Correct equipment,
correct clothing,
correct rotation.

English translation of the story
"Rätt utrustning, rätt klädsel, rätt håll"
in the PV-Entusisten # 3 1999 page 35.

By Dan Jansson

Proper clothing, proper equipment and proper skill is A and O when there is a job to be done. Volvo gave tips about all of this in their shop manuals.
You know; those nice green books with photos and drawings that every true PV Enthusiast wants to have on their shelves. Four pictures were needed to show how to dismount a wheel in the proper way.
And with proper clothing.
Who was he - this elegant man dressed in trench coat, white shirt and a trendy hat who showed how to change wheels the correct way?
Probably no one knows, and it maybe doesn't matter either. But it is not fantastic - the pictures come from a shop manual, intended for the people in car repair shops. In those places the clothing was probably a bit less elegant.
Did mechanics really need instructions to remove a wheel?

Take notice of the fact that the man is loosening the wheel bolt by turning it clockwise. Up until some time in 1957 the bolts on the left side of the cars had left turn threads. On the right side they had right turn threads.
The bolts on those early brake drums are marked by an L stamped on the left hand side -and an R on the right hand side. This way the owner was expected to know on what side of the car the drum belonged and what turn to use to remove the bolts.
Most important.
I never really understood why the wheel bolts had different threads. Probably there was an idea that it would rreduce the risk of the bolts self-loosening and a wheel taking off on it's own.
Quite sure is that the person who nowadays leaves a car with this kind of wheel bolts to a shop should not forget to inform the repair man who is going to work on the automobile about this fact. Otherwise there is an obvious risk of having the wheel bolts over tightened plus the repair man might gain a few gray hairs if he cannot remove the ...... wheels!
Finding left hand threaded wheel bolts is probably not so common for the modern repair man.
Left thread wheel bolts is a typical "nice-to-have-item" for you who are driving an old enough PV. If you are unlucky and happen to snap a bolt, it will probably be a bit tricky to replace in a hurry.
But the most important thing in removing a PV wheel after all, is wearing a trenchcoat, white shirt and a hat.

Original text by Dan Jansson

Translation by Dan Jansson, (thanks to Mark Hershoren for assistance)