Hot Rod Power Tour 2007

It was a pleasure to meet our customers and make new friends at the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour. RockAuto team members were at the Racine, WI and Springfield, IL stops on the tour. In addition to meeting fellow car enthusiasts and hearing great car stories, we witnessed some awesome dyno pulls...everything from a supercharged station wagon to nitrous fortified big blocks. We would like to thank DynoMax for making us their exclusive retailer during the Power Tour.

You will find DynoMax parts in the "Exhaust" category of the RockAuto catalog.

All The Parts Your Car Will Ever Need
We have been keeping our catalog development team busy adding more premium parts to the RockAuto catalog.

K&N Air Filters are designed to increase horsepower and acceleration while providing excellent filtration. K&N Oil Filters feature an exposed nut designed for easy removal, heavy duty construction, high flow rates, and outstanding oil filtration. K&N High Performance Air Intake kits replace the entire factory air intake system and offer Guaranteed Horsepower.

All Visteon A/C and Cooling parts parts meet or exceed original equipment standards for fit and function.

Delphi is an OE manufacturer of A/C, Cooling, Fuel Injection, and Emissions parts for General Motors.

Clevite bearings, gaskets, piston rings, engine parts, and engine kits have set the pace for quality engine parts. Clevite engine parts are built above industry standards for strength and durability.

Original equipment quality is what you get with every Timken wheel bearing and seal. Vehicle manufacturers from around the world choose the Timken name because of its reputation for quality.

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Tech Tip

The following tip was submitted by a RockAuto customer who did his own repair when the dealership wanted almost $1500 to do it. Bill spent $17 for parts and did it himself in about 2 hours.

I just replaced the blend door in my 97 Ford Explorer. This is the easiest and least expensive way to do it.

Ok, here goes...

• First, order a replacement blend door from RockAuto.com, DORMAN Part # 76807.
• Next cut the whole triangle shape piece out as described at this site, http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~dmf/blenddoor.htm. Don't try to cut a small piece out, do the whole thing. I used a Dremel tool with a small cutoff wheel for the flat areas, and for around the bottom pivot boss, I used a small straight bit (like a dentist drill).
• Remove the triangle and you will see the door and can pull it off the upper "D" shaped arm or it may just fall down out of the socket. Note the orientation of the door, it only goes in one way, with the "D" slot on top.
• Next, I put a little grease in the new DORMAN door "D" slot. To get it back into the "D" slot hole, use a mirror to help see the position of the "D" shaft.
• Turn on the ignition and with one hand holding the door, use the other to turn the temp knob. Push the door up slightly and the new door will position it's self into the "D" shaft at the top. Have a piece of duct tape handy to hold the door, so you can put the cutout back in place. Turn off the ignition.
• Using both hands you can remove the duct tape and position the cutout piece back in place. I put a dab of grease in the bottom support boss, before putting it back. I used a small soldering iron, with a flat tip to melt the plastic in 4 corners to hold it in, then I melted along the seams. Works better than duct taping in place while the silicone or epoxy glue dries.
• Now that it's in place, you can go around the whole cut seam with silicone adhesive. Let it dry over night before using, or if you hot welded real well with a soldering iron, you can use it right away.

That's it in a nutshell...it took me about 2 hours. I spent an hour just trying to line up the "D" shaft on top, until I decided to let it fall into place with the ignition on. Otherwise this is an hour or less job and the cheapest way to go. Sure beats removing the dash or going in from the engine side.

The best part is you will never see the cut, unless you stand on your head and look underneath the dash. Hey, if it should break again, your job is half done. But I doubt it because the RockAuto replacement is not made of cheap plastic like the Ford factory door. Don't try to glue the old door or try to reuse it again. It will just break on you again. I'm one for doing it right the first time.

Bill Lavamaki in California

I can proudly drive my 99% original 1964 Thunderbird everywhere. It has the original 390 CI, 300 HP engine with factory A/C and power windows, as well as AM/FM and tilt steering wheel. It is Raven Black with an all black interior.

I have purchased parts for it from RockAuto either directly or have had my mechanic order them. Your prices are very competitive, service is great, and delivery is super fast. Thanks for being there to help keep old classics like mine and others running great, on the roads across America, and beyond.

Eddie in New York

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