OT, getting them home stories, Car stories Options

[r_towle]

OT! So move it if you feel the need.

I laugh more now when thinking of the crazy stuff I did when I was young and broke just to get a car home or repaired.

One night, heading up to go skiing with a buddy, by beetle accel cable broke.
It was super cold, dark and we were in a section of NH that has about ten exits of nothing....so remote.

Thankfully there was a gas station about 2-3 miles ahead.
I put on my winter ski clothes, goggles and all.
I sat sideways on the rear bumper with my hand hugging the upright fan and I drove the carburetor while yelling when to shift etc...

What could go wrong......??

How about you guys?
I have a few more stupid stories that make me wonder why I am still here at all.

[flyer86d]

About six years ago I was working late at the shop and left for home at about 9:30 PM. I had sold my daily driver and had just started to drive a 1982 280 CE that I had taken on trade and was working the bugs out of it. The car had almost 300K on it but it looked good and ran strong. Halfway home on my 40 mile commute, it quit. When I cycled the ignition key, I did not hear the fuel pump or the fuel pump relay click. Fortunately, I had my jumper box, and a couple of long test leads with alligator clip ends in the trunk. The fuel pump is located under the car behind the rear axle on the right hand side. I crawled underneath and tried to power the pump from the jumper box and it ran. So then I ran one test lead thru the drain grommet at the bottom of the rear fender and attached it to the positive terminal on the pump, used the other to ground the negative side, placed the jumper box in the trunk. I connected it up and drove home the remaining 20 miles. I drove it back to work the following morning the same way and fixed it by replacing the power supply wire to the relay.

It gets pretty dark and lonely here in the valley in central Vermont after 9PM so I was glad it worked out.

Charlie