Hot Car Mods Posts
How To: Turn Your '57 Chevy Classic (Or Any Old Car) into the Best Couch Ever
Antique car collecting and restoration is a very popular hobby practiced by many around the world. A quick drive through my town turns up with a handful of classic cars parked in their respective driveways, some in pristine condition, and others not-so-much. While some people end up eventually fixing up their classics, many also do not. Some cars end up rotting away, left to be either salvaged or sold off in pieces—mostly due to time consumption and excessive costs.
How To: Hand Clean a Spray Gun Using Only 2oz. Thinner
In this video tutorial, I am going to demonstrate how to clean a spray gun by hand with a few simple steps.
How To: Keep Cars Off Your Bumper with This Arduino-Controlled Rear Window LED Marquee
There are plenty of times when it would be nice to be able to give other drivers a piece of your mind, or let them know you're having car trouble so they go around instead of riding your bumper.
How To: Use Plasti Dip Coat to Black Out Car Emblems
Plasti Dip coating is a rubber like coating that can be dipped or sprayed on. I first remember the coating available as a dip years ago. It was first introduced as a coating used to dip tool handles in to provide a grip. However, since then, the coating has became available in a spray can. It has also became popular on car parts, such as wheels, emblems, and even entire cars.
How To: Hack Your Car's Cassette Deck into a Wireless Bluetooth Music Player
Still have an old tape deck installed in your car? This nifty hack lets you upgrade to the digital age without sacrificing your love for cassettes. There's nothing wrong with some low-fidelity tunes in your car every now and then, but if you want to listen to the tunes on your iPod or smartphone too, it's a lot easier (and cheaper) than buying a new in-dash player that supports line-in connections. Just add some wireless capabilities to you tape deck! All you need is a cheap cassette adapter,...
How To: Turn a Samsung Galaxy Tablet into an In-Dash GPS and Music Player for Your Car
There's nothing wrong with driving an older car, but one problem that a lot of people run into is that as mobile devices get more advanced, it gets harder and harder to use them in vehicles made more than a few years ago. There are several ways around this, like installing a dash-mounted iPod Nano or putting a smartphone dock in your ashtray.
How To: Upgrade Your Car's Digital Clock with a Dash-Mounted iPod Nano
Have an older car with nowhere to plug in your iPod? Rather than paying to have one installed, you can mount your iPod nano on your car's dash like Redditor hyeinkali did in his 2001 Honda Accord. Normally, there's just a boring digital clock between the air vents, but it's perfectly suited for a nano-mod. This is a great hack if you plan on getting one of the new nanos or iPod touches, because it gives you a chance to get some more use out of your old nano and its old school 30-pin connector...
How To: Don't Smoke? Turn Your Car's Ashtray into a DIY Smartphone Dock
If you don't smoke, your car's ashtray is probably either unused or, if you're like me, full of loose change. And if your car is older, unless you've installed one, it probably doesn't have a place for you to plug in your phone. This quick hack by Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky will solve both of those problems by turning your ashtray into a simple DIY smartphone dock that will charge your phone and let you play music through your car's speakers. After removing and cleaning the ashtray, Jason to...
From Studebaker to Nanobaker: How to Add a Touch-Controlled, iPod Nano Sound System to Your Car
How do you make a 1950 Studebaker even cooler? By installing an iPod Nano in the dashboard, of course! The folks over at MAYA Design hacked their way to a touch-controlled sound system with this project they've dubbed the "Nano-Baker" (or "Stude-iPod") using a pair of Apple ear buds, a USB cable, a voltage regulator and a set of speakers. Here's how they pulled it off.
How To: DIY Subframe Connectors
The guys at PMM show you how to make your own subframe connectors to help stiffen up the chassis, and potentially reduce vibrations in the car. All you need is a length of pipe, a drill, a vice, and some extra hardware! This can be one of the least expensive suspension modifications you can do to your car.
How To: Make a DIY Oil Cooler for Your Car's Engine for Only $60
Most oil cooler kits cost $250 or more, but the guys at Poor Man Mods show you how to make your own oil cooler for only $60! Oil coolers are great security for longer lasting and better performing engines, especially high-performance engines and in warmer climates.
How To: Wrap Your Exhaust
Reduce your engine bay temperatures and improve the look of both your whole engine bay and your headers with something so simple as an exhaust wrap. It is really easy to do if you have the patience to do it. Just wrap it tight, clamp the end, and enjoy your work!
