General Challenger

In the early days of the automobile industry, painting was a slow process. It was applied manually and dried for weeks at room temperature by solvent evaporation. 1930 Packard Factory As mass production of cars made the process untenable, paint began to be dried in ovens. Nowadays, two-component (catalyzed) paint is usually applied by robotic arms and cures in just a few hours either at room temperature or in heated booths. (Note- That is why car paint can be waxed as soon as the new owner...

Chrysler has always been an innovator in the car industry. Nothing, however, captured the imagination of the driving public and the spirit of the 1960’s space-age as the turbine car. The Chrysler turbine car was produced by Chrysler, from 1963 to 1964. Its body was made by the Italian design studio Ghia, and Chrysler completed its assembly in Detroit. Surprisingly, the Chrysler turbine engine program, that produced the turbine car, began during the late 1930s and created multiple...

The offset of a wheel is the distance from its hub mounting surface to the center line of the wheel. The whole point of an offset is for the end user of the wheel to know how much in inches (4+3), or in the case of millimeter offset, how many mm the wheel will stick out or tuck in from the mounting surface of the hub. Remember, even a couple of millimeters can affect performance, ride quality, the look/stance of your vehicle and safety. It takes precise measurement to make sure aftermarket...

Drag radial street-legal tires had their origin in racing. Originally, race cars used “racing slicks”- a type of tire with a smooth tread. The first production "slicks” were developed by M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in contact patch to the track and maximized traction for any given tire dimension. Slicks were also used on road and oval track racing where steering and braking require maximum traction from each wheel. Slicks, however, are not suitable for use on street cars which...

Back in middle school science class, we learned that in order to make fire, you need three ingredients: fuel, ignition and air- or, more specifically, oxygen. You’ll also remember that cold air is denser than hot air, putting more oxygen in the same amount of volume. While the modern internal combustion engine does a fine job of delivering fuel and ignition, that cold air part becomes tricky as you try to route fresh air from outside through a hot engine compartment. In response, in the late...