2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission My mom is travelling and needs help in Phoenix

[SRath]

Does anyone know of a reputable tire and wheel shop or even a junkyard in the Phoenix area that won't rip off an older lady travelling alone?



My mom is driving a '73 camaro back from San Diego to Iowa and it has a bad wheel (out of round I believe). She also said it has washers(??) stacked under the lugnuts... She says everything seems OK as long as she stays under 50 mph, at which point it starts shaking noticeably... That doesn't sound "OK" to me!



She's bringing the car back here on my behalf, and it was supposed to have been all checked over before she left San Diego. Obviously, it wasn't checked over well enough...



I think the best thing is to find some place that can dismount the (good) BFG tires from those mag wheels and just buy a used set of stock 15 inch steel chevy wheels and lug nuts to have them mounted on.



I would appreciate any suggestions on where to have her go.

 

[MRose]

Alot of mags had a washer so the lug nut didn't gouge the soft magnesium. All the help I have, sorry.

 

[THoltz]

I would try Discount Tire, there are a dozens in the Phoenix area. The format is goofed up, but the address and phone numbers are here.



Name & Phone Miles Address Hours



Discount Tire

(602) 277-0039

Make Appointment 1 SW 1824 E Camelback Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85016

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 956-9140

Make Appointment 3 SE 3234 E Thomas Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85018

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 992-4350

Make Appointment 5 N 3232 E Cactus Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85032

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 249-0980

Make Appointment 5 W 2240 W Camelback Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85015

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 948-0130

Make Appointment 7 NE 10640 N Scottsdale Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 994-5336

Make Appointment 7 SE 2301 N Scottsdale Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 944-3345

Make Appointment 7 NW 10058 N Metro Parkway W

Phoenix, AZ 85051

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 937-6639

Make Appointment 7 W 7040 North 43rd Avenue

Glendale, AZ 85301

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 905-1262

Make Appointment 7 NE 7075 E Shea

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 992-8989

Make Appointment 8 N 2422 E Bell Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85032

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 485-9272

Make Appointment 9 N 4601 E Bell

Phoenix, AZ 85032

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 942-9603

Make Appointment 9 NW 407 W Bell Road

Phoenix, AZ 85023

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 233-2231

Make Appointment 9 W 5131 West McDowell

Phoenix, AZ 85035

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 951-9126

Make Appointment 9 E 9199 E Indian Bend Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 863-2366

Make Appointment 9 NW 1530 West Bell Road

Phoenix, AZ 85023

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 243-1796

Make Appointment 10 S 330 E Baseline

Phoenix, AZ 85042

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(602) 978-9686

Make Appointment 11 NW 4455 W Bell Rd

Glendale, AZ 85308

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 839-0487

Make Appointment 11 SE 1709 E Southern

Tempe, AZ 85282

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 962-1403

Make Appointment 11 SE 1929 W Main St

Mesa, AZ 85201

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 607-6546

Make Appointment 11 NE 15736 N Pima Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 846-3809

Make Appointment 11 W 7231 W Indian School Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85033

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 878-9487

Make Appointment 11 W 6825 West Peoria Ave

Peoria, AZ 85345

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 491-5036

Make Appointment 12 S 1130 West Elliot Road

Tempe, AZ 85284

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 979-5011

Make Appointment 13 W 8601 NW Grand Ave

Peoria, AZ 85345

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 572-7706

Make Appointment 14 NW 5990 W Behrend Drive

Glendale, AZ 85308

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 979-0062

Make Appointment 14 NW 8333 W Thunderbird

Peoria, AZ 85381

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 752-0527

Make Appointment 14 SE 8835 S McClintock Dr

Tempe, AZ 85284

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 412-3849

Make Appointment 14 NW 7920 W Bell Road

Glendale, AZ 85308

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(623) 936-5149

Make Appointment 15 W 9950 W McDowell Rd

Avondale, AZ 85392

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00





Discount Tire

(480) 633-6788

Make Appointment 15 SE 2030 S Country Club Dr

Mesa, AZ 85210

Map M-F 8:00-6:00

Sat 8:00-5:00

 

[SRath]

MRose, When she told me that there were washers, i thought about what you said and about the old-style unilug mags that required washers. But she said the washers were 'stacked' and needed to be stacked just to hold the wheels tight.



The wheels, by the way, are Torque Thrust mags, which I know nothing about. She apparently stopped earlier in her trip to have the wheels and tire balanced to try to end the shaking. The place she stopped at told her the one wheel was out of round and would not balance.



Since stopping for the balance job, she says the shaking is worse. It is coming from that wheel which is mounted on the rear axle.



Not knowing just what is going on for sure, but not liking the sound of it, I told her to get a motel in Phoenix and I would try to find a place she can go and trust to fix it in the morning. I figure some plain, used, stock steel wheels and stock lugnuts would be the surest fix and hopefully not terribly expensive. If it is just the one wheel that is bad, and the shop gives the others, and their lugnuts a clean bill of health, maybe she can just buy one wheel.



Thanks for the suggestion my friend!



THoltz: I sure appreciate that list! I will figure out which is closest to her and do some calling in the morning.



Thanks guys! My mom's a self-sufficient woman, but, well you know how it is... I just want to make sure she is driving a safe vehicle. if it shakes too bad to drive over 50mph, it cannot be very safe. We here with our Dodge death wobble trucks know exactly what that is like...

 

[SRath]

Just want to say "Thanks" again to you guys and to give 'Eddie' at Tire Dawgs in Phoenix a HUGE thank you!



After talking to me last night, and on the last leg to Phoenix, mom said she hit a dip in the road and the front tires rubbed so badly she nearly lost control! (What the. . ?!!). So the rear wheel is wobbling badly and the fronts are rubbing?! This is getting worse...



Not knowing now what the deal with the supposedly new mags and tires this car came with is, I had her check the spare. It looked good and was a 14". The current wheels and tires were 15". Camaros came with both sizes, depending on whether a plain jane or Z/28, so 15" aren't necessarily too big, but it's impossible for me to know if the backspacing or tire size is right without seeing it in person.



Last night, given both the wobble and the rubbing problems, I decided the thing to do was to buy a 14 inch wheel and tire to match the spare and have them mounted in front (with correct lugnuts), and to move both 15" front tires (a size smaller than the rears) and wheels to the rear. That should eliminate any rubbing and the out-of-round wheel, too.



So this morning, after much calling around Phoenix and several unreturned phone calls (they apparently are too busy to sell wheels and tires in Phoenix at most tire and wheel stores... ), Mom asked the motel desk clerk where he would go? He suggested a nearby shop called "Tire Dawgs".



There, a good, knowledgeable man named "Eddie" listened to the problem, agreed with 'the plan' and fixed her up with a good used tire and wheel that matched the spare pretty closely. He put 3 or 4 guys on the job and had her fixed up in no time.



He put on proper lugnuts and checked them all. He also was curious about the wheel the other shop had said was out-of-round or bent, so he put it on his machine. He says they were wrong and the wheel is fine, but the tire, a BFG Radial T/A almost new, is egg-shaped. Good to know.



After taking such good care of her, Eddie only charged her a total of $67 for the wheel, tire, lugnuts, balancing, and labor!



Eddie, you may never read this, but you are a true gentleman and have my deepest appreciation!



She's cruising carefree down the road now and says she is enjoying the old Camaro and all the looks and conversation it is providing very much! Lets hope the rest of her trip remains enjoyable...