Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Tire update


When I last posted about my flat tire repair all seemed good at the time. Alas it was but a brief moment in time. The very next day on the way to work while cruising along the local interstate I suddenly here a thumping nose coming from the rear passenger side of my car. Of course now I think "Oh crap!" (actually that was edited to keep a PG rating here). I pulled over to find my tire completely flat. I did about fastest tire change I did as I was now looking at being late also. As you can see by the photo the plug had completely blown out and now on top of that I had a good gash on my inner sidewall. Most likely due to the tire either being out of balance or flopping around after the tire plug went. It was not my day to say the least. Being completely broke I now wait for my tax relief check to by a new set of tires(2). It can't come soon enough. Oh well.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Sam's Club Cruise Night 4/20/08

I made it my cruise night last Sunday at Sam's Club parking lot in Seekonk , MA . A sure sign of spring around here. I even brought my six year old son and he enjoyed it. He even wanted to buy a few. I wish. Just thought share some photos. I hope you enjoy!

A nice Thunderbird. I liked the color of it.



My son checking out the interior of Dodge Charger.


My son again with a "General Lee" Charger.


I have a soft spot for Porsche's.



A real fine 58 Chevy Impala.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Not so fast

It seems as if I spoke to soon about my tire repair using Slime. It only lasted until Saturday when my tire ran low again. On my way home from work a friend told me my tire was low again(he was driving behind me). So i filled up again with air once again and made it home. Being late in the day I decided to tackle it fresh the next day. One good thing about the Slime was that it had leaked out and was sprayed in a neat line in my wheel well. At least I had a clue where to look now.


So today I pulled the wheel off to investigate more. Sure enough I found the culprit.




About a half inch piece of a what looks like a drywall screw embedded in my tire.I pulled it out with my needle nosed pliers.


Hopped in my wife's car and ran down to the local Autozone to see what they had for tire repair. Obviously I had to take the next step in repair which is to actually plug the hole up. I found a repair kit also put out by Slime. It came with all the tools needed for plugging a tire.





I got it home and started the repair process. I basically followed the directions on the back of the package. I reamed the hole out to clean it.


Next I inserted the rubber plug into hole in the plugger tool. I like the T-shaped tool design. Coated the plug with rubber cement that was provided.

A word of advice. Be careful when pushing the plug into the hole. The idea is to have some of the plug sticking out. Twice(yes twice) I pushed too hard and lost the plugs inside. Third time was the charm. Work it in slowly is probably your best bet. I snipped off the extra and I was good to go.




I filled tire up with air and reinstalled it back on my Impala. I took it out for a test drive and all seems well(for now at least). This was actually my first ever attempt at plugging a hole like this. It was actually fairly simple and easy to to do. I certainly hope that it holds until I can save up for some new tires. Now how do I get those other plugs out.....

Thursday, April 17, 2008

I've been slimed!


Recently I had a persistent slow leak in one of my tires. It's one that has done it repeatedly since I've owned my Impala. My usual fix is to fill it up with the standard fix-a-flat aerosol can and I'm good for a few months. This time was different though. I tried my usual fix and the next day it was down again. I tried it again with a different brand name and it had the same effect.
I went down to my local Autozone and found the only other option was something called Slime. It looks like green slime with black speckles mixed in. I'm not sure why but I was a bit skeptical about the product. I decided to give it a try. I was tired of filling my tire up every day.

My next trip to the local service station I decided to try it. It's fairly simple. Using the cap you remove the valve from the tire stem and let the remaining air out. Attach supplied clear tube to valve stem and the other to container and squeeze the Slime into. When you've squeezed enough in remove it and insert valve back in the stem and re-inflate tire. Your suppose to rotate tire according to the instruction. In my case I just drove on which I imagine does the same thing.

Well that was two days ago and so far it is holding it's own. I'm very happy with the results so far. If your stuck with a slow persistant tire leak this may be the solution for you. I do recommend it. You can check out the website here at Slime.com

Hitlers car stolen!

One doesn't usually get a laugh out of the Nazi's unless it's from an old "Hogan's Hero's" episode. This clip is from the German movie "Der Untergang"(or Downfall) which I have seen. Subtitles have been updated with a lighter subject of Hitler's car being stolen. The subtitles may not be safe for work. I saw this awhile ago and thought it was hilarious. Enjoy!






Source:Autoblog

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Mirthmobile on Ebay



Well sort of. This one was built by Paramount Pictures as a prop for theme park. In case you don't know the Mirthmobile(A 1976 AMC Pacer) starred in the "Wayne's World" movies starring Michael Myers and Dana Carvey. There still time left. Party on!

Source: Autoblog

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Camaro SS enters "The Ring"


Click on photo for full gallery.

A Camaro SS was spotted during a recent at run at Nurburgring. I was introduced to this track from playing Gran Turismo 4 and I know it's one long and demanding track. It's nice to see the new Camaro getting it's feet wet at "The Ring".

Source: Autoblog

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Magic Bus


Click on photo for gallery.


The Who is probably my favorite rock group so when I saw this I thought this would be cool. The Who in partnership with Volkswagen Commercial Haulers are raffling off a 1965 Volkswagen split window bus for the Teenage Cancer Trust. For more details check out the article from Autoblog.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Camaro SS sited

This is yet another Camaro siting. It's a quick clip via AutoBlog and Camaro5.com
. I can't wait to see one in person.

Spotted! Camaro SS Test Mule

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Do I bug you?


I love VW Bugs so when I saw this I had to share. Blount County (Tennessee) Police recently added a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle to there roster. Apparently a seized vehicle it was fitted and painted with all the police car trimmings. It's even designated as # 53 in honor of another famous bug. Your unlikely to see this in your review mirror though. It's mainly for department promotions, parades etc.. Very cool!

Sources: Automotive.com, Google News