Listers,
I usually lurk, but must weigh in with a lost wheel story: My parents had a
'76 GM wagon of some type, and my 16-year-old, just-licensed brother was
driving alone one Saturday morning in '78 when the rear left wheel, hub, and
4' length of axle shaft removed itself, scratched up the side of the car a
la Ben Hur chariot race, crossed the road twice and went off into the woods.
The car came to a spark-filled sliding stop. Fortunately there was no
other traffic at the time, but the poor kid was convinced he was going to
get the blame (he didn't). About a year later, GM finally paid for the
repair and body damage, but everything was handled orally by phone and in
person, absolutely no written correspondence from them, no admission of any
problem.
I'll also mention two of my cars: A '59 Renault Dauphine I owned in the
early 80's. 35 HP, rear-engine water-cooled, 3-speed on the floor. What a
car. For LBC content, I bought a '66 Spitfire when I turned 16 in '73 (only
had 35,000 miles, paid $750), I had it for 13 years, put 100,000 additional
miles on it, very dependable, I would still have it (and often wish I did),
but my brother gave me his '60 TR3A, and I had to make a choice.
Warren Allen
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