Motor Mayhem

    With fuel economy and emissions requirements continuing to tighten around the world, new and old technology are being evaluated to develop more efficient engines. Electric vehicles are competing for a place in light duty vehicles (assuming supporting changes to optimize and cleanup the electrical grid can be done in parallel). However, internal combustion engines are […]

  Many people have found the cable sold in parts stores for 1980’s Chevy and GM 6.2L diesel powered vehicles does not fit correctly. Both the Pioneer CA8503 cable and the ATP Y270 cable claim to be the correct fit for the application, but will not allow the throttle to fully close.The image below shows the aftermarket cable […]

The second generation Dodge Ram drains condensate from the air conditioning from a 1″ long horizontal drain tube that sticks through the firewall. This causes water to run down the firewall and constantly soak the firewall insulation, firewall, and suspension links. Additionally, this can lead to water draining back through the firewall and cause the […]

Rebuilding the Keihin CV carburetors on your Honda CB/CJ/CL 360 goes a long way towards making it run like a well oiled machine. With age and lack of use, varnish builds up causing the jets and small passages in the carburetor to become plugged while seals deteriorate causing air and fuel leaks. Disassembling, cleaning, and rebuilding the carburetors […]

This is a great article that covers the basic visual styling and layout of a good cafe racer or bratstyle bike. Proper planning and layout is a key step in building a good bike that both performs and flows visually. http://www.bikeexif.com/build-cafe-racer  

The factory location of the battery on the honda cb360 does not provide enough space to fit aftermarket air filers. With the price of factory air boxes increasing and their availability decreasing I set out to relocate my battery to allow aftermarket air filters to be easily installed. While many get around this problem by […]

While building my  Honda CB 360, I ran into to the common clutch pop issue. When the clutch lever is pulled, it will work normally until a pop or release is felt and the clutch and clutch lever will not return. There are two problems that can cause this; a short clutch cable or worn […]

This is a pretty good video from 1935 detailing the manufacturing process of a steam locomotive (No 6207)  from start to finish.

The windshield and glass in the topper sides of my cucv (k5 blazer) has always leaked when it rained. I just repainted the floors to prevent them from rusting and decided it was time to reseal the glass so it no longer leaks into the floors. Removing and installing the glass in any of the […]

Chrysler recently announced the introduction of its ecoboost diesel option for the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Chrokee lines. Beginning in the third quarter of 2013, these vehicles will now have the option of a 3.0L V6 diesel produced by VM Motori an Italian diesel engine supplier to chrysler since 1992. This engine will be coupled […]

The Rice Peak trail is relatively easy with no major obstacles along it as it is a forest service road. However, the difficulty comes in the fact that the last part of the trail is extremely steep with only a small turn around at the top. A stock 4×4 can make it with a little […]

Here are some images of a 4×4 trip me and some friends did in January 2011. We ran the Charleau Gap Trail.

Visited this site in June of 2012. The mine is located just outside of Superior, Arizona and is one of many abandoned copper mines in the area. Its a very easy trek in as there is a dirt road passable by car about 1/2 mile away. There is a road off the main road leading […]

Many people find the door buzzer on 2nd gen dodge rams extremely annoying. It comes on for anything from leaving the keys in the ignition with the door open to leaving the headlights on. I wanted to get rid of the key in the ignition warning, but keep the headlight warnings and other buzzer functions […]

Chivo falls is a moderate trail system with obstacles and routes ranging from easy/moderate to moderate/challenging. There are fun spots for both experienced and inexperienced drivers. The trail is located off of Reddington Rd which begins at the east end of Tanque Verde Rd.The falls are a very rewarding site and a nice place to […]

Description: The trail to chimney rock is easy and can be traversed by 2wd vehicles. The rocks themselves are much more challenging than the trail in and has many obstacles that require 4wd. There are spots for everyone to enjoy there and most of the area can be accessed by easier routes. If you want […]

Description: A moderately rough 4WD road that climbs about 1500 vertical feet to “The Gap”, a pass in San Maniego Ridge in the Santa Catalina Mountains. The road was recently “leveled” by the forest service to allow for better access to maintenance equipment. Many of the challenging obstacles have been jackhammered out. The trail continues […]

These are cartoons/information sheets that were used to announce new procedures at aircraft factories and repair shops. They were printed during the 1950’s. Also Here is an old ad I found among the IQ’s.

Here are some cool beginner and intermediate project ideas to make on a mill and lathe. As I find and build more things I will update this page. Stepped Paper Weight: This was done by turning each 1/4″ on the top down to a uniformly smaller dimeter and every 1/8″ on the bottom down by […]

Continually updated list of what I have broken on my CUCV while off-roading.

