(first posted 2/6/2012) Body work has gotten pricey over the years, but wood is near all-time lows; so the solution is obvious. And now one can actually see the front edge of the hood; makes parking so much easier. Let’s see what other highly creative fixes today’s batch of contestants have in store for us today.
Everyone has a few scraps of OSB board laying around. And no one’s going to get into this trunk, with all of four sturdy hinges and a padlock.
Another traditional approach is taken here, replacing a crappy little trunk with a proper pickup bed. We shall call it Bajette.
Some folks can’t even be bothered with plywood. not so safe, though. Must be in a dry climate, I assume.
I’m a bit challenged to understand this one. WTF? It can’t be an improvised antenna? Wire hangers were the traditional solution, but then wire hangers aren’t quite so common anymore. It even sports a guy wire for high speed stability.
This isn’t exactly so odd; a time-honored solution, except the drink of choice has changed.
Yes, this is a fail.
I think we’ve seen this one before, but now we can judge it in the proper context of the competition.
A PVC pipe bumper, the perfect thing to grace your beautiful Jag with. I hope it’s at least Schedule 40.
Must tell the world you’re driving a Benz, no matter what it takes.
Hat tip to AmazonRay!
A couple of fine articles here, Paul. I have seen custom touches similar to these many times. However, the broom thing is a puzzler. I am confident that one of your readers will have a suitable explanation soon.
That last pic of the Benz looks like it’s not in the USA, so even in cultured EUR…..
In Europe it would be the Asda parking lot repairs.
There are movie posters visible in the background. A high res pic, if showing the script, would identify the location. The bus(?) in the background seems distinctive too.
The bus is actually a Czechoslovakian tram which was/is extensively used throughout Eastern Europe.
I’m thinking that the broom is to clean the ceiling of the parking garage.
I would take the Top Gear Edition Nissan Pulsar and the Bajette as my #1 and 2 spots.
I’ll solve the mystery of the broom.
He felt it improved aerodynamics, as it allows the car to sweep the wind.
The car does seem to have a very, -ahem-, clean profile.
(ducking and running…)
1&3 would be ordered off the road here first time past a traffic cop repairs must be to warrant of fitness standard and our 6 monthly inspection system was introduced to get old vehicles off the roads, dunno what you listen to that needs a broom to catch it
The broom is there to tell the driver whether the carrier he has strapped on top will clear the ceiling.
Carrier strapped on top……that must be Mitt Romney’s car!
He stole Hillary’s broom?
Re picture 4: After removing his Civic’s heavy steel bootlid to boost economy, Bob realised the hinges-come-mini-spoilers were ineffective in replacing the lost downforce…
It must be nice to live in a state that doesn’t have an annual motor vehicle safety inspection.
Sheese…I would at least use schedule 80 for my redneck bumper…
Somebody did a tidy job on this “bumper”!
Once when I went on a road trip with my dad’s 1988 Suburban, the exhaust blew out at the 90* elbow just after the manifold. Very loud in the cabin!
I tried the pop can around the exhaust pipe trick. It blew out the first time I used passing gear. So I switched to a soup can with three worm-gear clamps around it, and tapped it with a hammer as I tightened the clamps so it would fit snug with minimal leaks. That fix outlasted the rest of the exhaust system.
I did that kind of repair to the exhaust of a ’73 Polara wagon, except I used Chef Boy-R-Dee ravioli cans 😀 ! Worked OK ’til the car backfired…
I’ve seen these pictures before. And I’ve asked myself WTF?! They’re either too lazy to do the work, are too poor to have the work done properly, or just plain stupid. Either way, it just makes the car look worst than it was to begin with.
You’re being unfair to the Pulsar (Photo 1). When you put the kammback top on it, it looks just fine.
As a fan of the Handyman’s Corner of the Red Green Show I am seriously dismayed by the lack of duck (duct) tape.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0LEViuCfTFVUB0AJCknnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBsa3ZzMnBvBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw–?p=red+green+duct+tape&tnr=21&vid=77F0E05E1E9056F28E9277F0E05E1E9056F28E92&l=129&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.S9tRVtMh4sLBN4nFqxU%252b4A%26pid%3D15.1&sigi=121o43ltu&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKGVKBn9sEhU&sigr=11br42lna&tt=b&tit=RED+GREEN+IS+OUT+OF+DUCT+TAPE&sigt=10tdsje32&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dred%2Bgreen%2Bduct%2Btape%26ei%3DUTF-8%26hsimp%3Dyhs-002%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-002&sigb=13iajp3o1&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002
Some of these repairs seem to have a meth hood to their madness.
Hehehehehehehehehehe. All of them.
I’m not sure the sponge on the windshield is there to sweep the rain away. I think its there just to keep the metal from scratching the windshield until the owner replaces the blade.
The tail lights on a friend’s early 90s Dodge Shadow would shortout every time he drove in heavy rain. Water would splash upwards into the rusted out lower rear quarter panels, and hit the tail light housings. The solution I suggested, was to use a pool noodle cut in half and tucked into the base of each rear fender. Worked perfectly. And served him well, until he junked the car a couple years later.
I can’t believe an otherwise great 2-part article on this subject has been made with no reference to “Trailer Park Boys.” I’ve been following this site for a while now, so I know some here would appreciate a lot of what Ricky has done over the years to keep the New Yorker running. A screenshot of the screwdriver-trunk opener would fit right in here!
The Pulsar was a little boxy … the broom? Well,maybe good for sweeping the airwaves …KJ in Oz
I grew up in New Guinea in the 1960s. The local taxis all had tube bumpers, locally made from steel fence posts & caps.
I remember asking Dad why, & he explained the ease of repair they made.
The taxis were either Princes or Mitsubisbis.
The top image reminds me of this “art car”.
I agree!
Awesome shot of an art piece I really wanted to see at Loyola before it went away. Used to see this from the bus regularly, then when I finally made it down there, it was too late. Incredible attention to detail.
I don’t have a picture of it, but the neighbor’s mid ’80’s Toyota pickup’s bed replacement after it rusted was well, sad but funny at the same time. Galvanized garbage can sheet metal “tailgate”, along with treated lumber 2X12″ “sides” , and a chip board “bed floor” made it a classic “WTF?” sort of repair.
I think the only way the original could have rusted faster is it had been dipped in acid, or burned in a fire.
We used cans for all kinds of exhaust system repair, and I was very adept with welding with wire coat hangers. I have used iron tins to patch up floor pans, mufflers and of course pipes. Muffler cement was also vital.
Growing up in a Rural Farming Community in the 1950’s & 1960’s meant these and far worse repairs were common place .
Then I moved to Guatemala and all this was routine .
-Nate
This entry hits home. While attending college during the 1980’s there was a 1975 or so AMC Matador sedan on campus that had a home made front clip. Yes, that Matador, the one with the ugly proboscis. The home made front clip wasn’t much different from the car in the lead photo on this entry.
Now, the question is, did the owner replace this front clip due to what AMC decided was high style, or was it changed due to an accident……….. You decide.
Photo from Wikipedia.
It’s a wonder that the owner didn’t use that opportunity as a “clean slate” and make his/her Matador more attractive with the homemade front clip.
The homemade front clip on the Pulsar is my favorite.