Pre-delivery Inspection: forgotten item

[Flarpswitch]

I went looking at where the spare tire would be again. I forgot why, but I think it was to see if I could use the space for something practical like a Zombie Apocalypse survival kit and I found something that I didn’t see the first time. It was a small plastic bag containing two oval rubber body plugs about 1 by 2 inches. On the bag was printed instructions for the pre-delivery person to install the plugs and there was a diagram showing the location: on the body underneath just ahead of the rear wheels. I wonder why it was left to be installed at the last minute. Has anyone else come across this omission? I found the bag with the plugs on the left side by the towing eye.

[joemysterio]

I found mine in the glove compartment. I did a quick check and didn't see where they plugged into. To be honest, I forgot about it until this post just now.

[bcj]

To plug the holes they use to chain an 86 down while being transported on a ship.
Put them in soon-ish. They preven^H^H... slow down corrosion points forming inside the rails.

(odd old protocols Mondays!)

[Code Monkey]

They go under the car in front of rear wheels, have a look around and you will see a corresponding hole. A very common item dealers forget, happens all the time on Miatas too.

[Flarpswitch]

I thought about why those holes would be left open for transit. I did consider them as a tie-down point, but I did not see any evidence of any attachments unless there is a special type of apparatus that is designed to not cause damage. One day I was by the port where the vehicle transport ships come in and they were driving the cars off one by one and the drivers would all return by van. Some years ago, we took the ferry from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, Washington. The ship pitched and rolled quite a bit and my daughter and I made sport of seeing who could maneuver around the deck to see who would fall over first. At one point I needed to return to the car below deck to retrieve a jacket and noticed how all the cars were bouncing around a bit. Most had wheel chocks and none of the cars actually moved although you would think they could end up in a pile to one side. When I got into our car I almost became seasick in seconds. The spring resonance of the tires, suspension, the flexing of the steel car deck and the motion of the ship amplified the phenomenon. I have spent a lot of time out on the water in craft big and small, but never experienced something like that. I got the hell out of there fast least I barf up lunch, breakfast and last night's dinner. Once I got up top, we resumed the sea-legs challenge. Yeah, how do they tie down the cars on the trip across the ocean?