GOTSTRANGE SHAPEDNUT S

As I wrote a while back, some thieving scumbag, currently wasting oxygen somewhere in Bolton, broke into Deux Smurf early one morning, and instead of stealing expensive gear like my dash cam and collection of recovery gear, they made off with my favourite pair of sunglasses, a 25 year old tyre compressor and my locking wheel nut keys.

As you can imagine, it was the latter that has caused me the biggest headache, and has meant that I’ve put off both long journeys and fun green laning trips in case I have an unrepairable puncture en route.The problem was, as well as a locking wheel nut on each wheel, the previous owner had replaced all the standard nuts with these strange star nuts. For the life of me I couldn’t identify them, and neither could the good folk in our own Mega Mud Lifers Facebook group or the Hilux Surf page!

Due to the steady delivery of press cars, I found I wasn’t using Deux Smurf that much, and locating replacements became less of a priority, that was until she acquired a couple of small punctures. The issue was rusty rims as opposed to nails, so a good few months, and plenty of pumping up later, the search resumed.

I was at a loss, so I tootled off to a couple of tyre repair shops, but no one could identify the strange nuts. In a moment of genius the last one suggested I visit a company at the other side of town that specialises in selling alloy wheels...now why on earth didn’t I think of that?

Twenty pounds later, and I was the new owner of two ‘star’ bolts - I could now at least remove all but the locking wheel nuts.

Then MOT time came back around, and she passed of course, but she did have a few advisories. Her off-side track rod end and anti-roll bar ball joints both had slight play in them, and a section of her rear brake pipe was showing signs of corrosion, so I booked her in to my local mechanic, Steve Wilson Autos in Bolton, to have the work done, and whilst I was there I also asked him to find someone who could remove the locking wheel nuts.

With her booked in for the following week my mission was to find some replacement locking wheel nuts.

Now, I’ve genuinely no idea what I actually searched for, but within a few minutes I came across a company on ebay selling exactly what I had been looking for, and it turns out the strange nuts are called ‘tuner’ nuts, and the kit comprised of a complete set of shiny new tuner nuts as well as locking wheel nuts.

I got Muddy Madam to order them as she has banned me from buying car things things on t'internet (she says it would be a slippery slope to bankrupcy - she may be right). Forty-one quid and a few days later, they arrived and were fitted to Deux Smurf.

I’m planning on taking her on a lot more green laning adventures, with the knowledge that I can now safely remove her wheels! As for the wheel nut keys, that mistake will not happen again, they are hidden away in a very safe place.

Next on the list of improvements is to fit the interior LED bulbs that I received from Osram - but for that to happen I need to find them first. I put them in another ‘safe place’, and I've forgotten where that is, let's hope that doesn't happen with the wheel nut keys.