What a beautiful day today was. The birds were singing away and the sun was shining brightly. Today was the first real day of spring as the weather matched the calendar.

When spring is in the air, you know what a young man’s fancy turns to…Cars!

Now’s the time when all the hot cars that were in hibernation over the winter, especially in the snow-belt, start coming out of thier garages and the wrenching starts to get them ready to cruise the warm days of summer.

In honor of this time of year I bring you wrenches.

You can just hear the snick of a torque-wrench as it turns a grade-8 head bolt on a Mopar 340, or the click-click-click of the ratchet-wrench as it snugs down the header-bolts on a Rat-motored Nova.

Open-end wrenches click & clack against the metal as they’re turned this way and that to avoid the dreaded skin-removal process that lurks in sheetmetal everywhere.

24-inch-pounds of torque to keep from stripping the threads off of the small bolts holding the oil-pump cover to the pump housing.

The smell of 90-weight gear oil as it fills the pumpkin of a 4:88 geared 9″ rear-differential.

Tighening the bands on a 727-Torqueflite transmission, then filling the tank with Sunoco racing fuel…the Breakfast of Champions.

Ahh, spring when love is in the air and the smell of smoking tires isn’t far behind.

Taken with a Nikon D200, Nikon 18-70mm Zoom Lens, Giottos tripod, Manfrotto pistolgrip, Stanley LED tripod-flashlight, Popular Science flashlight , and blinky red LED bicycle taillight