hanging out in the Library of Congress's online photo archive, posed with Vice President Charles Curtis, second from left. Unfortunately, the Library of Congress doesn't elaborate any further, so we can only guess that the photo was taken in Washington, D.C., and that it was taken during Curtis's tenure as veep under Herbert Hoover from March 1929 to March 1933 (he died in February 1936, which at least puts a definitive last possible date taken on this photo).

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Perhaps the most coveted motorcars of all time are those powered by V-16 engines. Although the auto manufacturers who engineered 16-cylinder engines are few and far between, all those that did are profiled in this wonderful history on that prestigious powertrain.

While the most popular prominent nameplate associated with 16-cylinder power was Cadillac, it's no wonder that the majority of this book's content focuses on that marque; however, all the V-16-powered Marmons are featured as well, followed by coverage of Peerless, and even the Italian company, Bucciali.

Within the 242 pages of this hardcover 8.75 x 11.25-inch book, written by Roy A. Schneider, you'll discover information not only on the cars themselves, but you'll learn about the design philosophy behind creating these V-16 Classics, along with some fascinating technical information that focuses specifically on the engines of Cadillac and Marmon.

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Become an Amphicar, maybe? Apparently, abusing your compact car was the in thing to do in the 1960s, as we saw from last week's Volvo commercial and now this promo video for the Corvair. Dig the so-called "Holden Special" prototype Corvair getting wrung out in the first third of the film.

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When I first brought out Project HMX after its winter slumber, I noted some brake issues - they felt soft and would lock up when I really jumped on them. But under normal braking, they seemed passable. Maybe the brake fluid in the lines had just absorbed some moisture while the car sat over the winter, I thought, so I bled the brakes all around and took it for another test drive. Still soft. Bled again, still soft. What's going on here?

What I neglected to do while bleeding the brakes was to perform a visual inspection of the entire brake system. Had I done that, I would have seen the paint peeling from the spindle uprights in the front suspension, a clear sign of a brake fluid leak, and saved myself some time and effort (and about half a bottle of brake fluid).

As you can see from the photo above, the front brake hoses pass behind the upright forward to the caliper. The drop plates that I installed over the winter, of course, added about an inch to the front track of the car by pushing out the spindle, the caliper bracket and the caliper itself a half-inch per side, and at the time I believed the brake hoses had plenty of clearance to make the straight shot into the caliper. As it turned out, however, the uprights ended up interfering very slightly with the brake hoses, causing it to leak. It didn't leak much, but enough to cause the issues I'd been having.

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