what is the best bodgy fix you have done

[Kieron]

As a young bloke, was doing a right u turn burnout in my 221 powered XW wagon when I heard a loud bang then scraping coming from the trans hump. Opened bonnet and engine was now a slant motor, all 3 engine mounts broken, driveshaft was scraping on trans hump and fuel line torn off.

No worries, had an HG Holden on the drive so walked home, ripped its fuel line off, grabbed a wire coat hanger and went back to car still stranded in the street, jacked the donk back into position and secured the mounts with the coat hanger and fangled the HG's fuel line (can't remember how) fired her up, sweet as, drove home.

Needless to say, I bought 3 new engine mounts and whacked em on, after all I'd be driving this car when I got my licence ;)

[Mulberry Laine]

Travelling in my G60 patrol,the fuel started vaporising in the fuel pump.Pulled up at the side of the road,removed the washer hose from the nozzle and cable tied it to the pump.Every time she started to cough and splutter I just hit the washer button and cooled the pump.Also had to rig a hose with a funnel in the cab so I could fill the washer bottle on the run.Did about 200ks like that.

[Brodes]

Not really a bodgy fix but a screw up instead.

In my younger mechanic days I stupidly filled up a customer's power steering with brake fluid He came back about a week after with major power steer leaks. Realising what I had done I made sure to keep my mouth shut to what I knew was the cause of that problem!

[cram_it_frog]

So i got ban empty can of Chum dog food fed the dog


yes I have done the soap in the fuel tank one thanks for reminding me

that was a Valiant VJ I scraped the tank on a rock and it was minor drip but over the distance to get back home with no garages close it saved me

they say invention is the result of necessity and this prove that you guys are legends

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by HULK_I6T

I know of a guy who had a manual gearbox in his car that lost second gear completely.

His fix?

So he used to absolutely ring the neck out of it in first gear, way past the rev limit and then bang her into third gear where it still fell out of the torque zone. He did this everytime the car had to take off from standstill.

to hear it was priceless... arrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaa aaaaa!!!!!!!!! burrrrrrrr... he drove it like that for a few years. everyone used to look at it cringing about how hard he is revving it... and to make it worse he used to transport a big fat lady in it.

Mates company van has the same deal, no 3rd gear in their Transit so they just thrash it in 2nd and go right to 4th lol.

I have no first gear in my Falcon due to clutch cable adjustment issue, just rev her up a bit and take off in 2nd lol.

[kazawaki]

This bodge job was on my GT750 suzuki,throttle cable broke so disconnected the rear drum brake so it had heaps of play and wired throttle cable to brake pedal and look a motorcycle with pedal throttle.A little dangerous as you had to remember the brake was the throttle.Best response was car drivers at the lights when your at the lights and arms folded and your bike is revving.

[Ross 1]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

Used sunlight soap on hole in petrol tank...
Pepper in radiator to stop a leak..
ATF as brake fluid when in outback !
Stocking used as fan belt ..
Stainless steel fishing trace as throttle cable ..

I get the others, but whats the science or theory with the sunlight soap? Never heard of that.
Thanks

[TRAU BLAU]

A wooden plank jammed under the rear seats to the the front bench seats on an FC Holden sta.wag back in St.Kilda 1971.The body/chassis had collapsed & the weight of passengers was resting on the prop.shaft.Daddy Cool was the graffiti all over town!

[mik]

Originally Posted by cram_it_frog

I have seen the great egg trick a mates radiator started to leak in a number of places out back of Kalgoorlie it was going to be replaced so in goes 6 or 7 eggs and all this white cooked egg stuff started to fill the leaks


leaks all fixed but cooling system needed a good clean out after words but it was cheaper than a tow home

thats a good one, have used that one myself , i believe you can also use pepper.

edit , didnt see you already had the pepper one ebxr8240.

[mik]

i acquired a hd holden years ago from a relo, he had a handy bit of tent peg rope screwed into the transmission tunnel for holding the 3 on the tree shifter in top gear as it would other wise jump out
.

[cram_it_frog]

i believe you can also use pepper.

a mate from the Army said and I have done this is if you cut your self put pepper on the cut it stops the bleeding

what saddens me is todays car,s many of them are if they stop it is all to do with a computer and you have to take it to a mechanic with a reader

but I am sure there will still be some room left for a person who is able to think out side the box and fix there cars


the big thing here is Australia has some really remote places and if you break down it takes skilled and inventive person to fix the problem

[cram_it_frog]

HQ 3 on the tree was a great car but a common fault is the shims in the engine bay and quite often you have to lift the bonnet and using my fave rout tool a hammer knock it into neutral to get back on the road



we had 4 work utes all HQ total wrecks but this was a huge dam site they started life brand spanking new shinny utes but the time the dam was built in Armidale they were trashed


new workers did not know why there was a hammer on the front seat they soon found out why lol

[metallurg]

A couple of months back I snapped a throttle cable on my dirt bike while out in the bush.
No worries, the throttle has two cables (one for return). Swapped 'em over and rode the 50-odd km home with reverse throttle.
Made for some interesting times taking off from the lights...

