The Car Thread

[tatonka]

http://earthweareone.com/volkswagens-ne ... ficient-2/

[ranger magnum]

Well it looks like I'll need to rebuild the front wheel cylinders. 1958 was an interesting year in that much of the car is one year only. I can't find any for that year. Rebuild kits are, thankfully, available.

GM typically allows for a decent amount of interchangeability between major re designs. 1961-1964 share many parts. But 1958 doesn't.

[EspressoDude]

Highway One West

Had a house mate in college with one of the original Lotus 7 's. Damn fun, quick, and very twitchy to drive (right hand steering). 1248 cc motor, frame made of 1" square tubing and 'conduit'

[gyre]

They are magical, aren't they?

Like this one?

[ranger magnum]

I'm not up to date on my British cars, but they sure look good.

A buddy has a Cortina. Real cool looking car.

A guy in high school had Datsun 510 with a 13b rotary engine. Thing was fast as hell.

My first real car was an 84 Toyota pickup. It was the last year of the 22 R before injection. I installed dual Weber 45 DCOE side drafts on a TWM quad port manifold, a pretty radical cam (in retrospect, way too much lift and duration, but hey I was 17), Hedman headers, and a cat delete exhaust. My high school job was at Bay Cities machine shop, so I did some head work and a 5 angle on it as well. It was a pretty fast little truck, and i would always race my buddy with the rotary 510. His car was faster off the line, but if the road was long enough I could always catch him....

[gyre]

Lotus Cortina?
Still special.



A 13B should be fast.
Must have been quite a truck to compete.

I have a friend that raced 510s for years.
She had one with a factory rally engine in it.
Insane power.

[EspressoDude]

housemates Lotus 7 had the big fiberglass fenders in front, rear were fiberglass. Aluminium coachwork. Sat on a 2: foam pad on the floor that was about 4" off the ground.

OH, and Lotus Ford Cortina Those scream, but god, do not ever over rev them......$$$$$$$$ Valve and piston collisions occur, pull the head, new valves and maybe guides. touch up the seats.... ( another housemate ) I had a 65 Corvair

edit to add: Lotus Ford head: DOHC, cam follower cups acted directly on the valve stem + shim. Assemble, measure valve lash, disassemble, change shims, reassemble. And two 40 mm dual throat Weber carburetors

[ygmir]

this car pulled up to the gate at the hippie fest I worked this weekend
the guy paid 300 bucks for it in 65, restored it, and has driven is ever since, keeps it nice, but drives it all over!!

vette.jpg

[gyre]

A $300 vette. Nice!
Even has the top!

With so many american car people on here, figured everyone got it, but if you didn't, the blue car with the Lotus, is the Lister Corvette.
Probably a very early year too.

The black car is a 1957 Dual Ghia.

Here's a favorite view of mine.
Should be an easy one.


Yggie, saw a dusty red ferrari leaving the burn.
Did you go in Caravansicle?
They had the burner spirit.

[ranger magnum]

A friend had a Lancia Stratos. Odd looking car, but cool.

I've always liked the Citroen 2CV. There's one for sale locally, but my heat belongs to the General....

[ygmir]

Got your pm....picture on it's way!

Wheels are everything! I am CEO of a tire manufacturing company, and I make bias ply whitewall tires. But only 5.20's in 13 and 14". Mostly for the Lowrider and rat rod scene. And only in 1/2 " and 1 1/4 " wide whitewalls.

Just picked up 5 steel wheels off a 72 Skylark. Going to paint them Aztec yellow, with chrome lug nuts. And that's it.

Hey ranger magnum: if I may ask a tire question?
on my 14.00x20 tires on my new truck, it says "regroovable". I'm guessing that means the rubber is thick enough to cut deeper between lugs? If that's true, how would one know how deep to cut, and is there a special tool? I'm guessing there is.

thanks

[gyre]

Yes, the Stratos.
They beat everything until awd hit the rally cars.


Grooving tool
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Standard- ... n,399.html

[gyre]

They do say the 2CV is incredibly easy to maintain, if that matters.
Sort of a cult car.

[ranger magnum]

Got your pm....picture on it's way!

