The CycleKart Club Library

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Total Articles in our Library: 30

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Buying a Used Vehicle

Used Car Checklist: A great checklist when buying any kind of car, print this out and take it with you if you're considering buying.
Used Car Checklist (Printable) (pdf): A nicely formatted, printable PDF version of the SOL Used Car Buying Guide checklist.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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General Care

Car Lifts Compared: Choosing a car lift for your home garage: buyer's guide to four post lifts, two post lifts, in-ground, and single post lift systems reviewed and compared.
Leather Care: How to keep your seats from fading or cracking, and looking their best.
Twist Drill Talk: How to get the most from your drill bits in the garage, and how to sharpen, inspect and keep them in top working order.

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Service and Repair

Suspension and Wheels

Mounting Tires: How to change tubes and tires yourself and get a nice cardio workout in the deal.

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Brakes and Clutch

Bleeding The Hydraulic Clutch System: A simple tip that might solve your clutch bleeding frustration.

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Engine and Tuning

Make a Spark Tester: Diagnosing a weak spark with a few bits and pieces from the junk bin.
Oil Filter Study: A good website showing what oil filters are made of, and good and bad components to look for.

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Carburetors and Fuel

Weber Factory Calibration Settings (pdf): Stock settings for various Weber carbs.

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Electrical and Instruments

Battery Storage, Fact or Fiction?: Will leaving your battery sitting on concrete cause it to discharge?
Car Batteries 101: Testing, maintenance, troubleshooting and charging advice for the common automotive 12V lead-acid car battery.
Ground Point Preparation: Removing corrosion from your car's ground points often solves all kinds of electrical gremlins.
Understanding Alternators: Operation and theory of the alternator, explained in simple terms.
Understanding the Ignition System: Operation and theory of the ignition system, explained in simple terms.

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Interior and Upholstery

Low Cost Cockpit Sound and Thermal Insulation (pdf): Here is how I did a low-cost thermal and sound insulation for my interior, and a comparison between it and a sound deadening material such as Dynamat Extreme.

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Body and Paint

Car Bodywork 101: Lesson #1 Prep Work: The first part of the series on automotive bodywork, Prep Work, covers basic preparation before painting such as rough sanding, applying and sanding filler, applying and sanding primer, and fixing high spots.
Car Bodywork 101: Lesson #2 Sanding Jamb Areas: Part 2 in this series on automotive bodywork, Sanding Door and Hood Jamb Areas, covers "jambing", basic sanding technique, supplies like sandpaper, Scotchbrite and blocks, sanding technique, cleaning and paint masking tips.
Car Bodywork 101: Lesson #3 Painting Jamb Areas: Part 3 in this series on automotive bodywork, Painting Door and Hood Jamb Areas, covers Tools for Automotive Painting, Fixing Paint Runs and Overspray, Block Sanding Final Primer, and color hold-out (even color).
Car Bodywork 101: Lesson #4 Final Prep: Part 4 in this series on automotive bodywork covers Final Body Preparation, Masking the Body, Masking Curves and Letters, Masking Cracks and Tight Areas, and Final Air and Solvent Cleaning.
Car Bodywork 101: Lesson #5 Painting: Time for Paint! Part 5 in this series covers Mixing Automotive Paint, Automotive Paint Systems, Painting in Your Garage, and Painting Tips.
Car Bodywork 101: Lesson #6 Undercoating: The final part of this automotive bodywork tutorial series covers undercoating your car and final words on bodywork and painting.
Color Sanding: How to get an excellent finish when repainting your car.

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Restoration

Build a Body Rotator: The ultimate low-buck body restoration aid (mirror)
Media Blasting and Air Compressors Explained: How to choose the right blasting equipment for car restoration; sand, slag, alox, and glass beads; gun and nozzle selection and air compressor buying guide.

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Reference

Bolt Torque Specification: Universal torque specs in ft-lbs for SAE Grade steel hex bolts.
CO% to Air Fuel Ratio (AFR) Table: Handy chart for CO based tuning.
Standard Threads Reference: Table comparing UNC, UNF, USP, BSW (Whitworth), BSP (Pipe) and Metric threads.
Wrench and Socket Reference: Reference table of US (Imperial), Metric and Whitworth wrench sizes.

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