• The Lexus LFA. Can you think of a better way to spend $375K?
• First look at the new Disney/Pixar Cars 2 characters “Grem” and “Acer.” AMC love!
• Hot Rod Magazine pits a 427 Cobra against a 2011 Super Snake. Who do you think wins?

All this and more over at Autoholics.com.

The Frankenstang

By Vaughn Gittin Jr.

I pulled over as the car started sputtering, but the idle returned to normal. Dave suggested that perhaps the coil was overheating and that we should stop at the parts store for a quick replacement so we could continue on our way. With the new coil installed, Ruby seemed at first to be better, aside from a strange noise that occurred as I was turning left out of the Advance Auto Parts parking lot.

We decided to stop at the next gas station a short while later to check out that noise, and it turns out the aftermarket coolant reservoir had jumped off and hit the fan. Coolant had already puddled under the car, but it didn’t appear we lost much–I gathered that the reservoir must have been balancing precariously until we turned into the gas station (it was barely held on the car with a much more than a wish anyway). Everything seemed ok, so I stopped into the store and grabbed water–I should mention it was a scorcher outside, mid to upper 90s.

We started on our way once more, and just as I pulled out of the parking lot, Ruby sputtered again, and as we attempted to climb a hill it becomes worse and worse. Previously, she had returned to normal when I let off the throttle, but now it didn’t seem to matter anymore. She was dying and as the motor went silent, I coasted into a car wash parking lot.

The car wouldn’t fire at this point at all, though I could crank it all I wanted. It seemed that no matter what, we were destined to sit at the side of the road. I was really glad for the water I’d bought at the last stop as we sat and sweated in the 90-something degree heat. Dave thought maybe the ignition control module was overheating and causing ignition breakdown.

About a half hour later, I tried again, but she still wouldn’t start. Dave walks to the gas station nearby and buys starting fluid, thinking perhaps it’s flooded due to the electronic ignition being fried. While he’s gone, I called my father and see if he has any ideas. He told me it sounded like a fuel problem.

Dave soon returned with the ethyl and sprayed it in the carbuerator, and while the car sounded like she wants to start, she still will not. He was also starting to think it was fuel related, but we had minimal tools available. He decided to call his grandfather to see if he could bring a few items; his grandfather told us he was on his way.

In the meantime, Ruby fired up and was even able to rev to full throttle with excellent response, so we try driving it on the road. Maybe it was just flooded, right. But nope, after only about 10 feet she was sputtering again, and I took her onto a less traveled road to get off the main drag. Dave hopped out, and sprayed more ethyl in the carb, and fired it up again long enough for me to limp it into a back road behind a McDonalds. Since the car was starting again, Dave was starting to wonder if it was vacuum related instead, and adjusts the vaccum lines to the tranny. The car starts up, but as we pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot, just as he started saying, “that must have been the problem,” Ruby promptly sputtered again and died. Oh well. Good thing his grandfather was on his way with tools, and hopefully a few more ideas.

Dave’s grandfather showed up, confident that the problem was with fuel delivery. He took a line off the carb and sure enough, it was bone dry. No fuel at all getting to it. The only reason it started those few times was that gas I pumped into the carb trying to start it. Once it was used up, the car would stall.  Grandpa thought it had to be the fuel filter, so we headed to the closest parts store and grabbed one. It must have been super plugged because once Dave reconnected the fuel lines with the filter in place, the fuel pump started leaking gas all over him. Bummer: apparently we needed a pump as well. With the parts store closing in 15 minutes, we ran back to grab a pump. Amazingly, they even had one in stock. I was hoping that this is it this time, since we’d be out of luck once the store closed for the night.

After Dave swapped out the fuel pump, Ruby fired right up and didn’t stall. We headed home without wasting any more time.  It would have been an enjoyable ride if she hadn’t broken down. But on the other hand, thought it would have been nice if they acted up before our cruise, now there are a few more items replaced that would have needed to be replaced anyway. Summer had only just begun at that point, so we were hopeful there were still many more gorgeous sunny days ahead for cruisin.’