Gladiator Garage Works

If you’re a car guy like me then you probably like nothing better than to spend Saturday afternoon tinkering in your driveway with your off road truck or sports car.  Whichever type of ride you like you will want to read this article in order to save yourself a whole lot of money and heartache down the road.

For years I lived in a house with a concrete driveway.  If this is the type of driveway you have now, then this won’t be as important as it will be if you have an asphalt driveway.  When I moved into my new home it had asphalt instead of concrete in the parking area in front of the garage.  I didn’t think anything of it until one day when I was rebuilding the carbs on my 260-Z.  As you may know, a 260-Z has dual carbs and they need to be balanced in order to get the best performance out of the car.  I was having a miss in the engine at full throttle so I decided to kit both carbs.

When I took them off I accidentally spilled some gas out of the carb bowl.  I didn’t think anything of it because I figured I would just rinse it off later like I always did on the concrete driveway.

Well, I didn’t know that gas works like a solvent on asphalt and basically it will eat a hole right through the surface.  This means the aggregate (gravel) is now exposed and it can be washed out with the rain.  I ended up with a hole that needed to be patched which cost me several hundred dollars.  I would have rather spent that money on new tires and wheels.

The moral is, if you are going to do work on your asphalt driveway then be sure and apply the best driveway sealer you can find.  The best way to find a good product is to visit your home remodeling store.  They have the products which are best for your climate and locale.