Also had a throttle cable sheath snap on my XF where it went over the top of the rocker cover. A screwdriver electrical-taped to the cable sorted that out. Almost.

[u2canb12]

Back in 80's When I was drag racing my XB GS Coupe I was a little over enthusiastic on the 1 -2 shift and snapped the gear stick off the top of the single rail gearbox. No worries, 5/8 socket and 12 inch extension bar, good to go......

[mik]

Not really a bodgey fix but.....
I was driving a 74 ken worth years ago, unbeknown to me the alternator had failed, I pulled up an unloaded did my paperwork and hit the starter....... Click click click battery's still had a tiny bit of juice, so I thought to myself if I pull the decompression handle on the head and get the mass spinning and get someone to hit the starter it might go,
so that's what I did, but now the fuel solenoid did not have enough battery power to keep it open, closer inspection revealed the solenoid had a manual screw to keep it open, so a few turns and another pull off the handle and my assistant hit the switch and vroom the NTC 350 fired into life and I drove back to the depot.
Just goes to prove sometimes you can be lucky .

[2011G6E]

Sitting in the drive in theater back in 1983...18 years old, keys to my beloved VH 265 hemi four speed Charger in my hands.

I was idly flicking my foot on the accelerator pedal (they had the kind not attached to the floor but "floating" in mid air). The girlfriend (now my missus) said, annoyed, "Stop doing that or it'll break off". I laughed, I scoffed, I asked how the hell it would "break off".

And then it broke off.

The welded rod on the bracket on the firewall which held the pedal had snapped. It left the bracket on the firewall and the pivoting plate with the throttle cable attached. Bugger. How the hell was I going to fix that??

In the boot I found a length of spare speaker wire from recent work on the stereo. I doubled the wire to try and make it stronger, tied one end to the short bracket with the cable attached, and put a loop in the end of it to pull on.
Now that was a memorable drive home...a 300hp heavily modded 265 hemi, with a manual gearbox and heavy non-assisted steering, pulling on the throttle with one hand, trying to steer with the other, as well as change gears.

Haven't got the Charger (to my everlasting regret), but still have the missus.

And do you know all this time later she still occasionally reminds me of what happened that night...?

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by MattSAU2XR8

Years ago I had one of the early (240k) shape skylines with twin SU carbs that were worn out, air leaks at the butterfly pivots, so choke was ineffective and it wouldn't start on cold days.

So I had a small barbeque gas bottle in the cabin with a garden hose feeding down the aircleaner snout to richen it up for easy starting.

Saved me once when it ran out of fuel, managed to get it to start and then RUN for a few kms on straight gas (tap wide open) to get to work, which was a petrol station where I could fill it up. Very impressed with myself that morning :-)

Yep...deserves another LEGENDARY.

[irpacaus]

Living in Melbourne for 3 months for work experience for uni (from brisbane) I drove to tullermarine airport to pick my girl friend up her just few in. After we just got out of the airport into the freeway the accerlator cable broke.
Stranded on the side of he road I found some string in the boot of My v6 capri and tided it to the carny linkage ran it though a hole in the firewall and tided it to my thumb of my gear shift hand.

I then drove from the airport to Knoxville thought the centre of Melbourne pat the MCG the hole way using a string hand throttle

Took some careful accerlator control to get right. Also ended up with a purple thumb.

[Kingsley]

A cheap housemate used a loaf of bread that was molded into shape and jammed into a large rusty hole in a sill and then covered it with bog. He normally used aluminum tape for such repairs (always liberated from work) but didn't have enough that day.

The drivers side window was held in with wood jammed inside the door. When he wanted them open, he'd rip back the door trim and take the wood out.

He once drove it home from work (15+kms) using a shoelaces tied together off the carb and pulling the laces through the bonnet that he adjusted so it sat up at the rear. Had he not needed the laces he would've driven it that way for weeks.

[TRAU BLAU]

I had an HQ Belmont.Yeah,the 3 on the tree used to get jammed.Easy to get out tho.It was tangerine with the 173 engine.Went well but after I bent the radiator around the fan I pulled it back out with fencing wire around a tree.

