Puzzle!!

[fishdog4449]

Back in the 1960s a mechanic had a gas station / repair shop, which meant that many of his customer's cars were left outside in the lot overnight. He had some stolen and couldn't protect them from the hotwire thieves that came at night. You know back in the old days, before we had things like steering wheel locks and the like, hotwiring a car and driving it away was a pretty easy thing to do. So he came up with a quick, simple and effective way to discourage them.

He would pop the hood, reach under and in a few seconds render the car unstartable. The neat thing was that if anyone tried to start it, it would seem to want to start. It would cough and hit on an occasional cylinder, like vroom, vroom vroom, and even if they opened the hood, examination under there revealed nothing obvious. And these are cars that would be presumably coming in for a brake job or a muffler or some such thing, so the crooks assumed that's why the car was in for repair and they'd move on to the next car.

The next morning he would reach under the hood and in 10 seconds or less have the car running. The question is, what was he doing?

Now, he would do the same thing to just about every car. And the thieves would of course move on because they figured it's obviously not starting, we're not going to fool around with this. And they'd move to the next one and the next one, and they'd say, "Gee, he's got a bunch of cars here that don't start," and they'd move on.

The question is, what was he doing?

 

[fishmen111]

Re: Puzzle!!

Mix plug wires?

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Puzzle!!

you got it. he swapped two plugs wires. then in the morning switched them back. heres another one.

A buddy and I were out late one night. It was so late in fact, that when we got back to the parking lot, my car was the only one still there. At the time, I was driving an otherwise very reliable Honda Accord. As I was preparing to start the engine, I stepped on the clutch pedal and it sank to the floor. I could start the car in neutral, but there was no way to shift it with the engine running.

The fluid in the clutch master cylinder had been leaking out slowly. I'd been meaning to get it fixed, but I just didn't have any time. I'd been topping off the reservoir with a can of brake fluid that I had in the trunk every two weeks or so, and I guess I just forgot. So, I opened the trunk, while I reassured my friend that just a few ounces of fluid, a few quick pumps of the clutch pedal to remove the air in the system, and we'd be back on the road.

Well, I found my can of fluid alright, but it was bone dry. I guessed that I must have left the cap loose. Desperate, I started rummaging through the contents of my trunk. I found the usual stuff: a jack, a spare tire, a deflated football, my high-school diploma, a picture of my mother-in-law, a can of oil, some antifreeze and a jug of water.

I knew I couldn't use any of those things, especially the liquids, as I was afraid they would contaminate the fluid that hadn't yet leaked out and do damage to the other rubber parts and seals that were still okay in the clutch system.

What to do? I tried scaring the thing back into working by flashing the picture of my mother-in-law but that didn't work. Just then, I noticed that my pal was jumping from one foot to the next, kind of like what little kids do when they have to go.

I said, 'What's the problem?'

He said, 'I have to go!' He started looking for a nearby bush.

Well, rather than risk arrest, and having our wives even angrier, I directed him to an all-night burger joint across the road. I stood there, hood and mouth agape, and pondered my fate.

Ten minutes later, my friend returned with a spring in his step and something in his hand, claiming that what he was carrying would solve our problem and get us home.

What was he holding and how did it work? And, no he didn't pee into the cup.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Puzzle!!

Another answer to the first puzzle is that he could have pulled the PCV valve loose, but that would be for a post 1961 car.

The second puzzle also could have several answers. The brake fluid is glycerine based so you could have indeed used the antifreeze as a temporary expedient as it is a mono or poly-propylethylene. Since the friend was coming from the burger joint he could be wagging liquid soap (not detergent) cooking oil, or a bottle of glycerine. I'm sure there are others. All would require a flush, but none would cause damage.

As a side note, neutral safety switches can be bypassed!

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Puzzle!!

Your thinking wrong on the second one. It took me forever to get, but its simple.

 

[i386]

Re: Puzzle!!

I'm guessing he came back with some oil from the fryer. Not because I know anything about the properties of fryer oil except that its viscosity might be similar to brake fluid.

Another thing that could be done to get by is bleed off a little brake fluid. As long as the reservoir didn't dip below the low level it would do in a pinch.

 

[QC]

Re: Puzzle!!

You can also hold the shifter firmly toward first gear with the engine running and it will start to roll slightly, keep pressing against the gate and speed will slowly increase, once you get up enough speed she'll go into gear and then you can syncronise shift your ownself and get around . . . The pushing against the gate thing will only work on flat or downhill.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Puzzle!!

Depending on how much fluid is in the brake master cylinder, I think a soda straw might be the ticket. There's a good chance you can draw out enough fluid to filll the clutch MC without bringing the brake MC down below the minimum.

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Puzzle!!

cheb. you got it. What he brought back from the restaurant was a soda straw. He placed the straw in the brake fluid reservoir, put his finger on the end, and took the straw out. He moved it over to the clutch master cylinder, took his finger off and the fluid dripped into the cylinder.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Puzzle!!

Nothing like thinking fast in a pinch! I take my hat off to you!