Curbside Classic Is Getting An Engine Swap – Tripling Its Power And Speed But Hopefully There’s No Backfires

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– Posted on August 26, 2025

The Curbside Classic ethos is all about honoring old cars as they are, with all their attendant shortcomings. We love them for that; and that includes wimpy six cylinder engines, like the 129 hp 240 in my old yellow F100. But with the increased traffic and speeds these days, there comes a time when one has to seriously assess whether the old CC engine has what it takes to keep up.

We’ve gotten tired of the endless stalling, bucking and hesitation when we click on the go pedal at CC? How about you? Well, the CC mechanics have taken the issue to heart: As of 6AM PDT tomorrow (Wednesday), there’s going to be a new engine powering the site, with at least three times the power and speed. We’ve swapped in a 400 hp Coyote V8-equivalent server and new software, which should make a huge difference.

Like with any engine swap, this is a multi-step process, so there may be some hiccups along the way. Hopefully we’ll get through it without too many clouds of blue or white smoke, but if you notice that something doesn’t load right or seems a little amiss, please be patient.

So here it is, all installed and ready to roar as of tomorrow morning. We’ve replaced our ancient dedicated server with a virtual server that will operate vastly quicker and be able to handle the higher traffic that CC often experiences. And just as important, we’ve switched out our antique WP theme (software) to one that offers a fully responsive mobile version, since most of you now read CC on phones. Combined, the user experience at CC should drastically improve.

And it’s not just a new server and software either; there’s changes to the graphics and images, some of which won’t be implemented until after the switchover.

It’s easy for me to sit here and tell you all this, because I’ve done precious little of the work myself. So let’s have a drum roll and an ovation for the CC mechanics: long-time CC Contributors Tom Halter and Dave Saunders have led this initiative and put in a huge amount of time. Aaron Severson has contributed his knowledge to many facets of the program. Don Andreina, our dear friend in Australia with the keen eye, has made key suggestions for our graphic changes.

I don’t know how to thank them adequately, but it’s very gratifying to have mechanic friends who know how to do all of this.

While I’m at it, I’d like to also thank the growing number of CC Members who pay a small ($10) monthly subscription which helps support the site as well as providing them with a fully ad-free version of CC. Please consider joining them.

I can’t wait to take ‘er for a spin…