Category Archives: Overhaulit

Come along for the ride in this 100-part series as we take three class cars – a 1965 Ford Mustang, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette and a 1970 Plymouth – and overhaul them into dream rides!

Overhaulit Part 81
How to get x-ray vision

Overhaul_PT_81_Corvette.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

Before we get way too far down the road buffing our shiny new paint job, we want to go back in time and take care . . . of the rest of the car. We’ve rebuilt, replaced and/or refinished just about every system and sub-system of our 1963 Corvette coupe project. Don’t be fooled into believing that all restorations are the same.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 82
Night light

Overhaul_PT_82_Mustang.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

Seeing is believing, quite literally. And it didn’t take very long to figure that out when it came to our 1965 Mustang.
Since the 1960s – or ’70s or ’80s for that matter – one of the most significant safety features that can easily be retrofitted into an old car is the lighting.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 83
How is this ever going to work out
. . . seriously.

Overhaul_PT_83_Plymouth.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

More power? Good. More brakes? Better. More stereo? Hmm.
There are a lot of things I’m fairly certain about when it comes to the theme of our 1970 Plymouth project, but by ADD kicks in once the question about sound systems is brought up. Why? Because I generally think that more is better and, in reality, it almost never is. And, I like shiny things.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 84
Preparing to drive

Overhaul_PT_84_Corvette.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

After the Corvette has been apart for six months, what are the odds it will all work when it’s put back together?
Well, you can’t just get in and drive it, now can you.
As we’re heading for the final assembly of the ’63 Corvette Sting Ray project, it’s beginning to hit home that we have no clue if it will actually drive.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 85
No-paint show paint

Overhaul_PT_85_Mustang.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

If you could save $10,000 and six months, wouldn’t you do it? Granted, looking for good paint makes us much fussier in our search for a ‘1970-’73 Plymouth Barracuda, but there are new contenders arriving on Ebay every day, so we’ll wait it out to find the right car.
One of the best lessons our ’65 Mustang taught us is that you can take even just-OK paint and make it turn heads.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 86
Cubic dollars

Overhaul_PT_83_Plymouth.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

As good as 1,100 horsepower is, this is how we could have done better and saved money. I am living proof that stubbornness is expensive.
Whenever someone asks how much power our 1970 Plymouth makes, they’re eyes widen. Eleven hundred horses sounds like a lot. And it is.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 87
Time to shine

Overhaul_PT_87_Corvette.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

The paint is on and the sanding is done, which means the best part is yet to come. This is an utter mess. And it has been that way for days. The 1963 Corvette has been covered in some sort of soupy goop ever since it left the paint booth. Everyone thinks when you lay down the final coat that you just take off the masking tape and drive off. Not so much for a show car.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 88
Tune it! (Or torch it!)

Overhaul_PT_88_Mustang.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

Bolting on the parts is the easy part. Now it’s time to make it all work. Just drop in a new engine and drive off into the sunset, right? Or, take the new carpet kit out of the box, put it in and relax by the pool?
This is what some glossy magazines would have you believe about restoration and modification. “Ten easy steps to painting your car in your garage.”

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 89
Fit for the finish

Overhaul_PT_89_Plymouth.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

In what has turned out to be a rather massive – by backyard-mechanic standards, anyway – engineering project, something has been neglected: the bodywork on our 1970 Plymouth.
Yes, we’ve been so busy trying to build engines and install suspension parts and brakes that we’ve been remiss in reporting on something as fundamental as the car itself.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Overhaulit Part 90
A little insurance

Overhaul_PT_90_Corvette.qxdOverview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, you can still check out a limited selection of our stories available on our Web site www.theoctanelounge.com

Description

Then there was a stubborn overheating problem that was eventually traced back to a faulty water pump.
And then there was the fire.
A fire is not really the way to find out that we’re $47,000 underinsured.

Please contact us to order this feature.