Editor’s Garage: Old Cars Bring People Together – Wife’s Car Duralast Fix – 1932 Ford gets Cadillac Flathead

Everywhere on the planet today, real life is like living in a poorly written episode of The Twilight Zone, and all I have to say about it is the world needs more old cars to bring people together.

I learned this firsthand in 2016 when MotorTrend inked a one-year contract with Facebook as part of Facebook’s $50 million campaign to help launch Facebook Live. As a part of MotorTrend’s contract, all MotorTrend editors were required to broadcast Facebook Live programs for the brand they worked on. I was a tech editor for Street Rodder magazine, so I picked up my iPhone and started Facebook Live feeds covering the weekly classic car and hot rod show at a donut shop in Huntington Beach, California, I’ve been going to since 1984.

The Donut Derelicts is the name we gave ourselves in 1984 as a loosely organized car club, and not the name of the event. I was absolutely amazed at what happened the first time I did a Facebook Live feed for Street Rodder. There were names of people and the places they lived in commenting back to me from all over the world. Typically, I would stream a Facebook Live feed for an hour, and I’d average anywhere from 400 to 1,500 comments from followers worldwide, and not once in a vast number of Facebook Live feeds did we hear any divisive remarks. I have remained in touch with friends worldwide, and I say that’s proof the subject of old cars brings people from all walks of life together.

Everyone Is Welcome at the Donut Shop

There’s a reason Donut Derelicts’ impromptu gathering has been a success since 1984. Tt’s because everyone, no matter what kind of car they drive, is welcome—and even better yet, it’s free to attend. A Google search will bring up Street Rodder’s past Facebook Live episodes.

1948 Cadillac Flathead in My 1932 Ford

The idea to swap out the Chevy engine in my 1932 Wescott bodied Ford roadster with a 1948 Cadillac flathead V-8 started as a comedic response to Facebook comments that my ’32 should have a flathead in it, but they didn’t specify if it should be a Ford Flathead. Thanks to Don Lee Auto in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Duralast Ceramic Brake Pads on the Mercury

Long before Duralast joined HOT ROD as an advertising partner, I’d been buying Duralast parts and batteries from my local AutoZone to maintain a fleet of older vehicles. A 1999 Mercury Sable station wagon with the DOHC 32V 3.0-liter V-6 engine is an oddball, and it’s amazing parts for it are still available.

The Grand Tour: Mondeo “The Only Car We Love”

In the United States the Ford Mondeo was badged Mercury Sable or Ford Taurus. I bought a high-mileage garage-kept example for my wife after a car making a left-hand turn in front of her totaled her low-mileage Toyota M-Theory Matrix. It is a great car, and my fear of not being able to find parts for it is over.

Misread Words the Key to Misunderstanding Sausage

The message here is to read the label. I thought I grabbed a couple tubes of Portuguese Linguica sausage to have with eggs for my breakfast, but when I got home I realized I had two tubes of Basque Lukanka sausage. I did a Google search, and Lukanka, a dry-cured Bulgarian sausage, came up in the results. Another favorite of mine is Kovbasa, a Ukrainian garlic sausage that folks often misread as Polish Kielbasa.



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