32169

I realize that Ive been slacking on the articles a bit, but its time to supercharger this whole article writing idea, with that said lets get right down to business. The Camaro, has been a long running favorite of the muscle car crowd, and for a good reason, the Camaro could be had with so many different options that it was hard for a true muscle car lover / hot rodder not to like.

Since the Camaro first came out in 1967, it has generated a lot of fans, and if you owned some other kind of car, it could make a Camaro hater out of you really quick, the top of the heap in muscle cars, as far as Im concerned is the ZL1 Camaro, if you wish to argue this point, well thats up to you, but you go right a head and show me another muscle cars, besides the ZL1 Corvette that could run a 10.06 mile, with the addition of slicks and uncorked headers, and of course the right driver.

Rather you love it, or hate it, you have got to respect it, the Camaro has done a lot for the whole muscle car seen, and it will continue to do so when Chevy releases the new one. Now back to the article, I do believe that I have finished my little rant, the options list was long on the Camaro, well not in 1967, but by 1968 the Camaro was a muscle car lovers wet dream, you could get, a small block or a big block, and you could get the from a straight back 6, all the way up to and all aluminum 650 HP 427 CID monster, that was capable of 10s in mile.

You had a choice of two different automatic transmissions, for the V8 models, the turbo 350 hydromatic, and the turbo hyromatic 400, of course you can guess what one was the big heavy duty model, you also had a choice of three different four speed transmissions, and a three speed standard, right at this time, I cant seem to remember the model number for the 3 speed model, but the 4 speed manual transmissions were as follows, the Muncie M-20 standard duty 4 speed, and the Muncie M-21 heavy duty model, and the king of kings, the Muncie M-22 Rock Crusher, which supposedly got its name when diamonds were dropped in to the gear box of the transmission, and it crushed them to dust, and didnt frag the gears.

The Camaro also had a four wheel disc brake option, and most models at least had front disc brakes, and there were a wide array of gear choices for the rear end of the Camaro, 3.08:1, 3.73:1, 3.31:1 were the most common rear end gear sets, but the choices didnt stop there, you also had 2.73:1, 3.36:1. 4.10:1, 4.11:1, and 3.55:1, so you can see right there is one reason why the Camaro took a hold like it did.

The engine options were also a long list for the high performance lover that exist in all men, it would start with a plain old no frills straight back 6, and steadily progress through most of Chevrolets engine sizes, lets see if I can remember all of these, first of course was the 250 CID straight back 6, and from there the V8 models would reign supreme, a 302 CID model was available in the Z/28 Only, the 307 was available for the plain Jane models, and the other high performance models were as follows: First would be the 327, which still lives in infamy as one of Chevrolets best engines ever built, and then the 350, this engine would be used mainly in the SS models, along with a 396, and a 427 CID model, Chevrolet never put a 454 in a Camaro.

With those engine options came a cross ram manifold for the off road version of the Z/28, this is extremely rare to see, its looks awesome, and provided a huge top end gain in power for the Camaro, these engines were laughingly rated at 290 Hp for the factory, but were closer to 450 HP, if you calculate according to the mile time and weight of the car, it was right around this area, believe me, Ive done a lot of studying on the first generation Camaro.

By 1968 and 1969, the muscle cars needed to have more then just power to sell, so the paint options begun to emerge, the color options were awesome, for the time era, you could score a Camaro in orange, blue, green, black, silver and white, and for this time era that was huge, and now for the SS, RS and Z/28 models, you could get style stripes, (AKA) racing stripes, this improved the look and style of the Camaro by 10 fold, the Z/28, RS and SS models had an option for a center consol, which would bolt to the floor of the car and you shifter handle would come through it, also giving you a full array of consol mounted gauges, and an extra place to store small items.

I've been in the automotive business for about 20 or 25 years, I have worked in all facets of the industry, from parts to restoration, all different makes and models, I just want to keep people interested in the old cars because it's where my heart is.

• Muscle Car Restoration
• Auto Shop Alliance
• Muscle Cars For Salr

posted by sdsd99498  # 7:35 PM 0 comments

Until a few years ago, the only market of mobility scooters comprised of the elderly and the disabled. However, in recent years, people of almost all age brackets are opting for mobility scooters given their convenience and comfort in getting around places. This has led to a wide expansion of the market, leading to several new versions and modifications in mobile scooting to be introduced. As the prices are increasing, a consequential secondhand market has also opened up.

In past years, mobile scooters had no resale values. The prime reason for this was most scooters were prescribed by doctors and hence they could be available to the buyer with coverage of the entire cost. Mobile scooters are also VAT exempt, and hence they are very cheap buys. But now, people wishing to buy scooters without prescriptions have the option of buying a used scooter.

There are certain precautions to be taken while considering a used scooter. The prime area of concern is the battery in electric mobility scooters. Though rechargeable lead batteries are used, it should be realized that batteries have a limited life. More often than not, new batteries may be needed while buying used scooters. Other electric features like the charging points and the motors need to be tested.

