New Tire For The Jeep

Above, the new tire. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, I bought a tire for the Jeep to replace the one that went flat a few days ago. When I took the tire off the Jeep, I saw a three inch crack or cut. So the tire was not repairable.

Thanks to Larry Lucier, we brought it and the rim to the tire dealer in Gallup to have the new one mounted. When the tire technician took the old tire off, he noted that it was a Cooper Discoverer tire no longer being made. He looked at its manufacturing date code and found that the tire was made in 1989. The dealer's supervisor laughed that the tire was older than his workers.

The new tire is the current Cooper version.

It is likely that the three remaining tires on the Jeep are of the same age and I will have get them replaced. I'm putting the new one on the Jeep today.

Yesterday

Above, the left front tire blew out yesterday. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of my 39th birthday. 

It is a weird feeling that I am now at the same age my dad was when he passed away 25 years ago. 

It was a good birthday, but it could have been better. 

First off, on the way home from the Flying J's Denny's restaurant where we had our usual Tuesday coffee gathering, the left front tire on the Jeep blew out. Now I have to deal with that. I have to go into Gallup and pay a deposit for a replacement tire (Cooper Discoverer). When the dealer gets it in, I'll have to bring the wheel into town for it to be mounted on the rim. It was a couple of blocks from home when it happened, so I managed to get the Jeep into the garage. 

Above, Richard Pusateri at the Big Pool at Toho Studios in 2001. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Then, in the afternoon, I learned that Richard Pusateri, one of the gang of kaiju enthusiasts (formerly from L.A.), passed away after a 2-3 year battle with cancer. Richard was the one who coined the name "GINO" (Godzilla In Name Only) for the Tri-Star Godzilla of 1998. We met at G-FEST 1999 in Burbank. We went to the premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival and toured Toho Studios with Koichi Kawakita and Shogo Tomiyama. We attended many screenings in Hollywood and at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Some used to refer to us as the "Mario Brothers". He will be missed. 

As we get older, it seems that more often life throws curve balls at us. 

Cooper® Tires News

Above, the Jeep with its Cooper Discoverer tires. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I bought the 1952 Willys Jeep M38A1, it had Cooper Discoverer light truck tires on it.

Nearly two years later, they're still in good shape and with no problems.

However, such is not the case with some Cooper light truck tires.

From RV Travel:

An estimated 430,000 light truck tires made by Cooper® Tires have been recalled because they can develop sidewall bulges that could lead to tire failure.

Certain Discoverer, Evolution, Courser, Deegan, Adventurer, Hercules, Back Country, Multi-Mile, Wild Country and Big O tires in several sizes are included in the recall.

The tires recalled were made between Feb. 1, 2018 and Dec. 1, 2019.

That's not all concerning Cooper Tires.

Above, the Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Also from RV Travel:

On Feb. 22, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. agreed to buy Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, a deal that seeks to combine the country’s two biggest tire manufacturers based in the U.S.

Goodyear said it will pay about $2.8 billion in cash and stock for its smaller rival. That will include $41.75 a share in cash for Cooper’s shares, which rose about 30% to $56.89 in afternoon trading. Goodyear’s shares increased 20% to $16.72.

To read more, go here.