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Interior

POWER WINDOW HOW-TO

Adding power windows is a popular aftermarket option for classic vehicles these days. Worn-out window regulators have given people problems for years, and as replacement parts have become increasingly more expensive and harder to find, it’s simply easier and often cheaper to replace the old regulators with new electric ones. In the past we had to raid wrecking yards for parts that would adapt into our vehicles, and as expected there were generally a few problems associated with doing this. First, you don’t always know the condition of the parts being used, even though they look good; and second, you would need some background in window geometry to get the job done correctly. Finally, you need a certain level of basic fabrication skill and tools, which would be more than basic hand tools. With today’s technology and the availability of well-engineered aftermarket power window kits this has all changed, as it’s commonplace for most people to go straight to a kit designed for their vehicle.

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MULTITASKING FOR THE MASSES

Say you drive an older pickup in which the original designers weren’t all that interested in engine management. Thanks to the addition of that high-horsepower engine, however, you are very interested in what it is up to. But you are also interested in keeping the dash area clean and don’t want to put a bunch of holes into it. You also don’t really want to have an old-style gauge panel hanging beneath the dash. What to do? For those who drive a 1947-’53 Chevrolet pickup truck, the ideal way to handle this problem is to install Haneline’s 3-in-1 gauge clusters.

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SWEET SOUNDS

Everyone wants a killer stereo that rocks. You can’t just roll out in your car without something fabulous to listen to. The factory equipment just won’t work for those who demand more, especially if you are trying to show off. You have to be able to turn up the music and be heard—it’s all part of the game. If you’re going to roll, you know the rules: you have to roll hard and that means your entire stereo system has to be up to the task. Nothing is worse than blasting a stereo and hearing everything rattle and shake. That’s a huge no-no. There is a simple solution to this problem, however. To do a proper stereo installation, you must first lay a solid foundation. The first layer of this foundation is called sound damping or sound control.

I.C.E. : IN-CAR ENTERTAINMENT
THE BEGINNING, WHAT’S CURRENT AND WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD

BACK IN THE early days, having a custom stereo meant that you installed a head unit and a set of mid- and high-range speakers. Then the wonders of subwoofers and amps came along. When these components first came out, they were very large and required huge amounts of space to install. They offered, at best, a distorted sound compared with the standards of today. Ten years ago, most enclosures, when they were used at all, were generally a box or a square made of wood. Today many things have changed and much has evolved along the way…

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Passing The Bar

In the fall of 2003, I wanted to attend an open-track lapping day with my ʼ67 RS/SS Camaro. I have owned the car for several years and have autocrossed and drag raced it, but I never had the opportunity to run it at one of the local tracks, such as Nelson Ledges of mid Ohio, or BeaverRun.

Roll Control

Have you ever noticed how some people can take their car to the strip and look as if they’ve raced all their lives, while others look totally out of control in the bleach box and during staging? More often than not, the driver with the calm, cool and collected approach seems to regularly trigger the win light. The reason for this smoothness isn’t completely initiated by the driver; in most instances, it is the correlation between man and machine.

Please Be Seated

Replacing interior components is not usually that difficult, but interior repair–especially seat repair–requires skills, equipment and training which many enthusiasts may not have acquired. To find out what it takes to make a replacement seat, we went to the Performance Choice division of Mid America Motorworks in Effingham, Illinois.

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