It seems that everytime I drive to Robert Soule's house in Chattanooga
something nearly catastrophic happens on the way home.
Last time I went up there I had my "Saving Private Ryan" blow-out at 70
mph, which led to my car throwing a hubcap and me nearly becoming 220
lbs. of pressed meat under a packful of southbound semis. Fortunately,
I survived that and retrieved the hubcap.
Well, coming back home from Chattanooga this time I had a similar
experience just south of Birmingham. I must've hit something on the
road, because I was driving along at about 80 mph (I-65 between
Birmingham and Montgomery is not a slow road), when I suddenly heard
rather than felt this loud KA-POOOOM, followed by a WHACKA WHACKA WHACKA
sound. I looked up and there in my rearview mirror was my left rear
hubcap, trailing along behind me in a perfectly vertical position in the
center of the lane as if it was my chase car. Imperial hubcaps spin
REALLY well.
It maintained a good 75-80 mph for awhile, then started to slow down and
executed a perfect lane change into the right lane, where it spun along
contentedly like a commuter on his way to Hoover. This is where it
started to remind me a bit of Moses parting the Red Sea, because all the
cars behind me immediately parted, moving to the left and right to let
the big Imperial wheelcover by.
Then it suddenly juked back over to the left and disappeared in the
brush. Well, I pulled off the road and discovered that I hadn't blown a
tire but the clamp holding the fender skirt in place had come undone and
was hanging down loosely from the skirt. I'm amazed the whole skirt
didn't come off.
After about 45 min. of walking up and down the road I found the hubcap--
relatively undamaged.
My serious question is: what happened? I'm guessing I hit a bump and
the flexing caused the clamp to pop out of place. Is there anyway to
check this thing to make sure this doesn't happen again? I don't like
walking up & down the side of the highway looking for hubcaps. Too
drafty.
Mark
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