Changing a Flat Tire Using The Tools In Your Car

[Michele Pensotti]

Hello Eric, this afternoon I was watching one of your playlists, the “suspension and steering” one, and one of your older videos about changing a flat tire using the tools normally available in your car, caught my eye.

And, first of all, I know this is a “off topic” question, so I ask for forgiveness.

In that video a red oldish/classic/vintage car caught my eye, and me being an italian and not having the trained eye for american cars , cannot identify what car it is.

My question is especially motivated by my passion for vintage cars, and since in your wonderful show I haven’t seen many (except your beloved Galaxie and some others) , I just was curious.

What kind of repair did it need? Was it carbed?

Thank you for your comprehension Eric 😉

P.S: just to avoid any equivocation, I’m not talking about the (also red) Acura you changed the tire on (is it your brother’s car , right?) , but the other red car barely visible in the background, I believe it is some kind of spider/convertible/cabrio (I don’t know the right term for that kind of car).

And, as always,

Live long and prosper (and stay dirty!)

10nico

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

First lets post a link to the video in question.

The car is a 55 Thunderbird. It came in with a head gasket issue. It belongs to a friend of mine that owns many classic cars. I used to work on his entire fleet. To be honest it’s not my favorite car of his. I liked his 50 Oldsmobile and 59 Cadillac the most. In fact you will find those vehicles featured on the headers of some of the pages on this very website. You can also check out some pics of these cars if you check the ‘About’ page here on the website.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/about-etcg

[Michele Pensotti]

Thank you for your quick answer Eric, and for all the very tasty details about “that red car in the background” 😉

It’s nothing less than a Thunderbird!!! :cheer:

So your friend owns that and other vintage cars? Lucky for him! 🙂

And YOU used to service those beauties? Lucky for you! 🙂

You know, now that I know what model is that car, I googled it and discovered it was the very same model on which the famous Italian singer Fred Buscaglione died in a car crash in 1960, how little the world is…

That car is famous 🙂

Lucky for you that you “did dirty things” 😆 with her 😆

And thanks for pointing me to the “about” section; I had already visited that section, but quite some time ago, before the new website came to life.
I see you’ve added quite a lot of details, very very interesting; all those pictures of you at the dealership, all that backstory, and the final pages with the “current situation”.
AWESOME! 🙂

Were you THAT thin at the time? 😉 (just joking!)

Ah, by the way, I’m a great fan of your early videos, and I like the “new style” of the Acura/Honda radiator “real time”, I like the video and I like the commentary (I started liking your commentaries when you realized the first “Honda civic engine swap” video 🙂

And, please accept my next comment as it is (it’s not meant as a compliment! well, not only 😉 ), but YOU’RE DARN FAST! 😉

And with this I close. 🙂

My kudos to you man

Live long and prosper (and stay dirty!)

10nico

[EricTheCarGuy]

Thanks for your ‘comments’ 🙂

I’ve had the honor of working on quite a few cool cars in my time. I consider myself fortunate in that regard. I just thought of another video with the T-bird that I’ll post a link to also. BTW, that T-bird is special as it was the first one in Cincinnati from what I understand. It was given to a local celebrity, Bob Braun as a promotion. 55′ was the first year for the T-bird BTW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Braun

[Michele Pensotti]

WOW! Thank you for the link to that video, I vaguely remember watching it but I didn’t remember it started with the thunderbird startup!

HER SOUND IS WONDERFUL! Thank you! 🙂

As for the car’s model fame, I actually went to wikipedia, and I really think I have seen Bob on some old tv show or movie (I really don’t remember the detail).

Thanks!

Eric, if there’s something you do to me (besides teach and keep good company 😉 ) is you’ve shown me how beautiful is to be in America 🙂

I really hope one day I’ll be able to come there and meet you and see *the world* you live in :cheer:

Hey, by the way, I remembered now my first oil change on my old and beloved AX.
To change the oil I had to jack it up with the scissor style jack that came with the car, and I also had to remove the front right wheel.
And to do that I had to use the factory wheel removing wrench.
Well, it was of so good quality 😆 and the bolt was so tightened (probably with an impact wrench) that I ended up twisting the metal of the wrench, and NOT unbolting the wheel. :silly:

That was one of the first time I realized “I NEED A GOOD TOOL” 😆

I ended up purchasing one of those chrome-vanadium cross-shaped tyre removal wrenches.
With that, and the help of my father’s arms 😉 , I was finally able to remove the wheel.

PANT PANT! 😆

Ok, enough tapping on this keyboard (I know, I’m VERY talkative 😆 )

Live long and prosper (and stay dirty!)

10nico

[Bill]

I would give my left Tes*^cal and maybe the right too, to own that car. As nice as it Is It sounds like It could use some of your magic. Maybe a carb rebuild.

If It’s the carb I think It Is maybe you should just leave the air filter on it. LoL.

[Justin]

This is not a “fat” test.

:cheer: :silly: :cheer: :silly:

[Author]

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