Q&A: 2020 no. 7

Q. I have a mystery fender skirt pair that I believe came from a 1963 Cadillac. The skirts are from the collection of a deceased collector who had 1959 and 1963 Eldorados and other Cadillacs through the 1980s. His white 1963 Eldorado was sold some time ago without skirts and these were recently found. While the shape of these skirts appears to match 1963-’64 skirts, the two-piece trim does not necessarily match (especially the lower ribbed trim section). The skirts are approximately 37-3/4 inches in length. I am wondering if these skirts from a 1963 Cadillac Eldorado. If so, what is an explanation of the strange ribbed trim? — John Andersen, Minnetonka, Minn.

Q. [In] response to the Mar. 26 inquiry regarding tire dressing, there are many tire and wheel cleaners on the market. I use the tire and wheel cleaner from Moonshine Products (moonshinestore.com), which is a local Tucson, Ariz., small business. All their cleaning and care products are of very high quality and I use them on my show car (this isn’t a paid endorsement; it’s just my opinion for whatever it’s worth). I like Stoner More Shine (www.stonercarcare.com) for the tires after I have cleaned them because it doesn’t give that overly glossy appearance, which I don’t care for. Stoner Trim Shine is an excellent product for restoring the shine to those black rubber bumpers on modern cars if they have become faded. I use it on my wife’s Jeep Wrangler with very good results.

For raised white letters on the tires, I still have some Westley’s Bleche White, but I understand that product is now being made by a different company and I have read conflicting things about its effectiveness.  — Peter A. Bookman, Tucson, Ariz.

Q. Regarding the [question about old tires] (Q&A, Apr. 23), a few years ago my son’s 1995 Volvo 850 had a flat and he pulled out the spare to mount it. He then noticed that the tread was separating from the tire near the sidewall. Since it was all we had, we mounted it because it still held air and drove slowly about five miles to a tire store go have the main tire fixed. Pieces of the tread portion were falling off and there were pieces “flapping” as we drove. It appears that this was the first time the spare had been used and the car was about 20 years old at the time. So yes, tires do just self-destruct — Jerry Koch. Chicago, Ill.

Q. I want to respond to a Q&A from Ron Patyski (Apr. 16) regarding exhaust for his 1965 Plymouth. The best and truest exhaust you can get for MoPars is from Accurate Exhaust. They specialize in MoPars for all years. I just ordered a single Hi-Po exhaust for my dad’s ’65 Barracuda. They were great to work with and sent a very high-quality product. Their web link is www.accurateltd.com. Another exhaust company specializing in MoPar exhaust is TTI (www.ttiexhaust.com). They are more on the performance side, but equal in quality. 

I do recommend Accurate for sure, but he may want to peruse TTI as well. I hope this helps another MoParino. Thanks, and keep up the good work.  — Patrick Dudley, Elgin, Tex.

Q. Regarding Ron Patyski’s exhaust question, contact Waldron’s Exhaust, one of Old Cars’ advertisers, for help. They did a good job making a full exhaust for my 1952 Nash Rambler. — Mark Axen, Stony Creek, N.Y.