Any Good Stories About Jury Rigging Repairs On the Roadside

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OLE PONY

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73 Mustang Conv.
01 Mustang Bullitt (my son owns now)
04 Oxford White Mach 1
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I was recalling some interesting roadside repairs that I and my father had done in the past and wondered if anyone here had any similar stories. Here are a couple of mine:

One night I was towing my boat and trailer home from the lake and I noticed in the mirror my running lights were out on the boat trailer. I stopped and checked and found a blown fuse. After replacing the fuse it blew again a few miles down the road. So after checking the wiring on the trailer I found that one wire was pinched in the trailer frame and was shorting out. My young kids (at the time) were watching me intently looking for a way to repair the wire. Not having any electrical or duct tape with me I finally got an idea after noticing my daughter chewing bubble gum. I asked her for the used gum and she asked me what I wanted it for. I just said watch. Well I formed the gum around the wire to insulate it, then stuck the gum to the frame. After replacing the fuse we made the remaining hour long drive home in the dark with the lights working fine. My kids were pretty amazed that it worked. I hate to admit it, but initially putting off the repair for later I forgot about it. It was about a year later and I noticed the gum and decided the make the repair. The lights were still worked all that time.

I also remember back in the 60's when the family was traveling home from a 400 mile trip on a Sunday in our 64 Pontiac Bonneville. Well my dad noticed the fuel level dropping more than usual and stopped to check. The fuel pump was leaking fuel. Back in the 60's hardly anything was open on a Sunday (the old Blue Laws) so there was no chance of getting it repaired. So Dad took the fuel pump apart (they use to have screws in them so you could get to the diaphragm) asked for one of my mother's leather shoes, then cut a leather diaphragm out of the shoe to repair the fuel pump. The fuel pump worked fine and we made it the last couple of hundred miles home. In fact, he drove it several more days after getting home until he got a new fuel pump.

Anyone else have any good stories about McGyvering or Jury Rigging?

Note: You younger members may not have seen the old TV show called "McGyver" but he was always getting out of close-calls and saving the day by rigging something up with whatever was around him.

 
Anyone else have any good stories about McGyvering or Jury Rigging?

My Mach 1 only stranded me once. It was on a remote road in a heavily wooded area with no cell phone reception...but I McGyvered my way out of it. I climbed up a hill, stepped out on a rock ledge and got a bar on my cell phone, then I called AAA to come and give me a tow.
 
Note: You younger members may not have seen the old TV show called "McGyver" but he was always getting out of close-calls and saving the day by rigging something up with whatever was around him.
MacGyver is one of my favorite shows, I use to watch it before school when I was a kid (I'm 20 now) but I would never get to see the second half so a couple of years ago I got all the dvds for Christmas.

My first car, 86 buick regal, needed new rear brake lines so I just clamped off the line going to the back and drove it to my high school shop class on just the front brakes.

Another time my jeep grand cherokee didn't want to start so I hot wired the starter relay, basically bypassed the relay, which was bad and started it right up.

My Mach 1 only stranded me once. It was on a remote road in a heavily wooded area with no cell phone reception...but I McGyvered my way out of it. I climbed up a hill, stepped out on a rock ledge and got a bar on my cell phone, then I called AAA to come and give me a tow.
Now that's using your thinker Jim. :p

 
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Anyone else have any good stories about McGyvering or Jury Rigging?

My Mach 1 only stranded me once. It was on a remote road in a heavily wooded area with no cell phone reception...but I McGyvered my way out of it. I climbed up a hill, stepped out on a rock ledge and got a bar on my cell phone, then I called AAA to come and give me a tow.
McGuyver would be proud of you!
 
There have been many times that I had to rig something together but I remember one time in my teens my buddy and I were out running around being knuckle heads in his Buick reagal. Well we jumped a set of railroad tracks and messed up the rear end pretty bad. Broke the c clip on end of the axle. So every couple miles our axle shaft would walk out on us. So we would stop jack up the car and push the axle back into place and hit the road! Made for an interesting evening. Hardly any alcohol was involved. Lol.

 
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Was on a camping trip to Yosemite when I stopped for gas just outside the park. There are no gas stations in the park so it is a good time to tank up.

