It’s hard to believe, even as a certified auto appraiser that the brake rotors on my 1993 class A Winnebago reached over 450 degrees Fahrenheit on my families recent trip out to Yellowstone…but they did! Note the photo below of the digital temp gauge reading on the front rotor. It makes one wonder, at WHAT point does wheel bearing grease boil out of the bearings?
As an automotive writer, sometimes I just get stuck for ideas…blank screen. In my 20 year career as a classic car appraiser, I’ve constantly seen a lot of spectacular cars, many I would write about, if I could just get passed the idea that I’m droning on about it in a boring way. I’m not that interested in writing about a car’s production history, although sometimes you’ll catch me doing this. History on cars can be read practically anywhere one looks. History can also be boring. I mean, how many of us actually paid attention in high school history class anyway? Old production history doesn’t tell you much about the classic car parked in front of you either. As an auto appraiser, it’s my goal to bring to the table some of the interesting things that I discover during an intense auto inspection. Yes, I DID say intense! For example, I often see the same style repairs on “first gen” Camaro quarter panels. Most body shop technicians I speak to like to do “lay overs”, instead of full quarter panel replacements. There are pros and cons to this method, (mostly cons in my opinion) many I will discuss in an upcoming article. These are things I feel have not been discussed or brought to light that are far more interesting than how many Camaro’s were actually produced. When you’re attempting to purchase a car long distance, these are things that are hard to discover about the car and weigh out before you commit to the process. It is my goal as a writer to bring up issues such as these and shed a little light on the subject. If you have any thoughts or ideas that you wish to share or items you wish to see written about, feel free to forward them to us at http://www.autoappraise.com. Entitle them, questions for auto appraiser Jason Phillips, or sign up to our blog as a contributor.