Driving Tips: Save Money, Stay Safe

Gas may be cheap now but here are a few more ways to help control your vehicle expenses and keep you safe:

On long drives use the cruise control to save gas. The gradual acceleration and deceleration improves your fuel efficiency. To improve the fuel economy of your vehicle, avoid jack rabbit starts and begin slowing down sooner before you get to that red light. The gradual change in speed has a noticeable effect on fuel economy and your wallet.  

Warming up your car in the morning isn't always necessary. Driving your car under normal conditions will naturally bring the car to optimum operating temperature. Cold winter mornings are another thing to consider; warm up the car so you have enough heat to keep the windows clear for safe driving.

Tires aren't just round black things on your car; the tires are what stops, starts and steers your car to keep you out of trouble. New tires start with at least 10/32 of an inch of tread and any time the tread is worn below 5/32 of an inch or (4MM), traction is compromised, especially on wet or snowy roads. When the tread is at 2/32 of an inch or (1.5MM), the tire is legally worn out and needs to be replaced.

Tires make a big difference with how your vehicle handles and rides. When replacing tires make sure to use tires with the same specifications or better than the originals. This information can be found on the driver’s door pillar.

For extending the life of your tires keep in mind that each tire wears differently because of its position on the car. To ensure even wear you should rotate your tires approximately every 10 thousand kilometers. Improperly inflated tires can have a dramatic effect on fuel economy. Test air pressure once a month before you start driving for the day, which will allow you to get an accurate reading and adjust to the specification on the driver’s door pillar.

Proper vehicle maintenance is defined as servicing fluids or components before they cause irreversible wear. For example, flushing the transmission before the oil and chemicals in it break down will save you a lot of money over the life of the vehicle, by not having the expense of the transmission repair, which can easily be thousands of dollars.

Does it seem as if you’re not getting as much heat or air conditioning in your car as you used to? It could be that your cabin air filter is plugging up causing the poor airflow. Each manufacturer has a maintenance schedule for replacing the cabin air filter. Replacing the filter may be all it takes to keep you cool in summer and warm in winter.

Preventative maintenance: The manufacturer’s maintenance schedule is filled with inspections. It is through these inspections that upcoming maintenance items are identified and corrective action can be taken saving you time and money, instead of not inspecting and hoping your car doesn't break down.

Crestview Auto Service is a proud partner of Trusted Saskatoon.

"We'll Help Keep Your Car Young A Long Time"

Visit us online at www.crestviewautoservice.ca or call at (306) 244-6522. 

#DrivingTips #Tires #Maintenance #Safety

Honest-1 Auto Care Ends 2014 With Recognition from Franchise Gator

Honest-1 Auto Care, a national full-service auto care company that is 100 percent ESA® Certified Eco-Friendly, is proud to announce that they have been included in the 2015 Franchise Gator Top 100. Franchise Gator studies hundreds of FDD’s when determining the brands that make their annual list and take financial stability and franchisee retention into consideration, in addition to other criteria including conversations with respected industry professionals. You can read more about Honest-1 and the Franchise Gator ranking here.

When rust spots blossom on rust free collector cars

What do you do when your collector car sprouts rust spots in the middle of the hood – an area that had no previous sign of damage?  If you’re a restorer with an inquisitive mind, you find out why it happened.  That’s what we did when this show-winning 1963 Continental Convertible sprouted a rust bubble in the middle of the hood.

The '63 Lincoln on the show field at Newport, RI

The rust bubble that got the ball rolling

We might not have dug deeply into this, if not for the fact that it had happened before, on the same vehicle.  Two years before we’d painted a rust spot on the hood and chalked it up to paint chipping or “causes unknown.” When a similar spot appeared in a different area we realized something had to be going on.

The something is rust from behind.  And when you look at the “behind” photo of this hood that is hard to believe.  There is no sign of rust on this hood; no sign that it ever had any problems.  But when we matched up the location of the rust spot on the front we found it matched the location of a spot weld where the inner frame was welded to the hood’s outer skin. 

The inner frame of the hood shows the voids where water was trapped

Once we saw that we realized there were probably more trouble spots around the other spot welds.  We removed the hood and stripped the paint to find 20 other incipient rust spots.

The hood, removed and stripped of paint

Little rusts spots were everywhere, hidden under paint

Here’s what happened:  Back in 1963, the folks in the Lincoln assembly plant welded the two pieces of the hood together without any surface treatment.  They used ordinary rust-prone sheet steel.  Once welded together, the hood was painted and sent out into the world.

The process of welding the egg-carton frame structure to the smooth outer hood panel created a number of areas where water could become trapped.  Over the next 50 years that is exactly what happened – every time water hit the underside of the hood a few drops worked their way through the gaps between the outer panel and the frame and they sat in the inner space, where rust began to grow.