Mobility scooters are highly flexible vehicles. Major moving parts are the wheel axles, the tiller and the seat. All of these must be properly scrutinized, especially the seats. Scooters have cushioned plush seats that can swivel from 90 degrees to 360 degrees. The swivel must be checked. This is also true of the tiller, without which the scooter will lose its maneuverability.

Mobility scooters are generally companions for life and are not resold. People may consider selling them if they buy newer and better scooters, or in some other unfortunate circumstance. Though not necessary, it is advisable to know a bit about the history of the scooter. This would throw some light on how the scooter has been used and give an idea of the maintenance it would require.

The price of a used mobility scooter depends on the seller. It may range from $100 to $500, depending on the features and the brand of the mobility scooter.

Mobility Scooters provides detailed information on Mobility Scooters, Electric Mobility Scooters, Used Mobility Scooters, Mobility Scooter Reviews and more. Mobility Scooters is affiliated with Cheap Motor Scooters.

posted by sdsd99498  # 3:25 PM 0 comments

The Victory motorcycles with the 5-speed transmission has gearing that is a little short. First gear is almost not usable and high gear is not high enough. This two teeth larger pulley makes your bike more user friendly.

The Victory 32 Tooth Overdrive Pulley. Fits All 03-05 Victor motorcycles and 99-01 Victory's with Upgraded Transmission. This pulley will decrease RPM by 7% and uses All Factory Parts. I decided to install this pulley on my 2004 Victory Kingpin and write up step-by-step installation instructions along with photos of the install. The photos can be seen at the Victory Kingpin Cruisers site at the following link http://www.kingpincruisers.net/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=56. Below are my working notes for doing the installation.

I was doing other maintenance and decided to put the bike on a jack. You do not need to remove the wheel. In fact you want to leave it on to help in the removal of the sprocket. I removed the slip-on part of the exhaust first to lighten the exhaust. Remove the belt guard. Remove the right-side drive floor board so you can pull the exhaust off.

Prior to removing the exhaust. Note the condition of the exhaust flange nuts. The exhaust flange bolts may be rusted. Spray with WD-40 and let stand overnight to loosen them up. After you get these flange nuts off, remove the exhaust.

Here is the Kingpin with everything removed. Exhaust, belt cover, driver right-side floor board. Not the wheel does not have to be removed. In fact it should be installed to help in the removal of the sprocket.

Removed exhaust. The slip on canisters are around here somewhere.

With the exhaust off, remove the sprocket pulley cover.

With the Sprokect cover off you now see the Sprocket. Here I have the belt loose. You want it snug and the wheel on since this will be used as your resistence when removiing the spocket nut.

Another shot of the right side of the Kingpin completely stripped.

Remove the sprocket lock plate screws and lock plate.

Remove the sprocket lock plate.

The sprocket nut takes a 48mm socket. The nut has been Loctited at the factory. You can use either an Impact Wrench to remove. Heat it up to loosen the Loctite. Here I am using my heat gun. It took about 10-15 minutes to where I could simply hold the rear brake pedal and remove the nut. Let the sprocket cool down. It will slide right off. Next, clean off any left over Loctite gunk off of the sprocket rod threads.

After removing the nut you will have to loosen the belt to remove,and install the new pully. The sprocket will slide right off after you loosen the belt.

Here is the lonely drive shaft in wait of it's new drive sprocket. Stay tuned for more since this is all the further I have gotten. I need to now order the new sprocket.

Bike should be all the way tore down on the right side, Bags, Passenger Floor Board,Driver Floor Board and Controls,Side Cover for the Pulley,Belt Covers(top & bottom) and Belt removed. The worse part of the job was the Exhaust System, be careful with them. Here's a picture of the bike ready to start putting it back together. Now clean everything you have removed and clean the Engine and all areas that are exposed.

Grind the Tab that holds the Speed Sensor. Grind about 3/8's to 1/4" off the bottom of the tab but not all the way to the side of the engine block.

Keep trying the OD Pulley until it goes all the way on without hitting the Tab. The side pulley Cover will also need to be ground down to allow clearance for the drive belt. It will rub on the bolt sleeves.

Now install the Speed Sensor using washers of a thickness of about 3/8's to 1/4" put them over the screw hole and then put the Speed Sensor on top of the washers, stick the bolt in and tighten down.

Check wheel alignment and belt tension. With the bike elevated on a lift rotate the rear wheel until you find tight spot in the belt -- halfway between the front and rear pulleys. You should have about 9mm of flex with 10lb of force on the bottom. The marks on the swing arm are useless. After tension is set rotate the wheel and check belt alignment by watching the belt track on the front and rear pulleys. The drive belt should not rub on the sides of the rear sprocket.

Finally reinstall the exhaust system. Be careful not to scratch the pipes as you maneuver them into position.

Please not the manufacturer's of the Victory overdrive pulley do not include installation instructions with their product. Hopefully these instructions will help you through the installation. I have found very good help from the Kingpin Cruisers site at http://www.KingpinCruisers.net site. This install requires some good wrenching skills, but if a service tech can do it, you will surely be able to do it and do a much better job.

Contributing author to the Victory Custom shop -- Cycle Solutions http://www.CycleSolutions.net

posted by sdsd99498  # 3:20 PM 0 comments