Whats the most Redneck "fix" you've done?

[Joseph2001]

Im loving these.

['63GENIII]

Not a "Redneck" fix per say but maybe a "Racing" fix that I taught to a young tire installer a few years back. There's probably more than a few of us here that have done this from time to time....

I had gone into a local fly by night tire shop to have my 35" x 16.5 BFGs swapped from the rims that I bought them on to the steelies that Im running now. Brought the truck down to the FBN tire shop (they had the best price on mounting and balancing BTW) and talked with the young 20 ish owner.

He proceeded just fine getting both sets of tires off of their rims and started trying (note I say trying) to get the new BFGs onto the old steelie wheels. He fought the first one for about 45 minutes trying to get it aired up... pulling the tire up and down with the air chuck attached going full tilt boogie.. No luck.

Not wanting to tell him how to do his job but wanting to get the hell out of there that day, I offered to help if he would let me. He agreed and I went behind the seat of the Red Truck and got the Ether. I came back and said, "Here's a little racing / off road trick that I learned years ago"...in fact I hadnt done it in near 20 years.

I went up to the tire / wheel still mounted on the machine and with the young owner looking intently over my shoulder, sprayed a good sized shot of that Ether into the tire and left a little trail over the sidewall onto the tread. I quickly pulled my lighter out of my pocket, ducked down and lit the fuse.

What happened next was a bit of a blur but to this day, i still have a hard time hearing out of my left ear. In fact I couldn't hear a darned thing at the moment including the tire shop kid screaming that I had burned off his eyebrows..

The other three tires were finished by the kid with no eyebrows and my can of Ether. He actually thanked me for teaching him the trick although when he did it he used way less of the starting fluid than I had and was wearing a full face shield.

Still running those 16.5 tires on the Red Truck. Still laugh every time I think of that day.

[skihor]

Staying with a buddy in the Oregon coast range. '65 Chevy van was down due to a bad front wheel bearing. His wife went into labor 3 weeks early. I basically
"whittled" a bearing from a piece of Oak, greased it up and we got her 65 miles to the hospital in time. And we also drove it home...

[100%Chevy]

I put a boot in my tractor tire about 1994.
Sliced it open on a lighter stump while bush-hogging.
Used 1/4x20 carriage head bolts.
It's held all this time.
Couldn't see buying a new tire for it since I seldom use the tractor and it sits most of the time.



Mike.

[Killer Bee]

you sir, are thread winner so far!

Originally Posted by 100%Chevy

I put a boot in my tractor tire about 1994.
Sliced it open on a lighter stump while bush-hogging.
Used 1/4x20 carriage head bolts.
It's held all this time.
Couldn't see buying a new tire for it since I seldom use the tractor and it sits most of the time.



Mike.

ya' know, that reminds me, I repaired a CV boot with a bicycle intertube patch kit and silicone..

some chollas had got into it.. pretty solid repair given the duty it had.. held until I sold it.. RF

[AJBert]

Not my only but I feel my best redneck fix:

About 30 some odd years ago when I was a young strapping stud, not that I'm still not mind you, I was driving from Virginia to Colorado in a '76 Camaro I never should have bought but it had a 4 speed and big fat tires in the rear. It had a radiator that leaked like a sieve so I carried a few gallons of water in the trunk to top off when ever I stopped.

Somewhere in the boonies on a lone country road I pulled over to answer the call of nature and checked the level. Low and behold, there was no radiator cap. I'm standing in the middle of no where and wondering wth am I going to do!

I pull out my can of Copenhagen and put a pinch in when it hits me! I rummage through the trunk and find a roll of soldering wire and go back to the front hoping the wire will hold long enough to get me to the next town without melting on me. I take the lid from my can of Copenhagen, some gasket sealer and the soldering wire and tie that lid down as tight as I dare without breaking the wire.

