The Key West Citizen

New Tire, Battery Business On Front Street

A newcomer to Key West business but not to the business of tire recapping is Fred Mannheim. Fred owns and operates the Key West Tire and Battery Company at 515 Front Street. He has twenty years experience in the business, plus having served an apprenticeship of about eight years before he ever began to work.

Mannheim served his apprenticeship in Germany where he was born. He came to the United States in 1935. He owned and operated Federal Tire in Pittsburgh for ten years, then owned Federal Tire in Hollywood, Fla., for five years. He set up his business in Key West about four months ago. His wife and two daughters are still in Hollywood pending disposal of the business there.

Uses All New Equipment

In his recapping shop Fred uses brand new 1954 Den-Nap equipment on 100% cold rubber. The equipment is specially built for air cushioned (low pressure) tires. Each recap carries a full year guarantee. Mannheim's Den-Nap electrically heated equipment gives a uniform heat and peeling of the recap is impossible, says Fred. Thus, the 12-month guarantee. The recaps look like new and wear like new.

Recap jobs at Key West Tire and Battery start at $8.45. This price covers a recap on 600 x 16 and 640 x 15 tires. Recap of a 670 x 15 is $8.85. Fred's price list shows very little cost difference as it goes on up through the larger sizes of car and truck tires.

Battery To Withstand Florida Weather

On the battery side of the business, Fred features a battery especially manufactured for Florida weather conditions. This is the Curtis battery, made in Miami. The cost is $9.95 for group one, and $11.95 for group two. The batteries are for large and small cars, trucks, and marine use. They carry a 15-month guarantee.

Key West Tire & Battery carries well-known, dependable quality new tires: Goodrich, Silvertown and Lee.

New Lee Tire Has Double Guarantee

The new Lee-Super DeLuxe, now being advertised on a national scale, is the only tire distributed locally with a 15-month double guarantee. It is engineered and built primarily to be a replacement tire ... to take the punishment that new-car tires don't have to take. It will withstand the double beating of the open road and of a car no longer new.

This double guarantee means that in addition to the lifetime guarantee of quality in materials and workmanship, it is guaranteed for 15 months against road-hazard damage of any kind—blowouts, impact breaks, bruises and cuts of any kind regardless of cause. The double guarantee will be honored for damage caused by faulty brakes, improper mounting, misalignment, overloading, and under-inflation.

Every Lee dealer will honor this guarantee on the new Super DeLuxe.

It's a good bet that you'll be getting only the best from Fred Mannheim, whether it's new tires and batteries or a recap job. And for future reference, you might remember that Fred also can do a vulcanizing job of any kind of rubber article that will take the process.