Ok....so after a long day at work I happily hop into my 34 and tear down the highway home. Its about and 30 minute freeway drive and everything was going fine. I stopped at shop and purchased some items and then jumped back in for a 5 minute ride home. The trans didnt seem to engage as precisely as it usually did, but I pulled away and it drove perfect so I chalked it up to just some little bumble. I pulled into my driveway and turned the motor off. I stepped out of the cab and walked about 10 feet away to throw some stuff away and I heard a hissing noise. I thought, Damn I must be overheating-sounded like a hissing from a leaking hose or maybe coolant overflow....as I walk closer to the truck *BLAM* the trans decides to irrigate my driveway with fluid....all I can say is it got me home. Anybody close got a good C4 for sale or know any decent guys in the San Fernando Valley area? Anyhow....Lets hear your just made it home stories... Joe "Needs a trans" Creep
You mean to tell me no one else has any stories about just making it home before your motor seizes up or the radiator explodes? Lucky *******s....
I have a '75 bronco that is one of my favorite rides. I took it on a six week tour of colorado/northern new mexico with a buddy of mine. This thing had about 225000 miles on it, hated high al***udes, leaked everything, but it made it all over the place. Took off out of durango to go home to Ft. Collins, made over some hairy p***es and made the long drive. Dropped my buddy off at his house, drove to my house, got out went inside, turned around to unload and there was smoke coming from under the hood(wiring smoldering) and the RR tire was dead flat. So after six weeks of abuse and constant running the old truck ****ped out in it's own driveway. Still have it and like more now than I did then.
Yesterday I pulled into the driveway of an engineering supply store i was going to right before one of the front CV shafts on my Camry decides to let loose. It was the inner joint that broke, so imagine the damage that would have done thrashing around if it had decided to break while i was on the highway.
Not one time but two times mind you.... Only in this case the 65 El Camino and the 65 Dodge Coronet was already home in the garage. I jumped in, started the cars and headed out of the garage. On the way out I touched the brake pedal and both of them hit the floor with no brakes. Found were two broken brake lines on both cars at different times. The Big Guy was watching out for me.
One night I was driving my 55 ford home from work at about 2 AM and was going down the freeway quite hapilly at about 75-80mph, let my foot of the gas getting ready to exit the off ramp and hear a horrible grinding sound from the driveline. I'm like "what the hell?!", so I make it off the free way and limp her home about a mile or so grinding and clanging the whole way. Park her in front of my house and figuer I'll look at it in the morning. Go out the next day and saw a huge puddle under the rear, pulled the rear and opened it up...spider gears where trash, I don't know how it got me home like that. Then there was the time that my steering started feeling really sloppy well I drove her like that for about another week (sometimes very carelessly I might add...the ignorence of youth) and when we pulled the steering gear, we found that the colum shaft had sheared off at an angle so as to still be able to steer but was completly seperated from the steering gear...DAMN that car must have loved me to not have killed me then!
Last spring I made the drive from central Illinois to southwest Arizona and back. Literally three blocks from my house on the return trip, I pulled away from a stop light, heard a ping, and could no longer shift gears. One of my transmission cables (late model) had let go, but it let go in second gear so I managed to limp it home. The next morning I went out to fiddle with it and my brake pedal sank to the floor as well. Nearly 4000 miles round trip, including a rainy trip through the mountains, and I lose both my brakes and transmission at the very end.
[ QUOTE ] glad you at least made it home, Joe. There's always the 60 to get you around until you get a ******. [/ QUOTE ] Uh oh! That blew up also....Now you need to sell me your 39... hehe...j/k Those are some damn good tales...Kinda crazy how these cars look after us sometimes....
