Hot Car Mods Posts
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!
How To: Vent Your Hood for Only $3
The guys at Poor Man Mods show you how to vent your hood to reduce engine bay temperatures, which can lead to lower intake temperatures and protection to components in your engine bay. To do this, they just take a few coupler nuts and screw them onto the studs on the hood where the hinge is. Doing so, they create about a 1 inch gap in-between the hinge and the hood itself, which raises the rear of the hood up, allowing hot air to escape. Near the turbo, this help reduce engine bay temps by 12...
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...
News: Shinya Kimura is One Bad Ass Motorcycle Artist
Shinya Kimura is an artist. And his art is the motorcycle. Though a legend in Japan for some time now, the motorcycle engineer first came into the American public eye as a contestant on Biker Build-Off, a Discovery Channel channel show featuring custom bike builders. Kimura has been accredited with originating the popular, vintage style trend of customized bike building (think Pimp My Ride meets retro Harley Davidson).
How To: Use hydrogen for better mileage
Hydrogen can be used to improve mileage. The hope with this method is that hydrogen will increase the amount of gasoline combusted and increase fuel efficiency, as you trickle hydrogen into the tank. Often propane is used to increase gas mileage. The studies are still being done. There's no official data at present, but there is significant experimentation.
News: World's First "Car" Looks Like a Bike and Runs on Fire
Gottlieb Daimler's "Revolutionary Riding Car" of 1885 doesn't look like a car (in truth, it would be more analogous to what we recognize today as a motorcycle), but it did mark the very first inkling of the automobile age.
News: Super Sleek Apartment on Wheels
The economic mini-camper isn't a particularly new idea, but German designer Cornelius Comanns' Bufalino concept is about as sleek as I've seen them.
News: Motorhead Builds 367 MPH Jet-Powered School Bus
Indianapolis-based motor junkie Paul Stender and his team of vehicle modders called the Indy Boys Inc have created the ultimate anti-fuel economy: a school bus outfitted with a Phantom fighter jet engine, which clocks 367 mph and burns 150 gallons of fuel in just a quarter mile. Stender says:
How To: Install sequential (chase) tail lights on a Mustang
In this video, we learn how to install chase tail lights on a Mustang. First, you need to remove the rear trunk panel and trim piece. Next, prepare your tail light kit by following the directions that are given to you with the package. Next, cut the tail light wire. Now, put on your turn signal and take note of which light it still blinking, then mark it with electrical tape. Now, swap that light into the in board position and run the new wires by rewiring the new lights into the tail light. ...
How To: Adjust the mirrors on a motorcycle
Just like a car, having your mirrors adjusted to the right position can be a big help. They are important to use when trying to change lanes and can help prevent serious accidents.
How To: Tint Your 2003 Malibu Car Windows Perfectly
Objects Locate all the objects you need to remove before removing panel.
News: China's City Swallowing Bus
China's latest futuristic project is a massive "3D Express Coach", a clever project proposed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co. as a solution to traffic in the extremely overpopulated country.
How To: Install a TRD supercharger on a Toyota Tundra
If you own a Toyota Tundra and are looking to change things up a bit inside your car, this tutorial may be what you need. In this video you'll find out how to install a TRD supercharger to your truck. More specifically, a 2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7L V8.
How To: Build a subwoofer for a Mini Cooper
In this tutorial, we learn how to build a subwoofer for a Mini Cooper. Start off by cutting the wood so it's to the exact sizes that you need. Next, attach the walls of the subwoofer together with a screwdriver and screws. After this, apply wood glue to the inside of the wood to make sure it's stuck together. Next, make a circular piece of wood for the speaker, then cut a hole in the back of the box. Insert your speaker to the subwoofer and string the wires through the back. When you are fini...