I've tried every thing, yes went on youtube, to try to take driver side front lugs off.... -heated em up -archimedes lever, actually bent original tire iron! -my autozone impatt wrench(250 lbs) Im at the point now of consider cutting em off. any advice??? (besides swapping the front end with Fatman LOL) Thanks in advance
Check to see if the are Left Hand Threads. You know righty loosey / lefty tighty. I'm not sure bur I know my Son's 62 F-85 has left hand threads on the drivers side.
They likely are left hand threads as I believe the drum is the same as the 55 Pontiac and Buick.They usually have the letter L stamped on the end of the threaded portion.
Re: Help! Need Left Hand Threaded Lug Nuts GM used left hand threads on the driver side drums of many cars for many years before the 1960s. Unless Dorman is still selling them they will be just as scarce as the lugs they screwed on to. A lot of people will give me hell for suggesting this, but the easiest solution to this situation is to pull the drums and have someone with a press remove those left hand thread lugs and put in new right hand thread lugs of the proper length. (don't try to beat them out you'll likely crack the drum) FYI the theory on the left hand threads on the driver side of the car had to do with someone's idiot notion that wheel rotation would be less likely to loosen the lug nuts. Obviously just a notion! Certain model Jeeps up to 1971 had a like arrangement and one can buy closed nuts for them but I don't know if they are of the correct thread cut for your Olds. 1/2 X 20 is the same thread for most Fords for more years than I can remember. Taken right from Google...
Here is a good story on the subject of Left Hand threads on cars http://www.moparmax.com/columns/magnante/v_5-1.html
Are you certain they are not left-hand-thread? I remember my buddy's buick getting us all kinds of pissed off!
a testament to the strength of the steel used in 1955 for wheel studs. LH lug nuts are still available. try NAPA
I thought those were just Rolls Royce who did that! I had no idea....I figure they were rusted shut! I actually watched the episode of Fast and Loud(yes I am a fan) and saw the mechanic tripping out over the "backward" lug nuts. Damn Im glad I asked before cutting em with my Dremel(thanks Kirby1734)......Thank the sweet lord for my Hambers!!!
If you get them glowing hot then let them cool (important) and it dont work, try "tighten" them as it is probably reverse threads as others have said, heating it good and letting it cool, should work on almost everything!
I broke several wheel studs on my '69 Roadrunner many years ago, "assuming" that the left-hand threads were in the 50s but surely not on 60s cars!
I once came across a fella tryin to change a LF tire on a Buick [ as I remember ] and he'd broken off THREE studs already! LHT! luckily, there were 2 opposin lugs left enuf to git him off the freeway @ the next exit
here's my thread after many days of trying (off and on) to get my lugs off. i never knew. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=748593
Olds used LH lugs on the driver's side up through 1963. They switched over to all RH threads in 1964. Bob
Did the same thing on a 69 dart but I new about that later when I bought a 67 plymouth satelite (like GTX) unbelievably a friend had some left hand thread shanked lug nuts so I could put a set of cragars on it without changing the studs...........that was back in the 80s
I recently had the olds moved because my city sent me a "remove vehicle" note. Before moving it to where it sits now I took off the front passenger side tire with no issues with my impact driver. So when I decided to cut the springs the pass side was done first. Now I want to even her out by cutting the driver's side......BUT...... Hoping to get to it today with my new found knowledge, thanks again fellas!!!!!!!!
Thanks again guys for all the help and info. Got the tire off with the impact and cut the coil down. Now she's sitting, low, pretty. Plus if I need LH lug nuts I know where to get em!
The Jalopy Journal
