When I pulled the Subaru in to take the winter tires off and wash the undercarriage I heard the unmistakable sound of a muffler leak. I was a bit surprised, as the car is only 5 years old. 

I looked at the muffler, and it looked like it was in good shape, until I saw the weld where the inlet pipe enters the front of the muffler. The weld was rusted through, but the muffler itself was fine. Replacement mufflers from Subaru are very expensive. Aftermarket mufflers only seem to last two or three years. I have had great difficulty having the “lifetime warranty” honored with premium aftermarket mufflers. Even quality aftermarket mufflers do not last as long as factory ones. Many mufflers are replaced due to rusted welds and flanges. 

I have replaced rusted flanges and joints, and repaired rusty welds and had the muffler last longer, than a replacement after-market muffler would have lasted. 

I just couldn’t replace a muffler that was still in such good condition, so I cleaned up the area with the broken weld, and re-welded it. Now, let’s see how long this repair lasts… 

When the cars go in to the garage for the winter, I have always believed they should be drivable and ready to be driven out quickly if there is a fire. I leave battery tenders on lead acid batteries (but not gel cell batteries, they have no static discharge) and always disconnect the batteries to prevent an electrical fire. I always make sure the snow is removed from the garage doors, so there is a quick easy exit. 

Unfortunately, the events of two weeks ago taught me some things about garage fire safety. I will share what I learned.  

First, the fire department did a fantastic job, and saved a great deal of the contents of the building. Only two cars were totally destroyed. The firemen tried to drive the cars out of the building when they responded. As luck would have it, the cars at the doors were cars with push button or foot pedal starters. Firemen are too young to understand this. They pulled the battery tenders, connected the batteries and turned the key… obviously the cars did not start. 

I have always been creative in fitting cars in to the garage to maximize space. This usually means jacking a car on a floor jack and sliding it into positions that al-low one or two more cars to be squeezed in. I will not do that again. I learned the cars should have a straight shot at the door in the event they need to be evacuated from the building quickly. 

Fire blankets saved the cars. The fire was very hot, melting glass and PVC piping in the building, yet there was only minimal damage to 12 cars just inches away from the fire. When the firemen realized they couldn’t drive the cars out, they threw fire blankets over them. 

This fire was hot. All the cars were driven in to the garage, only two were drivable after the fire (both Saab’s B.T.W.). All the cars received heat, smoke and water damage, and also were damaged by falling ceiling lights and sheetrock. 

Oddly enough, the garage doors opened by themselves, somehow, the heat caused the door openers to short out and open the doors. 

So, what have I learned? First, I will ensure the cars by the exit doors are either newer, automatic cars or at least key start. I will leave an instruction note on the dashboard on how to start the cars. 

Second, cars will be parked with quick and easy access to a straight path out the door. No more jig saw parked cars packed tightly in the building. 

I will continue to do what I have always done, disconnect the batteries, and keep fire extinguishers in all the vehicles. I will also not leave gas cans or flammable objects in the garage. I will avoid using extension cords and not leave items plugged in to wall sockets unless they are being used. As bad as this fire was, it could have been much worse. 

Dave, 

I want to share, with you, my story on ethanol gas. As I recall you have done pieces on this topic in the past, however, I thought I would share with you my totally unscientific finding. 

I religiously try to use the non-ethanol in my old cars, lawn mowers, weed whacker, chainsaw, etc. 

Last summer, I had heard from a few folks about their using the non-ethanol gas in their regular driver and getting better gas mileage. My modern vehicle is a 2019 4WD Silverado Chevrolet. With about 10K miles on the vehicle and I was getting on average 21.9 mpg. I drove over 1,000 miles filling the truck with non-ethanol gas and my average was 24.9 mpg, an increase of 3 mpg. My cost per mile with purchasing the higher priced non-ethanol vs the regular ethanol cheaper, gas came out as a wash (depending on the price per gal purchased at the pump). So I figured if it is not costing me more, I am using 15% less fuel, and it should be better for my engine, I have stuck with buying the non-ethanol gas. I am a great environmentalist when it matches up with my cheap side! 