I noticed by rear bumper was almost touching the ground so I checked the pressure in the air shocks. zero "0". There was 300 pounds of

camping gear and telescope equipment on board and this was not good. I drove to the campsite, about another 1 1/2 hours, and climbed under

the car. One of the air lines had rubbed against the tail pipe which melted a hole through it. There was enough line so I could cut off the damaged part

and still reach the shock. Of course when I removed the nut on the shock were the air line attaches I lost the rubber grommet that seals it. No problem as

the nearest auto parts store is only a days ride on horseback. So I borrowed a dab of marine grade silicone adhesive from a fellow astronomer and glued everything together. Worked great and I bought a new set of shocks upon returning from the trip. Initially I got a set of regular shocks but ended up replacing those with air shocks, again. You would think I had learned my lesson, but I like the ride of the air ones better.

mike

 
With N/50/15's on the back some rascal cut my air shock lines and I had to use powerbraking to get the car 20 miles to a union76 to fix to keep the rear quaters off the tires. Ate a set of brakes and rotors but minimized body damage.

 
Here's a good one I was driving in an old 70s Chevy out east and was going through a bad part of town in the middle of nowhere, I just passed a run down bar that was put together with plywood that had a group of nary-do-wells in the front hanging out.

I drove another hundred hundred feet or so and started to hear a loud grinding noise coming from the bottom of the car. I stopped at the side of the road which was deserted and crawled under the car and saw the transmison mount had self destructed dropping the trasmission and letting the driveshift rotate & grind on a crossmember.

It was getting dark and I knew I had to get out of there, I had no tools nor flashlight. looking around at what was on the road I found a few small pieces of wood. I was able to break them using a large stone to the correct size then using the car jack I jacked the trans up and used the wood as a makeshift trans mount.

It was already dark when I finished so I started the car. put it in gear and it seemed to work, I looped the car in the direction I came from and started off (just passing the group of vagrents that were hanging out at the bar and who were almost upon me)

The car made the 40 mile journey w/ the wood mount and even worked a few more days untill the new trans mount arrived

 
Back in the day heading home from Lake Michigan in my '64 GTO I had the clutch linkage come apart. Pushed on the pedal and nothing. Every time I had to stop I put the trans in neutral and stopped. I shut the engine off, put the trans in 1st, when the light changed I hit the key and gave it a little gas the engine would fire and off I'd go shifting bu letting off the gas and pulling gently on the shifter until the rpm would match and she'd slide into the next gear. BTW in those days there was no McGyver.

Another time with the same car I broke a brake line while the old single master was still on the car. I was not in an area where I could do the work so I limped it home by down shifting to slow the car and shutting the engine off and using the clutch to stop. Not very safe but I got it home.

 
Back in the day heading home from Lake Michigan in my '64 GTO I had the clutch linkage come apart. Pushed on the pedal and nothing. Every time I had to stop I put the trans in neutral and stopped. I shut the engine off, put the trans in 1st, when the light changed I hit the key and gave it a little gas the engine would fire and off I'd go shifting bu letting off the gas and pulling gently on the shifter until the rpm would match and she'd slide into the next gear. BTW in those days there was no McGyver.

Another time with the same car I broke a brake line while the old single master was still on the car. I was not in an area where I could do the work so I limped it home by down shifting to slow the car and shutting the engine off and using the clutch to stop. Not very safe but I got it home.
Sure there was

trustme.jpg

 
This thread dredged up a classic from my high school days...

Back then my buddy Matt had a 69 Firebird that was parked more often than running. It was primer black, Cragars, 350, actually kind of a cool ride for high school knuckleheads in 1990. Even as a Ford guy, I was anxious to go out cruising the local hangouts in it the night we finally got it going.

Things were going well, and we were making our way down the main drag at South Park, the local haunt for guys trying to show off their cars to potential girlfriends. As my buddy Matt went pull out from a light with a jab of the gas, nothing happened. We sat at the green light idling as he mashed the gas repeatedly. A quick look at the pedal linkage and Matt found the cable broke at the pedal.

Luckily We had some vice grips, so our buddy Carl drew the task of lying on the floor between us holding the vice grips and being the "throttle man". This went well, until Carl realized it was boring being down there out of sight with no view of the sights. Soon he was doing little burnouts at every light, despite Matt's growing anger with his work. This eventually got the attention of a car full of girls. Matt told Carl "Stay down there, be cool, there is a car full of hot chicks looking over." Carl said "what?". I immediately replied "Matt wants you to look over at this car full of hot chicks!"

