The Different Differential

Pig, pumpkin, rear end, differential – call it what you like, but even some serious gearheads don’t know how the things work, especially when you throw in qualifiers like “limited-slip,” “posi-traction,” and “locker.”
For a good primer on the traditional and the computer-assisted what’s to come, check out the NYT story on how BMW made the differential a steering booster in its new x-drive all-wheel drive system. Clue: it’s got to do with “yaw torque.”
The traditional differential:

“Its array of gears and shafts makes it possible for the left and right wheels to spin at different speeds even though they are geared together on the same axle.”

The new BMW:

“Dynamic Performance Control pitches in once the hardest-working tires have reached their traction limits. This added yaw torque — essentially an extra nudge to help the vehicle complete the cornering maneuver — is generated at the rear. By forcing the outside rear tire to push forward while the inside-rear tire pulls back a bit, a helpful turning force is generated about the imaginary vertical axis.”

That can’t be cheap.

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55 Chevy Project: Three for Choosing

It's not every day that you find three '55 Chevy projects for sale on your local Craigslist -- in this case in Baltimore. This first one is going for $3,800 firm and is "not for beginners," the seller says.
It's a 2-door sedan with most of the glass and chrome needed to finish. You'll have to provide your own engine and transmission -- and floors, rockers and trunk. Not for beginners, indeed, though it seems like a good price for someone with some hot rod skills.
The second '55 looks much worse for wear, but clocks in at a cheaper $2,200. It's a stalled pro street project with a Camaro subframe and a Ford 9-inch. No mention of engine or trans and seller says this one also isn't "a beginner father/son project." Since we're not much into pro street (even perfect examples are kind of silly) this one is almost as appealing as a Ford Maverick.
The final (and seeming the best) local '55 Chevy will set you back a bit more at $12,500, but it would probably be money better spent -- beginner or no. It's a 210 with a California title that's been stored for many years. Seller says the original floors are mostly good, except for a small hole at the rear. "As close to rust free as you will find," he says. And by the looks of it he's probably right. No engine or trans. And no word on an interior either. But this one's the winner in our book -- especially if the owner can drop the price by a couple thousand.
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Where's Rumblenote?

Yes, we know, it's been a shitty week for posts. First we had the flu. Now we're on a work retreat until the weekend (no those Google ads don't pay the rent). Read More

Mad Science: Turbine T-Bucket

If you've got a Ford T-Bucket and a Boeing turbine laying around in your garage, I guess this match on this car makes sense, sort of. Remember, it's a long cold winter in Three Rivers, Michigan, where this evil bay seller is from. The '32 Ford is sporting Boeing 502-B3, which the seller says likely came out of a mine sweeper. And if that isn't crazy enough for you, check out how you pilot this thing.
The seller gives a full description of how he matched up the turbine to a cyclic stick from a Bell helicopter.So the beast drives like a copter -- push the stick forward for drive, back for reverse, and left and right to corner. Throttles are from Lear jet. Despite all the gadgetry, the '32 tops out at a turtling 60 mph, which must be scary as hell with a hand of the joystick. Legal? Maybe on the Jetsons.With 15 hours to go on in the auction on Sunday evening, the Ford copter had not met the starting bid of $10,900. Boeing turbines are getting pricey, the seller notes. Seller says he'll drive it to the winning sellers home for $2 a mile and a few cheeseburgers. "Once you take it, it's yours," he writes. "No guarantees." If the $10,000 starting price is too rich for you, the seller is also willing to trade; he's looking for something with a hydrogen fuel cell.
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Mercedes Benz: Is This Your Winter Beater?

A fine winter beater is big, comfortable, cheap, and most often, ugly as hell. This $1,000 '71 Mercedes Benz 250 for sale in Baltimore fits the bill -- except for the ugly part, thought the owner says the Easter egg blue body needs some love.
Owner says it runs and drives great and has a perfect interior. By the looks of the interior photo, he's not lying. We love the two gauges, the fake wood on the dash, and the seriously padded wheel. Owner has four matching hubcaps, though we think the uncovered steelies look better. If this car is as good as the owner says it is, we think it's a screaming transport deal for any season.
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Bugatti in the Drink: Video Version

Here's the rescue video of the Pelican thwarted Bugatti. Read More

Pelican Stuns Driver, Bugatti Goes For a Swim

The owner of a Bugatti Veyron drove his $2 million car into a salt lagoon Wednesday after becoming distracted by a low-flying Pelican. According to The Galveston County Daily News, the man, who refused to give his name, was scouting real estate near Galveston when he spotted the pelican. Before he turned the 16-cylinder into a motorboat (probably at around the time he heard gravel chipping the Veyron’s paint) the driver dropped his cell phone and spun the wheel for a save. Too late. “The Veyron’s powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died,” the reporter wrote.
-- Photo by Chris Paschenko, Galveston County Daily News Read More

AMC Eagle: Why Do I Like This Car?