How To: Get Free Manual Electric Fans on Your Vehicle by Removing the AC Relay
Turn your stock fans into 100% manual fans by tacking out the AC relay. Doing so will stop the signal to your compressor telling it to turn on when you hit the AC button. However, the fans will still kick on when pressed, and when released the fans will turn off. This will give you 100% free manual electric fans whenever you want. If it's a hot day and you want the air conditioner on, all you have to do it put the relay back in.
How To: Make a DIY Cold Air Intake
Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a cold air intake, make your own version for your car. Cold air intakes can free up about 4 horsepower to the wheels, increase fuel economy, increase torque and make your engine sound better. All you need is a mass airflow sensor adapter, some metal pipe, couplers, and some clamps to hold it all together.
How To: Install a Grounding Kit on Your Vehicle
Reduce the risk of blown fuses, blown sensors, shorted wires, and even possibly increase shift times on an automatic and possibly increase horsepower with a grounding kit! All you need is some wire, terminal ends and electrical tape or heat shrink. To make this work, all you have to do is run ground wires from essential components to a good ground area, such as the strut tower.
How To: Paint an Engine Block
Tired of your old engine looking... not so good? Clean it up and enhance the overall look with a simple paint job! In this episode, we show you how to paint your engine block, costing you only a few bucks and about an hour or two of your time!
News: Man Builds 1906 Oldsmobile Using Google Books
Vintage plans for building motorbikes, lawnmowers, and old automobiles are fun to browse, but who actually builds them?
How To: Paint Your Car's Interior for a Two-Tone Look
Painting your car's interior is a great way to enhance your driving surroundings and give you a new plush look. In most cases it can even increase the value of your car when you trade it in or sell it.
HowTo: Build a Poor Man's Chevy Volt
Wish you could make the shift to electric or hybrid, but you can't afford it? If you've got more than a few free weekends on your hands, you may want to consider undertaking Benjamin Nelson's ambitious (to say the very least) car conversion project.
How To: Fabricate and install passenger side bracing in a stock race car
Follow along in this instructional video as Jeri Ellsworth demonstrates how to fabricate and install the passenger side bracing on dirt track racecar being built from a 1981 Camaro. The materials and tools needed for this project include a 1 3/4 x .120 tubing, an "Affordable Bender" bender, a Millermatic welder and a Hypertherm 43 plasma cutter.
How To: Fabricate and install the halo and window post in a stock car
Learn to fabricate the halo and window posts with some tubing and a Millermatic welder into a dirt track racecar being built from a 1981 Camaro. The materials and tools needed for this project include a 1 3/4 x .120 tubing, an "Affordable Bender" bender, a Millermatic welder and a Hypertherm 43 plasma cutter.
How To: Fabricate and install door bars in a stock car
Fabricate and build door bars (aka sissy bars) for a full tube chassis 1981 Camaro racecar by following along in this instructional video with Jeri Ellsworth. The door bars are being built for a very rugged car, designed to withstand a large amount of side impact. Tools and materials needed for this project include 1 3/4 x .120 tubing, an "Affordable Bender" tubing bender, a Millermatic welder and a Hypertherm 43 plasma cutter.
How To: Fabricate and install a roll bar in a stock car
Learn how to fabricate and install a rollbar into a 1981 Camaro being converted into a racecar. In this video, Jeri Ellsworth bends and cuts tubing into a rollbar and welds it into place. Tools and materials needed for this project include 1 3/4 x .120 tubing, an "Affordable Bender" tubing bender, a Millermatic welder and a Hypertherm 43 plasma cutter.
How To: Tie subframe rails together in a stock car
Learn how to tie subframe rails together with a Millermatic welder as this 1981 Camaro gets rebuilt into a racecar. In this video, Jeri Ellsworth welds the rails and shows proper preparation and technique. Tools and materials needed for this project include 1 3/4 x .120 tubing, an "Affordable Bender" tubing bender, a Millermatic welder and a Hypertherm 43 plasma cutter.
News: Movie Trailer – World's Smallest Mobile Cinema Seats 8
Not only does this solar-powered cinema have all the trimmings of a great movie theater — ticket booth, brick façade, Ionic columns, popcorn machine, fancy art deco signage —, it is itself remarkably trim:
How To: Disable the safety belt warnings on the 2010 Chrysler Town & Country
While safety belt warnings are there for a reason, the constant sound of "ping, ping, ping" can get pretty annoying. If you'd rather not deal with the constant reminders, check out this video to learn how to disable the warnings on your 2010 Chrysler Town & Country. Be warned - this modification may be illegal in your state, so proceed with caution.
How To: Install an iPad in your car
The iPad is the king of the tablet PC's. One of the reasons tablet PC's are so awesome is that their thinness and lack of folding allows them to be used in positions where normal computers and even netboooks cannot. This, it turns out, makes them perfect for installing in car! This video will walk you through the process of installing an iPad into the dash of a car, which is pretty freaking baller.
