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Real life trumps the internet everytime

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  • VWMMP
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    When I was 17 we moved from Idaho to Northern CA. Dad drove the uhaul. Mom had the pickup towing her car. I had a 1961 Jeep Wagon towing a small flatbed. Lost the wiper motor in a snow storm coming over the mountains in the middle of the night. Couldn't see as the snow built up on the window. Bungee cord from the passenger window to the drivers wiper. Coat hanger from the wiper on the drivers side. Even with 2 coats and 2 gloves on the left arm it was cold.

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  • std
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    SO many to pick from.

    I went to Mackinaw City to do some work for the city. I drove my 70 Bonniville station wagon. 600 miles, 12 quarts of oil. I loved that car.


    Anyway, while I'm there it snows 8" three days in a row. Not one to let a little snow slow me down, I jump in the car to go home. Aparently the starter had a different idea. So there I am in Macinaw City on saturday night, in 24' of new snow, car up on the bumper jack, taking out the starter. I scrounge around the back of the wagon and guess what I find? Another BAD starter. Off to the room for a heart operation. After a bit of time, cleaning, sanding, and assembly, I have a working starter.


    Morning comes and I install the starter and fire up the car. I head out to the expressway and the police have it closed because of the snow. Since it's still early, I go to the Big Boy for breakfast. Just as I'm paying my bill, the officer that was guarding the entrance ramp comes in for a cup of coffee. A law abiding citizen would have respected the spirit of the road block and stayed another night. Even with all the snow it wasn't a bad drive. I was the only one on the road.

    There's more stories, but I need to go to sleep now.

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  • henny496
    Guest replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Hello FEF100
    I liked your story. My brother and a buddy went west and had no starter before they left Ontario. They push started the truck every time they stopped
    Sask or Alberta was there destination that time
    He later went to BC and told me of the mountain roads...I have heard from others as well how wild it is
    Then in Sask he said you can watch your dog run away from home for a day LOL ( quite flat)
    Tom

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  • milner351
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    holy cow - I hope you said your prayers that day!

    I rarely get so lucky.

    But I did learn that an old diesel pickup can go a really long way on only one belt - no alternator, no powersteering, no vacuum pump (that means no power brakes), just the water pump spinning...
    got me from Fort Wayne to Detroit ---
    the multi groove water pump pulley literally disintegrated and threw off and shredded all but one belt --- I still have that pulley - it's on the "trophy wall" now.

    Leave a comment:


  • FEF100
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Labour Day 1990, my freind Leonard & I were driving home to Calgary, from the Vancouver CART race. I was driving Leonard's '77 Chevy pickup with a camper on the back. Pulling up Rogers Pass, the highest pass on the Trans Canada Highway, I pulled out to pass a line of traffic that seemed to be content following a semi doing about 30 mph. Doing about 65-70, I got up to the middle of the trailer on the semi, when the engine started to stumble. The power fell off until I was doing about 25 in 2nd gear feathering the throttle. Damn, another plugged fuel filter! That was what I thought. We had run into bad fuel out in BC on another trip & had a plugged fuel filter at almost the same spot a few years earlier. We fell to the back of the line in the passing lane, everybody passing us on the right honking & waving their fists(some seemed happy to wave only one finger).

    I pulled off in the safest place I could find, pulled the fuel filter & slapped everything back together. Started the engine & it ran fine, so i revved it a few times to make sure everything was ok. I started moving, 1st gear, all ok, 2nd gear, all ok, shifted to third & it bogged big time. We needed a fuel pump.

    We made it the rest of the way up Rogers Pass in 2nd gear, it was a long haul. Once we got to the top we could keep pretty good speed going downhill, level ground was ok at about 65 mph but uphill was not a good thing.We made it to the town of Golden & I knew there was no way out with everything as it was. All roads out of Golden were steep uphill & there was just no way we could make it out of there with barely any fuel coming through.

    I stopped at a gas station & asked if they had a fuel pump. "Nope." I asked if there was a parts store open in town. The guy laughs at me "It's Labour Day dude, the whole town is closed". Great. As I am walking back to the truck, he says "Why dont you try the grocery store. They used to be an auto parts store & might know where you can get one". So I walk about a 1/4 mile down the road, thinking this is a total waste of time, but not a bad place to take a walk anyway. I go into the grocery store & ask the kid at the counter. He calls an older fellow out of the back of the store, I repeat my question to him. He says "You know, I just may have one back here". I follow him into the store room & what does he pull out? A brand new small block Chevy fuel pump.

    I bought a fuel pump, from a grocery store, in Golden BC, on Labour Day. Half an hour later, we were back on our way. Somebody was smiling on us that day.

