Bell's Speed Shop

09/18/2026

You would think that if someone spent $20k+ to buy a car, then a clean one that was the proper size.

09/17/2026

I finally got this 65 Squire purchased that I tried to buy earlier this year. It was still for sale and we could agree on a payment method.

09/16/2026

Another urine stain dome light vanquished. Thanks Rick Dilks.

09/12/2026

I scratched up the shifter ball on the Red Rocket installing the new shift lever. So I bought a new one.

These Falcon specific shifter balls are no longer being reproduced by Scott Drake, so I was lucky to find a vendor with one on the shelf.

09/10/2026

I dropped the transmission pan on the Frontenac. The pan fell off as soon as I remove the last bolt. The gasket did too. It is a cork gasket, smashed paper thin and crispy as a cracker.

I know at least one thing that was leaking.

Send a message to learn more

09/10/2026

The Frontenac pumpkin was leaking, so I took the cover off to reseal. Some has done this before as the cover was sealed with silicone.

Interestingly, the cover itself had a good smear of silicone all the way around. A full 360*. The pumpkin itself, however, only had a good smear around 270*, with the bottom 90* (where it was leaking) clean as a whistle.

I know now why it was leaking. Someone forgot to clean the bottom of the pumpkin before putting the cover back on. Silicone will not stick to oil.

Send a message to learn more

09/09/2026

These 60s period auto trannies just do not like to sit. I found a big puddle under the Frontenac. So I am pulling the pan and resealing.

09/09/2026

RR is fully mobile now. The reverse lockout toggle was frozen stiff. $200 and a new shifter later, all is well.

09/02/2026

The Red Rocket has decided that it will not go into reverse. The toggle on the gear level will not move. So I moved the car into the work bay and see if I can figure it out.

The car would not start and the battery went dead. The battery is new and I had a trickle charger on it, but the charger may not have been plugged in, so the dead battery is on me.

And the exhaust stinks so I think that I am still running through some of the bad gas that was in the car. I have put several gallons of fresh gas with Sta-Bil in the tank, so if that is the issue, it should work itself out.

09/02/2026

I know that a lot of people use these oval air filters, and the Red Rocket has one. But they are so massive, they overwhelm the engine compartment. I went with a round chrome air cleaner on the Ranchero.