How To: Build the Neurotikart, a really fast electric go-kart
Does an electric racing go-kart sound like something you could have in your life? We thought so too. This video will walk you through how one man built what he calls the Neurotikart, an insanely fast DIY electric go-kart that will thrill you without making you cough up two-stroke fumes for a week afterwards.
News: For $55K, You Can Have Your Very Own Tron Light Cycle
The release of Tron: Legacy is just two weeks away, and if our in depth guide to Tron-a-Sutra didn't get you revved up, perhaps the street legal Tron Light Cycle will. Via Wired:
News: The 130 MPH Dining Room Table
Just the other day, we featured Perry Watkins' "Wind Up" mini car, plus his extreme lowrider, the "Flatmobile". Both impressive.
News: 41 Inches Tall and Completely Street Legal
Perry Watkins' clownish mini car, "The Wind Up", is officially the world's smallest street legal vehicle, standing at 41 inches high, 51 inches long and 26 inches wide. The wind up mechanism is purely cosmetic; the car operates as a regular-sized car does, with a tiny engine that can go up to 60kph (37mph).
News: Just Press Print! The World's First 3D Printed Car
With the advent of 3D printers, advancements in the technology allow some truly amazing possibilities. Just a handful of examples include printable architecture, Anish Kapoor's sculptures; even Boeing uses some printed parts in the manufacturing of their airplanes.
How To: Install Recon LED Strobes and HIDs on a truck
In this tutorial, we learn how to install Recon LED Strobes and HIDs on a truck. You must first learn where each of the tires need to install and make sure they are placed in the right direction for what you want the lights to look like. After this, you will connect one side to the white wire on the positive. Then, you will leave the white disconnected on the other side for the flash to alternate between each of the lights. These will look great on a big truck! Just make sure to follow the di...
How To: Clean an automotive paint gun using a gun washer
If you've just finished your paint job on your vehicle, then you're not done yet— you still have to clean up, and making sure the paint gun you used is properly cleaned is the key to successful future spray painting. This video shows you how use clean the spray gun with a paint gun washer.
How To: Spray primer sealer and base coat paint on an automobile fender
If you're painting your auto yourself, you might need a little help if you've never done it before, especially when it comes to the primer sealer and apply your first base coat of paint. This video will show you how to do just that. An OEM fender was already prepped by sanding with 500 grit sandpaper on a DA with a soft pad and surfing the edges with a maroon scuff pad.
News: Since Retirement, We've Had Lots of Time on Our Hands. Lots.
Kudos to Fred Keller and Judy Foster, of Anchorage, Alaska, for undertaking quite possibly the DIY project of the year. The retired couple spent 11 months converting a 1976 Mazda pickup truck into a gigantic radio flyer wagon car. "'I think the words I hear the most often is 'awesome' or 'cool' or people go by and give us a 'hi' sign,' says Foster. 'The wheels are made from hub caps and detergent bottles, and the steering wheel is the actual wheel from a wagon. The handle rises eight feet hig...
How To: Install a cold air intake (CAI) for a 96-04 Mustang
In this tutorial, we learn how to install a cold air intake for a 96-04 Mustang. First, you will need to lift up the hood and locate/disconnect all wiring harnesses. Then remove the bolt around the air filter housing and set aside. Separate the intake and the housing, then pull out the air filter housing. Reinstall rubber grommets that may have come out, then disconnect all hoses from the engine. Put the intake and the pieces together, then you will start to place it back into the car the way...
Scantily Clad Chick Presents: Chainsaw Powered Chopper
If you liked the mini dragster powered by 6 circular saws, then you'll love this Harley-Davidson powered by 24 chainsaws (complete with hot babe).
News: DIY Freak Builds Mini Dragster Powered By 6 Circular Saws
Power tool drag racing is a concept that would drive many DIY nuts to salivation. Shown below: Barry Lee's mini dragster, powered by six circular saws, and aptly named Bolt Lightning.
News: Segway + Skateboard + Tank Threads = SICK Off-Road Shredder
I don't know how else to say it. In a word, the DTV (Dual Tracked Vehicle) Shredder from BPG Werk is just plain awesome. "Built as a first response modular platform to better equip the soldier to deal with crisis situations, the DTV is a new class of vehicle that can handle any terrain at high speed. It’s low center of gravity and rugged design make it ideal for a wide variety of applications including, reconnaissance, rescue/recovery, mobile surveillance/offensive platform, med-evac, rapid r...