Reference Materials

There are few things that beat a good judging guide when it comes to reference materials for your restoration. These are the guides that the judges use and study. It doesn't matter if you're going to be in a concours or not.

 

 

When I ordered the Concours guide for our Austin Healey 3000 BT7 it was also possible to get a guide for the Sprite. Since there was no additional cost (that I can remember) it was well worth bundling it in with the information request.

What is great about these documents is that they are the most concise references for when things changed on cars, and when we're dealing with British cars it's a common occurrence. I printed out the reference (it came on CD Rom) and the judging sheet. At the back I added a photocopy of the build sheet that we ordered for the vehicle. With the car's vital statistics and all the concours data combined I then had it spiral bound as my point in which I can validate parts and information about the vehicle as I go through the systems as well as somewhere for me to take relevant notes.

Aside from being a great little notebook, it helps you identify things on your vehicle that just aren't right. Some are obvious, as this car came to us with an alternator, but they were fitted with a generator at the factory. Some are less so, this car appears to have an earlier radiator and to have had the temperature sensor bulb moved from the head to the radiator.

All in all, these are well worth printing, buying or acquiring for any vehicle you're going to restore. I keep these, the parts catalog and the shop manual all within easy reach when working on the car.

Stupid Garage Tricks #2: Heated creeper

Now you can stay warm in the winter!

Aluminum Tire Pressure Sensors (the saga continues)

We at They Might Be Racing believe that there is definitely a serious problem here. In order to obtain better data on what we're dealing with we have started a serious research effort into the auto manufacturers that use these aluminum valve stems in their vehicles.

The first stop in obtaining incidence data for these vehicles is the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) complaint database. The NHTSA is the primary point for collecting statistical data on issues with vehicles.

We started with the year 2008. It was the first full year after the federal Tire Pressure Monitoring requirements and also happens to be the year our source vehicle was produced (2008 Chrysler Town and Country Limited).

The following vehicles have issues reported relating to their aluminum valve stems and TPMS corroding and failing:

Buick	Enclave
Chevrolet	Equinox, Express Van, Malibu, Uplander
Chrysler	300, PT Cruiser, Sebring, Town and Country
Dodge	Avenger, Caliber, Caravan, Charger, Dakota, Grand Caravan, Nitro, Ram Truck
Ford	Escape, Explorer, F Series trucks
Jeep	Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Patriot, Wrangler
Kia	Rondo
Mazda	CX-7, Mazda 3, Mazda 5, Mazda 6
Nissan	Quest, Titan(?)
Pontiac	Grand Prix, Torrent, Vibe
Subaru	Outback
Toyota	Corolla

Now, for many of these auto manufacturers there were singular events within a single vehicle model that may be attributable to statistical averages. There are two standout cases in the above documentation: Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep (one company) and Mazda.

In the case of Mazda we have documentation of soft recalls (i.e. fixed when complained about) for corrosion issues relating to the valve stems. They have been upgraded and improved.

In the case of Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep there have been no documented recalls that we can find. The list above: 300, PT Cruiser, Sebring, Town and Country, Avenger, Caliber, Caravan, Charger, Dakota, Grand Caravan, Nitro, Ram Truck, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Patriot and Wrangler; represents over 50% of the vehicle lineup from this company.

What is it about the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep Tire Pressure Sensors (TPS) and their Tire Pressure Management System (TPMS) that sucks so badly? Why haven't they corrected it (we've looked at later year complaints)? Why do they lie and tell customers that this isn't a problem?

Stay tuned for more information.

Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep Tire Pressure Sensor update.

Tire Pressure Sensor Valve Stem Failure update- We've been researching this problem over the past 24 hours and found significant issues with these from multiple manufacturers now. If you have valve stems on your vehicle that are made of aluminum we strongly recommend you replace them for your own safety. As part of our research we have learned that Schrader manufactures a number of OEM compatible sensors that use the rubber & brass configuration instead of the aluminum one. We will be ordering a set of them for the 2008 Town and Country Monday morning. We will then bill Chrysler for the parts & installation. We strongly urge you to do the same for your own safety. The Schrader catalog is available here: http://www.hancousa.com/Schrader%20Application%20Chart.pdf Visit your local tire shop and they should be able to source them for you. Please share this information as widely as possible so that everyone is aware of the dangers of these aluminum valve based Tire Pressure Sensors (TPS). I am still appalled at the answers I'm getting from Chrylser about this problem.

Product Warning for Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep Owners. Important!

I'm livid. That's the only way to describe it. The TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors) on Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep products are not only absolute crap, but they are extraordinarily dangerous. The fact that someone hasn't died yet it amazing!

Stupid Garage Tricks #1: Sorting nuts and bolts using egg cartons