Motormouth Radio

This week, the boys have Bob Jones from the L.I. & NYC Oldsmobile car club in the studio to recap this year's historic car show event. Talk turns to rare and oddball Oldsmobile's, insurance regulations for certain cars & motorcycles, as well as car show planning and strategies. Ray plays a clip of the 1951 song "Rocket 88" as performed by Jackie Brenston & his Delta Cats, and the gang goes on to cover a modern engine swap into a 1956 Olds as relayed by a caller. Can you say "project car"?

Ray & Chris dive right into the nagging topics of lawnmower repair and maintenance then ask a prolific question; "Is the MotorMouth Radio jinx contagious?" That leads to talk of bringing car parts into the house and cleaning them in a kitchen dishwasher, and a list of automotive fluids that have stained our family lawns when we were growing up. You don't get stuff like this on NPR my friend, not by a long shot!

As has been our tradition since the beginning of this show when no guests were available on Mother's Day, we decided to compile a "best-of" show of sorts. Highlighting some of the most interesting and funny calls from the previous year, this installment is no different where we cover new tools, guys who skip out on paying their tool bills, and what makes us all continue staying in this hobby we love so dearly. Join Ray & Chris as they take a drive back through time and share these moments with you all.

This week is an enlightening show with talk about how to properly adjust your car mirrors, & the new MMR "blown bulb curse". New caller Nick professes his love for the early Mazda Miata's, which takes the boys down the road talking about Triumph's, Fiat's and old Honda's. The show turns back to lights with an LED headlight upgrade for the FJ Cruiser, and how to adjust your headlights at home.

The boys talk about finding unrelated problems while doing an oil change, then Ray rants about people who don't stop correctly for red light cameras. Stories of challenging bulb and battery replacements lead to another rant about tailgating drivers. Dune Buggies used in Shriner's parades round out the rest of this raucous hour of automotive content.

The ago old conundrum over whether to use Dino or synthetic motor oil is busted whenChris finds the determining factor at Walmart. Oil change intervals and a somewhat weird flush technique gets discussed by the boys, and a surprise younger listener calls in to test our car knowledge. A recent government mandate regarding the sale of E15 fuel gets kicked around, as does a DMV mandate for motorcycle exhaust system inspections. The group grumbles but moves on.

The story of GAK spilled in a Rogue cup holder gets resolved this week. The question of when to purchase a specialty tool leads to a smack-down in a Maryland Harbor Freight parking lot where MatcoMan Brian is hunting down scofflaws. The pros and cons of doing car maintenance is talked about, as is the lack of conscientious car owners.

Dune Buggy fine points are discussed in depth with our expert "Pirate Paul" and a caller, then noted author and Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter calls in to share some of his secrets for finding hidden automotive gems right in your own neighborhood. Tom's new book works into the conversation and the specific differences between collecting and hoarding are covered by the panel.

The boys hit the ground running by talking about what makes a car collectable. The fine art of identifying an old Dune Buggy body is discussed with resident expert "Pirate Paul", who built and owns one of the finest examples on Long Island. The Brooklyn boy comes out in Chris with talk about the infamous "Godfather" sandwich that's only found in select Brooklyn deli's.

Ray explains the work that went into the Spring cleaning of his FJ Cruiser, which leads the boys to talk about cabin air filter maintenance benefits. A mysterious bent rim and a denied claim from a Nissan dealership keep the talk flowing for a while before cup holder technology takes over the show. Cracked stock steering wheels on 53 year old cars and the installation of a late model Hemi engine in a PT Cruiser round out this hour.

Chris explains how and why he's been using automotive Bodno on his house repair projects, and what product to use for ceramic tile resurfacing. Ray asks if there's ever been a car in the stable that boosted driver confidence, or arrogance. Hardware takes over the show with clutch head and Reed Prince screws taking center stage, followed by the boys favorite heating tool, the Inductor.

Following the topicality of last week's show the boys clarified the differences between a Power Probe and a test light, then with rising gas prices getting the best of us all the talk turned to what it costs per year just to park your car in the driveway. The option of having a car with a millennial anti-theft device (manual transmission), and motorcycle travel rounded out the super saver conversation. Brake control module diagnosis & replacement rounds out this hour of automotive fun.

Ray relates what it took to get his Mazda to pass a NY state inspection by using an oxygen sensor "cheater" and how he treated it kindly afterward. Bob Tasca's 8 second record breaking pass in a full bodied fully electric powered car is talked about, as are some older EV race-cars. Dave Barden from the Power Probe company calls in to talk about their new cordless soldering iron and short detector. As is the norm on this show the talk soon turns to the benefits of optimizing ground connections on any car.

The boys lament over the difference between old and new music after opening theshow with a "golden oldie". Ray talks about working on one of the family cars in a snow squall which brings up the topic of how to dress for foul weather. Carl Anthony from Automoblog.net joins the show and jumps right into aftermarket warranties for cars with over 100,000 miles. Carl answers caller questions then poses the thought of whether modern muscle cars will go electric.

Chris laments about the unfair advantage of getting more snow where he lives than when he was in Brooklyn, and Ray questions why he lives with snow at all anymore. The recurring catalytic converter code in Ray's Mazda and how to work around it gets some attention, as does a callers chronic ABS code on a new Dodge RAM. Paying closer attention to vehicle grounds especially on an older car is discussed, as is the cool factor of owning a Bullitt Mustang.

Ray lays out a mysterious combination of fault codes his FJ Cruiser displayed, but before the boys could delve into the diagnosis too deeply they were joined by Louis & Tyler from the "Bustin' Out Skoolie" roof raising project. Besides the progress on the bus, talk turned to Tyler's motor-home conversion and what it's like to live in a wheeled home on a full-time basis.

The recent "Sno-mageddon" that befell our area threw our cars and roads into a tizzy This weekend. This led to the boys talking about 4 Wheel Drive maintenance as well as a garbage picked snow blower Ray restored and is currently using. A new method used for stealing catalytic converters was discussed by a caller, and how our favorite cars of yore rusted out before they were mechanically expired made us all weep for nostalgic reasons.

A non-spritzing washer pump drives Chris up the wall and leads him to work out in the cold. Ray bought a "Motor Mouth" album at Infinity records & spots an interesting detail on the cover. A stuck caliper slide pin on a Cruze drives Ray wild, which leads to stories about working out in the ice & snow in younger years, along with what car projects are good to do indoors during the winter months.

An iconic Brooklyn institution of slot car racing, Buzz-A-Rama, closed recently and Chris delivers a heartfelt eulogy for the passed owner. The boys talk about the culture behind racing slots as well as their small counterparts, the Aurora and AF/X versions, then are joined by guests Louis Lee and Tyler Long who talk about the epic roof raising event later this month on Louis' full sized bus. The phones light up over this story, since it's such a terrific project bringing together builders from across the country.

Back with a vengeance to kick off our 20th year of broadcasting, the boys start the show by talking about stopping, more specifically how to adjust a car's brake pushrod. The show quickly transitions into the finer points of model car building and some of the crazier Craigslist ads the guys & a caller have seen. One of the shows regular callers promises to send a picture of how he "measured the sunshine" down in Florida.