Classic News
Jerry Thurston tries to separate fact from net invention
Keep abreast of the latest news from the classic world.
The internet contains millions of car facts, some good, some not. At times it can be a little difficult to separate fact from opinion. If you read ‘Drill holes in your radiator to improve airflow…’ you’ll know it’s nonsense but there is some dangerously nuanced stuff out there. Ranging from a bit mixed up but good at heart, to simply wrong, to created to sell a product or service.
For instance.. home-made trackers. Garages handing over key rings that contain a tracking device is a bit far fetched… but tracking devices fitted under cars at shows by thieves is a real worry. Fuel catalysts? There are simply loads for sale on ebay. A choice of pellets of some sort of alloy to drop into any petrol tank or alternatively pay £50-ish and replace some of the fuel line with an inline fuel catalyst. Depending on which of the texts you read allegedly one or other of these then will allow my vehicle to variously, run on unleaded fuel without hardened valve seats, act as an octane booster, stop fuel gumming, stop stale fuel and protect from the effects of Ethanol in the fuel. Sounds like these are the work of genius. Do they work? I use additives approved by the FBHVC’S test on A-series engines in the Nineties because the tests were rigorous, scientific and come from a source I trust. If it sounds a bit too good? It probaby is.
Other news? Car glass is designed to break more easily from the inside? Curvature makes this true-ish, but that’s just physics. This is just the tip of the ice-berg… and I could be wrong about all of the above.
Like all internet based news… check multiple sources before you decide what to believe. And if you find some real fake news, send it in to our letters page. We need a laugh.
‘Do these new wonder products really work?’