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The Joys of Motoring (in a Fiat 500)
It was the Saturday before Mothers Day 2006, so I decided to visit my mum as we were to visit the in-laws on the Sunday. My mum lives with my sister at Campbelltown - about 3/4 - 1 hour away. Choice of vehicle for the trip was to be my 500F, just to add a little adventure.
The little car was fairly flying when at about 3/4 distance the accelerator cable cried "enough" & we coasted to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere (in a semi-rural district). Bugger. I had a spare cable, but I knew I wouldn't have time to fix the car, get to my sister’s & then back home by the expected hour.
How the hell was I going to let the missus know what was happening as she was on the computer all afternoon. So I rang my daughter (in Western Australia) & got her to email her mum. It’s the first time I've EVER said "thank heavens for mobile phones".The clamping bolt for the accelerator cable had joined the scenery but remarkably I was able to find it still clamped to the short length of broken cable, lying in the dirt at the side of the road. As I didn’t have a spare one with me, I would’ve been in real strife if I hadn’t found it! I wasn't so lucky though finding an additional return spring I'd fitted over the cable, but it wasn't critical.
I pulled the centre tunnel apart and removed the old cable. But trying to fit the replacement was a nightmare! Being 2nd hand, the cable wasn't perfectly straight and so refused to go through the outer bowden cable.
After struggling for ½ an hour, I swallowed my pride & rang for roadside assistance. An hour later help arrived - time was now getting desperately short!!! After a brief consultation the guy went to his tool box & produced his multi-meter(?). I guess he thought it was fly-by-wire (hey, not a BAD idea!).
Once I explained how the system worked, & what needed to be done, he realised that the multi-meter probably wasn't required. With the car jacked up, me underneath holding the outer bowden cable firmly and the mechanic inside pushing the cable, he eventually got it through.
After checking that the repair was OK, the guy left me to put the interior back together again as he went off to answer another call-out. I think he quite enjoyed doing something "different" to the usual broken fan belts, flat batteries & tyres!
It was then that I discovered I'd smashed my sunglasses (prescription of course). Hmmm, life’s not getting ANY easier - thanks Paul (Keating)!
So I turned the car around, abandoning my original quest, hoping to get home as quickly as possible. I managed to avoid all the crazies who seem to venture out on the road on Saturday afternoons and finally arrived home hours late, put the car away and settled back on the lounge with a calming cup of coffee.
The missus had a good old chuckle!
By the way, I have now organised a collection of small bits and pieces that I will always carry in the car along with my basic toolkit. They include nuts & bolts, some springs, screws, that special little bolt for the gear shift linkage, some circlips, split pins and TWO of those little clamps for the accelerator cable! Being fore-warned is to be fore-armed!
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