Seasonal Safety Service
Story and photos by John Gunnell
systems didn’t appear until the late ‘60s. On older master cylinders, remove the cover and look to see that fluid is within a ¼ inch from inter means “downtime” for muscle cars and provides their the filler opening. On later cars with see-through reservoirs you can owners with the extra hours needed to give them a good safety check the fluid level against the mark molded into the plastic. check. If you take care of your steering, brakes, exhaust and other Many shop manuals recommend Delco Supreme 11 or DOT-3 mechanical systems during winter, your muscle car will be ready to brake fluid. Michael Jonas of Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. (www. roll when it warms up and the snow melts. ssbrakes,com) says DOT-3 absorbs water. “The proof is it will make Safety service on muscle cars begins with lubrication of the steering your fingers look like prunes,” he says. “When DOT-3 turns brown, linkage, transmission linkage, parking brake assembly and accel- it has water and dirt in it—get rid of it.” erator linkage. Your local parts store can supply the lubricants you’ll need. Products like special Axle Oil and Positraction DifferBryan uses a squeeze bottle to get oil ential Additive may be required for muscle on the transmission shift linkage. cars. Clayton Balmes of Lefthander Chassis (www.lefthanderchassis.com) in Roscoe, Illinois, is an expert on specialty lubricants and hot rod oils.
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Balmes says a regular water resistant EP chassis lubricant is what you need to lube the steering linkage. Lubrication of the shift linkage is another job. If the linkage breaks or binds, you’d be unable to control the car. Grease the shift linkage and the contact faces of floor-mounted manual gearbox control levers. Lubricate parking brake cable, cable guides and operating links and levers. The carburetor stud and lever and accelerator pedal lever are lubed with engine oil. Balmes says to check the brake master cylinder fluid level, especially if your muscle car has a single-chamber system. Dual-circuit 24 MUSCLE CAR PLUS MAGAZINE OCT/NOV 2020