It took quite a while, but by ten years ago, rust was starting to eat through the outer panel around the spot welds.  Left unrepaired, the rust would have eventually separated the two panels – sort of a “tear on dotted line” of rusted out spot welds.

All American cars of the 1960s and most foreign cars were made with this same technique. Some cars are still made this way today.  Luckily, most high-end cars today are made with steel that has been treated for corrosion resistance, and seams like these are often sealed after they are welded. Those techniques stop rust like this before it starts but they are no help on this 1963 car.

 

Studs welded over rust spots

A stud welder in use on a fender (not this Lincoln)

The big question for us was what to do about it.  Our body man came up with an innovative solution to put metal back into those rusted areas.  He used a stud welder to weld studs to the hood panel in all the affected areas.  The stud welder did not warp the sheetmetal of the hood as much as conventional welding, but it still put metal over the damage.  When we were done the hood was bristling with studs, which we ground off flush. 

We drilled into the frame behind the hood and sprayed Waxoyl rust treatment into the cavity.  We hope that will slow the process of corrosion from inside.  Short of cutting the hood apart and remaking it that is the best anyone can do. 

The studs have been ground off and smoothed

The hood, painted and ready to go back on the car

A small amount of glaze was used to level the hood surface as the welder made am impression a few thousandths deep.  Then the repaired panel was primed and refinished (front and back).

We fitted the sound deadening into place and finished the edges.  With a car of this quality we need to have the same finish on the inside that you see on the outside.  They didn’t care too much about that in the Lincoln plant but collectors today look for finish details like those. 

The fender tops are painted sans hood so paint flows into the undressed area smoothly

The assembled car, curing and ready for final buff and polish

With that in mind, we sprayed the tops of the fenders as you see to get an even finish across the top of the car.  Our cars are painted in modern Glasurit finishes and this blending technique is normal with that process.

The repair process you've seen here was used on a Lincoln.  The job would be essentially the same on a Chevrolet or even a Fiat.  We show a repair of a hood but this same assembly technique was used on quarter panels and other parts of car bodies, and these repair techniques apply there too. Rust-throughs at spot weld seams are more common than many people realize.

Experience with work like this is what distinguishes a restoration shop from a modern collision shop. Shops that fix wrecks are accustomed to doing fixed-price work for insurance companies. Rust is much less of a factor, and replacement parts are generally available. The goal of that sort of work is a quick repair that's "good enough" when seen from outside.  Discerning enthusiasts want more, and that's where specialists come in.  Look for lots more attention to detail, and more focus on repair than replacement because new parts are often not a viable option on 50-year-old cars.

In a repair shop, the final paint process may be the same on a 1955 car and a 2015 car, but all the steps leading from the car's arrival in our shop to it's rolling out the door will be different. And the paint process itself may be different as some antique cars are painted in "vintage" paint processes like nitrocellulose lacquer.  It's surprising how different the skill requirements for restoration and collision repair are. The process of finding and fixing all the incipient rust spots, and then finishing everything we touch to a high standard is time consuming.  But if you've got a rare and beautiful car that is what you want.

The finished result is shown below – better than new, and ready for parades and shows in 2015!

Best wishes

John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, independent restoration and repair specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the RROC and other car clubs, and he’s owned and restored many fine vehicles.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

Car_Detailing_Consultation_And_Training_Class_Malaysia

Welcome! Car Detailing Class is now available! 1x1 buddy training class specially dedicated to all car beauty lovers!

What you will learn?
-Compounding and polish technique, with machine polish.
-Professional detailer coating technique.
-How to wash and wax as a detailer way.
-Head lamp restoration and sealing.
-Learn about polisher in detailing industry.
-Learn from various profession detailing concept from different detailer brand.
-Learn the cost effective way of performing car detailing.

What will you get?
-Skill and knowledge learn, benefit forever.
-A full readiness for you to offer detailing business/service to the industry.
-Various big brand of detailing information which help you to unlock your future skill improvement.

What is the training class cost?
-Please email kalex2trading@gmail.com for training class customization.

What should you prepare?
-Think of what you want to learn.
-Email to Kalex Car detailing(kalex2trading@gmail.com) if need full advice/consultancy service.

Why Kalex Car Detailing?
-There are no detailers willing to share out the information and skill, this is because all information about detailing are confidential to each brand of product. What normal consumer can only get whatever offer from market shelve.
-This is why we are here to unlock the possibility to all consumer as well as car wash service provider.
-Get through us in what you need to learn in car detailing is the fastest path for your car detailing journey.

