Repair-It

Michel's 1984 Toyota Celica Supra

This is the car I lusted after as a teenager, a 1984 Toyota Celica Supra. When I reached driving age, this model was a few years out of production, but still way too expensive for a student. I promised myself I would own one someday.
I waited until I was more settled and had the funds to purchase, maintain and store it. In my mid-30s, that time had finally come. I found this excellent example in 2010. The body was in overall good shape. I spent many hours polishing the oxidized paint and was able to avoid a complete repaint. It turned out fantastic!
However, I found out the car was very very original. It still had the original front tires from 1984, and though they held air fine, they were dry and cracked. Many of the mechanical parts were also original, and though overall probably still reliable, parts can wear out with age. RockAuto helped me with power steering lines, belts, filters, brakes, cooling system, ignition, gaskets and certainly more that I am forgetting. I am in Canada and despite the exchange rate and shipping prices, RockAuto is often cheaper than our local stores for the exact same part and brand. That is IF they can get the part at all.
My Supra only has average horsepower and performance compared to modern cars, but it does draw a lot of attention. Unless the engine suffers an unexpected catastrophic failure, I plan to keep it as close to original as possible. Thanks to RockAuto, I can keep this 34-year-old car on the road and enjoy it.
Michel in Canada

Helping Hybrids Stay Affordable

I used to be leery of buying pre-owned hybrid vehicles. My buy-and-hold vehicular investment strategy and my family's tendency to get sentimentally attached means we tend to keep cars for a long time. Today, my wife headed off to work in "Wall-E," the '93 Ford Tempo that we planned to only keep for a couple of years when we bought it in 2008. What if we bought a used hybrid, named it "Bess," and then in just a few short years its giant battery died? Would the kids tearfully watch old Bess get towed off to a junkyard or would we throw financial reason to the wind and send Bess, along with a blank check, to a car dealership?
The cost of owning a used hybrid is no longer such a mystery. RockAuto.com has carried replacement Prius batteries for years. Batteries have steadily become available for other popular hybrids as well. Battery prices typically rise as vehicle size increases, but some smaller vehicles have higher capacity battery designs that may cost more. Here are a few battery price examples: 2008 Toyota Prius ~$1,020, 2008 Nissan Altima ~$2,038, and 2008 Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner/ Mazda Tribute ~$3,581. Just look for "Hybrid Battery" under "Electrical" to see what a replacement battery for a specific hybrid model costs.

Chevy, Ford & Toyota Hybrid Batteries
I found further good news when I did some research on used car pricing sites. The future cost of replacing the hybrid battery is in most cases built into the purchase price. Buying a used hybrid and a battery might cost less than buying a conventionally powered used model that uses more fuel, is slower and might have come with less luxurious options.
For example, I found the "trade-in value" for a 2010 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid was $14,300, while the trade-in value for a 2010 Tahoe LTZ was $21,179. If it cost ~$6,000 less to buy the used hybrid, then that savings would be more than enough to buy a replacement battery (~$2,625 at RockAuto.com) if necessary.
The used hybrid model was always the least expensive choice for the handful of vehicles I randomly chose to research. Sometimes the price difference was not enough to completely cover the cost of a replacement battery, but it cut the potential expense down to the cost of a new set of tires or another fix-it-up cost that any individual used car could need.
For example, the trade-in value for a 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid was $5,437. The trade-in value for a 4-cylinder 2010 Camry SE was $5,967. A replacement hybrid battery for the 2010 Camry costs ~$1,365 at RockAuto.com. A used hybrid Camry buyer saves ~$500 on the vehicle's purchase price now but has to pay ~$1,365 for a battery sometime in the future. Still not a bad deal considering the hybrid is faster, goes 10 more miles on a gallon of fuel in the city and any individual used car might eventually need $865 in random repairs/maintenance ($1,365 - $500= $865).
There is now no reason to lie awake at night wondering if ten-year-old hybrids are going to the junkyard or into limbo. What a waste of resources that would be. It is great that along with the other vehicles on the road, RockAuto is helping hybrids stay affordable, reliable and fun to drive!
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

When I was in high school (late 1960s), I had a very nice low mileage MGB. One day I was underneath it on the concrete driveway working on the exhaust or something, and was trying to remove a rusted bolt when the open end wrench disengaged with considerable force. This caused me to bang my knuckles and hit my head on the chassis. That caused me to jerk back and hit my head on the concrete, which caused me to jerk up and hit my head on the chassis, so I jerked back and hit my head on the concrete again. I finally started laughing, went limp and rolled out from underneath the car. I remember standing up and looking around to make sure nobody had been watching...
I did not throw anything, but sure felt stupid. BAM BAM BAM BAM just about as fast as you can say it.
Gene in California

Automotive Trivia

The load on an engine increases significantly as alternator output increases. Match the vehicles below with the maximum output of their standard alternator/generator.
1955 Chevy Bel Air 4.3L V8 (generator) 150 Amps
1975 Cadillac Eldorado 8.2L V8 80 Amps
1995 Toyota Camry 3.0L V6 63 Amps
2015 Mini Cooper Countryman 1.6L 4 cyl. 30 Amps

Forum of the Month

GM B-Body Forum.com is a forum with a focus on 1977-1979 Chevrolet Impalas and Caprices, but owners and enthusiasts of all General Motors B-Bodies from 1965-1996 will find valuable information here.
From general knowledge on GM's prolific full-size rear wheel drive platform, to more specific advice on projects and "how-tos," chances are if you have a question about a GM B-Body, you can find the answer in this forum.