When I ran out of gas in my 37 chev p/u last year, we almost coasted into the staion. When we got out to push the last 100ft, I saw a model A coupe, hot rod, at the pumps. The guy was talking to the attendant...glanced at us puffing our way up the incline to the pumps. He kept talking. So, when we got it to the pumps, I asked him if he'd built his car....nope, bought it, recently. Thought so. Definenetly not a HAMBER!
My first vehicle was a '67 Ford van; gas gauge didn't work and I ran out twice, both times late at night (early in the mornings) I did learn one thing, don't use a styrofoam cup to prime the carb with gas....
Has anyone ever ran out of gas in a stock car race, twice? It was 1984 and I had switched my Nova over from the big block to the 350. I was running AV gas in it and suspect that it evaporated from the tank during the week. Whatever, I was in a heat race and we had a caution, the car dies and won't start. I get a push into the pits from the wrecker on duty. My crew splashes gas into the tank, but evidently not enough. I'm back on the track and caught up to the rear of the field for the re-start. I'm moving up and we have another caution, guess what? I'm out of gas again. Get pushed to the pits again and my crew was ahead of me, met me in the pits and g***ed it up. Somehow I qualified for the main and I fed the car a whole 5-gallon jug of Cam 2 before the main. Bob
6erwebb you need a bigger coffee cup! My 33 only has a 8 gal tank, I carry a 2gal can with me but have run out anyway when I played good samaritan and forgot my 'reserve' was empty! And Bob, I too have run out during a race but not twice! peace
IIRC, that coleman fuel IS gasoline (and yet, we haul it around in our cars, use lighting utensils indiscriminately, etc., never caring a bit).
My F100 has a bad gauge, something I intend to fix in the very near future. Meanwhile I travel with a 5 gallon can. But I've run out of gas numerous times. My '65 Chevy van had a bad gauge, but dual tanks so I didn't worry so much - until that time I was driving and got that sputter as one tank ran empty. I went to do my usual flip of the tank (a manual switch under the driver's seat) only to find I was already on my reserve tank. Felt a little dumb, but not so much as the time I was driving from NY to FL in a girlfriend's car I wasn't used to. I was using cruise control and was "in the zone", and just drove it out of gas while she was asleep. Having grown up with many cheap beaters for cars, in the days before cellphones I often stopped for stranded motorists. Considering some of my adventures (misadventures?) I have a lot of sympathy for them.
Daily driver 63 Comet gas gauge drops off after 1/2 tank. Took the old gas can for a long walk many a time. Finally got sick of it and got a new sending unit. When I put it in the bottom of the tank had been pushed in and I had to force the sending unit in. Then I used shop air to pop out the tank. Not thinking about the fact that the pick-up tube was now above the bottom of the tank, runs out just below 1/4 tank. I did not know this untill the wife calls me at work to say she is having contractions and the doc wants her at the hospital a.s.a.p. I rush home from work only to run out of gas 2 miles from home. Luckily a good samaratin helped get the car off the road and gave me a ride home. False labor contractions, kid didn't come for another week. What a bad feeling that was though when the car died.
I've run out twice with the '48 Pontiac convert. This car has the poly tank, pump and sender from the donor 'Caddy, along with the complete dash panel and gauges (go ahead, tell me it ain't HAMB friendly, I don't care). The first time with gauge reading two bars off empty, it coughed, sputtered and died. As I coasted along the shoulder, engine dead, with the ignition on, the low fuel light lit up and the little chime started going "bong...bong...bong..." Thanks alot. Second time we were 500 miles from home pulling the trailer thru Pennsylvainia on the way to Maine. I had just glanced at the gauge, this time reading almost half full, when the car sputtered, coughed, and died about half a mile from an exit. For whatever reason, I got out and released the (again, from the donor Caddy) fuel cap, and was greeted with a "WHOOOSH...BOING...BOINK..." sound. What the? I got back in the car, and turned the key to "On". The fuel gauge lit up with, not half a tank as before, but now two bars below 1/4. Same as I'd run out with before. The car started up though, and we drove to the station at the exit just ahead of us. Closed. It's Labor Day. Had to go about 10 miles back to the last exit, where I put put 25 gallons in a 25 gallon tank. Lucky us! What had happened was the vapor recovery system selonoid had failed, not vented the tank, which, not being vented, got the center ****ed up out of the fuel. With the bottom of tank pushing up the float, the gauge read almost half full. When I opend the cap, air rushed in, the bottom of the tank popped back down, accounting for the "whoosh" and popping noises, and the pickup was then in the, very little, remaining fuel. Now I run with the cap cracked and the "Service Engine Soon" light on. Brian
Just got back from rescuing the wife who ran the Charger out of gas & saw this thread! must be fate. Went to take off and my DD wouldnt come out of park! Seeing red at that point and came real close to totally losing it... Ended up fiddling with the ****on, heard the relay clicking under the dash, no go.Forced it with both hands & heard something break. Got it home though. Now I've got one "in the bank" If I ever screw up.
I took the first official ride in my roadster and ran out of gas a block away from the house! After getting towed by the neighbor, running to the gas station to fill the gas can and filling the tank, I realized I forgot to turn the fuel shut off on. DOH! The car was just showing its new owner who was boss.
