The 2014 Camaro tail lights are mounted in a way to allow water on either side of the trunk to freely flow and exit under the rear bodywork.  Two plastic covers finish off the installation and give a nice appearance, however their design is piss-poor.

But first, why did I remove the rear tail light plastic covers to begin with?  Turns out, I recently washed my 2014 Camaro SS and noticed not only a handsome scratch but also a dent on the tip of the rear driver’s side fender.

Thanks to Covid, my driving has been reduced dramatically and I just can’t place where this damage happened.  I am very anal when it comes to this type of thing, so I made a few phone calls and found a local paintless dent repair shop not far from my home.  I visited the shop and after a few minutes, the fellow said “no problem, we can fix the damage”.  I was not too thrilled about the price, but hey, the fellow at the repair shop has to make a living.

Back to the plastic covers…

Here is the driver’s side covers before removal.  They are held in place with three of those expanding plastic tabs – the damn things are a pain to remove.  As you can see, the plastic cover is designed to direct water (and any debris) to flow under it.  And there lies the design issue…

This is what the cavity looks like, and you can now see the problem.  This area is a magnet for dust, debris, pollen, you name it.  I pulled out two good hand fulls of crap from here.  I can see in the future one day, folks finding major rust areas in this cavity.

And so, i’ve learned the hard way to keep this area clean.  I will make a point to keep this area clean by removing the covers more frequently.  After a quick search on eBay I found a vendor that sells the plastic clips for not much money.  Those things are so easy to break. so I will have a few replacements going forward.

How did the dent removal go?  Pleased to say it was worth every penny.  They found a couple of other places that needed attention and I could not be happier.  Amazing what they can do!

Life continues in our new “normal”.  F1 is back – yay! – sure is nice to watch it again.  There is some close racing, just wish some of the other teams were closer to the Mercs.  HAM is great but it would be nice to see others reach the podium.  Then again, there is some great racing in the midfield.

I just finished reading “Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story Of The Atomic Bomb And The 118 Days That Changed The World”.  Once you get past the opening pages, the book reads very fast and is amazing.

Here are in no particular order some take aways…

Harry Truman had no clue of the Manhattan Project at the time of FDR’s death.  After assuming office, Truman meets with War Secretary Henry Stimson and General Leslie Groves (director of the Manhattan Project and incidentally overseer of the construction of The Pentagon) and in in 45 minutes is briefed about the tool that will end WWII.  I sincerely doubt modern-day politicians would have the ability to do that.  And on top of that, the ultimate decision to use the new weapon in 118 days.  Think about that…

Of course, the book explains in detail the 509th Composite Group and the man in charge of it: General Paul Tibbets.  Quite a few years ago, Paul Tibbets hosted a talk here in Greenville SC.  I made it a point to attend and after the presentation ended, I took the time to stay so I could shake his hand.  I remember he talked about the effort and determination on what had to be done and how that altered the course of the war.  As a result of the talk, I made it a point to go see the Enola Gay as well as Bockscar.

And finally, the book discussed the predictions the War Department made regarding casualties from an all-out invasion of Japan.  This hit very close to home…  My Dad didn’t talk much about his service during WWII but every now and again, he would break his silence.  A few years before he passed, we took a road trip to the AirForce Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB and that is where we saw Bockscar.  On the way back home, Dad explained how he was on leave in mid-1945 after serving in Germany.  He had been told by his superiors to enjoy the time off and get his shit together, because if needed he would be part of the invasion force against Japan.  Dad then told me the casualty predictions were better than 50%.  That is what this book mentioned.

I’ll have another update soon on my next book…  Stay safe.