I made it home anyway.

[jjester6000]

Before I redid my truck, I drove it around small distances just to drive it because I was excited about it, well at the time it didn't have any floors or rocker panels, I was at the gym and it started raining... by the time I got home I was soaking wet. The tires just kicked up water right into my lap. The torn carpet could only shield so much

I had a similar thing happen with my truck, though the floors wern't completely gone, there were some big 'drain holes.'

Anyways, I was driving down a country highway on my way home after storm chasing. All of a sudden, I hit a massive flash flood under an overpass.

The only way to describe the deceleration would to compare it to one of those supersonic rocket sled tests from the 50s. They used water to decelerate them from Mach 1 to a complete stop in a matter of seconds.

Next think I knew, I had water 2/3 the way up my legs.

The truck sounded like a 165 mercruiser since the whats left if the exhaust was under water.

I was able to drive right out of it though, since it was a pretty gradual incline.

Man, I had to pull the rubber floor out since it smelled so bad.

 

[jjester6000]

You guys won't believe how long I drove on these horrible dryrotted, nonmatching tires.

You must be registered for see images attach

I bet the guy who sold it to me put them on just to get it rolling, not to really drive around on.

You must be registered for see images attach

Regaurdless, I got the title transfered and the truck registered. It is not like I had money to for tires? Registration is expensive in illinois.

I pretty much put this fresh farm find truck on the road without any testing or real work.

Needless to say, I didn't last too long before loosing a few tires.

You must be registered for see images attach

Despite that, I drove about 1000 miles like that.

I then bought some actual tires, and even had them balanced, and it made a night and day difference.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Kim Burke]

Before I redid my truck, I drove it around small distances just to drive it because I was excited about it, well at the time it didn't have any floors or rocker panels, I was at the gym and it started raining... by the time I got home I was soaking wet. The tires just kicked up water right into my lap. The torn carpet could only shield so much

Had an old 50something Chevy single axle tractor we used to jockey trailers in and out of the shop. It had holes in the floorboards, big ones. Always hated moving trailers in the rain.
The tranny shifter forks wore out so we removed the top of the tranny case and used a brick to smack the gears into reverse and 1st. Didn’t have a speedo, didn’t need one, first gear was it. AND if you wound it up too tight, you had a oil slick on the outside of your right pant leg for the rest of the day. Which sucked.
“Poor people have poor ways” said my dad all the time. LOL

Sorry for hijacking this thread just sparked a memory of what we all have probably had to deal with.

 

[DoubleDingo]

You guys won't believe how long I drove on these horrible dryrotted, nonmatching tires.

You must be registered for see images attach

I bet the guy who sold it to me put them on just to get it rolling, not to really drive around on.

You must be registered for see images attach

Regaurdless, I got the title transfered and the truck registered. It is not like I had money to for tires? Registration is expensive in illinois.

I pretty much put this fresh farm find truck on the road without any testing or real work.

Needless to say, I didn't last too long before loosing a few tires.

You must be registered for see images attach

Despite that, I drove about 1000 miles like that.

I then bought some actual tires, and even had them balanced, and it made a night and day difference.

You must be registered for see images attach

I'm riding on dried out tires too. They came with the truck in 2012, they were new when the guy bought them and they were dry rotted back when I bought the truck. I've hauled a few loads of compost and rock dust with them on the truck, but it has been a gamble each time I take the truck out. I only do surface street driving, but even those can get up to 55 mph. I try to stay on the slower roads. I need to get some new ones, but, like you, money isn't there, especially this time of year with auto insurance being renewed, property taxes, car registration and a couple other bills taking the funds away.

 

[Bennyt]

About 15 years ago, I helped a friend change the fuel pump on his 90's twin turbo'd 502 BB Dually. He had driven to his shop by using a cheap 12 volt air compressor plugged into his cigarette lighter to pressurize fuel he put into his windshield washer tank that ran down through to a blow-through injection system.

I was amazed he was able to drive the 4 miles one-way from his house to his shop. He said he'd been driving it daily like that for a month or two.

Guy is/ was a mad genius with him and his dad holding several patents for air flow and automotive parts used by NASA. Made his own billet blocks, cylinder heads, etc. They were very well known in the industry for their very creative ideas.

 

[DoubleDingo]

About 15 years ago, I helped a friend change the fuel pump on his 90's twin turbo'd 502 BB Dually. He had driven to his shop by using a cheap 12 volt air compressor plugged into his cigarette lighter to pressurize fuel he put into his windshield washer tank that ran down through to a blow-through injection system.

