Biggest Bodge

[GaryF]

Hi All,

I've done various "improvisations" or bodges in my time to fix non-critical parts of a car. This includes using paper clips to hold bits of chrome trim together, double-sided carpet tape to stick various bits of interior trim down and cutting up old oil cans to make various parts.
Just wondered what you proudest or most guilty bodge has been ?

[TX76513]

My SDL always ate up the rear most outboard tailpipe hanger. I would go through them about every 6 months. Never could see anything out of place, just lived with it. Coming back from a GTG in TX last year, snap goes the outside hanger rubber in the middle of BFE TX. This is not an Autozone carried part, but I bought a larger generic rubber "O" hanger and used a plastic tie to make a figure "8" out of it once in place. It's never broken again.

[aircap]

I drove a '68 VW Beetle for a long time, and it blew a hole in its muffler right where the main body connects to the exhaust outlet on the driver's side (these are weirdly-shaped mufflers). I needed essentially a small metal tube to fit in the hole and reduce the noise temporarily.

A small tomato paste can -- the skinny kind -- did the job perfectly. I can't remember how I held it in place, but I think essentially friction did the job.

[Neubie]

Lower radiator hose on my '69 230 for some reason is dangerously close to the alternator. So close, in fact it rubbed through...twice. First time I used the old one as a chafe guard, but it wasn't enough. Nothing on the inside of the compartment was at a proper angle to tie it off to. Thankfully my car is a beater and Im not too worried about little appearance things, I drilled a hole in the front of the car at an appropriate spot and used zip ties and speaker wire to pull the hose away from the alternator. Hasn't failed since....

Not proud, but effective.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Don't know if this qualifies, but back in the early '70s my first automotive 'bodge' was when the odometer quit on my '61 Ponton 180b. Took the speedometer apart and found the teeth chewed off the little brass pinion gear that drives off the speedometer worm shaft. While rooting around in a box of miscellaneous junk, I found a brass pinion on a Japanese slot-car motor that looked to be about the right size and number of teeth. It fit, and though the teeth didn't have an angle-cut for the worm-drive, it worked perfectly for the remaining 60,000 miles I drove that car.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Larry Delor]

The suction line on a work truck had a crack in it, so in order to be able to drive it to the company shop, I used duct tape to (very) temorarily keep it from sucking air.
My old 76 Malibu had such rusted 1/4 panels, that to keep them from catching the air, I took some wire, stuck it through a hole in the 1/4 panel, wrapped a sheet metal screw around it, screwed it into the whole, and grabbed the wire that was inside of the trunk and tied it onto something (don't remember, this was 20+ years ago).
Recently, until I installed a new rear window seal, the rear window was "sealed" with black vynil tape (which actually worked pretty good!).

[Blue 72 250]

1970 VW beatle- When going down the highway my altenator brush wore to the point that the spring clip did not hold it against the arbor. So I folded up some cardboard from a pack of smokes and slipped it between the spring clip and the brush.

not the "best" story, but one that any beattle owner should know well.

[t walgamuth]

back when i was very poor, just out of college and just divorced or at least separated and working on the divorce with child support and student loans to pay, my daily driver was my 62 190c finney. this was about 1974.

my exhaust system went south. so my dad had a stack of odd tail pipes etc in the corner of his garage. in those days if he saw a nice piece of pipe lying along the road he would stop and pick it up and take it to his pile...(i think he did this).

so i ran a completely new pipe from the down pipe off the exhaust manifold to the rear bumper using odds and ends. probably at least six pieces, some straight and some curved to make it. i ran it this way for a while til i could afford a new system. it was quiet eough unless you revved it up and backed off in town. also at about 60 it was really loud on the road but at 75 it quieted right out.

that is the biggest bodge that comes to mind.

tom w

[Wodnek]

2 come to mind...

I took my 79 cutlass off road and knocked a hole in the oil pan. I had just spent 2 weeks putting a 1970 high compression 350 Rocket V8 in it and didnt want to change the pan. I bought a fiberglass gas tank repair kit to patch it. It lasted the next 80,000 miles until I put a 403 V8 under the hood.

I was using a rusty 82 dodge maxivan to get stock for my business in Chicago. On my way back to wisconsin my roof let loose in the back and started flapping. It was only still attached in the front. One of the items I had bought was a case of mixed color duct tape. I used 5 rolls to tape the roof down. Orange on the left, blue on the right and red on the back. I drove it for 2 years before I sold it for $200. The guy didnt believe me that you needed to add a quart of oil every week and he got less than a month out of it, but the tape held.

[TheDon]

in my past car.. a 1989 Dodge Colt I used some wood mulch chips wedged between the door skeleton and skin to stop annoying rattles.

Currently on my trans cooler a hole was worn into the metal portion from the bracket that holds it onto the oil pan.. I cut out the section and put in a piece of fuel line and double clamped the ends.. its still holding well after 8k miles.

thats about it really

[Tomguy]

One of the tranny cooler lines that comes off the tranny (and then connects to the rubber hose that goes to the rad) on my 4.5 got twisted during replacement of the rubber lines, and cracked about halfway down.

