| OK the link does not seem to work. You can go the the Cabrioletter page and then look up issue #65, June 1993. It is the last article in that issue.But I have included the article here. WILLIAM S. HIRSCH
396 LITTLETON AVE., NEWARK, NJ 07103
HOW TRUE ARE YOUR TIRES TO YOU?
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE TAKEN THE PAINS TO DO A WONDERFUL RESTORATION ONLY TO TAKE OUR FAVORITE CAR OUT ON THE ROAD FOR A DRIVE AND HAVE IT START TO "SHAKE", "CHATTER" AND ALMOST CAUSE US TO LOSE CONTROL? SOUND FAMILIAR? AND WHAT DO WE DO? WE CHECK THE DRAG LINK, TIE RODS, STEERING BOX, KING PINS, AND WHATEVER ELSE IS IN THAT FRONT END THAT COULD HAVE SOME EFFECT.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT IT COULD BE THE TIRES? NOT JUST THE FRONTS, BUT ALL OF THEM? THE VERY BEAUTIFUL TIRES THAT WE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO BUY ARE NOT ALWAYS "ROUND". HOW COULD THEY BE! MOST OF THEM ARE MADE NOT ONLY BY MACHINE, BUT BY HAND. THE TIRES LOOK ROUND, BUT LOOKS ARE DECEIVING. AND FRIENDS, THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND THE LEAST EXPENSIVE, THE BEST AND THE WORST OF THEM CAN EASILY BE CORRECTED TO GIVE YOU THE RIDE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, AND WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE A MORTGAGE OUT ON YOUR HOUSE.
SOME YEARS AGO, WHEN I OWNED A 1948 PACKARD CUSTOM THAT I SHIPPED TO EUROPE TO KEEP THERE FOR THE ANNUAL NORDIC PACKARD MEETS I ROAD TESTED THE CAR AT TURNPIKE SPEEDS JUST TO SEE HOW THE CAR WOULD PERFORM ON FAST EUROPEAN ROADS. AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, AT 40 MPH, IT BEGAN TO SHAKE ALL OVER THE ROAD, ALMOST CAUSING ME TO LOSE CONTROL. I MENTIONED IT TO AN OLD TIME RACE CAR DRIVER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND HE TOLD ME TO HAVE THE TIRES "RACING TRUED AND BALANCED" I MUST CONFESS THAT I DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO TELL ME. IT APPEARS THAT ALMOST IN MY BACKYARD, IN NEW JERSEY4 WAS AN OLD TIME GARAGE THAT HAD A TIRE TRUING MACHINE. I MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO BRING MY WHEELS OVER TO THAT GARAGE WITH THE TIRES MOUNTED ON THEM. THEY ONLY KEPT THE WHEELS A DAY AND NEXT DAY, WE PICKED THEM UP, INSTALLED THEM ON THE CAR AND TOOK THE SAME 48 PACKARD OUT ON THE TURNPIKE AGAIN FOR A TEST. I TOOK THE CAR UP TO 95 MPH AND THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO VIBRATION OF ANY KIND. I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE THEY WERE THE SAME TIRES.
MORE RECENTLY, I HAD A VERY SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WITH MY 34 PACKARD V-12, WHICH IS A RATHER LARGE, HEAVY CAR. ONCE UP TO 35 MPH, IT STARTED TO SHAKE ALL OVER. I CALLED THAT SAME GARAGE AGAIN ONLY TO FIND THAT THEY WERE OUT OF BUSINESS AND THE MACHINE THAT ONCE DID THE WORK WAS NO LONGER THERE. MENTIONED IT TO A LOCAL RESTORATION SHOP OWNER, BOB TURNQUIST FROM HIBERNIA AUTO RESTORATION CO. BOB WAS INTERESTED IN MY STORY AND IT ALSO INTERESTED ONE OF HIS MANAGERS WHO YEARS AGO, WAS HIMSELF, A RACE CAR DRIVER. THEIR INTEREST GREW IN THE MACHINE THAT COULD TRUE AND BALANCE TIRES AND AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF CONSIDERATION, THEY BOUGHT A SET OF NEW MACHINES THAT TRUES AND BALANCES THE TIRE. THE TRUING IS A WAY OF SHAVING THE TREAD OF THE TIRE SO THAT IT BECOMES UNIFORMLY ROUND. BEFORE DOING THIS HOWEVER, THEY PUT THE WHEEL WITH TIRE INTO A WARMING MACHINE WHICH CONDITIONS THE TIRE FOR THE SHAVING PROCESS. AFTER THE TIRE IS PERFECTLY ROUND AND TRUE, THEY BALANCE IT USING THE PROPER TYPE WEIGHTS FOR OUR OLDER WHEELS. IT APPEARS THAT THIS TYPE OF TIRE TRUING AND BALANCING, WAS KNOWN AS "RACING BALANCING"
I TOOK MY 34 PACKARD WHEELS WITH TIRES OVER TO BOB AND WAS ABLE TO GET THEM BACK THE SAME DAY. THEY WERE IMMEDIATELY INSTALLED ON THE CAR AND THE CAR TAKEN OUT FOR A TRIAL RUN AGAIN. THIS TIME I WENT UP TO 70 MPH WITH IT AND THERE WAS NOT EVEN THE HINT OF ANY VIBRATION.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PROCEDURE FOR ANY COLLECTOR CAR THAT WILL BE TAKEN ON THE ROAD. THE COST IS INEXPENSIVE BUT THE RESULTS ARE INCREDIBLE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO FIND A SHOP IN YOUR AREA TO DO THIS PROCEDURE, CONTACT BOB TURNQUIST OR BOB ROWE OF HIBERNIA AUTO RESTORATIONS, MAPLE TERR, HIBERNIA, NJ 07842. 201 627-1882. I'M SURE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU OUT. |
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