Obviously different drivers, different vehicles, different driving habits would change the results in either direction. Also this was not exactly an apples to apples comparison, because I was comparing regular ethanol to high test non-ethanol. I did not bother to compare how high-test with ethanol would fit in to this mix. Luckily for me I have a local station that carries the non-ethanol fuel. 

I wondered if you ever thought about the ethanol from this angle or not, regardless here is my unscientific sharing that I thought you might find interesting, if nothing else. 

-Eric 

Dear Eric, 

You are correct. Ethanal gas has less energy than conventional gasoline, and you will notice at least a 5% efficiency loss with ethanal gas. My findings have largely aligned with yours. My Subaru has the H-6 engine, which has a 10.7to1 compression ratio, and requires premium gas. When I replaced the head gaskets I had the heads planned flat again, requiring .007” to be shaved off. This obviously increased the compression ratio even higher. (Subaru does not recommend planning these heads…. I have put 100,000 miles on the engine since with no troubles). I also use premium gas in my Saab Turbos. The Subaru and the Saab’s will burn regular gas, but the timing is retarded so far, to prevent preignition that the mileage goes way down, and it actually costs me more money to use the 87 octane gas, due to the decreased mileage. I was also amazed to see how much air conditioning effects mileage. It can drop by as much as 20%. 

Unfortunately, I have only been able to find 91 octane non ethanal gas. Even the non ethanal 91 octane gives better gas mileage than the 93 octane 10% Ethanal gasoline. 

I have had a number of problems with the ethanal gas, with not only the antique cars and small engines, but my daily drivers too. On the antique cars I have had fuel sending units, fuel lines, carburetor rubber parts, fuel pumps and even gas tanks dissolve. I had an exhaust valve burn in my wife’s Chrysler minivan, and I had a plastic valve on the top of the gas tank dissolve on my Subaru Outback. 

Ethanal fuel holds moisture in suspension, which causes the fuel to rust fuel tanks away. I have had gas tanks dissolve on cars that were in extended storage , while stored inside climate controlled garages. 

The only positive thing I can say for ethanal gas is, I don’t have to buy dry gas anymore, I haven’t had a frozen fuel line in years 

Many new car dealers offer “free state inspections” for life when you purchase a vehicle from them. 

Why would car dealerships offer this? The answer is to get you into the service department after the sale of the vehicle. If you were to have the dealership perform scheduled maintenance and repairs, they would make money selling you these services. I have experienced several situations where the dealership uses the “free inspection” to pressure the consumer into consenting to repairs and services that are either not needed or should be covered by the new car warranty. 

I have friends and co-workers who have shared stories of dealerships pressuring them in to performing services, or expensive repairs that may not be necessary. Recently, I brought a one-year old vehicle with 8,000 miles to the dealership for a “free” State inspection. The brake pads and/or calipers had seized, causing the inside of the rotors to not contact the inner brake pads. The dealership flunked the car but said for just less than $500 they could free up the calipers and pads and turn the rotors. I asked why a one-year old vehicle with barely 8,000 miles would need this work, and why it would not be covered by warranty. They stated the warranty only covers parts that need to be replaced, and they would not be replacing any parts. I asked for the keys back and brought the vehicle to an independent shop. The independent shop also flunked it for the same reason, in addition to finding worn out bushings in the rear suspension. They quoted a price of $850 to make the one-year old vehicle, with barely 8,000 miles covered by the factory warranty inspectable. The original dealer then sent out a bill for $45 for the “free” inspection. Apparently, if the vehicle fails the “free” inspection, and you opt not to pay them to fix it, they charge you $45 for the failed inspection. Remember, If the dealership performs a warranty repair, they bill the manufacturer a flat shop rate. The rate a consumer pays for the same repair is significantly more than the flat-rate the manufacturer pays. The dealership would make more money convincing the consumer to pay to make the repair vs. the manufacturer. Why do dealerships do this? Because it works, and they make a lot of money with this business model. 

My advice is this: 

IF you choose to exercise the “free inspection”, read your owner’s manual and warranty carefully before you go to the appointment. IF the dealer recommends any services that are not mentioned in the schedule of maintenance table at the back of the owner’s manual, do not consent to the services. If they push back, point out the factory recommended service schedule in the back of the owner’s manual. If they say service is necessary for an inspection, read the warranty carefully, and point out to them what is covered, and what is not. Remember, dealerships have the “free inspection” to make money on service. Be careful, and do not fall for high pressure tactics to have the dealership perform services that are not necessary. 