I soldered it. I didn't cover the solder, I didn't sand it down either. Just soldered, ran solvent through the line to make sure no flux as left, then reinstalled it!

I haven't driven my 4.5 much but it's still holding.

[wbain5280]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

back when i was very poor, just out of college and just divorced or at least separated and working on the divorce with child support and student loans to pay, my daily driver was my 62 190c finney. this was about 1974.

my exhaust system went south. so my dad had a stack of odd tail pipes etc in the corner of his garage. in those days if he saw a nice piece of pipe lying along the road he would stop and pick it up and take it to his pile...(i think he did this).

so i ran a completely new pipe from the down pipe off the exhaust manifold to the rear bumper using odds and ends. probably at least six pieces, some straight and some curved to make it. i ran it this way for a while til i could afford a new system. it was quiet eough unless you revved it up and backed off in town. also at about 60 it was really loud on the road but at 75 it quieted right out.

that is the biggest bodge that comes to mind.

tom w

A 190C would do 75?

[wbain5280]

Way back when, I had a 220SEb 4dr. The exhaust developed a nasty hole in the headpipe and I used a coke can and some wire to seal it until I could get a new headpipe.

On an Explorer I had, the catalytic converter sheild started to rattle. I used wire to stop the noise.

My former neighbor use all kinds of cheap alternatives to keep his '79 240 Volvo on the road. He couldn't get it past Va. emissions so he sold it to a guy in his office who lived in West Va., where there is no emission testing. It still soldiers on.

[Ghohn]

81 BMW 320i (a.k.a The most amazing 400 dollars I ever spent!) - Mechanic told PO that the terrible noise that appeared at certain RPM's was a "noisy timing chain" (That's why I got an other wise excellent condition car for so cheap). Got under the chasis found that the outside sheath of the cat converter was buzzing. Through a rivet though it and then proceeded to drive that Beemer like I stole 'er

91 Nissan Sentra (the work bi*ch) Whilst in college and delivery pizza, she was my go to gal. During one shift, the alternator bracket broke thus relieving the belt of tension. In a pinch to get through the shift, a coworker and drew the alternator to the frame of the car with about 4 strands of wire. The next day I applied more of a "permanent fix" and scoured the yard for rocks that would fit between the engine block and the alternator. Every couple of weeks the rock would vibrate out of its position and then call on the still in place wire as back up. The final solution came in the form of wood shims which were also strategically placed betwixt the block and alternator. The wood was thick enough to keep the belt taut and soft enough not to rattle out. Was that way for 2 years before I sold it to another guy at work for 300 dollars. Car went 240k before the oil pump went and she went to car heaven.

92 Ford Festiva (the best 150 dollars I ever spent) - The first day we got her the ole' lady drove it to work. At 10 pm she calls me up and says the headlights won't work. I had her try every switch to make sure I wasn't making a half hour trip in vain. I get down to here work place and discover that indeed, the lights aren't working. I check the fuses, the switch and can't fix the problem. I reach inside the vehicle I drove down and grab the cigarette adapter for a discman and cut of both ends of the adapter. I then spliced into the wire right before the headlights and then ran it to a fuse. Boom - headlights. This was the permanent fix until it was stolen 4 months later.

My old man is is chiming in right now and he says he owned a 1980 Dodge Aspen that had a bent distributor shaft that would cause explosive backfiring when the peddle was let off of. While trying to merge onto the expressway he was cut off. Being forced to let off of the trottle the vehicle let out a huge backfire. The other drive and my father then exchanged middle fingered pleasantries. Further down the road another driver pulled up and pointed down at my dads car. My father figured one of tires was low and continued on. The driver continued to gesture wildly and only conveyed his point when he pulled out his lighter and pointed at the flame and then pointed at the Aspen. As luck would have it, the back fire ignited a newly developed fuel leak which consequently led to a small fire that had developed under the car. The car was left there and then given to a friend of the familyfor the obvious price of free.

A guy at work said while he was a logger the drive shaft on the on their work truck went 10 miles up the mountain. In a pinch they cut a piece of log to length, notched the ends and proceed down the mountain very slowly. If it is true, it's got to be one of the best jerry-rig stories of all time!

Garrett

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by Wodnek

2 come to mind...

I took my 79 cutlass off road and knocked a hole in the oil pan. I had just spent 2 weeks putting a 1970 high compression 350 Rocket V8 in it and didnt want to change the pan. I bought a fiberglass gas tank repair kit to patch it. It lasted the next 80,000 miles until I put a 403 V8 under the hood.

I was using a rusty 82 dodge maxivan to get stock for my business in Chicago. On my way back to wisconsin my roof let loose in the back and started flapping. It was only still attached in the front. One of the items I had bought was a case of mixed color duct tape. I used 5 rolls to tape the roof down. Orange on the left, blue on the right and red on the back. I drove it for 2 years before I sold it for $200. The guy didnt believe me that you needed to add a quart of oil every week and he got less than a month out of it, but the tape held.

LOL

Kindof blows my bodge into the weeds!

Red Green you missed one!

Tom W