I was amazed he was able to drive the 4 miles one-way from his house to his shop. He said he'd been driving it daily like that for a month or two.

Guy is/ was a mad genius with him and his dad holding several patents for air flow and automotive parts used by NASA. Made his own billet blocks, cylinder heads, etc. They were very well known in the industry for their very creative ideas.

That is awesome!

 

[jjester6000]

About 15 years ago, I helped a friend change the fuel pump on his 90's twin turbo'd 502 BB Dually. He had driven to his shop by using a cheap 12 volt air compressor plugged into his cigarette lighter to pressurize fuel he put into his windshield washer tank that ran down through to a blow-through injection system.

I was amazed he was able to drive the 4 miles one-way from his house to his shop. He said he'd been driving it daily like that for a month or two.

Guy is/ was a mad genius with him and his dad holding several patents for air flow and automotive parts used by NASA. Made his own billet blocks, cylinder heads, etc. They were very well known in the industry for their very creative ideas.

How many times would he have had to fill the washer tank with gas?

Those tanks hold less than a gallon, and a Big Block (ESPECIALLY A 502) is not too fuel efficient.

That reminds me of one of my friends who drives a death trap Jeep YJ. It has no floors left, the frame is pretty rusty in the rear, he has rear view mirrors, he can't see through the rear window, there is basically no weatherstripping, and his fuel lines/gas tank leak (It also runs like crap).

He can't put more than 5 gallons in the tank at a time since it will leak with any more. People thought I drove a death trap, but this is just screwed.

It is a 4cy/5spd (4spd, he lost 5th) and I can't believe he drives it every day.

 

[Bennyt]

How many times would he have had to fill the washer tank with gas?

Those tanks hold less than a gallon, and a Big Block (ESPECIALLY A 502) is not too fuel efficient.
QUOTE]

I assume he filled it daily figuring about 9 miles round trip. They also had a twin-turbo 4 cylinder Ford ranger they used as a test vehicle that had some type of pressurized gas to shift the transmission. The floorboard had all kinds of valves and gauges to operate it. I went with his dad to the tire store one time and the guy hopped in to drive it on the lift and promptly got out not willing to even take a chance trying to follow the directions. They put a bus engine in a square body suburban to test some diesel parts and had to move the firewall back 8-10 inches and give it a bodylift to fit it all. It made so much torque and only revved to something like 2500 or less so they had to have custom gears cut that were like a 1.5 ratio for the rear. It was very interesting growing up around them. Met a lot of famous builders through their shop and SEMA/PRI booths.

 

[Snoots]

My last set of Coopers had been on my truck for 23 (yes 23) YEARS. Lost the receipt but the mileage was over 90K.
Not something I drove on the freeway a lot then.

 

[89Suburban]

'78 Dodge Ramcharger. I was upstate at my mountain getaway (mobile home) 350 miles away. Driving down a narrow mountain road, some ****** was spotting for deer and shined right in my eyes. Went off the road and trough a couple of 8" pine trees. Got thrown up against the dash, elbow through the windshield and wound up on the pass side floor. Luckily he didn't take off and called the cops and ambulance. I was banged up but didn't go to the hospital. Had the truck towed up the road to my place.

Checked out the damage the next morning. Frame was buckled and pushed back, leaving the front axle crooked. Pulled the hood off and laid it on the ground and jumped on it to get it straight as I could. R/S fender, grille, core support was wasted. Ripped it apart, straightened it best I could by hand and hand tool. Had to take the radiator in the house into the bathtub to find all the leaking tubes. I just cut the bad tubes and bent them over and crimped them. Threw it back in, took some side skirting off the trailer to make a makeshift fender and grille.

Drove that ****** 350 miles back home that night. Had to stop every half hour or so to refill with water. Right tire scrubbing away like a mad man. I made it home though...

 

[78C10BigTen]

Before I redid my truck, I drove it around small distances just to drive it because I was excited about it, well at the time it didn't have any floors or rocker panels, I was at the gym and it started raining... by the time I got home I was soaking wet. The tires just kicked up water right into my lap. The torn carpet could only shield so much

Reminds me of my dads old cherokee, after many tranny swaps he never put the cover on the floor, one winter day we're out hunting in the state game lands and go to drive up into the parking area (no winter maintenace). He has it in 4wd and blasts the gas, we go smashing into fluffy snow up to the grill. Powdery snow comes shooting up into the jeep all over us through the trans hump, we both just look at each other and start laughing!

