Author Archive: Bryan McTaggart
Change Of Heartbeat: Converting A Four-Stroke Engine To A Two-Stroke Design
Four-stroke engines are the normal for most applications the world over. Air goes in and mixes with fuel, mixture gets compressed, igniton occurs and power stroke goes down, and the next upstroke...
Scrapple, Your Guide To The “meh”-Worthy News! This Week: The Corona Virus Special Edition!
I swear, I’m *this* close to walking up to panicky buyers in stores, going “achoo!” at them and watching the herd bolt in fear. It’d be like Animal Planet, where the herd of...
Money No Object: 1971 Ford Torino 500 – When A Tribute Build Makes Perfect Financial Sense
So, fun fact for today…last night I won my first eBay auction for a car. Rather, I did the legwork so that a family member who has been aching for a nod to their past can get a new-to-them...
Almost Smells Like Cut Grass: 1980 Briggs & Stratton Hybrid Prototype
There’s tons of talk about horsepower levels. We’ve crossed the seven hundred horsepower levels years ago, we have hypercars that are in four-digit territory, and it must be said: most of...
Virtual Test Lap: Brad Keselowski Takes A Virtual Run At Atlanta Motor Speedway
Three years ago, when I got to take a crack behind the wheel of a legitimate NASCAR racer during SEMA at Las Vegas Motor Speedway courtesy of McLeod and the Richard Petty Driving Experience, I...
Classic YouTube: Road-Testing A 1972 Buick Centurion – Thar She Rolls!
The 1971-73 Buick Centurion was the “sporty” version of their big-body LeSabre, which isn’t saying a whole lot. The reality of the situation was that the Centurion had a different...
Classic YouTube: Training Chrysler Technicians On The 1951 FirePower Engine
In the Army, there are little tech magazines that come out called PS, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly. They’re comic book-style drawings combined with technical information that are used to...
The Fiero Revival: Now That It Runs Fine, Time To Get Onto The Body Work
Ronnie’s progress with his Pontiac Fiero has been astounding. The man is focused on the details and is as in-depth as they get, which makes all of the work involved in bringing a derelict,...
It’s Just A Car, After All: Sliding On Ice In An Old Four-Door Dodge
Here’s an odd way to start a post…have you ever seen the 1979 movie “Porky’s”? Hang with me for a second before you start making police sketch artist jokes. Note the...
Classic YouTube: Going Down Cable Hill At Gray Rock In A Beat-Up Caravan
Starting in 1990, Chrysler sold the Dodge Caravan with all-wheel-drive. The system, which was front-wheel-drive biased, was meant to aid drivers in inclement weather and snow. It wasn’t meant...
Rough Start: Now That Everybody Is Quarantined, How About Reviving This 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass?
I don’t know when this “rough week” that’s been going on is going to end. I’ve seen stripped shelves. I’ve seen stores that are ghost towns. I’ve even been...
Soap And Water: Scrubbing The Life Back Into A YJ Wrangler
I feel like the words “soap and water” have been involved in at least 75% of my conversations of the last week or so. You can’t completely defeat everything in life with soap and...
The Challenger Revival, Part 12: Fuel System And Replacing The Battering Ram Bumpers
When the Bradford Pear trees bloom, it means two things. One, it means that anyone with even the slightest plant allergy is going to be a walking snot well for the next month until the temperatures...
Hays Releases New Billet Aluminum Flywheels For Late-Model Challenger, Mustang, And Fox-Body!
The flywheel is one of those parts that most people just don’t consider when it comes time to purchase upgrades. Gears? Oh, sure…and be sure to upgrade to a limited-slip diff while...