This week on the channel +428K views this week

Junkyard Digs gives a parked Cougar four days to road-trip

Kevin and Angus prepare a 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7 for the drive to Tucson's Blue Collar Drags.

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Junkyard Digs Story of October 31, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

Will this SLAPPED together Cougar SURVIVE a 1,500 mi DRAG RACING Road Trip?

Video summary

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0:00Kevin sets a four-day deadline to prepare the parked Cougar for the Tucson trip.
3:04A lifter comes apart as Kevin investigates its internal mechanism.
10:05Angus demonstrates how shims change hydraulic lifter preload.
27:03Door repairs, traction bars and adjustable shocks join the pre-trip job list.
45:11A gas-station meet-up brings the Cougar into the Blue Collar Drags convoy.
50:00Persistent highway vibration prompts a driveshaft-balancing detour in Tulsa.

The original vehicle choice isn't going to be ready, so Kevin and Angus turn to a Cougar that has spent two years parked with engine trouble. Their replacement plan leaves very little room for a replacement plan.

Junkyard Digs' only upload this week, "Will this SLAPPED together Cougar SURVIVE a 1,500 mi DRAG RACING Road Trip?", gathered roughly 146,000 views in its first eight hours. It is comfortably the channel's most active video right now, and it delivers both halves of the familiar appeal: figuring out why an old car won't behave, then taking it far enough from the garage to discover more problems.

First come the hydraulic lifters. Kevin takes one apart, Angus demonstrates preload adjustment, and a fresh set gets the valvetrain sounding smoother. Jesse helps with the driver's door and mirror; traction bars, shocks and a relocated seat follow. The video also includes a paid Whatnot segment.

Getting onto the highway doesn't finish the repairs. A driveline vibration sends them to a Tulsa shop for balancing, and rising temperatures bring a radiator flush with a garden hose. In the comments, viewers debate whether the removed lifters were short-travel units requiring a different setup. Others pick out the pleasure of travelling in convoy, surrounded by equally characterful cars.

Across the channel, weekly views reached about 428,000 while subscribers held steady. That puts Junkyard Digs among the stronger weekly view gainers in its nearby motoring group, alongside Auto Focus and Gears and Gasoline. Street Speed 717 and Rob Dahm are also seeing daily viewing well above their usual levels.

Away from the Cougar, the turbo Pontiac revival continues drawing the most daily views of the older uploads, followed by the abandoned farm-truck rescue. The garage has more than one engine keeping it busy.

Published on Trari

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What viewers say

"Is this a good recommendation for you?"
🔲Informative
🔲Useful
🔲Relaxing
☑ Makes me not worry about the noises my car makes
@chuaturypanlunchSee it on YouTube
That's me in the tan Camaro at 1:31:40! I came down from British Columbia for the event, but was too nervous to talk to anybody. Super psyched that I made it in the video! Cheers!
@EddyLancerHandsSee it on YouTube
I think the coolest thing about this event was the road trip with all the other guys all taking the same route, it gave cannonball run vibes. Would be cool to see some kinda group road trip with other cartubers and viewers.
@MrGHOSTMAXXSee it on YouTube

4 more comments

Therapy... That's what these videos are. Pure therapy.
@abrahamfattouh3453See it on YouTube
Angus's hat made me chuckle: Yes, this is my first rodeo. Classic!
@aaronwade9009See it on YouTube
The lifters that came out of the engine are for high-rpm engines. I believe they are short-travel lifters. I’ve installed lifters using the soaking in oil method and assembly lube method, in my opinion I don’t think soaking the lifters was the issue, it’s the lifters themselves. The lifters you used are similar to what we used to use in our track cars.
@gregferreira2894See it on YouTube
Man I needed this video. Welcome back angus
@mikeweiss-y1mSee it on YouTube