 

[78C10BigTen]

About 15 years ago, I helped a friend change the fuel pump on his 90's twin turbo'd 502 BB Dually. He had driven to his shop by using a cheap 12 volt air compressor plugged into his cigarette lighter to pressurize fuel he put into his windshield washer tank that ran down through to a blow-through injection system.

I was amazed he was able to drive the 4 miles one-way from his house to his shop. He said he'd been driving it daily like that for a month or two.

Guy is/ was a mad genius with him and his dad holding several patents for air flow and automotive parts used by NASA. Made his own billet blocks, cylinder heads, etc. They were very well known in the industry for their very creative ideas.

Necessity is the mother of invention!

 

[Octane]

Before I redid my truck, I drove it around small distances just to drive it because I was excited about it, well at the time it didn't have any floors or rocker panels, I was at the gym and it started raining... by the time I got home I was soaking wet. The tires just kicked up water right into my lap. The torn carpet could only shield so much

I had a car once that rained on the inside and leaked outside.Had thick sunday newspapers in the floorboards that would freeze into solid ice in the winter.Not the car to impress your chick in.lol

 

[jjester6000]

About two months ago I decided to take my '95 Chevy Suburban with 340,000 miles on it Storm Chasing.

So the day right after my graduation, I left went on my way to the central Kansas area.

After several days of disappoint, I was on my way home when all of a sudden, I left a massive smoke screen behind me. I then stopped to check it out and found that I had blown the rear seal out of the transmission.

I was sort of half-ass following a storm system through northern Missouri, and was in the absolute middle of nowhere. To make matters worse, I didn't have any ATF with me. I just said screw it and drove until I got to the nearest place that sold ATF.

As I lost more fluid, I started loosing gears, and eventually just had to coast into a dollar general store, and pick up some ATF.

I filled it up and got all the gears back, but it was obviously shifting terrible. My next mission was to find an auto parts store so I could replace the seal.

About 5 quarts if ATF, and 30 miles later, I made it to a carquest 5 minutes before they closed.

I replaced the seal and also poured some Lucas stop slip in there for good measure, but the damage was done.

I had no overdrive, and 3rd would slip every now and then. I was still 4 hours from home, and the worst was yet ahead.

About an hour later, my weather radio went off (the problems distracted me from weather) with a tornado warning in my area of eastern Iowa.

Then I blew a brake hose and lost my front brakes. Which sucked, but not as bad as me coming within a mile of a large tornado in the dead of night with a slipping transmission and no brakes.

Anyways, I made it home in 2nd gear, and the truck still sits to this day (I just picked up a TH350 to replace the blown up 4l60e for it though)

 

[Turbo4whl]

About two months ago I decided to take my '95 Chevy Suburban with 340,000 miles on it Storm Chasing.

So the day right after my graduation, I left went on my way to the central Kansas area.

After several days of disappoint, I was on my way home when all of a sudden, I left a massive smoke screen behind me. I then stopped to check it out and found that I had blown the rear seal out of the transmission.

I was sort of half-ass following a storm system through northern Missouri, and was in the absolute middle of nowhere. To make matters worse, I didn't have any ATF with me. I just said screw it and drove until I got to the nearest place that sold ATF.

As I lost more fluid, I started loosing gears, and eventually just had to coast into a dollar general store, and pick up some ATF.

I filled it up and got all the gears back, but it was obviously shifting terrible. My next mission was to find an auto parts store so I could replace the seal.

About 5 quarts if ATF, and 30 miles later, I made it to a carquest 5 minutes before they closed.

I replaced the seal and also poured some Lucas stop slip in there for good measure, but the damage was done.

I had no overdrive, and 3rd would slip every now and then. I was still 4 hours from home, and the worst was yet ahead.

About an hour later, my weather radio went off (the problems distracted me from weather) with a tornado warning in my area of eastern Iowa.

Then I blew a brake hose and lost my front brakes. Which sucked, but not as bad as me coming within a mile of a large tornado in the dead of night with a slipping transmission and no brakes.

Anyways, I made it home in 2nd gear, and the truck still sits to this day (I just picked up a TH350 to replace the blown up 4l60e for it though)

Instead of "I made it home anyway" I call it "Press on regardless"

Back some years I was heading to the Carlisle Fairground for the truck show. Driving my '85 4X4 Suburban, on the way there I blew a side bearing on the rear differential. Pulling my fully loaded trailer on the highway the rear is screaming but I am still moving, so press on regardless.

Off the highway and making turns to get into the fairground the rear is now locking up. Slid underneath and pulled the rear driveshaft, drove into the fairground. At the show I duck-taped a cut top soda can to the transfer case to keep oil in. The ride home was much quieter.