About 30 miles later I finally pull into a town that had a repair shop hoping they'd have a cap. I walk in and let the fella know what I need. He asks what kind. I tell him for a '76 Camaro with a 350, duh! He said he needs to take a look to be sure. I hem and haw as much as I can but he's determined he needs to look.

Needless to say, I pop the hood and he looks in to make his determination. First thing out of his mouth, "Hey, Clem, you gotta come out and see this!!!"

I got my cap and made it to my destination, pride somewhat intact.

[68C15]

Have you seen my 68? Enough said

[special-K]

Mine aren't redneck "fixes". They are rough cut country gentleman "fixes".

[Joseph2001]

Now I know what to do in these situations, LOL

[Joseph2001]

Originally Posted by special-K

Mine aren't redneck "fixes". They are rough cut country gentleman "fixes".

Redneck, A glorious lack of sophistication

[snj8198]

Years ago on a road trip I blew a radiator hose in my '79 Lincoln. Seeing me steaming along side the road, a nice old lady invited me in to use the phone. As I peered through her curtains at my problem I looked up in prayer and seen her curtain rods. I ended up hack sawing 4"s of this nice old lady's curtain rod off and used it with a couple hose clamps as a splice for the radiator hose. It finished the 1,000 mile trip.

[special-K]

^^^ That is great! You must have the gift of gab or reminded her of her grandson, something like that. You should go into politics. Gittr dun!

Not such a redneck fix but like only a redneck could. In the red '90 Blazer I used to have, I was letting up for a red light up ahead when I noticed it was loping. The light changed right away and I got it over onto a level grassy spot along the road. The right rear wheel had one stud/lug nut left holding the wheel on and I have no mechanics tools. My son had been using the Blazer till not long before this for a year or so. Well, the jack handle had never been put back so what do I do now? I had some carpentry tools because this was down in VA a couple hours from home where I was working on a cabin for the week. I opened an aluminum pair of Malco tin sheers to make a cross, stuck the steel blade tip in the slot on the jack, and strained (snips & me both) to get it cranked up. Next issue, Auburn posi, can't spin wheel, right? No problem. I get drum off and what do you know? Only the one good stud is lined up with the wheel cyl or anything else to prevent the studs from backing out...or new stud going in. No need to spin wheel! I take a nail punch and knock the stubs out. Get a ride to the parts store, get six studs, but only a 4-pk of lug nuts because that's all they had. That got me back up the mountain for the week till another pack of lug nuts came in. So it all worked out pretty well. That is until...............................

[harpo231]

Originally Posted by special-K

Mine aren't redneck "fixes". They are rough cut country gentleman "fixes".

Denial !

[Joseph2001]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

I bought a nice '68 short bed in East NC and sold it to another member in Nashville ...DELIVERED . I went to pick it up using my 95 GMC K2500 and I already knew the Gov Loc diff was making noise and I reasoned the ol girl had at least another 1,000 miles left in it (240,000 on the truck) Well I picked it up and heading west The ol Gov loc decided it had enough ... I was able to limp it home and already had a new complete carrier and bearings in the garage . Lot's of fun changing out the rear with another bed strapped on top ! Got it swapped out and made it to Nashville . That trip wore me out !

My Dad and I just hauled a 6ft f150 bed to the scrap yard this way not to long ago. Only problem was my Dad drives a mid size Dodge Dakota, we had to center the bed as best as possible and still had 2 inches of overhang on each side. A cop drove by us and just hung is head trying not to laugh.

[fatbass]

The window register in my old '71 K10 rusted through and folded up one elk hunt and it was during a big snow storm. I found a piece of barbed wire alongside the road and hooked one end of the wire under the window glass, pulled the window up as tight as I could and wound the other end of the wire to the window crank. Then I taped an old sock around the barbs to save my arm. That window stayed up in place for a month until I could get the register replaced.

[GOPAPA]

Exhaust rusted out....So,,,I took down the metal down spout pipe from the roof gutter on my folks house and used it to go straight pipe on my 57 Chevy.. I went to town and rapped the new metal pipe up between two large buidlings in town to hear the echoing..and watch the windows vibrate ..

