sam z
Well-Known Member
I always say, with these cars, sometimes you should leave well enough alone. Period. My family mechanic swears by this philosophy. I didn't listen to my better judgment yesterday, and I paid for it.
I went out to a tire shop yesterday morning under the impression it would be slow with the holiday weekend. I was right. I brought the wife's car, they had it out fast. Brought in my daily car (Prius), they had it out fast. Dumb a** me tells the guy ok, I'm gonna get my old car so they can turn the tires around so the RWL's are exposed, instead of the black walls as it was standing then. No problem. Go home, bring it in, they get it in and get right to work. It was starting off well, because I was the only customer and all of the employees were on it. Not one guy working and two smoking cigarettes kind of crap. Anyway, I have no real interest in keeping these tires, but I wanted to see how the RWL's would look with the Cragars so I could make an informed decision when I buy wheels and tires, etc. The shop was giving me a good price so why not. Anyway, sure enough, on the last tire, on the rear, a Bulls*&% problem. They inflate the tire, and a huge bulge is sticking out of the sidewall, as if somebody is trying to ram a golf ball through it from the inside out. To make matters worse, it's a goofy size tire 245/60/14 that isn't easy to find on 4th of July weekend. So, one of the guys goes to their other store (total drive over an hour) and gets a used tire to get me home. The shop manager goes out and investigates the bad tire and reports to me, asking, do you know when these tires were made? I responded no. He said 1978. This was bound to happen.
So, I took a little time today to clean up the lettering on all four (including the odd ball used tire they had to get) because I still wanted to see the appearance of RWL's and Cragars. Based on the fact that the wheels and tires are both products of the 70's, I cleaned them up with No. 7 polish and old fashioned "hard shell" turtle wax that I haven't taken off of my garage shelf in years. I figured it fit the situation.
I went out to a tire shop yesterday morning under the impression it would be slow with the holiday weekend. I was right. I brought the wife's car, they had it out fast. Brought in my daily car (Prius), they had it out fast. Dumb a** me tells the guy ok, I'm gonna get my old car so they can turn the tires around so the RWL's are exposed, instead of the black walls as it was standing then. No problem. Go home, bring it in, they get it in and get right to work. It was starting off well, because I was the only customer and all of the employees were on it. Not one guy working and two smoking cigarettes kind of crap. Anyway, I have no real interest in keeping these tires, but I wanted to see how the RWL's would look with the Cragars so I could make an informed decision when I buy wheels and tires, etc. The shop was giving me a good price so why not. Anyway, sure enough, on the last tire, on the rear, a Bulls*&% problem. They inflate the tire, and a huge bulge is sticking out of the sidewall, as if somebody is trying to ram a golf ball through it from the inside out. To make matters worse, it's a goofy size tire 245/60/14 that isn't easy to find on 4th of July weekend. So, one of the guys goes to their other store (total drive over an hour) and gets a used tire to get me home. The shop manager goes out and investigates the bad tire and reports to me, asking, do you know when these tires were made? I responded no. He said 1978. This was bound to happen.
So, I took a little time today to clean up the lettering on all four (including the odd ball used tire they had to get) because I still wanted to see the appearance of RWL's and Cragars. Based on the fact that the wheels and tires are both products of the 70's, I cleaned them up with No. 7 polish and old fashioned "hard shell" turtle wax that I haven't taken off of my garage shelf in years. I figured it fit the situation.
