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9/7/12

10:25 AM

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AUTOMOTIVE
AUTO BITS

TIP OF THE WEEK

Winterize now
Todays cars and
trucks are overall more
reliable than ever before, says Dan Woods,
host and producer of
Speeds Chop Cut Rebuild series. Still, certain systems in all
vehicles are more susceptible to cold, snow
and ice. Its important
to prepare those systems to handle colder
weather.
Woods recommends
owners give these areas
special attention when
prepping their vehicles
for winter:
Tires
Visibility
Battery
- ARA

CAR Q&A

Jumpy car
Q: I own a 2010 Toyota
Corolla 1.8 liter fourcylinder automatic with
47,000 miles. At low
speeds, especially 3540 mph, the car is very
sensitive and jumpy. I
have had the car to two
different dealers, and
they say the car is normal, no problem found.
A: When I hear complaints like this I ask the
owner to drop the vehicle off so we can test
drive the vehicle in normal driving conditions.
The computer would
pick up any conditions
not considered in the
normal operating
range. Leave the car
with your local technician and let him drive it
overnight and get his
opinion.
- Junior Damato,
GateHouse News Service

LIST
THEXXXXXX
COOLEST RETRO BOX CARSAccording to Popular Mechanics:

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Volvo 240 (1975-93)

BMW
M3 (1988-91)
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Mercedes
500E (1991-94)
ADFADSF
Jeep Cherokee (1984-2001)

Chevy Blazer (1973-91)

Dodge Spirit R/T (1991-92)
Ford Mustang LX 5.0
Notchback (1985-93)

CARS WE REMEMBER

1954 Ford Skyliner beauty

Q: I own a 1954 Ford
Skyliner. I have read somewhere that Ford tested a
Skyliner with the Plexiglas
and one with a steel top in
1954 in Arizona with all
the windows up. The result was that the Skyliner
only got 5 to 7 degrees hotter than the steel roof.
As for my 54 Skyliner,
Ive had it now for about
nine years. It was originally a California car and
then brought to Florida.
Next, it went to the
Chicago area for a couple
months where I bought it
and brought it back to
Florida.
I call it the great-greatgrandfather of all the sunroof and moonroof cars we
have today. Its VERY popular everywhere I take it,
as there arent many of the
1954 Skyliners left.
My car has a one-yearnewer engine, but is otherwise original. The original
239 horsepower engine
had issues because it was
the first year of the overhead valve (Y-block) engine.
I always kid about how
the Ford engineers
couldnt get their stuff together for 1953, which was
the 50th anniversary year
for Ford. The 1953 Ford
did not have many innovations or new things from
the prior year. Then came
the 1954 Ford with a new
engine (overhead valve),
ball joint suspension replaced rack-and-pinion for
a smoother ride, astrodial
speedometer and, of
course, a new Skyliner

Jim Pierce of Florida sent these photos of his beautiful 54 Ford Skyliner, which is an excellent example of Fords
ingenuity in 1954. Ford introduced its first overhead-valve V-8 in 54 and had the first-ever American-built sunroof/moonroof. JIM PIERCE PHOTOS

GREG ZYLA

model. Youd think these

would be things for the
50th anniversary celebration but they werent
ready. Jim Pierce,
Florida
A: Jim, I am very impressed with your 54 Skyliner, as it sure looks like a
pristine example of one of
Fords most popular and
novel creations. Im glad I

christened the 54 Skyliner

the Godfather of American sunroof/moonroof
models. Im also impressed you have the 55 Yblock engine, as its bigger
and produces more horsepower. Additionally, I
dont feel it impacts the
value of your car one cent
downward and actually
makes it more valuable.
(Ill probably hear from
the purists.)
Greg Zyla writes weekly
for GateHouse Media and
welcomes reader interaction on anything to do
with collector cars, auto
nostalgia or old-time motorsports at 303 Roosevelt
St., Sayre, PA or at
greg@gregzyla.com.

Jim Pierce of Florida shows off his 54 Ford Skyliner. It

has a 55 engine but is otherwise original. He says, Its
VERY popular everywhere I take it, as there arent many
of the 1954 Skyliners left.