Lol "all new gaskets" thats the other one
I'll never forget around two decades ago, a mate of mine who knew little about auto mechanics wanted an old Holden, he got in touch to ask about models and body styles etc, he decided he wanted something between around EK and HR and I agreed to go with him for a test drive when he found one he wanted in the paper. So one fine sunny afternoon about a week later he, I and two of his other mates went to look at this vehicle advertised with "all new gaskets" (it was an EK from memory). Arriving at the house in the suburbs, the lady who presented it explained her husband had been doing lots of work on it, and it "
drives great, bit smokey, gets the kids to school and back, but you have to know how to use a crash box" she then illustrated the use of this to my mate by violently slamming the column shift about whilst it was stationary, talking rapidly to my friend the whole time, explaining how it would behave when the car was in motion.
She proudly opened up the bonnet and pointed at the new gaskets, true, I could see a new cork rocker cover gasket (not looking real straight), two new cork water cover gaskets, head gasket I couldnt see of course, and when I asked she said something like, "
he's gonna do it on the weekend". The rest of the car looked alright though, not much rust, orig paint, quite good seats, (ruby red vinyl taped up with matching colour pvc tape on the splits) and it all seemed to be there so we all piled in for a blocky.
The block was steep, getting it started the exhaust was smokey, we started with a down hill bit, he couldnt find the gears, by the time we got to the corner at the bottom, smoke was starting to emerge from the windscreen edge of the bonnet, I remember saying something like "
um, this is not the car you want, lets just get this back to the house", as we rounded the corner and now started back up hill, the poor old thing was running rough as and struggling to make 15 kph or so, by the time we got half way up the hill smoke started billowing from all sides of the bonnet, and it seemed from under the car as well as it slowed to a reluctant, but somewhat determined crawl up the hill. (I have no idea what gear it was in). Some kids on skateboards joined us in delight at the spectacle, easily skating up the hill faster than the old girl could do it. About this time one of the two blokes in the back asked if it was going to catch fire becuase they had no way of getting out easily, I said something like, "
Probably not, but I really dont know" which cuased them to panic and they started climbing out the rear windows, it was such a scene, it looked like a cartoon. Im still laughing now twenty years on, eventually I got out as well just to give the thing a chance to get to the top of the hill, and we waked back to the house and arrived about the same time he finished the block.
All new gaskets. Oh Gese. But it was a great afternoon, I'll never forget it.
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Originally Posted by wbute
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