Episode 24 – The Return of Mr. Wolf
Greetings, speed demons. Welcome back to another episode of Throwin’ Wrenches, where “That’s the way this podcast heard it.”
Eric has decided to channel a little bit of the Mike Rowe with this week’s catchphrase. We’ll see if that sticks, but for now, we’ll promise to keep working on that catchphrase.
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Our guest this week is the ever-knowledgeable Regan from Toyota, who is officially our most frequent returning guest. Thanks for not getting scared off easily, Regan.
We should point out that Regan is very much like Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction. He’s the guy that everybody calls to help get them out of a jam. He fixes things. He solves problems. He also has great stories of late-night shenanigans in a V6 Camaro and a killer Model A Ford pickup hot rod. Thanks for dropping by again, Regan. You’re a good sport!
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Episode Highlights
Eric and his son wrap up their Plasti-Dip job on the 4-Runner, along with some wheel paint and finishing touched. It’s ready to roll from here on out.
He also recaps his most recent off-road excursion, Southern Cruiser Crawl.
Don’t just take his word for it, though. Here’s some photographic evidence of his trusty “Treehugger” 4-Runner in action along with some friends from the Fort’s Trail Team.
Daryl hasn’t spent much time in the garage these past few weeks, but he did track down a good used brake booster for his ‘69 Volvo. He’s happy to report the car now stops without having to press the pedal with both feet and Hulk-like force.
Regan updates us on his nicely warmed-over 400 cubic inch small-block Chevy motor that he’s prepping for his Model A pickup project. To back up the beefy motor, he plans to install a T5 5-speed transmission and a Ford 9-inch rear axle. He hints that there may be some noises coming from his garage this winter, and we’re all pulling for him.
Headlines
Police on Google Maps: The Right Waze or the Wrong Waze?
Source: Inc.
Google has introduced a new feature, similar to apps like Waze, that lets motorists report police activity on Google Maps. The technology is commonly used to notify drivers of traffic hazards such as accidents, but it’s also a back-channel way of warning of speed traps and DUI checkpoints.
There’s plenty of support from app users for this sort of thing, but not everybody’s happy. The law enforcement community doesn’t support the police-locating feature.
Some groups, such as the NYPD, have written to Google in an effort to remove the functionality Waze application. We’ll dive into this one a little further.
But, seriously… how good is Waze vs Google Maps?
We’ll share the results of an experiment involving our friend and fellow enthusiast, Jake Irish and Eric as they both try using Google Maps and Waze in a no-holds-barred cage match. Which app helped its user navigate to the finish line first? Listen to this week’s episode to find out the answer!
‘World’s fastest car’ unveiled – and it can reach staggering speeds of over 600 mph
Source: Mirror UK
UPDATE: We just learned that this very machine just reached 628 miles per hour on a run in South Africa, shattering a previous world record. Wow!
Meet the former jet fighter that wanted to become a car. That car, engineered by the Bloodhound Land Speed Record (BLSR) team, can travel at 600 miles/hour and could possibly break the world land speed record in 2020 thanks to driver Andy Green and a team of mechanics.
Could you imagine rocketing to 200 miles per hour in eight seconds? Who would have the guts to ride this beast?
How Much is a Traffic Light Worth?
Source: PJ Star
To some municipalities, the cost is somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 dollars.
You read that correctly.
After a single-vehicle crash wrecked a set of traffic lights in Downtown Peoria recently, the price tag of the replacement may have caused sticker shock. Eric questions the replacement value of such lights and also tosses out a few cost-saving suggestions for cities looking to keep traffic moving safely while meeting their pension obligations.
Moment of Musk
Elon has been pretty quiet lately, but we still manage to cobble a Moment of Musk together.
Riff Zone
Road rage isn’t pretty. We’ve all been guilty of it, to some extent. Eric bears witness to a road rage incident while on the way back from the Southern Cruiser Crawl, and that leads into a deep, and rather dark discussion of times we all wish we just turned the other cheek and drove off instead of going “caveman” on the other motorist.
Who loves malaise-era cars on the silver screen? We do. We talk about some of the cool rides from the 1970’s and 80’s that are quickly becoming stars in their own right.
Cars of the Weak
Eric:
1929 Ford MODEL A RACE C Roadster Flathead XF-BGMR ECTA SCTA – $49,500
Maybe its all the talk about salt flat racing thats got Eric all excited… He found this little car for racing but its still street legal and can seat two when the roll bar is removed. If you’re going to tear up the track, you may as well look good doing it. Eric would rock it on mean streets of Pekin.
Found on Racing Junk.com
Daryl
1952 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan – $8995
Never one to pass up a sad, forgotten four-door sedan, Daryl has a crush on this Korean War-era Cadillac that’s been sitting on a used car lot near his folks for a year or so. It is clean, original, and looks pretty good. What’s the catch? Ah, who cares. Let’s buy it.
Found at Mr. J’s Super Center
Regan
1993 Cadillac Sedan DeVille Gold Key Edition – $18-20,000
Found on Barnfinds
We can always count on Regan to pull one out of thin air, and this week he’s pulled out some solid gold. It’s a solid FWD Caddy from the early 90’s that has only 889 miles on the odometer. It also happens to be a rare Gold Key Edition car, which means you get to show off your prized DeVille to all of your bridge club friends before you head to Sizzler for an early dinner. Jokes aside, this baby is clean.
Is it worth 20K?
Will Eric get an aneurysm hearing Regan expand on this car’s many virtues?
Tune in to find out…
Thanks for listening!
We’ll catch up with you again soon. Meanwhile, send us something that isn’t spam. (For the record, we love actual Spam.) Hit up some actual humans at info@throwinwrenches.com with show ideas, feedback, or Harbor Freight coupons. Whatevs.
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