Recently I have seen a lot of frozen caliper slides while replacing brakes. Some of these calipers were relatively new. 

Usually I can free up rusty frozen calipers with an ATF/acetone mixture, wire brush the pins, clean and lubricate the slides and reassemble the caliper. Sometimes, the slides are so rusty I can’t free them up without breaking them. 

New calipers usually come with a light grease on the slide pins. I have found this grease is insufficient to keep the slides from seizing, especially on cars exposed to road salt. 

When I do a brake job I always remove and lubricate the caliper slide pins with caliper grease, even with new calipers. I also lube the contact points of the pads with caliper grease to prevent them from being seized in the calipers. Sometimes I have to dress the tabs on the brake pads with a file to open the gap enough to provide a slide fit in the caliper. 

It is also important to use never-seize on all the hardware when reassembling the brakes. 

Broken windshields are not fun. Left unrepaired, chips easily, turn in to cracks, which requires windshield replacement. Windshields for older cars are becoming harder to find. Modern windshields are glued in place, requiring professional installation.

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Windshield chips can often be easily repaired at glass shops. Some insurance companies will cover 100% of the repair. Insurance companies consider a windshield chip repair as a claim and may use this as a justification to increase your rates, just ask me how I know this.

Recently I tried my luck at do-it-yourself windshield repair. The results were very good. I had 7 chips in my Saab windshield and two on my Subaru. Having these fixed at a glass shop would have been expensive. I tried a $10.45 “Rain-X” windshield repair kit from Amazon.

The kit came with a surprisingly high-quality suction cup, mounted resin injection tool, very clear instructions, a bottle of repair resin and a good supply of materials to make the repairs.

The tool mounts to the glass with four suction cups, and the directions were very clear and helpful. The resin is activated with sunlight. I highly recommend doing this repair on a dry, sunny day. The repair cannot be done in direct sunlight.

The instructions recommend the actual repair be made in the shade, then placed in direct sunlight to cure. The repair only needs about ten minutes of sunlight to cure. I found doing the actual repair in the garage, then moving the vehicle in to the direct sunlight worked well. I did my repairs in the afternoon and was able to move the car to directly face the sunlight.

So, how did it work? Surprisingly well. The repairs were at least as good as professional repairs I have had done. Some of the chips virtually disappeared. It was very hard to see them after the repair. Some of the larger chip repairs were still visible, but much less noticeable.

Do you remember the TV series Mash? 

Did you know those helicopters that flew in wounded soldiers were Bell 47s units….and the engines they used were Franklin engines? 

The Franklin O-335 air-cooled aircraft engines were six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed displacing 335 cu in with a power output of around 225HP. 

When the Franklin auto company went bankrupt in 1933, two of Franklin’s employees purchased the rights to the engine and continued to use the name Franklin. The engines were used in trucks and as stationary units, until WWll began and then went into production for use in over 15 U.S aircraft and helicopters. 

Republic Aviation Inc. purchased the Franklin engine rights in 1945 and produced the Franklin engines for light amphibious aircraft. This company was short-lived with the war ending that year. 

In 1947, the Tucker Car Corporation purchased the engine rights, where the 50 cars that Tucker produced, were powered by Franklin engines. The home of the Tucker Car Club is now at the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA. Tucker reworked the engine from air-cooled to water-cooled and many examples can be seen on the museum floor today. 

In 1961, the Tucker family sold the engine rights to a company called Aero Industries and from there to the “Government of Poland” in 1975. The Polish engine manufacturer is today called “Franklin Aircraft Engines” and are manufactured in Grudziądz city in Poland. 

Absent any questions this month, I will share a story about how costly it can be to ignore warning signs and delay needed maintenance. 

A friend of mine has a towing and recovery business. He recently picked up a Subaru from out of state after it broke down on the interstate. The owner told him to keep the car. Why did the Subaru break down? The center drive shaft bearing failed, and the driveshaft came undone from the carrier bearing, flung around, came out of the transmission, hit the pavement, and punctured the floor. The drive shaft punched through the floor and up between the front seats, at highway speed. 

