When The Wrenching Session Accidentally Turns Hot And Steamy: COTD

David Tracy is an absolute treasure. He takes on the dumbest, most ambitious projects of any of us at the Autopian, and his passion always shines through his writing. Apparently, he can also make wrenching on an eBay WWII Jeep sound all hot and heavy, and I bet he doesn’t even realize it.

David wrote about how he froze and grilled his Jeep’s engine parts so that they’d fit together more easily because of thermal expansion. All of that expansion talk apparently read a certain way with readers. Sid Bridge:

I think this article is the closest David is going to get to writing a romance novel.

Live2ski:

Starting with:

I froze my piston wrist-pins so that they would more easily slide through my pistons and into my rods.

DysLexus:

When Delmar (not his real name) gets old enough to talk…

“Mom! Dad has his stupid Jeep parts on the grill, in the freezer and in the dishwasher again!!!
Where’s all my freezy-pops?”

TheDrunkenWrench:

This is the power of thermal expansion — a mechanic’s best friend.

Local mechanic here. There’s two rules:

-When things get hot and heavy, expansion is inevitable

-Never work a dry hole (unless directed by the OEM, see: CAT C15 rear main seal).

Jason wrote a Cold Start about the so-called West Coast Mirror, which you’ll find on trucks. Sid Bridge:

I just hope that someday these mirror can make peace with the East Coast Mirrors. Too many mirrors are being lost in drive-bys.

Finally, the Bishop wrote about the Quad 4 Grand Am. I love cars that represent a generation. SAABstory:

If you are Gen-X then you either had one or knew someone who had one. This is the law.

Sklooner:

Having owned a Lancia Beta I can see why somebody would study them for reliability, durability and corrosion protection and do exactly the opposite.

That Guy with the Sunbird:

The Pontiac “We Build Excitement” era will always be my favorite.

Hence my Sunbird sitting in the garage. Which coincidentally is coming out of winter storage for its annual spring freshen up tomorrow.

Have a great evening, everyone!