Tyred and emotional
body-deadener around the weld on mine (because it was going to have a bare floor) and painted the repaired section Limelight. It actually looks pretty factory, I reckon. And here’s a picture. The biggest catch is you’ll need a new front carpet section (or one of those too-cool-for-school coffin-shaped centre consoles) as the hump radically changes the shape of the tunnel. Make sure you specify the gearbox type when you order the carpet.
“MUSTANG HEADERS DON’T POINT STRAIGHT AT THE BACK OF THE CAR. THEY’RE ACTUALLY OFFSET A LITTLE”
I was reading an article on tyres recently which suggested that tyres should be replaced after five years irrespective of kilometres done as t hey will deteriorate. I think it was sponsored by a tyre company, so there is a fair chance t hat it may have been a little bit, but maybe not much, biased.
Having said t hat it begs the question, particularly for classic car owners like myself, who keep t heir pride and joy in t he shed until such time as t here is no rain, it’s not too cold, not too hot, not too dust y but just right to go for a drive, Goldilocks. I ducked up to the shed to check out the rubber on my classic and sure enough they’re 12 years old and my records show they’ve done less than 10,000 km in that time.
I then realised that the spare, which is on a different sized wheel, is even older - in fact it was on t he car in 1982 when I bought it and remained a spare when I upgraded the wheels
and tyres. That makes it at least 35 years old ! The manufacture date is shown on the tyre and I also noted the small split sin the side of the tyre so I’ll be replacing the tyres, all five, very shortly.
As we all know, the tyres tend to be pretty important being our link to t he road surface and as many classics do very few kilometres there is a fair chance t hat as long as the tyres are still holding air we don’t think too much about them. Factors which will influence the life of tyres will include how the car is driven, whether t he tyres are in sunlight, tyre pressures and whether or not tyres have been damaged and, of course, just pure age.
So what say you and your learned colleagues? A good one for discussion over a beer or two perhaps: At what age should we consider replacing our classic car’s tyres? Laurie Floyd Waranga Shores,VIC