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.

[ThePaintedMan]

Two years ago was flat towing the 914 to JetsetSurfShop (Shane's) place in Naples, Florida behind my beater 1981 F-100 with super low oil pressure, a slipping transmission and dry-rotted tires. What could go wrong? I made it almost 2 hours out of town and came over a hill when a pothole caused one of the truck's tires to blow, so I was lucky enough to be able to pull into a weigh station several hundred yards ahead of me. I had no spare, but the truck did come with a spare rim in the back. With limited space in the 914 and limited time on a Sunday, I unhooked the 914 and drove it (with no tag) to the nearest WalMart. Had them mount a new tire which was probably worth more than the truck, and I stuffed it back into the 914. Drove back to the truck stop and went to change the tire.... OF COURSE IT WAS THE WRONG LUG PATTERN. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) Luckily I had no passenger seat in the 914 (race car), so I then stuffed the brand new tire/rim, PLUS the blown out tire/rim in the car and drove back. The guys chuckled at me, and were nice enough to swap them out. Turned a 3 hour drive into a 6 hour drive.

Also drove 4+ hours without a clutch cable on my Mustang in college. It broke as I was leaving to go home for sister's birthday the next day. Luckily my dad taught me to shift without using the clutch when I first started driving. Got it rolling and jammed the car in first, and just timed the lights on the way out of town as well as the 3 small towns along the way until I got all the way home.

FWIW, an appropriately sized socket also comes in handy if you need to reconnect a broken heater hose temporarily.