Favourite temporary bodge that became permanent

[02GF74]

now that we're onto non bike bodges.

best one I heard was of a crack in a Land Rover chassis - rather than repair it, a microswitch wired to a lamp was fitted to indicate when the chassis would fail - the lamp would flash as the car was driven over speed bumps!!!

 

[llllllll]

My whole bike seems to be built with bodges. I over tightened the cable bolt on my front brake and shreaded the threads in the caliper arm. That was fixed by tapping it out to the next size up.
The covering on my saddle started tearing after too many crashes, so I stripped it all off, sanded the plastic shell down and painted it. Very light, looked great and was comfy enough for my short commute. Not so good when my commute tripled in length, so it's now covered with a piece of campping mattress and an off cut of car seat cover.
My cranks are 130BCD running a single 110BCD chainring wedged in between two inner rings with the teeth cut off.
My Shi(t)mano rear hub fell apart and threw me across the road, latest in a long line of such failures, so I've vowed never to buy that xxxx again. Couldn't afford a whole Campag groupset, so I've got a Campag rear wheel, which Mirage 9spd cassette. The spacers have been replaced with the Shimano ones and it's running perfectly on an otherwise Shimano 8spd bike.
My frame was an abortted attemped at a fixed, one that I got carried away with and filed all the cable stops off , so all my cables are held in place with cable ties. And it's sportting a (not very good) home paint job to cover up the filed bits.

 

[ChrisKH]

I've got a cut up coke can and tape keeping my time trial brake levers fixed in place on slightly oversized tt bars.

 

[buddha]

My commute bike is made from duct-tapium alloy

 

[skwerl]

now that we're onto non bike bodges.

best one I heard was of a crack in a Land Rover chassis - rather than repair it, a microswitch wired to a lamp was fitted to indicate when the chassis would fail - the lamp would flash as the car was driven over speed bumps!!!

I'd think it would be bleedin' obvious at the point the chassis failed

 

[bobg]

I still have nighmares over these "non bike ones"
1. Fitted a new mains fusebox under the stairs and with great care and rubber gloves and wellies ... reinserted the mains tails into their appropriate position... phew job done ... maybe not... now all the 5 and 13 amp ring mains wouldnt reach the fusebox! Extended them all with 6 inches of cable secured with those little screw swichblocks copiously covered with insulation tape . Moved house soon afterwards! Visted the house some 10 years later and it was still there...
2. Helped a mate fit a new ringmain into the bosses house. He told me to get the bloody great masonry drill and whack it through into the cavity. Sooo off we go ... drill drill ... must be thick bricks ... at last through ... big crash and yell from boss.. The walls were solid and I'd gone right though to the pebbledash on the outside and dislodged a big chunk which had landed on the bonnet of his car. Ah well I was young then

 

[Paulus]

Mine was three years ago, touring in Provence when the bracket that holds the mudguard stays to the mudguard snapped. Some thin wire from a French fence was put to good use and it is still there. The mudguard still rattles a little, but it is still in place.

 

[Mr Pig]

now all the 5 and 13 amp ring mains wouldnt reach the fusebox! Extended them all with 6 inches of cable secured with those little screw swichblocks copiously covered with insulation tape

Oh man! That's bad.

Talking of car chassis. My mates dad had a Luton van that he used for doing deliveries for local furniture shops etc. The chassis snapped in two. He jacked it up, wrapped chain around the break and let it back down! That was it, fixed!!

He was an idiot, one of these guys who thought he could fix anything but could actually fix nothing. My mate drove a Chrysler Sunbeam his dad had 'fixed up' for him. If you drove behind it you could see that it didn't even run straight, the whole car sat sideways like a crab! They also had a Peugeot estate car that had three rows of seats, this was before the whole people carrier thing. We loved it as seven of us could all go out for the night in it :0)

 

[gbb]

In my early (and skint) driving days i had a Mini van.
On a trip, the brake lights failed...i knew the bulbs were ok, so checked the wiring..it seemed ok,
Tracked the wiring back, to the brake pressure switch in the engine compartment...hmmmmm, failed switch maybe.
Disconnect the two wires from the switch, added enough wire to each so they'd reach the passenger seat...
Instructions to the wife.....when i brake..i say 'brake' and you touch the two wires together...brake lights come on. It worked
It was only supposed to see us till we got home...but being skint meant it lasted considerably longer

 

[Mr Pig]

I remember a mate working the throttle on his car with a bit of string through the window!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

In my early (and skint) driving days i had a Mini van.
On a trip, the brake lights failed...i knew the bulbs were ok, so checked the wiring..it seemed ok,
Tracked the wiring back, to the brake pressure switch in the engine compartment...hmmmmm, failed switch maybe.
Disconnect the two wires from the switch, added enough wire to each so they'd reach the passenger seat...
Instructions to the wife.....when i brake..i say 'brake' and you touch the two wires together...brake lights come on. It worked
It was only supposed to see us till we got home...but being skint meant it lasted considerably longer

I drove my Volvo estate to work (75 miles, Monmouth to Wednesbury) not so long ago with no brake lights. Every time I braked I switched the foglights on. I've never been so pleased to get a car to a garage.

 

[asterix]

Mine was three years ago, touring in Provence when the bracket that holds the mudguard stays to the mudguard snapped. Some thin wire from a French fence was put to good use and it is still there. The mudguard still rattles a little, but it is still in place.

My tourer's rear 'guard is similarly fastened, wire acquired from a French campsite. Also the plug from the steerer stem had to be replaced: a wine cork fits perfectly.