Re: [VAC] Caravel Tire Size & A-frame mount

[DAVE HUFFMAN <huff@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I just opened the front window stone-guard for the first time since having
an A-frame mount for spare tire installed.  The stone-guard actually rubs
the tire on open/closing -- but only mildly.  You don't really have to force
the stone-guard at all.  So much for the tight clearance on the Caravel
A-frame for spare tires!

Another spec of interest: the old tires on this '67 Caravel were 215/75R15.
The new Goodyear ST's are 205/75R15.  Measuring these shows they are almost
1" narrower than the 215's.  So that should translate into another inch
clearance behind the propane tanks on the A-frame.  [I have not actually
tried this].

To get my propane tanks to settle in front of the 215 spare tire, I had to
let most of the air out [as someone suggested on VAC].  But the old tanks
still don't sit happily.

Now the good news: the new aluminum 30# tanks are a bit slimmer, so they
(I've only one of them in place yet) sit w/only minimal tire rubbing -- on
the old spare.  So between the narrower tanks and a narrower spare (if &
when I get one), the clearance becomes reasonable.

The bad news: the upright tank holder is no longer tall enough for the new
tanks.  I got an "all-thread" 36" rod that looks about right, but my drill
would take about 6 bits and all day to drill that sucker -- I dropped it off
at the local sheet metal place for a drill hole yesterday.

Huff