Author Archive: Bryan McTaggart
Blizzard Warning: 1989 Toyota Blizzard – What Happens When Toyota Taps Daihatsu For A Mini-Land Cruiser!
I won’t lie, I looked at this pictures of this 1989 Toyota Blizzard for way too long, trying to figure out what I was missing. It certainly wasn’t a Land Cruiser, way too small and unlike...
Reason To Go Home And Drink: RIP Holden, 1856-2021
In news released late last night, General Motors has finally come right out and said it: Holden will retire the Holden brand and operations in Australia and New Zealand by 2021, as well as divesting...
There’s Your Problem: Some Of The Greatest “What The…?!” Moments For A Mechanic!
When you’re considered the automotive know-it-all of either the neighborhood or within your group of friends, people bring you their troubles. “Hey, bro, can you just go for a quick ride?...
Spring Planting: Burying Mega Trucks In One Deep Hole In Michigan!
February is still a bit early to actually break out the tiller, but it’s the perfect time to start preparing the layout for the garden at BangShift Mid-West. Yeah, that’s right, when...
We’ll Always Have Yaris: Mighty Car Mods Test Out Their Hot-Rodded Toyota Hatch!
It takes effort to say that there is such a thing as making a Toyota Yaris a rocket ship or a track attack machine. It’s akin to the old yip about polishing a turd…you can make it pretty,...
BangShift Question Of The Day: How Much Fun Have You Had With Rolling Garbage?
In the grand scheme of things, what does a few hundred bucks buy you? Be fair now…no family deals, no wink-wink-nudge-nudge “trades” with your friends. You’ve got a couple...
Rough Start: 1997 Subaru Legacy GT – Manual-Trans Rally Daily
When it comes to Subaru, the first vehicle I think of isn’t a WRX, or an STi, or even the 555 rally cars of the late 1990s. Those are all good, don’t get me wrong. Subarus were the first...
Scrapple, Your Guide To The “meh”-Worthy News! This Week:
Chad’s out racing, Brian’s doing his thing in the tower and I’m neck-deep in Mustangs, both my own and other people’s. The “racing season” might be a little bit...
The Last Comeback: The Story Of Tim Richmond’s 1988 Daytona 500 Drama
He had a playboy reputation and had just started to gel with Hendricks Motorsports and legendary crew chief Harry Hyde. For the 1986 season, he had racked up a string of first-place finishes and...
Unhinged: The Electric Vehicle Outsold The Manual Transmission For The First Time In 2019
One of two things is going to cause me to ditch a manual transmission for an automatic: either my left leg will no longer be useable to work the clutch pedal or what’s left of me will be...
Not Built Like That Anymore: Uncle Tony And The Downgrading Of Today’s Auto Parts
So, in the last month, I wound up shelling out over a thousand dollars on my 2012 Chevrolet Cruze Eco’s transmission…specifically, the hydraulic slave cylinder, the clutch, the sprung...
The LeManster, Part 1: Making An Off-Roader Out Of A Left-For-Dead Pontiac
Kevin from Junkyard Digs and I chat quite a bit behind the scenes. After the first writeup I did for a video of his, where he evicted a possum from out underneath the hood of an old Fiat 850 before...
This $25,000 1941 Hawaii License Plate Puts Our DMV Fees Into Check Real Fast!
I’ll admit it: I’m a license plate hoarder. I’ve got every plate off of every car I’ve owned from mid-1999 onwards except for two vehicles I traded in. I’ve got plates...
