JERRY HUTCHCROFT
EDITOR-AT-LARGE
It’s usually around February and March that l can’t believe how fast the year is already blazing away, but the fact that you’re reading the October issue really dramatizes how fast 75% of the year is already in the rear view mirror. If you live in Arizona year round like I do, we were lucky this year to have a fairly mild summer with less than 25 days of 110 degrees or higher. August is traditionally one of the hottest months, yet in 2022 we had less than 3 days above 110* and several days below 100*. I did this little weather report, because October is a month when lots of winter visitors start returning to Arizona and there are many car guys and car gals in that migration. If you check out our Coming Events page you will see that October is also when the car events start returning to the metro Phoenix area.
In my Car Nut Ball life, where l talked about my brand new to me Chevy Nova, that l had planned to be my main vehicle, I’ve already changed my mind about that decision. A 1978 car is 44 years old. This little Nova runs and drives down the road very nicely and seems very stable and solid, but it’s still 44 years old and definitely has some issues. The tires look brand new, but they are actually 18 years old, so I’ve used a magnifying glass to inspect them for cracks which there are zero that l can find. They have never been balanced, so at about 60 miles an hour a slight vibration begins. I hate the idea of buying four brand new tires when these look new. I’m going to have them balanced and just make sure that l drive with extra caution. 1978 was also about 10 years before electronic fuel injection became the norm in Chevrolet cars and trucks. My Nova has the 140 horsepower 305 V-8, now with an Edelbrock four barrel carburetor. The engine stumbles a little at low RPM, maybe some tuning will resolve that issue, but maybe a carburetor rebuild is also needed. And, the 3 point safety belts do not lock when you manually snap the shoulder belt, which means in an accident your upper body will fly forward, the lap belt should hold your lower body in place. New safety belts will be installed ASAP. Now that the Nova has air conditioning and a great little stereo, l can drive it whenever I want, but I’ve decided to use it mainly for car guy related activities. An 18 year old 4 cylinder Toyota Camry with 212,000 miles, cold A/C and cruise control is now my new daily driver.
Let me be the first to say, enjoy the amazing Arizona weather that’s coming just around the corner.
