Weird tricks to cars ?

[ROYC75]

This is a thread about tricks you can do to cars. List the things you could do to your car to make something work when it was turned off, etc. Here's mine that I recall.


As a kid growing up, during High School golf season, our school provided Ford LTD's for us to travel to meets. We would cram 6 boys, a coach and 7 sets of golf clubs into a 73, or 74 or a 75 Ford LTD.

When the meet was over and we were awaiting the team &individual scores of the meet, first guy back to the car jump in the driver's set. Coach would not give us the keys, so you could put your foot on the brake, wiggle the 4 way flasher just right without engaging it plus turn on the radio. Boom, music, you have the radio on to listen to the tunes you could find. You let your foot off the brake, you had to start it all over again.

Finally he started to let us have the keys after finding out what we were doing.

Somehow the flasher and brake lights would short / overload it's way over into the radio in the steering column and work. We found out just tinkering with it one day, early in the golf season, not knowing it would happen. Just being kids, things boys do when bored.

[Rain Man]

You can bypass the solonoid on a 1960s Mustang by crossing two screwdrivers that are touching the wires on either side of it. It'll create a spark and start the car without a key.

Given that there was no lock on the hood, it was a pretty easy car to steal if you wanted to. You just had to find one where the doors weren't locked.

Not that I stole a car, mind you. My dad restored Mustangs as a business, so we occasionally had to move cars when we didn't have the keys.

[Easy 6]

Never tried it, but have seen it mentioned all over that cracking an egg into a leaking radiator will plug it up for a short time

[Donger]

I drove my Triumph Spitfire without a starter for about six months. Maybe a year.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You can bypass the solonoid on a 1960s Mustang by crossing two screwdrivers that are touching the wires on either side of it. It'll create a spark and start the car without a key.

Given that there was no lock on the hood, it was a pretty easy car to steal if you wanted to. You just had to find one where the doors weren't locked.

Not that I stole a car, mind you. My dad restored Mustangs as a business, so we occasionally had to move cars when we didn't have the keys.

They still shouldn't have started. Crank sure but not actually start. No power to the coil. That should come through the ignition switch I'm thinking

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Donger

I drove my Triumph Spitfire without a starter for about six months. Maybe a year.

Roll start, fun times. Although in that thing it probably didn't take shit to start it

[Easy 6]

An old roommate of mine used to have a Triumph Spitfire... he spent waaaaaay more time out in the driveway working on it than he ever did actually driving it

That thing was ALWAYS broke down

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You can bypass the solonoid on a 1960s Mustang by crossing two screwdrivers that are touching the wires on either side of it. It'll create a spark and start the car without a key.

Given that there was no lock on the hood, it was a pretty easy car to steal if you wanted to. You just had to find one where the doors weren't locked.

Not that I stole a car, mind you. My dad restored Mustangs as a business, so we occasionally had to move cars when we didn't have the keys.

Yeah I just looked at a 66 wiring diagram and that car would have cranked all day but not start without a hot wire to the coil.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

Roll start, fun times. Although in that thing it probably didn't take shit to start it

Yep, it worked best popping in reverse, so I'd just park on an incline. Barely moving would do it.

I tried that with my GTI once when the battery was dead. I guess modern vehicles don't like it.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

They still shouldn't have started. Crank sure but not actually start. No power to the coil. That should come through the ignition switch I'm thinking

I don't know why, but they did. I saw my dad do it with some frequency. I can't remember if he had a guy inside the car doing anything.

I wasn't keen on doing it myself. It would spark and crackle, and I don't like holding metal objects that are crackling with electricity.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

An old roommate of mine used to have a Triumph Spitfire... he spent waaaaaay more time out in the driveway working on it than he ever actually drove it

That thing was ALWAYS broke down

Why do Englishmen drink warm beer?

Because they have Triumph refrigerators.



To this day, I still miss that car though. But yeah, daily inspections were routine.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yep, it worked best popping in reverse, so I'd just park on an incline. Barely moving would do it.

I tried that with my GTI once when the battery was dead. I guess modern vehicles don't like it.

Reverse was probably the lowest gear ratio.

Modern cars have to have at least a little juice in them to push start, but ive done it quite a few times

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

Yeah I just looked at a 66 wiring diagram and that car would have cranked all day but not start without a hot wire to the coil.

I swear he did it. I don't remember him moving any wires or anything. Maybe my memory is faulty in that regard.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I don't know why, but they did. I saw my dad do it with some frequency. I can't remember if he had a guy inside the car doing anything.

I wasn't keen on doing it myself. It would spark and crackle, and I don't like holding metal objects that are crackling with electricity.

He had to have had someone inside putting a wire to the back of the ignition switch then.

[Bwana]

Heh, all my tricks would be about getting out of a jam when something breaks on top of a mountain when you're 20 miles from the nearest road or something similar. It has involved things like bailing wire, duct tape, hi-lift jacks, axes and using things in the area like dead trees and rocks. I have had to MacGyver a lot of things over the years.