[cram_it_frog]

I bought a honda civic from a guy in Wagga ten years ago and it died half way between wagga and Deniliquine 7 pm the carby **** its self fuel leaking but I as it happens the guy gave me some parts

3 old carbys and few odds and ends

so on the side of the road and a big tube of gasket goo/and gasket paper I striped all carbys down to nothing bits all over the bonnet

I sort of worked out what looked the best bits cleaned the jets and made a new carby

I could not believe it it actually ran 100% better got me home and ran like a dream till a sold it

[TRAU BLAU]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

Used sunlight soap on hole in petrol tank...
Pepper in radiator to stop a leak..
ATF as brake fluid when in outback !
Stocking used as fan belt ..
Stainless steel fishing trace as throttle cable ..

You'd need quite a bit of pepper,wouldn't you?!

[TRAU BLAU]

Originally Posted by cram_it_frog

I bought a honda civic from a guy in Wagga ten years ago and it died half way between wagga and Deniliquine 7 pm the carby **** its self fuel leaking but I as it happens the guy gave me some parts

3 old carbys and few odds and ends

so on the side of the road and a big tube of gasket goo/and gasket paper I striped all carbys down to nothing bits all over the bonnet

I sort of worked out what looked the best bits cleaned the jets and made a new carby

I could not believe it it actually ran 100% better got me home and ran like a dream till a sold it

Was it luck or did you do a good job?My experience with carbies(cars & bikes)is pretty dismal with blocked jets,leaking gaskets & uneven running.I put them in the box of "leave 'em alone."

[cram_it_frog]

TRAU BLAU

There was some incentive

i was broke so could not afford road service

there was a long walk to wagga
\
It was freezing cold

I garentee you if I tried the same thing again it would not work I was lucky

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by mik

thats a good one, have used that one myself , i believe you can also use pepper.

edit , didnt see you already had the pepper one ebxr8240.

Seen this before, and I've also used white pepper to do the same.

The white pepper flushed out easily

[snopony]

Originally Posted by superpursuit05

A cheap housemate used a loaf of bread that was molded into shape and jammed into a large rusty hole in a sill and then covered it with bog. He normally used aluminum tape for such repairs (always liberated from work) but didn't have enough that day.

The drivers side window was held in with wood jammed inside the door. When he wanted them open, he'd rip back the door trim and take the wood out.

He once drove it home from work (15+kms) using a shoelaces tied together off the carb and pulling the laces through the bonnet that he adjusted so it sat up at the rear. Had he not needed the laces he would've driven it that way for weeks.

hmm when i went to repair my rivers side window electrics..... found the whole mechanism held up by a piece of wood. ahaha

[brismike]

Originally Posted by cram_it_frog

I have seen the great egg trick a mates radiator started to leak in a number of places out back of Kalgoorlie it was going to be replaced so in goes 6 or 7 eggs and all this white cooked egg stuff started to fill the leaks

leaks all fixed but cooling system needed a good clean out after words but it was cheaper than a tow home

I love poached eggs too . . bonus lol.

Cheers Mike

[66GT]

pliers, duct tape & a wire coat hanger could be used to "fix" all manner of mechanical issues. Another "fix" was to use the foil from the top inside of your smokes to replace blown fuses. After a few times you got to know how many folds equated to the correct current. Using the starter at the green light to successfully undertake a hill start in second gear during peak hour traffic when the had destroyed itself took a little more effort. A mate used aroldite? to repair a cracked head - lasted a year or so until sold. New owner never came back complaining.

[gozzaxr6t]

Not really a bodgy fix but more of a funny story. When I was in my teens, car full of mates in my gemini, paddock bashing/ gravel roads etc and blew the box. Every gear was munched except 4th gear. Had to drop off all the boys back home, mind you it was close to mid night taking off in 4th gear. Just held the throttle pinned and rid the hell out of the clutch. Dont know what was louder, the car screaming on take off or everyone cracking up of laughter.

Funny part, I removed the box, used the same clutch which looked fine and lasted me another 3 years of constant abuse.

Good times.15 years on we still get a laugh out of that story when were sitting around talking crap.

[Nanoraptor]

One drive back from sydney with 150k to go til I got home, the xd I had overheated and had a little steam hissing out. One of the heater hoses had a t-piece on it with a rust hole that let go. Fixed it with the only stuff I had in the car - a lipstick top, pack of dental floss, and a broken screwdriver. Routed heater hose back to water pump with the screwdriver and clamp, blocked the hose from the manifold with lipstick top, tied the floss around the hose and around the screwdriver & tightened it and wedged the driver under the carburetor. With a bottle of drinking water in the back to add at least some water back, got me to the nearest tap and from there home.