Weird/Unusual breakdown fixes

When I was younger our cortina broke down on the motorway.  My old man had to fashion a fan belt out of my old dears tights…. after a while the car was running fine again and off we went.  No need to say that my dad had to buy my mum some new tights and some chocolates to get over the shock of whipping them off on a busy motorway… 8O

After watching top gear I'm wondering what genius ideas people have come up with in the face of a breakdown… besides calling recovery obvuiously.

Anyone else remember/carried out any unusual fixes?

when i first want out after my cbt (and after giving her the once over before she went on the road, and removing a bit of fluf from the pionts) she broke down 10 miles from home, turned out that fluf oiled the cam and i had just melted a part of the pionts so they didn't open.

i had to fix her with an old tin i found at the side of the road, and thats how she stayed until i sold her. (had to be replaeced ev erytime she broke down tho, about every 50 miles)


recognise it. i carried a cola can and a fold away pair of scissors for months

That's funny… obiously worked though  8O  8O  

The things you do for the vehicles you love.  I carry jump leads, 10mm, 13mm and 15mm spanners, pliers and a few other bits and bobs when out in my golf… never let me down yet but she is getting old!!

Anyone else have any genius breakdown fixes?

Spudfingers said

That's funny… obiously worked though  8O  8O  

The things you do for the vehicles you love.  I carry jump leads, 10mm, 13mm and 15mm spanners, pliers and a few other bits and bobs when out in my golf… never let me down yet but she is getting old!!

Anyone else have any genius breakdown fixes?

the day you don't have them will be the day you break down.

when i picked up my golf my wife drove it 60 miles home and never skipped a beat, when i looked over her afterwards i found the dizzy cap was on back to front and so was in the squiff, and the rotor arm had no metal on the contact piont at all.

still cant work out how it worked.

tough as old……….

Can't dizzy caps only go on one way because of that very reason?

Youy know it'll be the day I break down when I forget to take all that stuff lol  

dizzy caps oly go on one way and if it was fitted the wrong way round then it wouldnt run as the leads would be in the wrong order??

also the rota arm can only fit one way and the metal bit needs to be there for it to run??

how many beers you had

bens_cab said

dizzy caps oly go on one way and if it was fitted the wrong way round then it wouldnt run as the leads would be in the wrong order??

also the rota arm can only fit one way and the metal bit needs to be there for it to run??

how many beers you had

the leads where on correct after the dizzy cap was fitted incorrect.

the rotor arm had no metal AT ALL. where it had been rubbing on on side o the dizzycap. still couldn't understand how it worked but it did.

errr…. I managed to put on a new dizzy cap the wrong way on a 1300 Driver, was on for months and worked OK. Then one day in a TESCOs carpark after loading the boot up with shopping it wouldn't start. Looked under bonnet and cap was hanging off, then I spotted the little notch which is supposed to make it fit one way only…..

i fixed the throttle on a carb on my first mk1 golf with an elastic band that i found when i first cleaned the car,it was there for weeks,i dont why i dropped it over the gearshift when i was cleaning the inside,just glad i did as there isnt many stationary shops open at 2 in the morning

jaycab said

i fixed the throttle on a carb on my first mk1 golf with an elastic band that i found when i first cleaned the car,it was there for weeks,i dont why i dropped it over the gearshift when i was cleaning the inside,just glad i did as there isnt many stationary shops open at 2 in the morning

LOL that's genius..!!!

Not on a Golf, but I used to have an old Alfasud …. coming home from London late one night the throttle cable just snapped.  I cursed a lot ( in fact I think the velour interior turned blue ) and scratched my head wondering WTF I was going to do.  I wedged a BIC pen lid against the throttle arm on the carb, so Suddy sat at 3,000 revs consistantly and rode home, delighted with my own mechanical ingenuity.  Oh, and onmy old Mini 1275 GT, I ran it somewhat low on water ( read a leaky pipe ), and had to wee into the radiator.  I did of course let all the steam die down first, but I am sure it looked like I was shagging the car to anyone else driving by.

smc2402 said

Mini 1275 GT, I ran it somewhat low on water ( read a leaky pipe ), and had to wee into the radiator.  I did of course let all the steam die down first, but I am sure it looked like I was shagging the car to anyone else driving by.

WWWAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!  Imagine the next water change and a lot of gagging and eye watering by the new owner/mechanic lol!!!  That's made my day lol!!!

Poor old Mini.  I got my Dad to help me, but didn't mention it'd had been used as a urinal the night before …..

smc2402 said

Poor old Mini.  I got my Dad to help me, but didn't mention it'd had been used as a urinal the night before …..

Probably best not to mate lol!!  The BIC pen was a nice touch too… not much you aint willing to do when broken down lol… You get more cars started again than the AA… mind you company policy probably doesn't cover whipping your kegs down and peeing into the customers radiator 8O lol

my best one for this was when my wipers stoped working
in my mk2 GTi, a lot a thinking and we took the speaker cable
tied it to the wipers and in the side windows with me and a mate
going "to me, to you, to me etc" all the way home, still have a laugh
about it now  

Proper Chuckle Brothers stylie lol!!!  Lucky you didn't saw your windscreen off  :wink:

Spudfingers said

Proper Chuckle Brothers stylie lol!!!  Lucky you didn't saw your windscreen off  :wink:

that's exactly where we got the "to you to me" from, could hardly see
for tear's of laughter never mind the rain  

I had a massive hole in my backbox (No pun intended) and I used expanding foam and some cataloy to seal it off and some left over silver hammerite. This was all stuff I had sitting in the garage. The car failed it's mot with that hole, the rest of the exhaust and back box was fine, it was just one bit of it that was rotten. The car past its mot and the back box is still like new! :wink:

Reminds me of the time my brother called me and tolld me his back box was dragging on the floor so I pulled it off completley and drove it home for him