Author Archive: Bryan McTaggart
Kezdj, Te Kurva: Cold-Starting A Kamov Ka-26 Helicopter Over..And Over…
In today’s time of fuel injection, the memory of praying to whatever deity hooked you up to let your car actually start for once instead of cranking forever with no sign of a pulse is a thing...
BangShift Question Of The Day: What Is The Origin Story Of Your Dream Machine?
This Question of the Day is going to be a strange one for me, because…well, except for the couple of months I actually had a 1975 Camaro in my possession, I have never owned one of my dream...
An Engineer’s Eye Into The Changes Ford Made In The Mustang’s Manual Transmissions…For The Worse?
It’s 2020. Frankly, I don’t give half a care what’s going on so long as there are three pedals and a shifter sticking up from the floor…and it functions properly. (Side-eying...
Bad BRAT: The Wicked Australian Subaru Brumby Taking The EJ25 Record!
BRAT, Brumby, what’s the difference? Nothing more than the name and where the steering wheel is located inside of the ute. Subaru’s little trucklet is a cult car, for sure, but out of all...
Historical Footage: Flight Testing The XB-70A Valkyrie Prototype Bomber
It’s safe to say that the North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie bomber was outdated before the first flight was ever made. Initially, the plan was solid: be faster than any interceptor...
BangShift Project Files: The 500 Cadillac Fox Body Mustang Project
The more I dive into my 1989 Mustang LX, the more I understand why people adore them. Light, simple, very well understood, the Fox Mustang has fans for a reason. Part of what made them so loved is...
Big And Bad: 1971 Ford Mustang – A Real Boss 351 That Got Promoted To 429!
In describing the 1971-73 Ford Mustang, Lee Iacocca, the man who had been instrumental in bringing the original car to life barely a decade prior couldn’t hide his displeasure in what his car...
Splashdown: Hopping Into The Mudpit In Georgia
Before you did something incredibly dumb with a car that you knew would be the stuff of legends years later, did you ever have that moment where you paused and thought about just what, exactly, you...
Multitasker: This Manual-Trans Holden Burnout Machine Wins!
Like pretty much any racing discipline, there’s usually a formula that if followed, leads to success if you’re a halfway competent driver. In Aussie burnout contests, what you need is...
Money No Object: Pair Of Aces – Two 1969 Chevrolet Corvettes With L-88s
You know how many of the horsepower numbers thrown around during the first Musclecar Era were pretty much bullshit? Even if you disregard the gross vs. SAE horsepower rating, look at some of the more...
Rough Start Fox Body, Part 2: Starting The Scrubbing And The Notorious Heater Core Job
The fun part of doing a project car build with a vehicle purchased in early January is the weather. It sucks out loud…you hope and pray for a half-decent day so that you can get some stuff...
Unhinged: Proof Of The Stupidity Of Drunken Driving
There are a lot of things you can do with a car that falls into the “straight-up stupid” file that I’ll happily admit that I’ve done over the years. I’ve sped on...
Rough Start: Cruise Like A Boss In A Pontiac Executive
I’ve recently discovered a new pet peeve: the difference in automotive scale versus age. For example: conversing with someone ten years my junior, upon seeing a picture of my Imperial, I...
Officially Jealous: Jay Leno Checks Out The Jeep Wagoneer Roadtrip Concept!
Every year, right about the beginning of March, Jeep likes to unveil a small fleet of concepts and studies that will make it to the Easter Jeep Safari out in Moab, Utah. This is done to advertise...