Re: [AMC-list] The big tow of shame

[Matt Haas <mhaas@xxxxxxx>]

A lot of us have been in that boat. I actually had two of my vehicles 
towed within the same week a couple of years back.

What happened was that I was over dry-walling at my parent's house and 
my mom took my truck to the store since it wasn't blocked by a bunch of 
other cars. When she came back, she asked my what it meant when the 
brake and ABS lights were on and the brake pedal went all the way to the 
floor. I went out and saw that there was brake fluid dripping from my 
truck so I called a tow truck for it.

While it was getting fixed, I decided to drive my 67 American to work 
since the weather was nice and the motor was fresh and needed some more 
miles on it. What I had neglected to do during the engine rebuild was 
clean the gas tank so after a couple of days of driving, the fuel filter 
plugged up and the car wouldn't do anything other than idle.

Of course, that happened on the way home going up an exit ramp hill 
during rush hour traffic. I'm sure the people behind me were really 
happy that I was going up the ramp at a blistering 10 MPH. Since rush 
hour is generally a busy time for tow trucks, I got to watch lots of 
cars go by and a nice sunset sitting on the side of the highway while I 
was waiting for the tow truck to show up.

The good thing is that after that, i did get the gas tank cleaned and 
fixed a couple other stupid problems that kept the car from being 
reliable. I haven't had any problems with it since.

Consider the break down a badge of honor. It will probably get funny 
eventually and I'm sure your son will end up with a good memory from it.

Matt

On 4/25/2009 9:53 AM, Bruce Griffis spouted this sage advice:
> Well, I was doing fine driving to the gas station and off to the
> grocery store, book store and pharmacy. No problems with little trips.
> Got the parking brake fixed so I could do without the stick. On Friday
> I decided to take a longer trip. Probably 10 miles or so, most of it
> 45MPH. My son does an online virtual school, but since it is part of
> the public school system - we still have to do annual testing. Made
> the trip in my wife's Highlander all this week, but decided to take
> the Rambler on Friday.
>
> So - what were the wrong parts of this decision?
> I haven't driven the car that far in one trip since last April.
> It ran fine for shorter trips, but you never know.
> My son needs spinal fusion, and I took him out in a car without
> shoulder-lap belts or headrests. He would be in really bad shape in an
> accident.
> My son can't stand for more than a few minutes, and can't walk more
> than the length of the driveway without help.
>
> So, we made it to Chick-FilA and had lunch. Then we made it UP the
> hill to the conference center for testing. As we pulled into the
> parking lot and got ready to park the car, it just stopped. It didn't
> overheat. It wasn't smoking. It would start up, but die when I hit the
> gas (like, to move it).
>
> I pulled the plugs. They were dry, but black. Not tarry, not sticky
> goo, just very black. Running rich. So, next mistake was driving the
> car without tuning it after putting it back together. Rather than risk
> driving my son home in it, and limping along - I called my middle son
> to take my youngest home - then called a flatbed to bring the Rambler
> home.
>
> Today is yard work. Hopefully tomorrow I can work on the Rambler. I'm
> wondering if the missing fuel baffle would have helped - because the
> car just had issues after I went up a hill. It did fine at a steady
> 45-50. I know it's getting fuel (and a lot of it!). It was getting a
> spark, I need to make sure nothing came loose. I think I'm going to
> call one of my son's co-workers and just ask for help. I decided to go
> too far, too soon.
>
> But I don't think I'll bring my youngest son in the Rambler until
> after I have it running reliably, and take care of some safety issues.
> He loves that bench seat and those vent windows, though!

--
mhaas@xxxxxxx
Cincinnati, OH
http://www.mattsoldcars.com
1967 Rambler American wagon
1968 Rambler American sedan
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