Just Needs a Recharge
Just Needs a Recharge

Author: Rob Siegel

Publisher:

Published: 2018-04-24

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 9780998950716

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Air conditioning in vintage cars often falls into disrepair, as owners figure that it never really worked all that well when it was new, and assume that rejuvenation would be prohibitively expensive. In his new book, Just Needs a Recharge: The Hack Mechanic Guide to Vintage Air Conditioning, Rob Siegel details exactly what's needed to resurrect long-dead air conditioning in a vintage car, or install a/c in a car that never had it. In a level of detail not found in any other automotive a/c book, Rob reveals what you need to know about flare and o-ring fittings, upgrading to a rotary-style compressor and a parallel-flow condenser, making or specifying custom hoses, and selecting refrigerant so that the a/c blows cold enough to be usable. Although the book draws from Rob's BMW experience (with specifics for the BMW 2002 and 3.0CS), and concentrates on vintage a/c systems (those that have flare fittings and originally contained R12), most of the information applies to any air conditioning system, foreign or domestic, vintage or modern. Written in Rob's entertaining Hack Mechanic narrative voice, and including 240 photographs and illustrations, the book covers theory, the choice of refrigerant (R12, R134a, other EPA-approved, non-EPA-approved), legality, tools for a/c work, fittings and sizes, the compressor, the evaporator assembly and expansion valve or orifice tube, the condenser and fan, the receiver/drier or accumulator, electrical connections and compressor cycling, connecting and using manifold gauges, the basic steps for a/c rejuvenation, from-scratch a/c retrofit, making and installing hoses, flushing the system, pressure-testing and leak detection, evacuating and charging the system troubleshooting, and other things that heat up the cabin.

Ran When Parked
Ran When Parked

Author: Rob Siegel

Publisher:

Published: 2017-05-05

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 9780998950709

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The author buys a long-dead vintage BMW sight-unseen, travels a thousand miles to where it sits, gets it running, and drives it home. During the twelve-day trip, he finds that what began as a story of man-versus-machine turns into something else entirely--a story of the kindness of strangers, and how doors sometimes open exactly when you need them to. "Rob Siegel is a writer with the mind of a mechanic and a mechanic with the mind of a writer. He's also an old-school romantic of the best kind, and one of the few people who understands what car culture really means to the people invested in it-free of stereotype, cliché, or pat sentiments you've read a thousand times before. Like all of his writing, Ran When Parked focuses heavily on the why behind the hobby. It's a mix of casual, long-form blog entry; detailed how-to; and emotive confessional; most of all, he seems to believe the world would be a better place if everyone else followed on his crazy path and devoted their free time to resurrecting old iron. He's right." -Sam Smith Editor at Large, Road & Track

Resurrecting Bertha
Resurrecting Bertha

Author: Rob Siegel

Publisher:

Published: 2019-09-15

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9780998950723

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To most people, cars are just appliances to be disposed of when they rust, become unreliable, or are outgrown. But to car people, it's different. Cars are like photographs that occupy physical space. They hold aromas that trigger memories, and remind us of who we once were. In addition, to some people, the relationship with the car itself is a real thing. Many enthusiasts pine for the cars of their youth, regret that they ever let them go, and yearn and search for them the way people do with old lovers, hoping to find them and rekindle that old spark. In Resurrecting Bertha, Rob Siegel assures you that this is normal (well, as normal as anything is with car people), and embarks on this journey himself. Writing in his trademark Hack Mechanic voice that's enthralled readers for 35 years, Rob describes his original eight-year relationship with his highly-modified 1975 BMW 2002 "Bertha," selling the car to a dear friend, its 26 years of storage, and buying it back in a weak whisky-soaked moment only to experience the "oh dear God what did I just do" regret when he raises the long-closed garage door and comes face-to-face with the badly deteriorated car. The book details the steps Rob went through to get the car running, then driving, then sufficiently sorted to make a 2000-mile drive, and how the reconnection with the car was so much deeper than he expected. Resurrecting Bertha is about more than just the nuts and bolts; it's about deciding what's important, the joy of doing good, and how, if you do it right, not only can you go home again, but you can do so in the same car.