That's pretty Rednick isn't it .?.

[xflyboy]

Helping my cousin swap engines in his Coronet exhaust gaskets leaked and no money for new. Found a Domino's pizza box cut out gaskets and used with the old gaskets, sealed up good he drove it for months that way.

[sick472]

I knew a guy, honestly (not me!), whose fuel system between the gas tank and fuel pump had failed somehow and to keep his car in service he had bungee corded a gas can to the inner fender under the hood and ran a hose from the fuel pump (on the block) to the can. It was literally 6 inches from the exhaust manifolds. Thank goodness for all that room under the hood in the late 60s.

I didn't like riding with him much to say the least, but his car was pretty cool even though it was well used and in need of help.

[oldiron]

Got T-bone just behind the drivers door the door would not latch. Drilled a 3/8" hole thru the door and the cab and bolted it together.

[KrazyRay]

Originally Posted by sick472

I knew a guy, honestly (not me!), whose fuel system between the gas tank and fuel pump had failed somehow and to keep his car in service he had bungee corded a gas can to the inner fender under the hood and ran a hose from the fuel pump (on the block) to the can. It was literally 6 inches from the exhaust manifolds. Thank goodness for all that room under the hood in the late 60s.

I didn't like riding with him much to say the least, but his car was pretty cool even though it was well used and in need of help.

I did that to a 78 power wagon that would have intermittent clogs in the tank. Strap in the gas can and have about 20 miles to get where I needed to go.

[special-K]

Had a dial on a '71 K/20 break at the split pin. I think the pin was broken or got lost. I drilled two new holes in a new location and used the drill bit for the pin so I could have 4wd to get out of where I was.

[Black_Sheep]

Changing u-joints on the shoulder of the highway with a claw hammer, crescent wrench and a broken screwdriver...

[AJBert]

Had a clutch rod break on my 76 Camaro in a town I had never been in at night on the side of the road. Went in to a small store not having a clue what I was looking for but anything that might work. Ended up finding a battery post puller that looked like the right size threads and length might work.

While installing it the local LEO pulled up behind and started grilling me. Out of state plates, where was I going, where have I been, what was I doing. Once he was satisfied I was just broke down on the road he let me know if I wasn't moving in ten more minutes he'd have to have me towed. Such wonderful small town LEO's in Mass.

Needless to say, I was moving under ten minutes with him keep time on me. Ended up selling the Camaro a few years later with the make shift clutch rod still in it.

[Nick_R_23]

I try not to any redneck fixes unless it's an otherwise stranded situation, but I specifically remember this one that I pulled off when I was young and dumb. My truck that I drove for work/school had broken down (severely overheated on a road trip, destroyed the engine and transmission both), so of course in my infinite wisdom, I decided to buy a second truck that was broken down also, instead of using the money to fix my current truck. I think it was a 1985 or 1986 C10, 2WD longbed, and I paid $200 for it. It had the crappy 4.3L carb'd V6, and it had a slight rod knock. I somehow convinced my dad to tow it home and wasted no time pulling the oil pan. #1 rod bearing had spun, but stayed relatively intact and really didn't damage the crank journal too badly. It had turned the journal very, very close to being a perfect .010 under. Having spent the last of my money, I couldn't afford a new crank, so I did what any redneck would do and grabbed a whole roll of emery cloth, and a micrometer (hey, this is precision machining at its finest!) and went to town on the crank journal. It took me damn near all day to get that journal perfect, but I got it to read evenly on the micrometer at .010 under! I begged for $6 to buy a single rod bearing and oil pan sealant from the parts store, and bolted that puppy back together. I drove it for close to 3 months with that single oddball bearing and hand ground journal in there before I could save enough money to fix my regular truck!

[Rwsmith66@yahoo.com]

I took the motor out of my boat and put it in my truck. Didn't turn out to bad though!