Fitted some 'new' tyres to the front of the Barge today.
They are in fact second-hand tyres... but before you get all indignant and holier-than-thou these are GOOD second-hand tyres.
2x 205/55/R16 V Michelins with 7mm tread left.
I collected them from Stratford before Christmas, not too far away. The seller had to scrap his Alfa (!) because the turbo blew... I didn't enquire further but I think it was a 156. Having just changed the tyres he insisted on rescuing the tyres from the scrap man.
Anyway his loss is my gain, albeit after £62 had changed hands.
It was only today I got round to fitting them. I tried our local place which wouldn't touch 2nd-hand tyres: "we're not allowed to fit them". Nonsense - you are allowed to do whatever you like.
Anyway found a place in Leamington that did it for £20 cash - that'll suit me fine.
So, £82 for a pair of tyres that would have cost me £200 at Kwikfit. Not bad, I reckon. And people wonder why I bother with second-hand tyres!
In other news I took her out for a spin, and good job I did as it seems she doesn't like neglect. Haven't driven her for a couple of weeks and she sounded a bit reluctant to start at first. I might take the plugs out and clean/re-gap them and see if this helps.
I've recently been told *not* to use copper grease on the threads when fitting spark plugs... seems to go against the grain. However, this was to ensure the correct torque was applied - since I haven't got a torque wrench, this isn't exactly relevant.
Once she was going she went fine though - so I treated her to a full tank of Sainsbury's petrol and a 'Ultimate' car wash. This was mainly to clean the Devon mud off the underside, which was collected over the Christmas trip.
Economy is up to a 'massive' 26mpg... must've been the gentle run back from Devon, although I wasn't hanging about - probably doing 75-85mph most of the way.
Sadly, it's too dark to see if the wash actually made much of a difference!
