We just finished building our garage. Probably the most interesting feature is the attic stairway.
Most people with attics have used those weak and narrow pull down folding or telescoping stairways. They are narrow and steep and not very strong. I wanted to be able to easily use the attic storage area so I wanted a really good stairway.
It is important to understand that attics need to be designed properly to support the weight. From the beginning of the garage design this stairway has been planned for. I discussed it with the truss engineer and we made sure to design for the truss spacing, the weight and the point loads. Additionally, the whole system has been designed to account for the various loads and weights on all of the components.
I did lots of drawing to design and build the stairway and components but this one sketch illustrates the basic function:
The original tires on my 1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Veloce were sized 155 x 15 on relatively narrow steel wheels. When I restored my GTV, I made certain "period style" modifications. One modification I chose was that I put on aluminum Alfaholics GTA 14" wheels with 6" width. (Note that the original wheels on the GTA were magnesium and were this same size: 6.00 J x 14. The original tires on the GTA were Pirelli Cinturato 165 HR 14 or Dunlop 165 HR 14-SP. These had a diameter of about 624mm or 24.6 inches.
Originally (about 10 years ago) I installed Bridgestone Potenza RE950 195/65HR14 tires (OD=24.0” tread width=6.2” sect width: 7.8 “ on 6”). The early GTV's like mine have lower rear wheel arches, and it is a tight fit to put tires like that on. But the Potenza's had a very good performance reputation and I enjoyed them.
However, after 10 years the Potenza's were old rubber and due for replacement.
And there has been a development...
The original Pirelli Cinturato CA67 165 x 14 tires are available again!
The Cinturato is a particularly cool tire, as it was the first radial tire made and was fitted to all sorts of cool and exotic cars in addition to the Alfa.
The Cinturato design (first called the Cinturata)
So, for me the choice was obvious, I had to have the Cinturato.
I ended up ordering them from Longstone Tire in the UK. Strangely, they were cheaper to buy from the UK and have them delivered to California than to buy them locally. And they arrived in about a week; Amazing. The ones I purchased appear to have been manufactured in the 33rd week of 2016, just 10 weeks ago, so they are very fresh.
The Pirelli Cinturato CA67 165HR14 tires are H rated and are specified to have a diameter of 627mm and a section width of 165mm.
Here are a couple pictures of the mounted tires.
As you can see, while they are obviously narrower than many tires, they definitely are not "too" narrow. And I think they look great under the wheel arches with the Alfaholics fast road suspension height. I also really appreciate the subtle sidewall graphics compared to modern tires.
As far as performance goes... well I always laugh at people who give reviews of their brand new tires versus their old worn out tires. And I haven't pushed the performance envelope of these at all yet. But I will say, these tires are significantly easier to turn at low speeds (as one might expect because they are significantly narrower). The car might be wandering slightly more at highway speeds (like 80 mph), but if it exists, it is a subtle difference. Ride comfort is a least as good as the the old Potenzas.
CORVA sticker has nothing to do with the Nail Hound, it is just a great organization, and the sticker looked good on the device.
I first saw one of these about 6 months ago, one of my contractors brought it to a job at my house. The contractor's guys were really sloppy and scattered nails everywhere. They used this thing to pick up.
The Nail Hound is a giant magnet on a handle. The actual magnet (magnets?) are inside the aluminum box on the bottom. When you pull the T handle the magnet inside is pulled away from the bottom of the bottom of the box and the attached items are released.
Short demonstration of the tool picking up debris.
And here is a video of a pickup and how the items can be released easily.
I had bought a smaller "magnet on a stick" gizmo, and since it would only pick up items directly under the small magnet, it just wasn't big enough to "sweep" an area with.
Apparently, these Nail Hounds are sold at the local roofing supply company and they are not cheap. But I have some more construction happening and I just had to have one to help clean up. I also think it will come in really handy for picking up dropped bits in the garage.
I have seen versions of this with wheels, but for my use they are not as versatile. I like that I can easily swing this just where I need it, and get it in around plants and things. There are also other similar devices on Amazon (search for: Load Release Nail Sweep), but I had seen this brand in action and I found it locally.
In case someone is interested, here is the company and model information:
Obviously, this tool is a giant magnet, so it is important to keep it away from your wallet (credit cards) and you computer and anything else it might affect adversely!
