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Every kid in America has owned a Matchbox car or Hot Wheels car, usually both. The Matchbox name started as a brand name for the British owned die-cast toy manufacturer Lesney Products. Before Matchbox car there biggest sales success was a replica of Queen Elizabeth’s II coronation coach which sold a million models.

They Matchbox car as we know it was created in 1953 by Jack Odell. His daughter could only take toys to school that could fit into a matchbox. So it was he set out to design a car that could do just that and it wasn’t before long that the Matchbox cars came into existence. Their clever packaging and affordability made them an instant hit with kids everywhere. They were so popular that the term “Matchbox” became a catch phrase for all small cars of a similar type even to this day. Come to used cars in San Jose for a great selection of cars you will love.

An odd combination of Leslie and Rodeny made up the name Lesney, two of the founders of the company. In the 1950′s British die cast toys were very popular, namely Dinky, Corgi and Matchbox. They each had their own niche markets and most of their products were successful. Among toy collectors this period is known as the “Golden Era” of British die cast toys.

The very first series of cars was called the 1-75. As time went by, Lesney attempted to expand their markets new series of cars. One of these was the Models of Yesteryear, a remake of classics from the early age of automobiles. Other additions were the Major Packs, large scale construction vehicles, and the King Sized series, which was a larger scale truck and tractor set. In 1968 Matchbox was at the top of its game and nobody else came close. That is until Mattel invented the Hot Wheels, with their revolutionary low friction, high speed “race” wheels. The Hot Wheels were painted bright, metallic colors and had fancy mag wheels on slick designs. It was a nightmare for Matchbox as their U.S. market collapsed.

Matchbox scrambled to come up with their own answer to Hot Wheels and created the “Superfast” series also sold with tracks and accessories. While these car were in production, Matchbox redesigned their cars and retooled their machines to match the scale and width of Hot Wheels. By the early 1970′s they were back in business challenging the Hot Wheels supremacy

England was suffering from financial difficulties during the 1980′s and so Matchbox was sold to Universal Toys. In 1992 Universal was bought out by Tyco Toys, who continued to produce the cars. In 1997 disaster struck and Mattel bought out Tyco. There had always been a fierce competition between collectors of each brand and Matchbox fans feared Mattel would change the way they were made. However, Mattel had no intention of changing things and continues to produce Matchbox cars the way they have always been done. Much to collectors delight.

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(We now resume with part 2 of our excellence in writing series…”to fix a flat”…)

Remember when you jack the car up to leave room to fit the new tire in. Then comes the hardest part: The removal of the nuts. There are a couple of different lug wrenches but they all work the same. One has one socket, another one has four. The four way wrench is the best, because you may not know what sized socket you need plus the 4 way provides great leverage when taking of the nuts.

Most cars have five lug nuts. Place the socket onto a lug nut and turn it counter clock wise. This is by far the most difficult part. The nuts can be on really tight and it can take a good bit of strength to loosen them. If they were put on by an electric wrench they can be very difficult to turn. Other factors, such as cold weather, can make them tighter as well. Check out used cars in Des Moines for a great deal today.

Loosen the first nut but do not unscrew it all the way. This is so you don’t put too much pressure on the other nuts. Loosen it just enough to release some pressure so that it turns easily. Now move to the opposite screw across from the one you just did. Loosen it like the other. Then move across to another one and loosen it. Keep going back and forth loosening them all until they are all done. Now you can finish unscrewing them all the way.

Remove all the nuts, but make sure you don’t lose them. They can roll away easily and you need them all for the spare. Pull the flat tire off and set it somewhere to the side for now. Take the spare tire and line it up with the screws. The holes should be facing inwards, not outwards. Slide the spare onto the screws.

Now you will put the nuts back on the same way you took them off. Screw one on till there is a slight bit of pressure on the tire. Then place the nut across from it on and turn until there is pressure as well, then the next across from it. Keep going until all the nuts are on but not tight. Now you can tighten them.

Tighten them as much as you can with the wrench and go back over them again to make sure they are on good. You definitely don’t want them coming loose while driving. Once you are sure they are tight enough. Make sure nothing is under the car and release the handle on the jack or crank it in the opposite direction to lower it. Check out Baltimore used cars for a great deal today.

Place all the equipment and the spare tire back in the trunk and close it. Get in the car. Don’t forget to turn off your hazards and remember to RELEASE the emergency break as well. Once you start the car you will probably want to drive to some place you can wash your hands. Otherwise, you are good to go.

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