I think the Silver Bullet drives much better with four wheels compared to three. I got my car back on Friday afternoon with a new backing plate, wheel hub, brake drum, rim and center cap. I went back to the tire shop in Oakland on Monday morning and got a new tire mounted on the rim and put my spare back in the trunk.

I also found the missing nose trim I needed from a 2002 FAQ member and put it on Friday night. It was good to have some time with the car so we could have a talk about respecting each other and not causing near death experiences.

I’m still a bit sketched out driving the car still because I can’t figure out any logical reason why the wheel came off, so I don’t know how to prevent it from happening again. I jacked up the car this morning and made there was no play in any of the wheels. All of the lugs are tight. Of course, that’s how the car was the last time I had it jacked up.

It’s going to take some time for me to get my confidence back, I think.

And I did. Today on my way to work as I reached the High Street overpass on 880-south, the rear, driver’s side wheel fell of the car as I was doing about 70 mph. I had heard a “clunk” like a nut falling off about a minute before and I had just rolled up the window to listen for further sounds. I thought it was coming from the drive line, so I was paying close attention to it when the back end of the car hit the ground. Sparks shot everywhere in my rear view mirror as I watched my wheel roll past me in the fast lane, heading south at a high rate of speed never to be seen again.

The car was surprisingly drivable and I was able to move to the far right lane and into the shoulder. Everyone around me had slowed way down and gave me ample room. I called 911 (I think they may know me by now) and waited for the Highway Service Patrol to pick me off the road. They towed me down to 98th Ave and I called Dr. Kwan again at Beyond2. As he always does, he started to work his magic and found a tow truck that could take my car to Burlingame.

I’m still not exactly sure what happened. The wheel is gone, despite me looking for it for quite awhile under the bridge and along the freeway. The brake drum is gone. The hub is gone. It looks like the main nut and cotter pin fell off and the hub worked its way off the axle. The damage looks isolated to the wheel, and some paint on the wheel well. Of course replacing the wheel, tire, breaks, etc. won’t be cheap. We’ll see what Kwan has to say this afternoon.