When I got my 57 Chevy, I drove it 25 miles and about a mile from home it ran out of gas. I coasted 2 blocks, right up to the gas pump at a gas station. A few years later, I was running at a very high speed on the Interstate and when I backed off the throttle for my exit, I heard a loud pop and smelled Rear axle grease. I looked under the car at the big puddle of grease running out of both holes in the cast iron housing, then slowly drove 30 miles home. 5 teeth broke off the pinion shaft! Made it home. My son drove his 59 Ford to college for 4 years 150 miles away. He came home, drove about a block, heard a strange noise, the steering felt bad, so he turned around and got it home. The front wheel bearing (which I kept greased!!) had welded itself to the spindle. I was leaving Oklahoma City in my 39 Ford when I noticed the rear end howling on deceleration. It kept getting worse. Only on deceleration. Its 420 miles home, so I kept the engine under acceleration, even when braking and got it home. The pinion nut had backed off allowing enormous slop. The next day I needed to run a short errand and took the 39. First time I decelerated, I forgot to keep the strain on the third member and it exploded a block from my house. Big chunks of cast iron in the road. It didnt make it home under its own power that time.
Years ago I had a 55 Nomad. Nice car, but the rear end was hummy. I was about 2-3 miles from home when I heard a loud gunshot sound. Didn't know what it was so turned the key off and coasted to the side of the road. Looked underneath and one of the rear end gears shot a chunk rite through the cast drop out housing. Fluid was leaking out. I thought, well can't ruin anything now, so I just kept going and made it home. Love that Chevy running gear. A few years later had a 55 sedan with a 350 4 speed. I was coming home from holidays from the Okanagan and had to do the mountain p*** yet when my rear universal started to go. It was a Sunday in Princeton and nothing open to get another one so just kept on keeping on. 3 1/2 hours later pulled into my driveway. This was towing a hardtop tent trailer too by the way. When I pulled the last hill you could feel every revolution of the driveshaft and the universal straining and it was really noisy. When I pulled it apart at home there was nothing left of the needle bearings, but chunks. And that is why kids I use Chevy running gear. Another time I was on my maiden voyage in the 47 ford 2-door towing a 2000 lb holiday trailer going to a run 1200 miles away travelling with a bunch of my club members. The HEI literally blew up, giant bang and quit. Shorted inside or something. Pulled the HEI out of a buddy's car that he was trailering behind his motor home and put it in my 47 and was off to the races again. Stopped at a wrecker along the way that day and bought a used HEI, stuck it in that nite and didn't miss a beat the whole trip. Try finding flattie parts that easy by the side of the road. Pat
[ QUOTE ] Another time I was on my maiden voyage in the 47 ford 2-door towing a 2000 lb holiday trailer going to a run 1200 miles away travelling with a bunch of my club members. The HEI literally blew up, giant bang and quit. Shorted inside or something. Pulled the HEI out of a buddy's car that he was trailering behind his motor home and put it in my 47 and was off to the races again. Stopped at a wrecker along the way that day and bought a used HEI, stuck it in that nite and didn't miss a beat the whole trip. Try finding flattie parts that easy by the side of the road. Pat [/ QUOTE ] Not to sound like a smart***, but I've never seen a Flatty blow an HEI. The thing about Flatheads is you can carry just about anything you need to keep 'em going right in the trunk. The cl***ic waterpump at the parts store example does'nt hold water either(no pun intended) because it's too easy to carry spares. Just a little preven***ive maintenence and thoughtful planning makes Flatheading a pleasure. Henry built 'em to drive.
This phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by me. I can't even remember all the times I rolled into the driveway dead, or found it dead in the morning - sometimes when I wasn't even aware there was a problem (like electrons that I somehow pissed off). Ones I remember at this moment: *Ran out of gas 6 miles from home, but had just crested a big hill (Tygh grade in eastern Oregon), and coasted almost all the way home. *Module in electronic distributor died while pulling out of driveway. *Throttle cable broke leaving driveway. *Lost headlights leaving driveway. *Fuel pump died pulling into driveway. *Water pump siezed while starting car in driveway. * Starter cooked, parked in front of house. Need I go on? Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences anymore...
[ Not to sound like a smart***, but I've never seen a Flatty blow an HEI. The thing about Flatheads is you can carry just about anything you need to keep 'em going right in the trunk. The cl***ic waterpump at the parts store example does'nt hold water either(no pun intended) because it's too easy to carry spares. Just a little preven***ive maintenence and thoughtful planning makes Flatheading a pleasure. Henry built 'em to drive. [/ QUOTE ] Drive a flathead every where you go for 3 years and report back. I have done it and NEVER again.
