Limping Home in Broken Car Stories

[David Billingsley]

We one time were setting in a Burger King parking lot at 1 AM with a dead battery, Found a guy to give us a jump but had no jumper cables. I had always thought this would work so I tried it. We pulled his truck up to ours where the bumpers touched and then found a unnecessarily piece of wire from under the hood and connected the positive terminals from both trucks, let it set for a minute and it started. Made a MacGyver hero out of me.

[kwhizz]

Originally Posted by David Billingsley

We one time were setting in a Burger King parking lot at 1 AM with a dead battery, Found a guy to give us a jump but had no jumper cables. I had always thought this would work so I tried it. We pulled his truck up to ours where the bumpers touched and then found a unnecessarily piece of wire from under the hood and connected the positive terminals from both trucks, let it set for a minute and it started. Made a MacGyver hero out of me.

Did the same thing with the bumpers touching...… But I used the bumper jack and lug wrench to complete the circuit on the battery..... LOL

[njsteve]

Back in the 1979 I had my 69 Z11 Pace Car. I was running an Edelbrock 3x2bbl intake on it with three Rochester 2GVs (IIRC). The damn thing never ran right but looked really cool.

I was up on Cape Cod for the summer and was cruising one night when the throttle bellcrank snapped. This is the actual pedal cross bar/bellcrank that bolts to the firewall and the pedal hangs off one end and the throttle bracket/rod mount attaches to the other end.

The only way to get home was to use a roll of 10 gauge electrical wire I had in my tool box and tie it to the center carb throttle arm. First I put the convertible top down, then I routed the wire up, through, and out the cowl hood opening at the front of the windshield, over the top of the windshield header and down into the passenger compartment. I had to use the wire as an actual throttle "cable" for the hour long ride back to the house.

The next day my friends took me to a local junkyard in Hyannis, Mass and we found that an early Impala - around 1964, that had the same bellcrank I needed, minus the pedal.

[olredalert]

----I think I know the junkyard, Steve. Was it right close to the Hyannis airport? I worked at a resto shop for a good friend of the owner of the yard. Good memories! ...…Bill S

[njsteve]

That was the place!

[Igosplut]

Originally Posted by olredalert

----I think I know the junkyard, Steve. Was it right close to the Hyannis airport? I worked at a resto shop for a good friend of the owner of the yard. Good memories! ...…Bill S

Blackburns Bill. Down by the powerlines where George U dumped that stripped stolen Vette that he clipped from Dick Beards lot...but that's a story for another day.

[olredalert]

----Couldn't remember his name. I used to work for Dicky Garbitt so knew Blackburn well. They were pretty tight...….Bill S

[SMS]

Great stories guys! A resourceful bunch ya are...

[Tommy]

1991.. racing some guy in my Nova I tossed the fan belt. The only thing open was an all night convenience store and my friend suggested buying a pair or pantyhose.. It worked. Alternator light on the dash flickered on acceleration but the thing stayed below 220 and the lights stayed on!


Tommy