Buckshot
09-08-2005, 03:25 AM
..........Went and got 2 new tires on my '94 Taurus at the same place we got 4 on the Sport Trac back in May. It's a big 8 bay shop, and I found out later there are 3 tire balancer machines!!!! First of all they're really nice folks there and I think I may have found a new tire home.
BTW, the previous tires on the car were Michilens and I don't recall the type. We'd bought the car from my folks a couple years ago. The front 2 began to develop tread seperation at about 70,000 miles so we replaced them out of town, as we were on the way to AZ at the time. I was dismayed as they still had LOTS of tread left. They had an 80K warranty and when I brought that up the guy laughed. He said the warranty was for 4 years and these tires are 6 years old!
Well the rears went at 84K miles, and they STILL weren't down to the wear bars yet. I thought they might just rot off before wearing out :D.
So the Wheelweight lead deal..............Finn45's post on Zinc WW's got me all feverish.
I had fixed up a nice swimming pool powdered chlorine bucket with my name and phone # on it in 3 places. When I had called before going over I asked the asst mgr, Victor about buying his old WW's and he asked, "Are you casting bullets?" HA!
When I got there Victor was at lunch and Fred the manager was doing the counterwork. So after all the car stuff was decided on, I mentioned the bucket and wheel weights and having talked to Victor. Fred says, "you only brought ONE bucket?" Er, yeah I said. That's when I found out they had 3 tire machines.
Fred said a guy had come in about WW's some months back and they had 6 bucket loads in the back room, but he never called or came back so they went to the recycler. I had mentioned beer or donuts for the old WW's and Fred said they didn't need any of that, but to just come and get them and don't just have them sitting around.
I asked if I could get my bucket and take to the 1st tire changing machine and he said go ahead. I went out there and a guy came up and I told him what I was up to. I said I'd bring a 12 pack of beer or pop for each full bucket I got, and my name and number was on the bucket. I figured Fred didn't care as he wasn't busting tires or sweeping the shop floor. I wanted to make sure the dirty guys out there in the trenches knew what the score was [smilie=s: I wasn't born yesterday!
So he looks down at the bucket and says, "You bet Rick". He takes the bucket and sets it down there on the floor next to the machine and dumps in what was in the other bucket. About 4" worth. Then he goes ot the other 2 machines and brings THOSE buckets back and dumps'em in. I have a bit more then half a bucket right now! BTW, MY bucket is taller then the ones they were using by about 4", but I don't care!
So he says, we'll be calling you shortly! I asked if he had any filled ones in the back (Fred & Victor said they might have, for the recycler). I said I could go to the store on the corner and be back shortly with beer or pop. He disappeared into the back and I guess he looked hard since he was gone for a bit, but he came back and said no.
When Donna got home I told her about the bucket and them calling and all that jazz so she didn't blow them off if she took the call, or erase their message if they left one. She said (I KNEW it, so predictable) "Don't you have a lot of lead already"? Well yes I do, compared to maybe the neighbor guy, but I sure hope I don't have a lifetime supply of it. She continues (wife's, sheesh!) "But you have all those plastic storage boxes full of lead out on the patio and you haven't been using THOSE (rising tone, denoting a question).
Well no honey, I've been using the stuff on the floor at the back of the garage because it's all in the way (and there IS a bunch :D). She sighs (you married guys know that sigh, heh, heh). Poor wives have ALL this to put up with, they just DON'T understand. DO NOT bring up the subject of shoes or handbags or artificial flowers, or real flowers as they (Donna will anyway) sull up and get cloudy and say, "Whatever" and you're toast then pardner.
But this wheel weight deal looks good!
...............Buckshot
BTW, the previous tires on the car were Michilens and I don't recall the type. We'd bought the car from my folks a couple years ago. The front 2 began to develop tread seperation at about 70,000 miles so we replaced them out of town, as we were on the way to AZ at the time. I was dismayed as they still had LOTS of tread left. They had an 80K warranty and when I brought that up the guy laughed. He said the warranty was for 4 years and these tires are 6 years old!
Well the rears went at 84K miles, and they STILL weren't down to the wear bars yet. I thought they might just rot off before wearing out :D.
So the Wheelweight lead deal..............Finn45's post on Zinc WW's got me all feverish.
I had fixed up a nice swimming pool powdered chlorine bucket with my name and phone # on it in 3 places. When I had called before going over I asked the asst mgr, Victor about buying his old WW's and he asked, "Are you casting bullets?" HA!
When I got there Victor was at lunch and Fred the manager was doing the counterwork. So after all the car stuff was decided on, I mentioned the bucket and wheel weights and having talked to Victor. Fred says, "you only brought ONE bucket?" Er, yeah I said. That's when I found out they had 3 tire machines.
Fred said a guy had come in about WW's some months back and they had 6 bucket loads in the back room, but he never called or came back so they went to the recycler. I had mentioned beer or donuts for the old WW's and Fred said they didn't need any of that, but to just come and get them and don't just have them sitting around.
I asked if I could get my bucket and take to the 1st tire changing machine and he said go ahead. I went out there and a guy came up and I told him what I was up to. I said I'd bring a 12 pack of beer or pop for each full bucket I got, and my name and number was on the bucket. I figured Fred didn't care as he wasn't busting tires or sweeping the shop floor. I wanted to make sure the dirty guys out there in the trenches knew what the score was [smilie=s: I wasn't born yesterday!
So he looks down at the bucket and says, "You bet Rick". He takes the bucket and sets it down there on the floor next to the machine and dumps in what was in the other bucket. About 4" worth. Then he goes ot the other 2 machines and brings THOSE buckets back and dumps'em in. I have a bit more then half a bucket right now! BTW, MY bucket is taller then the ones they were using by about 4", but I don't care!
So he says, we'll be calling you shortly! I asked if he had any filled ones in the back (Fred & Victor said they might have, for the recycler). I said I could go to the store on the corner and be back shortly with beer or pop. He disappeared into the back and I guess he looked hard since he was gone for a bit, but he came back and said no.
When Donna got home I told her about the bucket and them calling and all that jazz so she didn't blow them off if she took the call, or erase their message if they left one. She said (I KNEW it, so predictable) "Don't you have a lot of lead already"? Well yes I do, compared to maybe the neighbor guy, but I sure hope I don't have a lifetime supply of it. She continues (wife's, sheesh!) "But you have all those plastic storage boxes full of lead out on the patio and you haven't been using THOSE (rising tone, denoting a question).
Well no honey, I've been using the stuff on the floor at the back of the garage because it's all in the way (and there IS a bunch :D). She sighs (you married guys know that sigh, heh, heh). Poor wives have ALL this to put up with, they just DON'T understand. DO NOT bring up the subject of shoes or handbags or artificial flowers, or real flowers as they (Donna will anyway) sull up and get cloudy and say, "Whatever" and you're toast then pardner.
But this wheel weight deal looks good!
...............Buckshot