Next thing the car full of girls sees is a third head rise up in the front seat from between the two guys in the car. The girls looked both confused and shocked, and wasted no time pulling away. My buddy Carl and I were dying laughing. Matt failed to see the humor in it.

A few more burnouts and lots of "slower, sower SLOWER....stay down there dammit!!!!" we did make it back in one piece. Good times...good times.

 
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This thread dredged up a classic from my high school days...

Back then my buddy Matt had a 69 Firebird that was parked more often than running. It was primer black, Cragars, 350, actually kind of a cool ride for high school knuckleheads in 1990. Even as a Ford guy, I was anxious to go out cruising the local hangouts in it the night we finally got it going.

Things were going well, and we were making our way down the main drag at South Park, the local haunt for guys trying to show off their cars to potential girlfriends. As my buddy Matt went pull out from a light with a jab of the gas, nothing happened. We sat at the green light idling as he mashed the gas repeatedly. A quick look at the pedal linkage and Matt found the cable broke at the pedal.

Luckily We had some vice grips, so our buddy Carl drew the task of lying on the floor between us holding the vice grips and being the "throttle man". This went well, until Carl realized it was boring being down there out of sight with no view of the sights. Soon he was doing little burnouts at every light, despite Matt's growing anger with his work. This eventually got the attention of a car full of girls. Matt told Carl "Stay down there, be cool, there is a car full of hot chicks looking over." Carl said "what?". I immediately replied "Matt wants you to look over at this car full of hot chicks!"

Next thing the car full of girls sees is a third head rise up in the front seat from between the two guys in the car. The girls looked both confused and shocked, and wasted no time pulling away. My buddy Carl and I were dying laughing. Matt failed to see the humor in it.

A few more burnouts and lots of "slower, sower SLOWER....stay down there dammit!!!!" we did make it back in one piece. Good times...good times.
Ok, you got me; I'm sitting here LOL'n in my chair.

I had a 69 Firebird back in the early 70's. I sold it to by my 73 Mustang Convertible back in 1974. The 'bird was a pretty cool car. I liked the rear "Bird" side marker lights.

 
Back in the 70s I had a 1968 Ranchero that I used as a daily driver so I would not have to drive the Mach 1 to work. This Ranchero was quite rusty. One day as I was coming home from work I heard a scraping sound coming from the back of the vehicle. I pulled over and saw the gas tank was on the ground. I remembered that the battery hold was gone and it was being held in place with a black rubber strap with metal hooks on the end. I used that strap to hold the gas tank up. It held well enough to go back to the shop and make up some new metal straps. Here is the only picture that I have of the Ranchero. The picture quality is about the same as that of the Ranchero. The Yamaha on the other hand was a fine ride.


I also have a couple of others. A couple of my buddies and myself were riding our motorcycles and upon arriving at a rest stop one of the guys dropped his bike. It looked as everything was OK, but when we started to leave his bike would not start. We saw that the clutch safety switch was damaged and this bike would not start, even in neutral without the clutch being pulled. I had some twist ties like come on a loaf of bread. We stripped one down to the bare wire and used it to jumper the switch. We then wrapped it with electrical tape. It is still running with that repair.

Earlier that same year my wife and I were heading to Maggie Valley on our sidecar rig when suddenly my leg felt wet. I coasted to the nearby exit on I 40. Gas was spraying all over. Since we have AMA towing we called them for a tow. We took it to a BMW dealer that was exactly 35 miles away. That is how far they tow before extra charges. We sat around the dealer until the service manager came out and said one of the fuel lines popped off and he did not have the clips in stock ro secure it. I suggested bending the old clip to make it work. He tried it and it worked, but would not let me leave with that repair for liability reasons. I then removed the clip, and reinstalled it myself so he would not be held liable. I then purchased some zip ties and further secured it. I also put zip ties on the other side because I lost faith in the clips. It held fine for the rest of the trip. When I got home I ordered the new clips, and installed them. I also put on some zip ties as an extra measure of security.

Yamaha and Ranchero.jpg

DSC02091.JPG

 
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