Advice about a 2001 T/A with super low mileage.

[jiveass]

Replacing the heater hose assembly was boatloads of fun. I strongly recommend a set of remote hose clamp pliers. +1 on the debil critters -- they had a feast on the vacuum tubing in our Monte Carlo, shreaded the hood insulation, and pissed all over the top of the heater box and intake manifold.

i swapped all my pinch clamps with the old school threaded ones....except for the ones that are on the firewall....but like you say, those are not gonna be fun..

[Marc 85Z28]

I only know a small history of the car. It came from Roseville, CA so at least it was in somewhat of a moderate climate unlike here in Memphis where it is anywhere from 10 degrees to 100 degrees.

Do you have a Carfax that states the car was from Rosemont, or is that where you had CarMax transfer the car from? Just because they transferred it from the Rosemont store doesn't mean it came from that area.

[cammed goat]

Check your tires as well. They could be flat-spotted from sitting. Another thing...I can't remember which law it is, but there is now one for tires that are 5 years old or older. The law basically uses the DOT numbers on the sides of the tires to determine the proper lifespan of each tire. Like a "shelf life" so to speak.

[35th-ANV-SS]

Thought it was "7" years for tires.

Also - I was told by multiple tire people that "flat spots" are a thing of the past now.

Anyone have any actual info on this?

[staleycornell]

Do you have a Carfax that states the car was from Rosemont, or is that where you had CarMax transfer the car from? Just because they transferred it from the Rosemont store doesn't mean it came from that area.

Yes I saw the Carfax on it. It was bought and registered there. Not many records at all on the car for it being a 2001.

[staleycornell]

Check your tires as well. They could be flat-spotted from sitting. Another thing...I can't remember which law it is, but there is now one for tires that are 5 years old or older. The law basically uses the DOT numbers on the sides of the tires to determine the proper lifespan of each tire. Like a "shelf life" so to speak.

The tires are brand new...still has the little rubber "nipples" coming from the sides. I guess the car had bald or crappy tires on it when it was sold to CarMax.

[cammed goat]

Thought it was "7" years for tires.

Also - I was told by multiple tire people that "flat spots" are a thing of the past now.

Anyone have any actual info on this?

If it's 7, then there may have been an amendment. I haven't been doing any tire work lately, so there may have been changes.

[cammed goat]

The tires are brand new...still has the little rubber "nipples" coming from the sides. I guess the car had bald or crappy tires on it when it was sold to CarMax.

OK. Very good.

[35th-ANV-SS]

If it's 7, then there may have been an amendment. I haven't been doing any tire work lately, so there may have been changes.

You could be right. I just remember seeing a special on this before and 7 stuck in my head for some reason.

[staleycornell]

OK. Very good.

Hey Cammed Goat. I have owned 2 LS1 Fbodies and 2 LS2 GTOs. Man those GTOs are so much easier to work on....especially since the motors are more towards the front of the vehicles. Spark plugs and headers in particular.

[cammed goat]

Hey Cammed Goat. I have owned 2 LS1 Fbodies and 2 LS2 GTOs. Man those GTOs are so much easier to work on....especially since the motors are more towards the front of the vehicles. Spark plugs and headers in particular.

Yep. I had one guy at a car show tell me he hates me because the motor is more out in the open.

[staleycornell]

Yep. I had one guy at a car show tell me he hates me because the motor is more out in the open.

And I hate my former self for having it easy!

[cammed goat]

And I hate my former self for having it easy!

[SeVeReDiStOrTiOn]

Nice WS6 I remember seeing that one on the carmax website.

[Firebirdjones]

Thought it was "7" years for tires.

Also - I was told by multiple tire people that "flat spots" are a thing of the past now.

Anyone have any actual info on this?

Mine were flatspotted on the ventura after sitting 25 years I even drove it 2-300 miles hoping it would straighten itself out, never happened.

I'm willing to bet the 69 Z and the SCJ both are also flatspotted, they too have been sitting since about 1985. They will all get new tires as well anyway.

[35th-ANV-SS]

Mine were flatspotted on the ventura after sitting 25 years I even drove it 2-300 miles hoping it would straighten itself out, never happened.

I'm willing to bet the 69 Z and the SCJ both are also flatspotted, they too have been sitting since about 1985. They will all get new tires as well anyway.

Rubber and technology have come a long way in the last 30+ years

[Firebirdjones]

Rubber and technology have come a long way in the last 30+ years

Yep, although I'm not so quick to think even todays tires would survive a 25 year stint of sitting. They don't even have a very long shelf life anymore.
Actually I was talking to a tire technician who was telling me these steel belted tires are only structurally made to last 3-4 years before the belts start separating. Because the manufacture figures tread life won't outlast the structural integrity. The manufacture banks on customers replacing the tires before that time frame. That's some food for thought, and kinda scary too.

For the record that ventura sat for 25 years with a (modern for the time) set of Goodyear Eagle GT tires on it. I would have thought they would have done better since they weren't an old set of polyglass tires.
The other 2 cars that have been sitting do in fact have their factory polyglass tires on them. They show no signs of dry rot and still hold air. But I would suspect they are flatspotted even though the cars have rolled around from time to time.

[35th-ANV-SS]

It sucks because I'm still running my stock OEM wheels that came with the car on the front and they only have 2X,XXX miles on them and they still look new.

I'm starting to worry about them though. I have new Nitto DR's on the back so I'm thinking I might put those up front and get a set of M/T DR's for the rear but I don't know how stupid that would look....not sure how different the tires look.

[Firebirdjones]

It sucks because I'm still running my stock OEM wheels that came with the car on the front and they only have 2X,XXX miles on them and they still look new.

I'm starting to worry about them though. I have new Nitto DR's on the back so I'm thinking I might put those up front and get a set of M/T DR's for the rear but I don't know how stupid that would look....not sure how different the tires look.

You could tell everyone it's converted to AWD

On your front tires, I'd probably run them anyway and just keep an eye on things. I've had them develop basball sized knots on the inside of the sidewall before and didn't know it. The car one day just got a sudden pull in the steering to that side, thought it was time for some suspension attention. Turned out it was just the tire.

I've run tires on cars that were 20+ years old without issues but I always made sure the spare was ready, and I keep a small air compressor and tire repair kits in the car at all times just for piece of mind.

I'll be honest,,,,if those polyglass tires aren't flatspotted on the SCJ, and they balance okay on the machine, I'll run em' even though they have been sitting since 85. They were bought new back then and then the car was parked. Reproductions now are about $150-$175 a piece, so I'm not going to be anxious to replace them till I see how they act.