I watched my dad change a flat tire on a 54 Chevy once, in the winter time, and it was in a blizzard in West Virginia.
He took the tire off while my mom held the car up with us kids in it. The nuts were frozen and he used a Zippo lighter to heat them up, then with his big ol' hands, he got the lug nuts loose.
He had a big screw driver and some country pliers to get it off the rim.
He patched the tube with some of my moms finger nail polish and a piece of rag. Got it all back in, and my mom was gettin' tired holding the car up. Got it all back on, and had to take a finger nail file to get the valve core out so he could blow the tire up. When he was finished blowin' the tire up, he passed out from lack of oxygen. My mom set the ol' Chevy back down, wiped off her hands, put my dad back in the car, and drove home.

Vince, I'm just a tad uneasy with your story. How would the finger nail polish set up in the frozen wet conditions?

I actually have changed several tires by hand. Including some old split rims. Nasty.
I did put the tires on the Vette by myself. Of course I took them off, put them in my utility trailer behind the Celebrity, and took the to the Tech College where I used the modern tire machine and balancer.

Ken, you are right, no finger nail files. I was just getting a little carried away with the humor. We do need a laugh now and then with all the bad news on the tube nowadays. My dad did change a lot of tires on his truck, 6 ply - 6,8 or 10 bolt rims, I forget. His tires always had tubes, and if it was a tubeless, he put a tube in. He always had tire irons, as the tools were called, and took the irons, tube patching material, and a hand pump with him wherever he went. He fixed many tires on the road.
I am sure that I could bust a tire, get it off the rim, and back on, just from watching him many years ago.
You had to have a good bumper jack to hold the car or truck up, and make sure the bumper would hold it all.
Boatman

Vince, I knew just what you were saying. It was just my warped sense of humor reply. Ya done good.

yea , great humor story,boatman, I figured your Dad was Paul Bunyan or John Henry and your Mom Rattlesnake Sally.I think that was Wild Bill Coyote's wife!

Bet nobody messed with your mom!

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