<VV> Veteran's Day---Corvair Content---

[Tony Underwood]

Today I took a previously scheduled vacation day off 
work.    Veteran's day... it rained cats and dogs all day and it's 
9:40 PM now and STILL raining.   Weather dood said it was going to 
maybe rain this morning... 20% chance.



The '60 4-door and I took the daughter to school since she missed the 
bus.    All was well as I pulled up in front of the school.    In the 
time it took her to collect her book bag, Dr Pepper, potato chips, 
and Cheese Danish  (we'd stopped off at 7-11 on the way) the LR tire 
went flat.    I didn't hear any hissing or the like, just noticed the 
car slowly lowering in the back corner as she tentatively made moves 
to dash up the steps while hoping the rain would let up for a few 
seconds.    It did not.


I wobbled a few feet down the curbing to get out from in front of the 
steps, waited a few minutes for the rain to maybe abate (it did not) 
the bit the bullet and got out in the rain to change the tire.


The spare hadn't been touched in years.   Still had a full compliment 
of air.   It is mounted on the original spare tire rim (same color as 
the rest of the car's rims) and has a code date that appears to be 
1966 (which sounds about right considering the width of the 
whitewall) and is getting close to being bald but it continues to serve.


Got out the jack and lug wrench, did the do jacking up the car while 
any and all manner and sorts of student drop-offs came and went in a 
steady procession.    In the rain came SUV, minivan, pickup truck, 
family sedan, VW Beetle.   The majority of them rubbernecked as they 
passed by me while I was wrestling with the lug wrench trying to 
loosen the lug nuts...  which had been put on with an impact wrench 
when the new tires went on the car last spring.

Three of them eventually came loose after straining until veins stood 
out in my neck like Ahnold in a pose, breaking loose with a SNAP as 
they relinquished their grip on the studs.


One would not give up.    I strained harder, both knees on the 
submerged pavement to steady the pull as the rain poured.   I 
wondered if the procession of vehicles contained drivers who felt empathy...


I took a brief break, went back to the trunk and plucked out a late 
model tail pipe picked up at a show that was still riding around in 
the trunk and slipped it over the end of the lug wrench to save the 
hand which was taking a beating trying to bear down on the handle to 
crack loose the last stubborn lug nut.   A deep breath, grab the 
tailpipe extension on the lug wrench with right hand, left hand on 
the end of the lug wrench to steady it and then pull hard...  SNAP.

The lug wrench broke, split on the socket end... I'd expected it to 
break where the pivot is, if it was gonna break anywhere.  The lug 
nut sat there staring back at me.    Back to the trunk to the 
handy-dandy tool kit I won as a door prize at a Vair Fair a couple 
years back.    You know the ones, black plastic box with clamshell 
doors and a 1/4 and 3/8 socket set, screwdrivers, allen wrenches, and 
a set of torx bits.    The ratchet, an extension, and 3/4" socket 
went back to the lug nut, with the tail pipe extension on the ratchet 
handle in hopes it wouldn't break as well.    SNAP.   The extension split.


At this point my sense of humor had gone the way of the sunshine.


Back to the trunk, putting away the tools and broken 
extension.   Brainstormed.  Recalled a salvation under the passenger 
side front seat where the 4-way lug wrench had been stashed for who 
knows how long.    Not one of those big boys with a 2 foot wingspan 
but the smaller one that fits under a 'Vair seat without peeking 
out.    Back to the arrogant lug nut.   That's when a female driving 
an Oldsmobuichevy stopped, window rolled down and a voice called out:

"How old is that car?"

      "In a couple months it will be 50 years old."

"Is that a Corvair?  We used to have one when I was little."

      "Everybody used to have one.   I have a dozen.  Maybe even the 
one you used to have."

"Oh my!   Well, good luck!"

...wasn't sure whether she meant with the tire, or being saddled with 
a dozen Corvairs.


On with the 4-way, pulling and 
pushing.   Hard.   Harder.   Hardererer.   F*cking lug nut would NOT 
budge.    The rain was not letting up.   Hair stringing down in my 
eyes...  sweat shirt clinging, stickywet.   Back on my knees with a 
two fisted grip mumbling "you're gonna come loose this time you 
sunuvabish or you're gonna break, one or the other."

The 4-way bent but nothing broke.   I never bent a 4-way lug wrench 
before.   Damn, it was just a corporate GM 3/4 lugnut, shoulda 
snapped the stud off by now.   I am not a small person and I have 
enough muscle and ass behind it to twist lug studs off, done it 
before several times.  Rust flakes sprang off the lug wrench's wet 
shank and still the lug nut refused to budge.    Back to the trunk, 
secured some mechanical assistance via that tailpipe extension on the 
right-hand end, a funky dusty (now soaking) red shop rag on the 
left-hand end to keep from leaving lug wrench socket depressions 
embedded in my palms.    The knees were starting to wick water down 
to my shoes...  a huge Ford pickup with a LOUD diesel rumbled past me 
at a brisk rate spraying more water off its gumbo-jumbo tires which 
was hardly worthy of notice considering the soaking already in place.

My logic this time would be that the lug wrench shank would now be 
work hardened a bit by the twisting and bending it had taken and thus 
maybe would not give in anymore and I would be able to wring off the 
offending lug stud, nut and all.    Another hard pull with growling 
sound F/X and I felt something give.   Finally the stud was twisting 
off, or so I thought.   But nope, lo and behold the nut had loosened 
and I spun it off.

Onion-grip spare went on, checked the flat radial for a nail or a cut 
or anything at all, saw nothing.   Put everything else away, drove 
home...  pissed off.   The car is in the driveway and it's still 
raining.   Tomorrow the ragtop will take me back to work... I'm not 
gonna get rained on anymore and I'm not gonna ride the 43 year old 
bias ply semi-bald spare across the county.



Weather report for tomorrow is clearing and slightly warmer, with 
Friday being dry and warmer yet.   Saturday more of the same.
I'll believe it when it happens.    This weekend is likely gonna be 
the last "nice" weekend of the year, if experience is any indication.



On the way home I was kinda tempered by the fact that I was able to 
enjoy getting rained on while changing a flat with a stuck lug nut in 
40 degree temps in front of a high school with half the student body 
checking my progress from the windows.

A lot of guys wearing a Uniform in some desert shithole on the 
opposite side of the planet would likely gladly have traded places 
with me.    It makes you count your blessings...  and made me think 
about the times when I was in Uniform getting rained on and sticky 
and muddy and in the middle of no-friggin-where wishing I was just 
dry for a while...  thought about those guys a bit more as I drove, 
with Neal Boortz on the radio talking about soldiers in distant 
places as well as a dozen others at Ft Hood...

Here's to remembrances, and a thoughtful Veteran's Day to everyone 
who served.





tony..