Night run to Charleau Gap.

Run to look at the work the USFS did leveling the road and jackhammering  kiss rock as part of “road maintenance” Pictures:

Install a 120V power inverter in your car or truck to have household power wherever you go.

Able to achieve horsepower ratings equivalent to piston engines in only one-half or one-quarter their size, the Spherical Golubev’s Machine (SGM) offers a unique approach to creating rotation that is small, highly reliable, and that places balanced, uniform loads on its parts. For example, a 500 HP, 5-liter engine measures 430mm x 430mm x 450mm […]

Tucson Off Road run to chimney rock.

Here are some images and video from the May 1st, 2010 World Extreme Rock Crawling Competition held at the Pima Motorsports complex’s course.

TOR and Rocking AZ teamed together to recover a burnt grand cherokee on the alamo springs trail. The vehicle had been there a number of years and was not being removed by the Forest Service due to the remoteness of the area. After a few hours of work the enitre wreck was recovered and much […]

APRS allows users to send real time text messages, GPS coordinate data, weather information, and many other things over ham radio frequencies (normally 144.390Mhz on the two meter band) that are picked up by nodes and logged on the internet. APRS is a form of packet radio so if you tune to the frequency used […]

Here is a little how to article on how to give your trailer a cheap and easy lift. Basically if your trailers axle is mounted atop the spring you can move it to the bottom of the leaf spring pack thus lifting the axle by the width of the leaf spring pack and axle. Before: […]

Here are some pictures from a hike we took to finger rock in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Finger rock is a local landmark that can be seen from towering above from most of Tucson. The trail is a difficult hike that gets extremely steep towards the end, but the views are great. We hiked the […]

Here is some info on building a blackpowder cannon capable of shooting golf balls or other small items. Please be aware that this article is for informational purposes only and any damage/danger that results from use of any part of this article is not our fault. Also please check the legality of building such a […]

Here are pictures from our run to Chimney Rock to go fix a friends f350 that bent it’s drag link on one of the obstacles there and couldn’t make a right turn. We ended up packing a welder, generator, cutoff wheels, grinder, hand tools, and pipe (for sleeving the bent drag link so it could […]

By using air blown charcoal you can easily melt aluminum cans and other aluminum pieces for homemade castings. I used a bucket, a coffee can, dryer ducting, and a blower fan. By simply letting the charcoal heat up and then using air to “turbo charge” the furnace you can then melt aluminum. Castings:

RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can stay in the air for more than 24 hours. It has a range of 3,400 miles and can maintain altitudes of 65,381 ft. Normally the military  would have control over things such as these, but the Global Hawks have been turned over to NASA for environmental research […]

After 27 years working with Navistar, ford has decided to move into producing their own diesel powerhouses. This is believed to be due to an ongoing legal battle between the two companies over warranty and cost issues related to the old 6.0L V8 Power Stroke. Ford’s new design named Scorpion is a 6.7L diesel v8 […]

Halloween is here and I made this so I could have things such as my pneumatic coffin be activated automatically when someone walked by. Materials: 1. Motion Activated Switch – Here’s Mine 2. 5ft outdoor extension Cord 3. Outlet box – Home Depot Steps: First you need to cut the extension cord in half. Then […]

The Stanadyne DB2 rotary distributor pump has a single pumping element that feeds all injectors. The high pressure pumping action is carried out in a single barrel, which houses two opposing plungers operated by two rollers. These plungers are pushed together by a cam ring with internal lobes acting on the rollers and it is this action that pressurizes the fuel.

Here are designs for making a bed basket for a toyota tacoma specifically, but the dimensions can be easily modified to fit any other truck. This design took 40ft on 14 gauge 1″ box and 10 feet of 11 gauge 1″ box. Final Product:

Mercedes-Benz put the diesel version of its E-Class through a 100,000-mile test. Automobile executives who come to the United States from Europe invariably wonder, with diesel-powered vehicles making up as much as half the new-car fleet in some countries, why diesels represent far less than 1 percent of the U.S. market. “It’s frustrating,” said Nick […]

After being asked how one would go  about adding a microphone and headphone jack to a phone so that a headset could be used, I decided to take a look for myself and figure out what to do. Here is what I found, however, I didn’t actually add the jacks as I have no need […]

The trail to chimney rock is easy and can be traversed by 2wd vehicles. The rocks themselves are much more challenging than the trail in and has many obstacles that require 4wd.

