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Re: tire wars.

To: merk!alliant!british-cars@EDDIE.MIT.EDU (local-british-cars)
Subject: Re: tire wars.
From: uunet!dri.com!dambrose@EDDIE.MIT.EDU (David Ambrose)
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 90 19:56:19 GMT
In article <9009141648.AA13419@apple.com> twakeman@APPLE.COM writes:
>I have learned my lesson long ago about lug nuts.  If I have a dealer mount
>a tyre for my I absolutely INSIST that they put a spot of grease on the lug
>AND hand tighten the nuts. Or if it is a splined hub, it goes back with a ton
>of water resisatnt greese (I bring it with me to make sure they have it).
>I tell them I was stranded one night because someone machine tightened lug nuts
>too tight & never again.  They grumble but hand tighten it.  They machine
>tighten it & they do not get paid.
>
        I must be spoiled.  Tire and Wheel World in Salinas changed my tires
by hand,  but the cleaned and greased the hubs as well.  They then asked me
if I'd like the other two done (for free).  I realise that much of the
world remains ignorant,  but there are some outfits out there who do know
and care.



-- 
Play it cool;  play it cool;  fifty-fifty fire and ice -- Joni Mitchell
David L. Ambrose, --  Digital Research, Inc          ...!uunet!drivax!dambrose
         Don't blame DRI.  They wouldn't approve of this anyway.


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To: Dustin Kassman <mit-eddie!hpcvxdhk.cv.hp.com!dhk@eddie.mit.edu>
Cc: british-cars@Alliant.COM
Subject: Re: SOL Patch prices 
In-Reply-To: mit-eddie!hpcvxdhk.cv.hp.com!dhk@eddie.mit.edu's message of Tue, 
18 Sep 90 13:14:20 -0700.
             <9009182014.AA19339@hpcvxdhk.HP.COM> 
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 90 14:08:58 PDT

Seems silly to me to embroider a T-shirt, but I could go for a polo
shirt with an embroidered front and humor on the back.

I'd also be quite happy with an embroidered patch.


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From: mit-eddie!cgl.ucsf.EDU!gregoret@EDDIE.MIT.EDU
To: british-cars@alliant.Alliant.COM
Subject: Re:  repairing vinyl tops (was Number Two (?))

Scott Turner writes: 

> I had two holes/tears to repair on the B... (driver's seat and
> hood (convertible top)....
> 
> The vinyl repair kit I used was purchased from JC Whitney.  It came
> with various colored vinyl goop, a heating iron (basically a soldering
> iron with a circular, roughly nickel-sized flat head), backing cloth,
> contact cement and some "graining" papers.  The general idea is to
> glue some backing cloth into the hole/tear with the contact cement,
> spread on some vinyl goop with a putty knife, and then set the whole
> deal with the heating iron.  The graining papers are used to roughly
> match the finish of the vinyl being repaired.  The technique isn't
> difficult to learn.
> 
> The repair on the hood went less well.  The good news is that the
> backing cloth and contact cement did a good job of closing the tear
> and prevent it from spreading.  The cloth shows no signs of separating
> from the hood despite several foldings/unfoldings.  The bad news is
> that the repair vinyl has split. 

I have successfully repaired a large rip in our top using common sewing
materials.  We bought our car from someone who lived in the
Haight/Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco (sort-of rough and popular
with punks these days), and one night while she had the ForSale sign on
the car, someone stabbed the roof with a knife.  The rip was a clean
but large (foot-long) L-shape, part of which was near a seam.  The top
was fairly new, so instead of buying a new one, I fixed ours.  And
here's how I did it.  { { {WARNING:  these instructions are not for the
serious restorer (but anyone ought to be able to follow them because I
can't sew worth a darn!)} } }

Ingredients:

        one heavy-gauge sewing machine needle
        ordinary thread
        black iron-on patch material  (like for holes in jeans)
        iron
        vinyl repair glue (optional)

Directions:

Clean the top (hood) and bring it in the house.  Cut out patch material
to cover the tear and then some (at least 1 1/2 inches around if
possible.) Iron the patch to the back side (inside) of the top
following the directions on the patch material package.  You may want
to test a corner to make sure the iron won't melt or warp the vinyl.  A
medium setting didn't affect ours.  Once the patch is ironed in place,
reinforce it by sewing.  Use a zig-zag stitch over the tear itself,
then along-side the tear, then across the tear.  It could be that I
overdid it with the sewing, but I wanted to make sure that stretching
wouldn't ruin the patch.  Contradictority, I also chose a zig-zag
stich, because it is stretchable.  If you wish, put some vinyl repair
glue on the tear  (on the top side) to prevent leakage. 

How does it look?  Not too bad!  The stitching is visible, but not too
noticable.  The top isn't buckling where the patch is either (seems to
stretch well.)
Does it hold water? A fair question, since we rarely use the top in
Sunny California.  It doesn't seem to leak, however!  (the top leaks in
other places, like at the seal with the windscreen)

Lydia gregoret@cgl.ucsf.edu



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