Been there, done that !!! The Turds maiden voyage ran out 2 blocks away from home on the way out - spent too much time running it in the garage with out the fuel gauge working. Worst part, our best friends had a great laugh watching the wife and me pushing the car home. I'll never live that one down !! Best part - it proved how much my honey supports my (our) hobby. No questions or complaining - just got out and helped push !!!!
back when i was younger and dumber about 16 i guess, i had a 67 couger --the wiring was a rats nest -so no gas guage--it ran that was all that mattered to me--i learned what vapoour lock is the hard way---many times i thought i was out of fuel--then the walk to the nearest station and back--and of course by the time i got back and poured in the gas it had cooled down and was ready to go---was one of those duh situations that a bit of knowledge could have easily fixed
good one ! When I first got my driver's license(now 47 years old mind you) the first thing my dad told me was don't ever call me and say you ran out of gas. I'm not coming to rescue you. I always made sure I had gas in my cars , never had to call about running out of gas yet. car trouble yes... I agree with the wife on thay one. I may be in small percentage on this one ! LOL sorry you ran out of gas ! but hey thats what buddies are all about helping out in a pinch !...
Just pulled off an exit right next to intercity project housing and we were fresh out. So, my buddy stays with the tub as I hike a quarter mile for gas. Instantaneously to running out of gas, about 10 project kids swarm the car and my buddy and start axin him, "Yo, whatz wong width ol skooooool? Hey, give me em tyyres, you can buy mor." Over and over for 20 minutes these kids just bombard and pester him about "ol skool" while demanding rides and offers to buy "ol skool." After g***sing up and driving off, he explains the details with perfect inflection and accent having me I about wet myself laughing. Now, anytime I see him he ask me bout whats up with "Ol Skooool" I can't hear the term "old school" without laughing these days. Fun times!
Got caught on top on a trip to houston once in my champ. About to give up when a lucky break in the fog pops up, and down thru the whole we went. landed on the service road beside a truck stop and the engine quit on rollout. Couldn't get close enough to the pump for the hose so had to buy a gallon gas can from the store and make 13 trips to the pump, one gallon at a time till it was full. Some old drunks blocked off the off ramp in front of the station and away we went, cops never showed but it did cause quite a bit of excitement with the locals!
Just a couple weeks ago I was driving my turquoise '53 pickup up to Camden Ohio to a friend of mines shop for some repairs. For one reason or another every rod I own has unreliable fuel gauges. No problem as I always just watch the mileage or just make sure to stop at my usual fuel places. Well I failed to remember that this trucks setup, 350/350, doesn't get quite the mileage as my other rides. So about the time I was thinking about a fuel stop in twenty miles or so I got that first skip, now I was on interstate 75 north in Florence/Covington, Kentucky with traffic heavy and I'm in the fast lane of a three lane highway. So I was forcing my way to the right as I saw a exit just ahead. Threaded a needle and made the exit. That was all I could get out of the tank and although I could see the station I still needed to go up the ramp and turn right and go about 150 ft and do a left into the station. Just my luck the last 500 ft was an incline with a traffic light at the entrance to the station. You bet it was red. Now I am cranking the heck out of the engine to get that last 100 ft. No luck. So I know I can't push it up the grade but I try anyway. I couldn't belive I was gettting it up the grade. I wasn't, two guys coming in the opposite direction had pulled to the side of the road and were behind me pushing and I didn't even see them until I was pulling up to the pumps. They were gone as quick as they appeared. They sure got me out of a bind. Thank you guys whoever you may be.
Worked 12 hours that day pumping gas. Locked the station up, drove two miles and ran out of gas.. doh! Rich
Buddy of mine ran out of gas just a mile outside of town a few years back when I was working second shift. So he waited until he knew I was done with work to call me. Went to picked him up at his car and drove to his place to get a can of gas then head back to his car. His car was stranded on Hwy 41 south of town (for those familiar with Fondy) which is 4 lanes, so I "utilized" the emergency u-turn lane in the median since his vehicle was about 1/8 mile north of it. It was that or drive 3 miles down the highway to the next exit. So we get to the car throw some gas in, now it won't turn over. Hazards have been on too long and killed the battery. NOW, think either one of us has jumper cables at the moment? Of course not, back to his house we go to pick those up. Heading back to his car now I utilize the u-turn lane, for the third time and wouldn't you know it a State Patrol car is heading toward us while I was waiting to head northbound. Naturally, the moment he saw us the cherries and berries were flashing. So we explain what we're doing and why we're in his authorized u-turn lane. I could of swore he was going to say the reason they can use them is that they're trained to as he was lecturing me about it, but he didn't. So he gives me a warning and we're on our way to his car. Oh by the way, it's raining this entire time and I'm still in office work clothes and the only way to easily jumper cables to his battery is to pull along side it with me in the ditch. We eventually get it started and I think we went and got a beer, **** I hope we did after reading what I went through.
Years ago I ran out of gas about a mile from my dad's shop and a mile and a half from my house with a 1909 model T. It was the first time I took it for a drive after the maiden voyage home with it when I first brought it. The wifes first trip. According to my gas gauge(my stick) I should have had plenty to get home. Called my dad's shop and they run out a gallon to me. Start it up and take it home. Found out after draining the tank, I was measuring water and not gas. My dad all afternoon kept razing me about it and told all his friends about me running out of gas that week. Made me felt soooo big. How was I supposed to know that was water not gas when I measured it? Well I got the last laugh on him. That weekend he went out on Lake Michigan and him and his buddy did it. Yep, ran out of gas(in his boat) in the middle of the lake and had to call the coast guards for help. I couldn't wait till he got home. At least i was close to home and not in the middle of the big pond. You know, he hasn't teased me since about that.
The Jalopy Journal
