Story & Photos By Jim Clark, The Hot Rod MD One of the most frequently overlooked items in an automotive electrical system is the grounding of the system and components.  Grounding is critical because current will not flow unless it has a path for it to return to the source.  In most modern systems the current flows… Continue reading Grounding Electrical Systems

Measure Twice, Buy OnceLearn The Right Way To Measure for Wheel Sizes Before You Make An Order So, you want a new set of wheels for your hot rod or muscle car. That’s totally understandable because wheels go in and out of style all the time. With this in mind, Wheel Vintiques is making alternative… Continue reading Measure Twice, Buy Once by Wheel Vintique

CHOOSING AN ELECTRIC FAN CONTROLBy Jim Clark (The Hot Rod MD) For many years the most effective means of cooling the engine at slow speeds and when idling was with a multi-blade fan attached to the front of the water pump pulley.  It drew air through the radiator when the forward motion of the vehicle… Continue reading Cooling Radiator

Holley is pleased to announce a full list of NOS Nitrous Oxide Systems installation and tuning videos available to view on YouTube. Eighteen videos cover a wide variety of subjects, including how nitrous oxide works, complete kit overviews, installation details, operation, tuning and more.  These videos include animations as well as step-by-step under hood video… Continue reading NOS Installation and Tuning Video

INSTALLING A BATTERY IN THE TRUNKStory & Photos By Jim Clark (The Hot Rod MD) Most cars and trucks have the battery located within the engine compartment.  This places it close to the starter, shortening the cables, thereby reducing the drop in voltage often caused when long cables are used.  However, this is often not… Continue reading Battery Installation – Installing a Battery in your Trunk article by Jim Clark

Calibrating a Speedometer Story & Photos By Jim Clark (The Hot Rod MD) Many of us “gearheads” have had the experience of being pulled over by our friendly local law-enforcement officer and being told that we were exceeding the posted speed limit.  We inform him of the fact that we couldn’t be speeding because our… Continue reading Calibrating a Speedometer

Updating To An Electrical Gauge Packageby Jim Clark, The Hot Rod M.D. The original gauge package that I selected for my roadster in the 1970s consisted of manual gauges for the oil pressure, water temperature, and speedometer readings because I was using a magneto in my Buick Nailhead-powered roadster.  I chose them because magnetos and electrical… Continue reading Updating To An Electrical Gauge Package

Fabricating a Deck Lid Release Cable. By Jim Clark (The Hot Rod MD) In recent Hot Rod MD articles I fabricated a bracket to mount a deck lid latch (Installing a Trunk Latch) and showed how to make a low-buck prop rod (Fabricating a Deck Lid Prop Rod) to hold the deck lid open.  Mechanisms… Continue reading Fabricating a Deck Lid Release Cable

Fabricating a Deck Lid Prop Rod. By Jim Clark (The Hot Rod MD) Raising the deck lid and holding it open is one of the less important functions to address when building a hot rod.  It’s one of those convenience items that don’t really have much bearing on how the vehicle performs but can be… Continue reading Fabricating a Deck Lid Prop Rod by Jim Clark

Installing a Fuel Gauge and Sender By:  Jim Clark,  the Hot Rod M.D.    Modern high-mpg cars have large fuel tanks and experience extended-range between fill-ups.  Old hot rods with small fuel tanks and big gas-guzzling engines require more frequent fuel stops.  This makes an accurate fuel gauge more important when embarking on the open… Continue reading Installing A Fuel Gauge and Sender