<VV> Quick Corvair-related story and tires needed

[Bill Elliott]

I went to pick up the ex-John Moody Westfalia on Saturday in Easton, PA... we made it a full day by swinging by Tom Wilcox's place in Allentown to pick up 
a set of seat I bought from him over a year ago... his track car is looking good and I hope to see it in action at BeaverRun!

Anyway, the seller (a former professional pti crew member) tells me he's checked the oil and fluids and I'm good to go.... so I didn't check anything. You 
already know the direction this is headed, right?

By the time we get back into Allentown (about 30 miles), I'm seeing some smoke. And I'm REAL unhappy as this was one of the sweetest running Corvair 
engines I've seen (and it's motivating this camper extremely well!!!...those of you who have never driven a fully laden VW camper with the stock 1600 just 
can't appreciate the improved performance of a stout 110....)

So we pull into a Cracker Barrel (just being specific to impress Alan!) to have some lunch and investigate. There is oil EVERYWHERE! But no oil cap to be 
found. So I pull the dipstick to see how low the oil is... it's still a quart OVERFULL! So this pro had (1) overfilled the crankcase by at least 2 quarts and (2) 
forgotten to replace the oil cap.  (I eventually did find the oil cap... up on top of the air cleaner... remember you are looking the engine from the side, not from 
the top as in a normal Corvair application.) After adjusting the oil level, we made it home with no problem and I got to spend Monday cleaning up the engine 
compartment.

Moral of the story: check it yourself!!!!

Anyway, now that the bumpers are no longer yellow (another Monday project) one of my first orders of business is appropriate tires. It currently has offbrand 
185/70SR14's on it with a load capacity of around 1200lbs... specified capacity is 1500 and desired is 1900-2000. That means a 185R14, 195R14, or a 
195/75R14, all in a load range D... with an all season tread pattern.  One of the 195's would be my top choice.

This is proving more difficult than it appeared. Tirerack has an expensive Michelin (which is acceptable), but only in the smaller 185SR14. They also have 
Continental VANCOs in both a 185 and 195, but the reviews of these are lukewarm at best. 

Two great alternatives are proving elusive. Hankook makes both a 185 and 195 which exceeds the Michelins in every area of performance, but 30% 
cheaper. Can't find a set anywhere.  Another even less expensive alternative is the Cooper SRM II (also available in a 185 and 195), but I've yet to find a 
Cooper dealer who will even admit they exist. (Most are thrown by the lack of aspect ratio in the tire size and just can't seem to get beyond that). 

Yoko and a few other manufacturers made a Load range D 195/75R14...but I can't seem to find anything current. Hakka has a few options that all start 
about 50% higher than the already pricey Michelins.

Anybody have a business account with Hankook and/or Cooper who could order me a set of tires?

Thanks!!
Bill Elliott