Click
& Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray MagliozziDear Tom and Ray:
My wonderful boyfriend has
recently discovered that he enjoys working on our
vehicles, and it has become his new money-saving
hobby. He has always changed the oil and he
recently moved on to brakes. But now he’s
determined to up the ante and replace the timing
belt on my 1990 Toyota Camry. He has the Chilton
manual, so he feels confident. I am just a bit
nervous myself. Should I be? What do you think
are his chances for success, and how long should
I plan to be taking the bus? - Charmaine
RAY: The time to get nervous
would’ve been when he worked on your brakes,
Charmaine. I mean, if he screws up the timing
belt, the engine stops running. But if he screws
up the brakes, then he’s sending you an
unmistakable message.
TOM: Actually, it’s a big
step from brakes to a timing belt. The main
obstacle can be the crankshaft pulley. That
pulley needs to be removed in order to change the
belt. And sometimes, removing it ain’t easy.
RAY: We have a special puller
we use for the job.
TOM: Yeah, his name’s
Bruno. He weighs 350 pounds.
RAY: No, a puller is a tool
that maximizes the pulling force. But even that
doesn’t work sometimes, and we have to use
the oxyacetylene torch to heat up the pulley.
TOM: And the older the car is,
the more likely the crankshaft pulley is frozen
on there.
RAY: If he gets the pulley off,
the rest of the job on a Camry is quite
manageable.
TOM: And if he can’t get
the pulley off, then he can have the car towed to
his local garage and let them finish the job.
RAY: Of course, it might take
him a week or so to admit defeat. I’d pick
up at least a one-month bus pass.
RACING
By Greg Zyla
Sponsored by Curry Automotive
Nextel Cup
Franchising Is Inevitable
As a longtime
advocate of franchising teams in NASCAR’s
Nextel Cup division, I am going out on a limb and
predicting that within five years, NASCAR’s
top 38 teams will all be franchised, and possibly
all 43.
The pros and cons
of franchising Nextel Cup teams are debatable,
but rest assured that franchising is a reality
that is closer than ever. As owners work
diligently to keep their teams fully funded, a
team franchise structure is needed to protect the
owners and guarantee what now is missing -- a
return on investment. At stake is the continued
existence of Cup owners who helped raise NASCAR
to its present stature.
A Cup franchise
system would eliminate the sad but so true
"auction liquidations" that plague
owners who are either forced out of the sport due
to funding problems or decide to retire.
Additionally,
there are too many other loopholes in the current
system. The past champion provisionals and the
ability to buy into a race when failing to
qualify are most glaring.
Currently, there
are several Nextel Cup teams that are struggling.
It would be a bush-league shame to see once
major-league teams forced to shut their doors.
Yet, if things keep going the way they are for
teams in a state of flux, one of which is a
multi-time Daytona 500 winner, franchising could
be the best answer.
LETTER to the EDITOR.
Opinions expressed are those of the writer and
not necessarily those of the Mornin’ Mail.
To Whom it May Concern:
I consider it an exceptionally fine stroke of
good luck for benefit of all Jasper Countians
that Danny Hensley has agreed to stand for
election as a non-partisan write-in candidate to
a new term as the county’s presiding
commissioner. No one ever was more highly
qualified for the position and no one is better
equipped to deal forthrightly and efficiently
with county business in this ever more complex
environment.
In my professional work as a journalist and as
the county historian, it has been my honor to
witness closeup the quality of his performance in
the post of presiding commissioner and prior to
that as associate commissioner in past years and
I have learned something of his ancestral ties as
a descendant of Jasper County founders and early
political leaders. It is a proud legacy and he
always has been true to the ethical and moral
standards developed through the family tradition
in which public service and concern for the
welfare of others has been constantly featured.
I am honored to have this opportunity to endorse
his candidacy and assure all citizens that this
is a man who can be trusted and who know his way
through all the maze of governmental confusion
right down to the nitty-gritty labor that gets
the job done. The finest forward step Jasper
County could take at this point in its history
would be to return Danny Hensley to the office of
presiding commissioner. Please write in his name
and add that all-important dash required for
write-in voting.
Sincerely,
Marvin L. VanGilder
|
