That time we lost a wheel

Way back when I was little, like this old 

We were coming home from a family reunion outside Akron. Around 10pm on the Ohio turnpike, this happened

I just remember my dad screaming and waking me up in the backseat, then cramming in the minivan with my cousins.

Well I finally found these pictures, and I'm impressed/confused.

I guess whatever Buick my mom had had wheel bolts, and they either stripped out or all just rattled out. 

I don't think I ever saw these pictures before, but I was obviously a youngin at the time. 

Just digging through old stuff and thought this was a fun one.

My B-I-Law did a bad job tightening the nuts on my S-I-Law's Mustang II when they were dating and at 50mph it let go and rolled past her.  She coasted to the side all on 3 wheels.  No damage, no issues.   I still don't believe it happened.

In reply to RevRico :

Those cars (Buick Century) did not have wheel bolts. 

In your picture, the 9:00 lug was probably last one remaining (most damage) The 11:00 lug was probably second to last. 

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

I did that on my own Toyota... same fortunate result. Walked to where it went, jacked it up and put it back on. Replaced bent broken studs later.  

In reply to John Welsh :

Ouch. I didn't think they GM used bolts in anything, but the studs in the hubcap threw me off

Back when I was hauling auction cars, the boss would send a part timer with me to drive one car. He was following behind me until suddenly he passes me. Just after I lose site of him I see the car along side of the road leaning badly with a wheel missing. When I asked what happened he said :  "I heard a noise so I sped up".

In reply to 03Panther :

One guess is it was a back tire and the V8 Mustang II was front heavy and kept the balance on 3 tires?

Back in the '80s my buddy and I would cruise around in his 1973 Super Beetle and listen to tunes.

One day we stopped at a stop sign and damn if a VW rim rolls past us drum and all. We looked at each other questioningly and then continued to watch the wheel roll away until it fell to it's side. I gingerly got out of the car as it came from my side and went and retrieved the wheel after getting the jack in and slightly up. Axle nut had come loose and was rattling around in the hubcap.

My son had this happen after putting a new to him set of tires on with different or wrong  lugs. I wasn't with him, and don't know how much wobble he ignored . A passer by told him he was remarkably calm about it. Somehow my wife blamed me.  It was years before he trusted that car, he learned about a torque wrench though.

You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel. 

It didn't have wheel bolts.  The studs sheared off because the lug nuts were loose and the wheel was rattling around (evidenced by the egged out holes in the wheel).  Studs (and bolts) are only strong in tension, not bending, so they all broke.

last time I lost a wheel, I lost the whole suspension that went with it.. 

I've lost a wheel twice in my life. First time I blamed it on the cheap old junk I was driving. 

Second time I saw the pattern and learned something.

You could probably say I'm a slow learner.

I had a tire come off of my fiesta when I was in high school.  I remember watching it bounce away across the oncoming traffic so scared that it was going to hit someone.  It didn't and I am still shocked and bewildered at how tires can escape the confines of the fender without damaging it. Rev's experience mimics mine and I just don't get how it doesn't rip the fender up

My brother lost a back wheel on his Saab 99 on Rt 2 in Ohio some time in the early 80's. It left the car, passed him as he slowed down grinding the shock stud on the asphalt. He watched it go through one of those temporary trailer signs with changeable letters and come to a stop 100 yards later.  He grabbed it, took a lug off of each of the other wheels and limped home.

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel. 

HA!

mad_machine (Forum Supporter) said:

last time I lost a wheel, I lost the whole suspension that went with it.. 

 

Dad was young, under 10? Grandpop was stationed in Europe and they rented a boat from the base's recreation department.  Someone there helped Grandpop hook the boat up and off they went.  At some point in the trip Dad remembers looking out the window and seeing the boat pass them on the side of the road.

A pair of years ago I was looking for a used car for my soon to be licensed daughter to drive.  Found what looked like a decent enough Honda Fit at a local Toyodor dealer, so went to check it out.  This car supposedly had their normal and customary 1 zillion point safety inspection.  On the test drive, there was a noticeable vibration through the steering wheel immediately upon driving, so we turned around and drove into the service area.  Car went up on a lift, all four wheels had less than finger tight lug nuts on it.  Upside is that I got to see the underside of the car while it was up on the lift, and man it was crusty.  Hard pass ... and thankfully the loose wheels actually helped me that time.

1966... right after the Ice Age as my grandkids like to say.

I had a '57 Plymouth 2 door hardtop with 318.  I had already attended 3 Sebring 12 Hour races and thought I was a road racer.

Drove it hard into a right hand corner.  All 5 bolts pulled out of the drum on the left front wheel, and the wheel got stuck under the frame.  Grinding to a halt.

Decided large Plymouths were not road race cars.   Turned it into an un-exciting K/SA drag car.