2 wheels on my wagon

(sometime 1993)

Well... this will come as NO surprise to some of you, but I have had many a near-death experience involving cars (even breaking my neck on one once, as it happens this same car, but I'll tell you about that one another time)

I used to have this Black Nova; a very sporty looking motor as it happens, albeit only having a 1.2cc engine..

I had to rotate my tyres around (front-to-back) but.... anyone of sane-mind and body would of course be clever enough to take their time about it and not TRY and cut-corners like I did and nearly killed myself in the process...

I was living at my parents at the time (they don't need to cry themselves to sleep anymore!) and they lived on an estate where the drive and the 'pan' in front of their house was on a slight incline, which was my FIRST mistake; I parked in the pan, facing my house on the incline.

Next, I proceeded to put the car jack in the MIDDLE of the car, i.e. between front and back wheels on the side of the car I wanted to change and then jacked up the car, all was ok at this point, although I'm stunned as to how the tiny little rusty jack had the nuts to lift the whole weight of one side of the car.

So there I am, one side of the car jacked up, and taking off the wheels, front.... .then back... - still everything was ok.

I now put the front tyre on the back of the car, and put in TWO of the 4 nuts, just slightly finger tight, and then shuffled back to pick up the other tyre, when.. CREAK... CREAK, the jack gave way, and the car dropped onto the back tyre (which held with only 2 of the 4 bolts in - partially screwed in), then creaked some more and the front dropped onto the floor (as there was no wheel)

I SH*T MYSELF!

So - not knowing what the Hell to do, I looked around for help, luckily - there he was, trusty Dad - literally pressed up against the front-room window, hands wide apart, and gob wide open, I'm sure I lip-read

'You IDIOT'

He came running out of the house, uttering all sorts of obsenaties at me, all well deserved, and just like dad, in no panic at all, he jumped straight into action. Ran back up the garden, grabbed a few logs of wood and started to place them one by one under the car.

I started to tighten the back wheel nuts and we slowly jacked the car back up, little by little, until we had enough height to prop the height up, and move the jack further to the front of the car, which was flat on the floor.

For some reason. god (unusually for me) must have been smiling on me that day, and there was no damage to the car - how the hell not I still to this day do not know but thanksfully all was well....

Until I dented every panel in a motorway accident some months later... (which I'll tell you about another time)

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