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HOT ROD HEAVEN
Nobody knows where the term "hot
rod" originated, automotive author
Ken Gross says, but he shows where
this obsession has gone in his "Art
of the Hot Rod" coffee-table book.
Between the 240 pages of
heavy-stock paper are profiles on 20
top customizers, history and
commanding photography by Peter
Harholdt.
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In the foreword, Alex Xydias, who founded the
So-Cal Speed Shop in 1946, tells how it was in the
early days. The epicenter of hot-rod shops was
Southern California, but today, Xydias says,
"There's not a corner of this country that doesn't
have somebody who can do a 100-point car."
Gross loves this topic and his pristine '32 Ford
Roadster on pages 12 to 15 shows how much. He covers
the range from three- and five-windows, pickups and
racers to works in progress and recreations and
customs in flames, rust, wood and primer.
Anybody with some gasoline in his or her veins
will like this history lesson.
"Art of the Hot Rod," $40, MBI Publishing;
motorbooks.com.
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AIR ALERT VALVE CAPS
My son, 19, checks his car's tire
pressure more than he balances his
checkbook. That's good, but the other day he
called from college and said: "The front
tire looked low, so I put some air in it."
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Visualizing a front tire looking like a giant
doughnut, I asked: "You did use the air gauge,
right?"
I haven't been a big fan of air-valve caps that
are supposed to warn of low pressure by triggering a
red tab from the normal green, or whatever color
combinations are used in the various examples.
But the Tire Pressure LED is different. The
stainless steel caps, made by Air Alert in
Fallbrook, Calif., are embedded with a red LED that
flashes when air pressure drops 4 pounds per square
inch (PSI) on a passenger car tire or 8 psi on
heavy-duty caps for big trucks, earth-moving
equipment, RVs, etc.
A flashing red light at your tire is hard to
ignore, particularly at night.
The stainless-steel caps aren't inexpensive. The
four-pack starts at $40 or $45 with an anti-theft
lock, which would seem a necessity to preserve the
investment. The heavy truck models are $55/$60.
The company, Automotive Upgrade Technologies,
does urge buyers to read the instructions before
installing the caps.
"The few complaints we receive (less than 0.5
percent), we usually get within 24 hours of
installation," said Kristin Lundqvist. "These are
due to the fact that the customer has a flat tire as
a result of not having read, followed the
instructions and tightened the caps properly," she
said.
It is important to screw the caps down with a key
that is included and to tighten them firmly. To
verify proper installation, Lundqvist recommends
that the customer unscrew the caps, see them flash
and then reinstall.
Information and purchasing: (877) 293-3714 and
Automotiveupgrade.com. The website includes a link
to a how-to video.
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SMART JUMPER CABLES
I can't count how many times I've had to
use jumper cables on my tired, old cars, but
every time I pulled out the tangled lines,
I'd ask myself: Red first or black?
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And which do I connect first to the battery? And
which comes off first or last?
I've never blown up a battery, but there have
been sparks.
Hallelujah for Michelin, which has taken away the
doubt and experimentation for this occasionally
pain-in-the-neck task.
The Michelin Smart Jumper Cables don't have red
and black cables. There are two blue cables
connected through a brain box with insulated clamps
that can go on either battery post, positive or
negative first. The electronic box reads the
polarity and then signals correct connections by an
LED indicator light. Then the user just hits the
switch and the battery is ready to be jumped.
The smart cables also prevent a power surge,
which can blow out sensors and other sensitive and
expensive electronic controllers and relays.
Michelin Smart Jumper Cables are available at
auto-parts stores and big discount stores for about
$40.
Find more information at michelinsmartcables.com.
Mark Maynard is driving in cyberspace at
Mark.Maynard@uniontrib.com.
COPYRIGHT 2009 THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM.
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