Back when these original crossovers first came out in the early 1980s, I would have been embarrassed to drive one, even if I had my license. Then why, more than 25 years later, do I find myself strangely attracted to this 1983 AMC Eagle? Perhaps because it was a sign of things to come. Subaru beat AMC to the 4x4 car game, but the Eagle, unlike the Japanese offering, looks like it might actually survive a mud bog, with it's big meats and decent ground clearance.
This SX/4 Sport model is for sale in Tysons, Virginia, for a bit over $3,0000. It's in surprising good shape, with a new set of rims and wheels. If I remember correctly (I think my uncle owned one), these things rusted like Volkswagens and suffered from full-time four-wheel-drive wear, so this one is surely one of 10 or so left on the road. Judging from the epic description of the car on Craigslist, the owner is really into AMCs, which is a first. A quick cruise of the Internet shows, however, that there is a dedicated owners group for these things (one guy even installed a 454 in the ample engine bay). We have no idea how well Eagles fare in the woods, but we'd love to find out.
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Wagon Jump: Another Stupid Car Video

It's a holiday. It's raining outside. Might as well stay in and watch stupid car videos.
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Hearse Drift + Warrant = Funny

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Cheap Thrills: Fat Man VW Trike

Before describing this cheap thrill Volkswagen trike for trade in Maryland, we've got to own up to our feelings about these things. Unless you're a 400-pound biker with a colostomy bag who has lost the use of his legs, we can't understand why anyone would ride such a ridiculous object. And frankly, we can't understand how these things are highway legal. The physics are all off, unless you are setting out wit a death wish.
That said, if you resemble that 400-pound disabled biker, or just want to tinker around with something silly, this one could be for you. It looks like it needs just about everything to be, ahem, road worthy. It's even got the optional bitch pad so the psycho lady in your life can ride behind. Owner says he'll trade for anything that catches his eye.
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Hot Rod Scenes: 10-Second Mower

Here's another shot of Maine car craziness by our family of roving reporters. Got a good photo? Send it to rumble.note@yahoo.com. Read More

Toyota: Company Denies Cover Up

ABC News continues to beat on Toyota while the company is lying on the floor. Earlier this week, ABC quoted federal officials who said Toyota's floor mat zip tie solution recall was not case-closed for the company's mystery runaway cars that experience odd surges of acceleration. Today it asks one of Toyota's vice presidents if the company is engaging in a cover up.
"It's not part of the Toyota culture and Toyota way to cover up anything," the VP said.
Problem is, some Toyota owners who experienced surges say they were driving cars that did not have the recalled floor mats, and in some cases had no floor mats at all.
So if the VP and surging Toyota owners are telling the truth, Toyota has no effing idea what is causing the surge. Which reinforces, once again, our belief that God is attempting to rid the planet of "sandy beach metallic."
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Vovlo 740: Best Shitbox Ever?

In a recent story in Slate about my unnatural affection for the Porsche 911, I called Volvo an "icon of safe, dependable, vanilla transportation." And I feel kind of bad about. During the past two years, I've owned two late '80s 740 Volvo wagons -- both hand-me-down gifts from my older brother. And I have to say -- if you're forced to own a commuter, buy one of these.
What's good about these angular Swedes? First off, you can't kill them. My wife and I drove one with more than 200,000 miles from Michigan to Oregon. Two years later we drove it from Oregon to Maryland. The transmission boiled over, the taillights worked half-time, and the exhaust leaked into the interior, but it made the trip (though soon after it found it's way to a charity). The second one we had withstood a wreck with a stake truck before we sold it for a few hundred bucks. The engine in the 740 is indestructible, though the rest of the car sheds parts staring at 100,000 miles.
So if the low-budget commuter choice is between Toyota and Volvo, go with the Volvo 740. Better yet, get a nice 142 brick like this one in Classic Motorsports.
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Toyota: More than a Floor Mat Fuckup?

ABC News is reporting that Toyota may not have solved the problem of its runaway cars with the recent recall/floor mat zip tie fix. According to a federal safety official quoted in the story, the recall is not a remedy to the problem. The official also said there have been 200 serious injuries and 16 deaths that may be related to the mystery malfunction.
According to the news story, a faction of disgruntled Toyota owners who have experienced the runaway Toyota phenomenon, thinks the floor mat explanation the car company has forwarded is bullshit and are seeking answers.
If people weren't dying, we'd be tempted to say something funny, like maybe the mystery surge is God's way of cleansing the world of bad automotive design.
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Dodge Coronet Sleeper

With its dog dish hubcaps and blue pastel paint, this 1966 Dodge Coronet for sale in McLean, Va., looks like a car passed down from your grandfather. But it's got a surprise under the hood -- a hot rod 440 cubic inch mill in place of the stock 273. The engine should move this hulk down the road and it's a good looking car. But at $5,250, this one has a few too many problems to make it a run out and buy car.
So to keep with the sellers odd figures, we'd say this one is worth $3,025. The car originally came from North Carolina. The body is solid, but the car needs work -- the transmission slips, the "fuel sending unit" is bad (you mean fuel pump?), and the headliner is nasty, though it comes with a new one.
In 1989, I owned a similar Mopar (a '66 Plymouth Belvedere with a 440). These are big heavy cars, but the big blocks make them stoplight demons. Seller says this one will make a great winter project. We think so too, if the price is right.
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Hot Rod Scenes: Maine

Since their retirement, my parents have been traveling the country every year checking out the sites. A couple of serious gearheads, they can't pass a hot rod without taking a picture. Here's a rough one in Maine. Read More