Many years ago I had a65 VW that looked like **** but took us everywere. Four of us would pile in with 4 to 6 surfboards on top and off we would go to da beach which is about one hour away(New Smryna). Way back then the trip was defintly thru BUM-****-EGPYT! Cruisin home after a great surf and some cold ones the engine starts makin some really funky noises like marbles in a coffee can. I was going to pull over but my surf buddies (who at this time are NOT feelin any pain) are screamin DON'T STOP, KEEP GOIN! So I listen to them and keep truckin. We make it home. Next day I get it stated and of course it sounds worse! I limp it to Riches, A long gone VW shop that did everything includig restorations, HI-PO, everything. Richie was a cool longhair who took care of me cause he knew I was a dirt poor surfer with no pot to piss in. He tears it down, calls me up and says can I come down to see somethin. When i get down there he shows me two pistons that discided to disconect themselves from the rods! Some how I got home on TWO jugs! We couldn't figure out how the damn thing didn't self destruct! That ol' bug had great karma and I think it knew how important it was to us. It was a sad day when I retired her.
Not exactly the same, but great luck anyway: The ****** in my Yukon went out with 99,864 on the clock; JUST under the 100K warranty! Close enough. Thank ya vera much!
I used to drive a 71 beetle to work daily when one day I hopped in the car to come home from work and my brake pedal went to the floor. The brake lines run inder the carpet (dont yell at me it's factiry) and the spot under my foot had worn through. very lucky! Me and my brother go 4 wheelin together alot and one day heading to an offroad park we heard a loud whining noise comming from the rear of his Charokee. luckely my aunt lived near where we were and we stopped in. turned our the pinion nut came loose and grenaded the rear gears. 3 teeth off the ring and 2 off the pinion
I split the frame behind the cab on my 79 toyota truck about 28 miles from my house. Luckily I had these side toolboxes bolted to the flatbed, it kept the frame from breaking all the way. Limped the ****** all the way home, kinda hard with the 4 speed. 2 months later I was getting ready to go to a carshow, started it up, headgasket blew. That was a great beater truck. later shawn
my chevelle i just sold last week liked to do this to me. It was my daily for the last 6 months. i went up to the store to get smokes and i was getting on it as i allways do. and i pulled into the drive way and all sudden splash! the upper hose had pulled off from the motor torqing. Another time before i had a gas guage i ran outa gas right when i was pulling into the station. The car would allways break right when it pulled into the drive way. it was great. i loved that car. still dont know why i sold it.
Another good one i thought of. I used to have an 82 Datsun B210. ****py car but it ran great. one day pulling into my Girlfriends house I heard a soft clunk. I looked under and noticed the gas tank way laying on the ground! appears the tank was bolted to the "frame" on the lip and the "frame" rusted through. so i grabbed some threaded rod and some nuts, drilled a fiew holes in the trunk and i was back in buisness Same car a fiew monthe later, i was trying to teach my girlfriend how to drive stick (no remarks from the penut gallery!), well going over a speed bump she g***ed it and RRIIPPP! the lower control arm ripped off the "frame" Some angle iron and a fiew bolts later i was off and running. Needless to say i ditched the car shortly after that. O yah that Girlfriend is now my wife of 7 years. who says you need cool cars to get the chicks!
About 30 years ago I had a VW(dirty word, I know) bug and took off on a 500 mile round trip to pick up a buddy at school and bring him home for a friends wedding. Ran the piss out of the Bug,70-80 mph up and back, had to put about three quarts of oil in it during the trip, no big deal. Got home and parked it- wouldn't start, only had about 10 lb compression left on all four cylinders.
[/ QUOTE ] Drive a flathead every where you go for 3 years and report back. I have done it and NEVER again. [/ QUOTE ] Judging by the examples given in this thread, it would seem that no vehicle type or make is immune from mechanical troubles. What was the maintenence history and condition of the Flathead powered vehicle you are refering to?
The Jalopy Journal
