Going fast with class

What an idea! Take the love of going fast and incorporate the comfort of your favorite spot. Going fast is easy, anyone can pay someone to make their car faster. It is the ones who keep all the little convenience items intact while building their beast. To take out the old motor and put in a new one from a different car is cheating in my book. To keep it classy, one must keep some original items to show that you can have the best of both worlds. When I was rebuilding my first engine, I truly did not know what I was doing. I had an almost completely stock Grand National and I hacked the HVAC system out of it to make room for turbo plumbing. Worst choice I ever made. To replace those pieces would cost me hours of research and work and possibly thousands of dollars. If I would of made a more well informed decision, I could of retained the both the heat and the A/C. It is the little things that you lose sight of when getting into a big project. I see a lot of these cars with much more modifications made but they still appeared factory or at least had all the working factory components. I have really slowed down on my upgrades and it isn't because of money. I want to make sure that I have done all the research possible and that this is going to be the best informed decision that can be made, both for me and the longevity and performance of my vehicle.

The other things I want to touch on is the cleanliness of your ride. I know a lot of people just wait for the sky to open up and let nature wash the road grim and bugs off the car. It is easy as you just sit there and wait. It is cheap, as rain usually is and in some places, never seems to end. This method, while efficient, does not do a thorough enough job to proper wash your vehicle. While the methodology is highly debated, the main idea and end state are the same. Take a dirty car and make it a clean car. I think one of the most important places to keep rinsed all year round is the under carriage of the vehicle. This is most commonly the dirtiest place on a vehicle next to the engine and engine bay. Anything that is outside hits the bottom of your car. All the salt from winter, the sand from summer, the falling leaves from fall getting into all those hard to reach places and rotting away. All these factors have an impact on the readiness of your vehicle. Proper maintenance is not just changing fluids and rotating the tires. One must keep the dirt, grim, grease, oil, bugs, slime, tar and every other substance off your vehicle to maintain the longevity of the paint and other sensitive components.

I always wash my cars before and after every road trip, after every oil change, before going to car meets or shows, once a week in the winter to keep the salt from eating the paint and metal, and anytime I just don't have anything productive to do. I wash from the top down and front to back. I use Maguire's auto products because I like the selection and the price. I have not had any bad luck with them either and the products continue to keep my cars looking new.

Whatever you decide make sure you do your homework and keep it clean. There is nothing that hurts a car more than dirt, whether it be on the outside of the car, the interior of the car or in the engine. Dirt and contaminates are the number one destroyer of automobiles. Keep it shiny side up folks and stay fast, but don't compromise class.