Here is some basic information for new hams to help them get started. Being a new ham can be a little intimidating at first as there are many established protocols for conducting conversations on the air. However, with a few attempts and contacts it all begins to make sense and is truly very easy. One […]

Best Ways to Keep Your Car Running By Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers 1. Don’t Drive Want your car to last? Don’t use it. That sounds obvious, but it’s worth keeping in mind. Chances are there are plenty of times when you currently use your car that you could be […]

Few know the story of bustling coal mining town turned ghost town. This town didn’t dry up from a lack of coal, but an abundance. Prior to 1962 Centralia was a bustling coal mining town with over 1000 residents. However in 1962 the town’s volunteer fire department set the town landfill on fire as they […]

Installing a 1/2 face modern style radio in a pre 90’s blazer.

How to make quick release door hinge pins to make door removal and installation a breeze.

Chivo falls is a moderate trail system with obstacles and routes ranging from easy/moderate to moderate/challenging.

Here are some pictures I took at the WE Rock competitions in Tucson, Az. About 2 Sec Later:

Here are some pictures of an old military oscilloscope I found at an electronics store. I believe it is off a ship as it has the characteristic “musty destroyer” smell to it. I have plugged it in and it seems to be functioning well for the most part. All of the ID tags are removed […]

While out shooting my friend led me to an abandoned Word War Two artillery range. While out there we spend a few hours scouring the ground for pieces left from the range. Together my friend and I found about 130 .50 Caliber tracer and AP (Armor Piercing) rounds. We also found numerous .30 Caliber rounds, […]

Here are some pictures of my “new” Blazer. It is an ’84 M1009 CUCV which is basically a Chevrolet K5 Blazer modified for military use. Some of the changes are 3/4 ton suspension (however it still has 1/2 ton axles), 12/24V split electrical system, and a 6.2L Detroit Diesel power plant. I am currently running […]

Willcox, AZ tractor pulls.

A brief overview of how to make a backpack that will heat and cool you.

A video of my Savage 25 remote controlled car.

The iPod Linux installer for windows.

A stunning panoramic picture of edgertown harbor.

Here are some photos from a backpacking trip along the Appalachian trail I went on last year.

How to backup a hacked iPhone.

Here is a nice little animation that demonstrates geometric shapes found around a school. I made it for a school project with a friend. It will take a while to load the first time but after that it will load fast. It is worth it to load. If you want to download it right click […]

Lots of pictures of the John Deere Model B a friend and I restored.

Time lapse video of a sunset.

How to add a switch to a rotary telephone to turn on or off the ringer.

Different patterns for using safety wire.

Here are some background images I made from some pictures I found of cars at speed week in Bonneville.

Is the DIY community so prevelent in the 50’s making a comeback?

Here are some pictures of a friend’s oil can collection. As the collection grows I will add them here. Complete Collection as of May 2008: Individual Photos:

I was working on a project that involved some pictures of a small engines, so I while I was working on that I got board and decided to play around with some fire effects. Here is what it produced. Small: Medium: Large:

I recently picked up this motor from a guy who wanted to get rid of it. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet. Maybe sell it or put it in something. Anyway here are some pics of it. I believe it is an early 50’s engine and is either a 288 […]

Some burnout videos from a cookout a while back.

How to get your tractor out of the mud.

There are instructions on how to build your very own fire extinguisher flashlight.

Is hot rodding really dead? Here is a nice little video with a twist.

Here’s how to build and setup an animated coffin that opens and closes using pneumatics! This project is great for Halloween but can be used for other occasions like birthdays, parties, etc. This setup is about the simplest way you can make it and still retain quality. This setup is very easy to do (can […]

Originally Featured on Auto Week   By PETE LYONS Bruce Crower has lived, breathed and built hot engines his whole life. Now he’s working on a cool one—one that harnesses normally-wasted heat energy by creating steam inside the combustion chamber, and using it to boost the engine’s power output and also to control its temperature. […]

I was board and decided to make some pens out of a couple of worn out valves I had laying around. The first one I made came out so good I decided I should share how to make it. Here is how to build your very own: 1. Since most valves are hardened steel we […]

Originally Posted on Popular Science To create beautiful electrical-charge patterns like this, you could use a giant particle accelerator. But shag carpeting will also do just fine. Watch how Lichtenberg figures are made in our amazing video By Theodore Gray Posted 02.15.2008 at 1:06 pm Lightning Trigger: A Lichtenberg figure being created by a tap […]

I just purchased an older light bulb because I thought the filament in it was very unique. When I purchased it I had no idea what it was but for the $1.00 I paid for it I thought it was worth it. I tired it in my lamp but it did not work. Then I […]

Here is the continually updated status of my Model “A” build.

Here are plans to build a small motorcycle from any old BMX bike and get close to 100 miles per gallon in the process. The tools that I used were a welder, die-grinder, crescent wrench, and other smaller hand tools that are common around most people’s homes. My finished product had a gear ratio of […]