My gf was driving me and a mate to Brighton for a weekend of fun and hi-jinx
We'd barely cleared the M25 before the two boys cracked open the first of many lagers to be drunk that weekend, while the missus got on with the sensible business of driving us to our destination. Spirits were high, when somewhere near Leatherhead, the vintage Metro began to cough and splutter and eventually we had to pull over at the side of the road. Luckily, we were near a garage.

I popped the bonnet and using my (albeit limited) mechanical knowledge immediately diagnosed the problem. "Honey?" I called out. "Where's your oil cap?"

Nowhere to be found, unfortunately. Neither did the garage sell replacement Metro oil caps, so I was forced to improvise. Thinking quickly, I downed the rest of my can of beer and ripped it in half, scrunching the torn ends together so it resembled a kind of cone. Wedging the thin end into the engine, I hammered it into place with an unopened can.

The car started and my beer-can technology remained in place for months afterwards.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 12:11, 18 replies)

when you say 'vintage'
you mean 'shit', right?
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 12:18, closed)

Yes
utterly shit
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 13:59, closed)

My first car was an Austin Allegro
I kept it running thanks to a couple of paper clips and parts of an old lawnmower.
( Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 12:18, closed)

did it have a square steering wheel?

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 12:30, closed)

No...
...it was the 1750cc Equipe version. Everything about it was sensible apart from the sporty paint job that made me look like a twat.

One of these
( Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 13:48, closed)

That
is the fucking business. Oh yes.
( Fathter Puddytat Kill Kill dat widdle boid is mine on, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 15:25, closed)

My first
2 cars were Allegros; a dark poo Brown one, and then a nippy beige one.
(kitescreech still here, Sat 12 Mar 2011, 15:50, closed)

It's got a hint of an Alfasud about it, which I never realised until now. Got to admit I lusted after one of these in my youth because it had TWIN CARBS! Wow...twin bloody carbs!
(Mao's stepson is doing his bit for East/West relation's, Sun 13 Mar 2011, 8:33, closed)

did Baron Alfred Krupp have no oilcaps in his private stock?
(weaselinajetengine, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 13:50, closed)

Metro oil cap Dead ex-girlfriend's fanny
( mr.dogshit The world's premier anthropomorphic canine faeces, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 14:57, closed)

spectacularly messy though not having a oil filler cap on can be
it's unlikely to have the slightest effect on the running of the engine. Are you sure the car just didn't want some beer and you fooled it with the can?
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 15:09, closed)

Leave it long enough...
...and enough oil will escape to make the engine seize. Probably.
( Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 15:19, closed)

It will.
Had a near miss with this one Xmas Eve en route to Leicester in my old man's old Renault. Improvised cap + top up oil = day saved.
( Fathter Puddytat Kill Kill dat widdle boid is mine on, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 15:26, closed)

Oh yeah, we did buy more oil at the garage
Should have mentioned that in the original post, I suppose
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 15:27, closed)

Indeed. At that point a crushed tinny will not effect a repair, though..

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 16:30, closed)

Just telling it like it happened
It was the only thing I could find wrong with the engine; I "fixed" it and the car worked again.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 15:26, closed)

I don't doubt it
I have long suspected Metro engines run on witchcraft anyway.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 16:31, closed)

*Geek mode engaged

The A series engine is a lovely piece of engineering - and pretty successful considering the number of years and vehicles they were in.

The K series never had the same 'soul'

*Geek mode disengaged
(jono_h, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 19:50, closed)