Fortunately, nobody was injured. This problem most likely made considerable noise for some time before it catastrophically failed. This could have been a $100 repair, taking less than a half hour to fix. Someone decided to ignore the warning signs, and ended up walking away from the car. 

I considered buying the vehicle and repairing it. I probably would have, but looking at the car it was very clear the car had never had any maintenance. I don’t think it was ever washed or vacuumed out. 

I can not understand how anyone can invest thousands of dollars in a vehicle and not maintain their investment. 

Absent any questions this month, I will briefly discuss some cars in my shop this month. Both of my sons now have cars. I wanted their first cars to be something durable, safe and inexpensive. Somehow, each of them ended up with a Saab 900 four door. 

When I learned how to drive, people maintained their own cars. Times have changed. Today, people don’t work on cars; they either take it to someone to have it repaired, or they replace it with another car needing less work. 

My older son has a strong interest in cars, and has a nice 900 Turbo. It needed some work when we got it, and while fixing it he was able to learn some basics on how things work and how to maintain a car. My younger son was just looking for basic transportation, and he found it with a base model 900 with an automatic transmission. This car needed a lot of work, and he and I have been working on it for the past year or so. This car was not really worth saving, but was almost too good to scrap. 

These projects are teaching basic auto mechanic skills, like brakes, suspension, electrical and exhaust and also more advanced body work skills with rust and dent repair and painting. They will not only learn skills to maintain a car, but also will have some personal investment in their cars. 

These projects also provide an opportunity to spend time with them. Cars come and go, but quality memories last a lifetime. 

Gary Olney and Vin Cassidy have “the old car syndrome” that most of us have. Our level might be called a “melody”, theirs might be called a “fever level”….just an opinion, mind you. 

Here is an attempt to track their travels that took place in about a period of one month. Please excuse us if this sounds like envy. 

#1…Gary leaves his home in Derby Line the first part of March to meet Vin in Rowley, Massachusetts (2). They are heading out early because a snow storm is heading in and they need to be in New Jersey (3) to meet Fred Hock and check out all his Mercers. 

Then off to Mitch Gross’s garage in New York (4). Mitch is in a deadline race to finish his White steam car and get it on a ship bound for China. The steam car will be the first to do the 9300 mile Peking to Paris race, that will be taking place this June to August. You can watch the race progress on the internet. 

Then, off to Richmond, Virginia (5) and Reggie Nash’s Nash collection. The truck/tractor museum in Southern Virginia was next. A needed break for sleep happened in Kingsland, Georgia (6) then on to Amelia Island in Florida (7) and their big annual auction. A couple of $800,000 old cars sold and a couple of others for only one million and oh, did we say the two VAEers are pulling a trailer? The trailer was handy when someone asked if they could haul a 1906 Pope Toledo back to New Jersey. So the two, head back to New Jersey (3) for the delivery and back to Rowley (2). 

In Rowley (2), they load the trailer up for the Chickasha show and head for a stop in Buffalo, New York (8) and Pittsburgh, PA. (9) for a ‘few car-parts purchases” of the show. Next, a sleep-over in Perrysburg, OH (10) and then on to St. Roberts, MO (11) and Edmond, OK (12) for a few more purchases. And….finally their destination, Chickasha, Oklahoma for the Annual Spring pre-war show and parts sale (13) Sadly, next year is the last Chickasha Swap Meet. A spring shackle breaks and the trailer is stopped in its tracks. Along comes a gent by the name of Ryan Ersland from the swap meet. A welder is produced, the repairs are made and they are on the way again. Ryan would not accept proper payment for his work because “he will not take advantage of someone broken down”. Vin and Gary both agree there are really good people everywhere in this world. 

There were a few more stops over the next three days before arriving back in Rowley , Mass. (2). The end of their east-coast motoring….but there is still a little more….they were not done yet! 

They got on an airplane and headed for another car show and swap meet in Bakersfield, California (14). There was also a ‘luxury break’ in Hermosa Beach (15) to view the pacific and remove some road-dust. They then went home to their respective homes,……and they were done! All 12,806 miles contained antique cars and parts that were picked up and delivered all over the United States that only Vin and Gary can keep track of. Can you imagine the stories that can be published from these adventure; maybe if we had 100 more pages!