New Supplier for Vintage Auto Body Parts

There is no better time than the present to finish up the restoration on your 1969 Dodge Charger or your 1942 Ford Super Deluxe! RockAuto has recently added Classic 2 Current Fabrication Repair Panels to the RockAuto.com catalog.

Classic 2 Current Fabrication focuses primarily on rocker panels and floor pans for a variety of makes and models dating back to 1937, but quarter panels, toe boards, trunk extensions, and trunk floor pans are also available. Classic 2 Current Fabrication repair panels are manufactured using at least 20 gauge coated automotive steel; although floor pans, trunk pans and inner rocker panels are made from 18 gauge for extra durability.

Adding Classic 2 Current Fabrication to the RockAuto catalog is another way RockAuto is trying to make those hard to find parts more available to you. Check the ‘Body-Exterior’ category of the RockAuto.com catalog today and see if RockAuto has the vintage auto body parts that you need to finish your restoration!

Forum of the Month

MX6.com is the world’s largest Mazda MX6 community, dedicated to serving MX6 owners and enthusiasts. The forum also caters to other Mazda models, specifically the 323 and 626, as well as the new Mazda6.

It is a valued resource for prospective and current owners and boasts an active and educated membership base who are eager to help out fellow owners, or those looking to purchase a Mazda.

The MX6-specific forums are divided into first and second-generation models with numerous sub-forums dedicated to performance and aesthetic modifications.

Along with discussion areas for additional Mazda models, there are separate regional forums to help better serve the board’s international members. With a regional breakdown for the United States, MX6.com also boasts an active user-base in Canada, the U.K and Ireland, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

If you are the administrator or member of a forum and you would like to see your website featured in an upcoming newsletter and receive a discount code to share with your members, contact jessa@rockauto.com.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

So, there I was way back in the early 70’s or so, rebuilding the 40 hp engine of my 1965 VW bug on my parent’s back porch. I was hoping to finish the job before a "hot" Saturday night date with my girlfriend Janice. Some of my less mechanically inclined friends understood my predicament and wanted to help. I should have brushed them aside as one pal dropped a nut down into the intake manifold of the partially assembled engine, which required a minor engine disassembly to remove. I did however, let Tony attach the fuel line on the fuel pump.

Janice’s parents had strict orders to have her home by midnight. I was showing her where I was attending Vocational School late that evening when I noticed the Bug wouldn’t start. A quick check under the engine lid showed a massive fuel leak at the fuel pump. Tony had cross-threaded the fuel connection and ruined the brass fitting. I did some quick thinking and asked Janice if she had some chewing gum (she usually did). I had her and myself quickly chew some gum, as this became the basis for my repair on the fuel fitting. I tightly packed some gum around the fuel fitting, and the Bug started back to life. We then sprinted across town to make it back to her house just in the nick of time.

I mainly do my engine work alone these days...

Frank in Denver, remembering his youth in Pittsburgh, PA.

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes. Please email your story to flamur@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and shirt size (large or extra large) and we will mail you a RockAuto "Do it yourself?" t-shirt if we publish your story (see the t-shirts under Extras in the catalog). The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

Not Just There to Make the Ride Nice

After participating in a recent Tenneco Technology Tour class, I better understand that shocks and struts are not just there to make the ride nice. Changing the shocks and struts is as important as regularly changing the motor oil.

Tenneco makes Monroe and Rancho shocks and struts designed for specific vehicle applications. There is also a good chance they made the original equipment shocks or struts for your car or truck. They live and breathe shocks and struts and before the Technology Tour class I was suspicious that they might exaggerate their importance. My suspicions quickly dissipated.

Every class topic was demonstrated with video or suspension, steering, and braking systems set up on tables. I also drove pairs of vehicles that were identical except for their shocks and struts. Both BMWs, both Chryslers, and both Nissans had approximately 50000 miles (80000 km) on their odometers, but one vehicle in each pair had the original shocks and struts and one vehicle had new Monroe Reflex or Sensatrac shocks and struts. It is futile for most drivers to attempt to remember how their vehicle braked, steered, and handled 50000 miles ago, but I got to actually experience the difference.

This is what I learned in the class and behind the wheel. Shocks and struts use hydraulic fluid to dampen both the compression and the expansion of the suspension system. The hydraulic fluid in the shock or strut is pressurized with nitrogen gas to prevent aeration (foaming bubbles). After 50000 miles of movement and heat, the nitrogen gas pressure has faded, the seals controlling expansion and compression are leaking, and the color of the hydraulic fluid has changed from red to black.

The flow of hydraulic fluid is typically restricted 70% when the rod is pulled out of a shock (expansion) and 30% when the rod is pushed in (compression). So a shock is easier to compress than it is to expand.

The need for resistance against both expansion and compression is demonstrated during braking. If the rods pull too easily out of the rear shocks and the rods push too easily into the front shocks then the vehicle’s rear rises up and the front dives down during braking. This puts more load on the front brakes. Brake pads wear out faster and brake rotors are more likely to overheat and warp. With the front brakes doing most of the stopping, braking distances increase. The BMW 325i I drove with the new Sensatrac struts seemed to have better brakes than the BMW with the original struts. Same brakes, one BMW just had worn out struts.

If the shocks and struts are not resisting expansion and compression adequately then the movement of steering and suspension components is increased. Bumpers, bushings, ball joints, boots, tie rods, CV joints, and even engine mounts face extreme movement or impact and prematurely wear out. Steering is degraded, as the vehicle leans too far on the outside and rises up too far on the inside of every turn. The pair of Chrysler minivans proved this to me.

Bad shocks or struts also put more wear and tear on the springs. The springs are radically compressed and expanded with every bump or turn. The extra travel and heat prematurely causes the collapse of coil springs. Ride height and wheel alignment are altered.

With alignment off and the tires bouncing off the road surface, tires end up with uneven tread wear such as cupping and feathering. I noticed the rear of the Nissan Xterra with the worn shocks was more likely to break loose in turns. The Xterra was leaning too far and the tires were not holding the road.

Changing shocks and struts every 50000 miles should be as routine as changing the engine oil for drivers that want to maximize the life of their vehicles. Pushing down on a fender to see if the vehicle bounces may have been a way to check the shocks on a 1968 Plymouth with a solid axle and leaf springs. The fender push test does not work so well on a car with front wheel drive or an independent suspension. The shocks or struts may be bad, but all those modern and expensive suspension, steering and drivetrain components are now absorbing that bounce.

Tenneco found that 60% of the vehicles sitting in junkyards still had the original shocks and struts. How many of those cars ended up as junk because of chronic brake, steering, suspension, tire, or drivetrain failures that could have been prevented with new shocks or struts every 50000 miles? How many of those cars and trucks would not have been in an accident if their braking distance had been ten feet shorter or if their steering and suspension systems had been more stable?

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Hello,

I just completed a restoration of my 5.0L, 5-speed, T-top, 91,000 mile 1986 Mustang GT. I have purchased many parts from RockAuto including the Steering Rack, Brake Booster/Master Combo, Pads, Rotors, Drums, Shoes, Hardware, Starter, Water Pump, all the engine sensors, and lots more. I love the prices and fantastic service you provide. Keep up the great work.

Scott in Illinois

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