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Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 6:22 pm
by TrollFromDownBelow
Had a '71 bus in college with a dual port. The fuel shut off valve (i believe that's what it was called....it's been 30 years. screwed into the manifold between the carb and the engine.) vibrated loose creating a hellacious vacuum leak. Found a twig of the appropriate diameter, and twisted it into the hole ....talk about a hippie fix. drove it around like that for a few weeks before I found the fuel shut off valve sitting on the engine, and fixed it appropriately.

Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:02 pm
by Emily's Owner
I have no crazy stories - fixed my throttle cable back together with a hairpin. Forgot about it until my mechanic mentioned it. :drunken:

Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 10:57 pm
by JLT
Emily's Owner wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:02 pm
I have no crazy stories - fixed my throttle cable back together with a hairpin. Forgot about it until my mechanic mentioned it. :drunken:
Well done! I've had my share of "temporary" fixes that have lasted longer than some of my "permanent" fixes. I'm almost scared sometimes to actually fix something good and proper, it that temporary repair is doing a good job and shows no signs of failing.

I guess that's true of a lot of relationships.

Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:53 pm
by asiab3
A friend's Pertronix went out on the way to a car show… I had Kettering supplies, and breath mints, but no support bracket.

Image


Nobody was late to the car show!
Robbie

Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2020 10:09 am
by SlowLane
asiab3 wrote:
Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:53 pm
A friend's Pertronix went out on the way to a car show… I had Kettering supplies, and breath mints, but no support bracket.

Nobody was late to the car show!
Robbie
Nice job Robbie.

After seeing that it occured to me that car shows (well, VW car shows anyways) ought to have a "Best Road-side MacGyver Repair" category.

Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:21 pm
by Sylvester
Good grief I need to get on this site more! A year later and another story. Actually I will finish the one I started this with, the Doormobile I was trying to get home with a 5 gallon gas can instead of a leakproof tank. Down the road from the recent owner with my friend following me in hit fairly new pickup truck. 10 minutes in and Doormobile dies. Open engine lid and it is HOT! Engine is so worn out it overheats and dies. So for an hour I drive until it dies, then pull over and let it cool. In the end my work was closer than home so we made for that. I figured the Doormobile would run no more than 10 minutes before dying. The last leg of the run to work was North Atlanta, on a Friday afternoon. 10 minutes from work I pulled over and let it cool off. Maybe five minutes in the last run, the Doormobile dies in wall to wall traffic. No way to pull off the road with the curb. I get out amid honking and cursing, my friend behind me motions to get back in the Bus. With his truck he pushed me down the road to a nearby parking lot. It chewed up both our bumpers but it worked. I waited until much later and with no traffic coasted downhill the last of the trip, engine dead. After that I had the Doormobile towed and sold it not long after.

Re: Crazy thing

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:22 pm
by Sylvester
Good grief I need to get on this site more! A year later and another story. Actually I will finish the one I started this with, the Doormobile I was trying to get home with a 5 gallon gas can instead of a leakproof tank. Down the road from the recent owner with my friend following me in hit fairly new pickup truck. 10 minutes in and Doormobile dies. Open engine lid and it is HOT! Engine is so worn out it overheats and dies. So for an hour I drive until it dies, then pull over and let it cool. In the end my work was closer than home so we made for that. I figured the Doormobile would run no more than 10 minutes before dying. The last leg of the run to work was North Atlanta, on a Friday afternoon. 10 minutes from work I pulled over and let it cool off. Maybe five minutes in the last run, the Doormobile dies in wall to wall traffic. No way to pull off the road with the curb. I get out amid honking and cursing, my friend behind me motions to get back in the Bus. With his truck he pushed me down the road to a nearby parking lot. It chewed up both our bumpers but it worked. I waited until much later and with no traffic coasted downhill the last of the trip, engine dead. After that I had the Doormobile towed and sold it not long after.