Wheels are everything! I am CEO of a tire manufacturing company, and I make bias ply whitewall tires. But only 5.20's in 13 and 14". Mostly for the Lowrider and rat rod scene. And only in 1/2 " and 1 1/4 " wide whitewalls.

Just picked up 5 steel wheels off a 72 Skylark. Going to paint them Aztec yellow, with chrome lug nuts. And that's it.

Hey ranger magnum: if I may ask a tire question?
on my 14.00x20 tires on my new truck, it says "regroovable". I'm guessing that means the rubber is thick enough to cut deeper between lugs? If that's true, how would one know how deep to cut, and is there a special tool? I'm guessing there is.

thanks

Ok.....it's kinda a long explanation, but I'll give you the basics...

Long ago, when bias ply tires and split rims rules the earth, tires were regroovable. This meant that when a tire was down to the tread wear indicators, there was enough rubber between the top of the belt and the bottom of the cap, that the treads could be re cut to give another 4/32's of tread.

And yea, there is a grooving iron made for this.

But today, many fleet companies will re tread tires, because a new cap will have deeper treads than one would get if one were to re groove it. Nowadays, the DOT mandates that tires say "regroovable" on the sidewall, even though everyone now re caps them.

If you re groove a tire, you cannot come back later and re cap it, as there is not enough rubber above the top belt to safely apply a new cap.

[ygmir]

great info, Ranger, thank you!
I didn't know you could still get re-caps......are they good? My new truck runs 14.00x20 military Michelins. They are about half worn out, from what I can tell.
might be an option?

[gyre]

[motskyroonmatick]

great info, Ranger, thank you!
I didn't know you could still get re-caps......are they good? My new truck runs 14.00x20 military Michelins. They are about half worn out, from what I can tell.
might be an option?

Gov liquidation frequently sells what looks like brand new sets of tires with or without rims but perhaps a little aged. Many sizes and types to choose from if you watch the various sites local to you for a year or so. I've purchased a number of things from them and picked them up at the base. It's not too much of a hassle but you do have to have your papers in order and follow their often strict base entry procedures. These procedures are sometimes less restrictive for commercial vehicles. Good luck!

[ygmir]

great info, Ranger, thank you!
I didn't know you could still get re-caps......are they good? My new truck runs 14.00x20 military Michelins. They are about half worn out, from what I can tell.
might be an option?

Gov liquidation frequently sells what looks like brand new sets of tires with or without rims but perhaps a little aged. Many sizes and types to choose from if you watch the various sites local to you for a year or so. I've purchased a number of things from them and picked them up at the base. It's not too much of a hassle but you do have to have your papers in order and follow their often strict base entry procedures. These procedures are sometimes less restrictive for commercial vehicles. Good luck!

good call MOtz!! thanks!

[Elliot]

Re-capping truck tires is very much alive and well. I don't know about the 20" sizes, but certainly in the 22" and 24" modern tubeless radials like we use in the trucking industry. And there has been a giant leap forward in recaps: It used to be that the new material came on a big roll, and the technician would cut it to length for each tire. Thus there was a seam, and the seam could come apart. Now the recap is made as a band, like a giant rubber wedding ring, so the seam is a thing of the past.

At the trucking company where I worked, we used recaps at every chance; except on the steering tires, of course.

When we bought new trailers, we ordered them with steering-quality tires, and promptly took those off for use on steering axles, and installed recaps on the trailers.
Money saved is money earned.

RangerMagnum, please update me if my memory is rusty.

[ygmir]

Re-capping truck tires is very much alive and well. I don't know about the 20" sizes, but certainly in the 22" and 24" modern tubeless radials like we use in the trucking industry. And there has been a giant leap forward in recaps: It used to be that the new material came on a big roll, and the technician would cut it to length for each tire. Thus there was a seam, and the seam could come apart. Now the recap is made as a band, like a giant rubber wedding ring, so the seam is a thing of the past.

At the trucking company where I worked, we used recaps at every chance; except on the steering tires, of course.

When we bought new trailers, we ordered them with steering-quality tires, and promptly took those off for use on steering axles, and installed recaps on the trailers.
Money saved is money earned.