#CarDetalingClass,#CarDetailingConsultancy,#CarDetalingTraining,



What we don't do:
1.No extreme effort in compounding, safe to car clear coat.
2.We do not encourage engine detailing, refer to below sample screenshot for those engine bay detailing consequences.

How to justify do or not to do in engine bay detailing?
3.Go to your car official service center and ask your if you can wash your engine bay. Don't get your ECU chips wet for risk, will your warranty being void? think of it.
4.We do not encourage interior coating which is not good for driver healthy.

What you need to take note:
1.We are the only detailing workshop left in Malaysia still mastering Turtlewax compounding/polishing skill/method.
2.Hence sending your car to us for detailing will left you a little bit unique from other detailing shop in the industry.
3.We do not blindly follow work that being carried out in the detailing industry, we will not do detailing task that is harmful to driver.

Alex Kwok

Auto Detailer Supply & Service Alex is a detailer based in Malaysia. He is written for his website, Kalex Car Detailing or the registered name in Malaysia SSM as Turtlepro Detailing, a popular information sharing center which tells the truth of detailing industry & the smartest way to perform car-care cosmetic for automotive scenes.  He researched and innovated detailing skill into more cost effective & creative way. New reinvent of skill: Reinvent Speed Shine Icy Detailing Method 棕榈护蜡冰镇法改良版 Speed Shine 快速闪耀工法 保漆研磨技术

Flush and Fill

Protect your new car warranty and keep your older vehicle young - Flush and fill fluids the right way for long life.

Each car or truck has a service schedule for flushing and replacing the fluids that lubricate, cool, protect and control the operation of different components in your vehicle. These service intervals are based on distance traveled or time between the services. How these services are performed will have a direct impact on the reliability of your vehicle.

When flushing the transmission and cooling system, appropriate chemicals before and after should be used to first dissolve sludge and varnish buildup inside the components that are being serviced. Following the flushing procedure, which replaces the contaminated fluid, the appropriate chemicals should be added to enhance the operation of that component. Typically a cooling system or transmission flush service will take around an hour to do this way.  This compares to a fluid exchange that can be done in 10 to 20 minutes.

A simple drain and fill without using proper chemicals to remove the sludge and varnish is like washing dishes by rinsing alone; no soap or dishcloth to clean off the stuck food and stains. Not much chance you would want to have guests over and serve a meal using those dishes, they wouldn't be clean. Your transmission and cooling system life will depend on the quality of the fluid flush procedure.

The vehicles we drive now have different types of fuel injection requiring specific procedures to service the various systems. Although all injection systems require service, the newer direct injection vehicles need special attention and training to service properly or damage can occur.

Engine and driveline oils have changed dramatically over the last number of years. With the extended drain intervals we are seeing, making sure to use the proper grade and type of oil is very important. If your vehicle specifications call for 5w20 oil and you use 5w30 instead, you can damage a new engine because the oil is too thick to flow through the engine properly. Likewise synthetic oil or non-synthetic oil usage is just as important; synthetic oils are usually more uniform and flow quicker to protect better when the engine is cold. Using a non-synthetic when a synthetic should be used has the same affect as using the wrong grade of oil and can cause engine damage because it can’t lubricate properly. The oil filter is just as important, the use of a “cheaper” filter and a long drain interval has caused problems, as these cheaper filters do not have the internal filtering capacity to last and will bypass oil without filtering it.

This is why Crestview Auto Service only installs the highest-grade oil filter along with the proper grade and type of oil on your vehicle. Our Licensed Technicians are qualified to service all systems in your vehicle with the recommended chemicals, fluids and processes. With your approval we will inspect the condition of your vehicle and our technicians will make recommendations based on the inspection. Give us a call or visit us online at crestviewautoservice.ca. We look forward to helping you keep your car young a long time. 

#fluids #processes #ServiceSchedule #LicensedTechnicians

God is Good, All the Time

It was a beautiful evening tonight at
Mastermind Enterprises Auto Care in Denver. 

Noah loved it, too!

A photo posted by Mastermind Enterprises (@mastermindautoshop) on Jan 7, 2015

Happy 2015 from Mastermind Auto Care

Thank you for being a part of our shop's story in 2014. 
Thank you for all of the testimonials you wrote for us in 2014.

We wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2015!
From Our Family to Yours, with Love

Happy New Year! 

Happy 2015!

Happy 2015 from all of us at Mastermind Enterprises Auto Care! #Blessings for a great year! www.mastermindofdenver.com #happy2015 #newyear #newyears #newyearsday #newyear2015 #newyears2015 #2015 #mastermindauto #autorepairdenver #mechanic #SimpleTip #autorepair #CO #instagood #Denver #engine #familybusiness #GodLovesYou #Love

A photo posted by Mastermind Enterprises (@mastermindautoshop) on Jan 1, 2015 at 7:54pm PST