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  • fabricatordave
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    done more quick fixes than i can count.DW thrash was the most o crap moment. to go all week with just little problems than grenade hole drive train and get it back together and down the track is something not soon forgotten.(from the guy in pass seat on DW that took trans fluid bath swapping trans)

    Leave a comment:


  • DanStokes
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Once I mounted an extra ballast resistor on my '68 Road Runner, I never had another one fail (after replacing several at the most inopportune times). Same concept as the clevis pins. There's got to be a name for this phenomenon, similar to the "Peter Principle" (any member of an organization will rise to his/her highest level of incompetence).

    Dan

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  • Freiburger
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Originally posted by ksj1
    My best experience was Ev Bernado's thrash at DW this year."Someone" made a comment that his car would not last past Tuesday.To go into Friday leading his class and see that driveshaft fall onto the track was an oh crap moment.While he was being towed back with the leadership of MC we were waiting to do what needed to be done.The look on Ev's face was priceless!The fact that a Cuda driveshaft would fit a 96 Mustang was unreal!We knew what needed to be done and we did it.I want Mike,Ev,Dave,,John,Houston(?) LL,Troy and Vickie in my group.Especially Vickie! I like going around the roundabouts!"hey look"!
    That rocked!

    Leave a comment:


  • orbit
    Guest replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Luckiest thrash for me occured while driving my Freighliner, which was pulling an 8500 gallon load of gasoline. I had a clevis pin fall out of the clutch linkage and had no spare pins or bolts at hand. So I looked on the shoulder of the road for loose parts that may work. Lo and behold I found an identical sized clevis pin, albeit corroded, as a suitable replacement. I scuffed it up on the blacktop in order to get it to fit, used some wire I found as a cotter pin, reassembled and proceeded on my way. I was down about 10 minutes.

    Got two spare pin sets after that, never used 'em. They now reside in my bolt bucket.

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  • KeithTurk
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    That Drag week thrash was a true classic...

    K

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  • ksj1
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    My best experience was Ev Bernado's thrash at DW this year."Someone" made a comment that his car would not last past Tuesday.To go into Friday leading his class and see that driveshaft fall onto the track was an oh crap moment.While he was being towed back with the leadership of MC we were waiting to do what needed to be done.The look on Ev's face was priceless!The fact that a Cuda driveshaft would fit a 96 Mustang was unreal!We knew what needed to be done and we did it.I want Mike,Ev,Dave,,John,Houston(?) LL,Troy and Vickie in my group.Especially Vickie! I like going around the roundabouts!"hey look"!

    Leave a comment:


  • Scott Liggett
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime



    Since I drive the Impala 1000 miles round trip to see family in northern Cali; I've had my share of issues. Most recently had the starter quit right out of Sacto and went to push start it and got a lot help from people at the truck stop. They just came running over. This worked three more times to LA.

    I had a rocker shatter and bend the push rod into a Z shape. Stopped at some Vista Point on I-5 and for some stupid reason; I happen to have a spare of each in my toolbox. Ended up having to adjust all my valves there. I bet there still a big puddle of oil there.

    On my buddys car; he hit a shredded truck tire doing 90. Broke the upper left trailing arm in half. It was too late to go to a salvage yard so we hit the all night Home Depot for a $4 turnbuckle and a bag of zip ties. How it didn't shatter over the 85 miles we still had to drive I'll never know.

    The only real road trip I took in my 70 Caprice was when the left motor mount came apart while mashing the gas on the freeway on ramp. The rocking motion of engine from the torque kept causing the throttle to hang open. Not fun at all. I couldn't find a parts store Bakersfield that had one in stock. I couldn't replace it anyway with no way to jack up the motor. So I went to Home Depot ( again!) and bought a eyebolt and some chain. I chained the engine to the frame rail. I still haven't fixed it and the chain is still there two years later.

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  • Freiburger
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Me and another staffer once swapped the torque converter once and the rearend gears twice at the dragstrip in one day of testing.

    I've swaped intakes in a sandstorm at LACR.

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  • DanStokes
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    In high school, me and several friends changed a drop-in diff center section in a '57 Ford with a couple of wrenches and a tire iron. In a muddy back yard. Before the one guy's Dad got home and found out we blew the rear in his driver. The kind of dad in a stained T-shirt with a permanent Strohs in one hand - big - and mean. Got it done, but the ol' boy never could figure out how his speedo got to be out of calibration.

    Dan

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  • KeithTurk
    replied
    Re: Real life trumps the internet everytime

    Freiburger... YOU DON'T COUNT here on this one... You go out of your way to practice misery.... it's like a mantra with you..." HOW CAN I SCREW MYSELF TO MAKE THIS REALLY SUCK"...

    Maybe I could add a down pour... or a Hail storm... Oh wait...wouldn't a Thunderstorm with high winds and hail be just disco bitchen???

    Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong?

    K

    Leave a comment:

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