RangerMagnum, please update me if my memory is rusty.

well, they are load range "L" (yes, if I read correctly, 20 ply rating), so might be worth capping?............
I'll see if any place locally does it.

[ranger magnum]

As usual Elliot, you got it right. But if I recall, steering tires have a different tread pattern than drivers. I'm used to seeing block treads for the drivers, and straight groove for the steerers.

And mots, you want to stay away from aged tires at all costs. As a tire gets older, the rubber losses oil, causing the tires to dry out. This can be seen as mild to major cracking on the sidewall, as well as a precursor to tread separation.

No matter how good the deal, stay away from old tires.

[Elliot]

... I recall, steering tires have a different tread pattern than drivers. I'm used to seeing block treads for the drivers, and straight groove for the steerers.
...

Correct.

...
And mots, you want to stay away from aged tires at all costs. As a tire gets older, the rubber losses oil, causing the tires to dry out. This can be seen as mild to major cracking on the sidewall, as well as a precursor to tread separation.

No matter how good the deal, stay away from old tires.

That sounds right also. I bought a set of Light Truck tires in 2002, then wound up scrapping the truck and storing the tires for ten years. When I put them on a truck a couple years ago, one of them separated almost immediately. Then the next went on the hottest summer day in July this year, a Saturday, with no local tire store open, and the third the next day, leaving me stranded. The towing bill would have paid for two new tires. Penny wise, pound foolish.

[ranger magnum]

Tires are often the most overlooked item on a car, especially on trailers.

The industry guidelines state that a tire will "age out" at 6 years from the date of manufacture. Most consumers do not know this, and use tread depth to determine usability of a tire. There are DOT date codes on the sidewall of tire, and they are typically 11 digits in length. A 10 digit code usually means a tire made before 2000.

[Elliot]

My bus tires are already eight years old, and the drives were recaps then. But there is no way I can replace them for a long time yet, unless they start flying apart like the little tires did.

[ygmir]

My bus tires are already eight years old, and the drives were recaps then. But there is no way I can replace them for a long time yet, unless they start flying apart like the little tires did.

seems how heavy duty the tires are, in my experience, plays into it, Elliot.
the heavy ply truck types, seem to hold up to cracking and such, as long as not pushed super hard.
well, I"m sure not commercially feasible, we gotta compromise somewhere,no?

[Elliot]

Yes, I "trust" the bus tires to last at least 20 years. They are the same size as 18-wheelers use. Or maybe I ought to replace the steer tires sooner? Much more important, of course, and those are the cheap Chinese ones -- "Double Coin" brand. I wanted brand new ones, and those were all I could afford. But not the drives, and those are Michelin and Toyo casings.

I keep the sun off them all most of the time.

Ranger Magnum, what do you know about the Double Coin brand in 295/75R22.5?

Gosh... decisions, decisions! But I sure love this bus, for its utility.

[Corvus]

Tires are often the most overlooked item on a car, especially on trailers.

The industry guidelines state that a tire will "age out" at 6 years from the date of manufacture. Most consumers do not know this, and use tread depth to determine usability of a tire. There are DOT date codes on the sidewall of tire, and they are typically 11 digits in length. A 10 digit code usually means a tire made before 2000.

I'd love to get six years. The Suburban 1500 I take to TTITD gets driven only 5 to 6 thousand miles a year, a third of it in one jump to Gerlach and back. Here in Arizona the sidewalls will start checking after about two years and the prudent driver will replace at three or four. I'm figuring tire dressing is only an aesthetic thing and not any kind of rubber restorer, so I've never ised it

[Canoe]

Two finds to share:
yes? / no?

strut compressor installer.jpg

A garage a self-tapping screw to attach a heat-shield to a gas tank...

heatshieldscrewfueltank.jpg

[Jackass]

I've seen people install amplifiers in their cars and put screws though the floor and into their gas tanks before...

Then they complaint about how it always smells like gas in their car...

[ranger magnum]

Double Coin is a well known brand, but I have no experience with them. A far as Chinese tires are concerned, they perform adequately enough for day to day use.

Many US brands are made overseas. The only way to know for sure where they are made is to look for the factory code on the sidewall. You will have to go to the nhtsa website to decode it though.