Site Projects

I really have reached my "peak" of how much more work I want done to any one car this year, but I am making an excuse for the S6. The bumpers were awful after years of being bashed around when the owner would leave Martha's Vineyard for his… more

There comes a time when a project is finally to the point that you can drive it - for an extended period - and you realize it was all worth it. 

More than other efforts, I struggled at times to understand if restoring this rare 1989… more

The long-term single owner of the 1995 Audi S6 Avant I bought in September is a well-maintained car. I received a stack of paperwork from the shop that looked after the Audi indicating as such. But like most "special" cars owned by someone who… more

Jay has moved the Dakota R/T inside and begun making the basic tune-up repairs, which consisted of the usual: plugs, wires, water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, and fluid changes. One gremlin I began chasing shortly after getting the truck was an… more

There's a little thing called "service position" on Audis of a certain age. You see, as cool as old Audis are, they did this kind of dumb thing where they jammed the engine bay so full of motor that there was no room left to… more

As we know by now, I've had some unfortunate surprises related to rust on the '89 Trooper RS. The first was the driver's side floor, which was effectively, gone. What I thought was floor turned out to be a very robust carpet pad and when lifted… more

The big outlier in the garage at the moment is the 1998 Dakota R/T. I dropped it with Jay Gaston, the same mechanic who worked his magic on the junkyard-find Trooper RS. Turns out Jay worked at a Dodge dealer when these trucks were new, so I… more

Every now and again, I'm reminded that you never know how and when a contact or friend will chime in with a great idea. 

I've known Dave, the owner of Auto Europa on Martha's Vineyard, for as long as we've been making an annual trip… more

One of my favorite things about old-school cars is single-stage paint. It's a shame the industry moved away from this (though I understand why) as there are few things more rewarding than scrubbing off some chalky, faded paint and seeing original… more