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kayakrob
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PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2005 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a 73 superbeetle, and have had to push start it too many times to count; atleast untill I got all the electrical redone. anyways, the push start that brings back the happiest memories was when i was at my local gas station filling up, and when i went to leave , it was dead. I was by myself, and i had no room to push start it forward, so i would have to push start it backwards, or turn it around. Considering i was doing it by myself i decided to turn it around and then try. As i was in the process of turning it around and pushing (quite a challenge) i saw a beautifull new porsche carerra pull up to one of the pumps, and a man in a buisness suit get out. to my astonishment he came over and asked me if i needed any help. He then proceded to push me up a small hill (with my help) and then across the lot untill i started it. I got it running, and got out to thank him, and he responded saying it wasnt a problem, and it brought back memories of when he had a beetle, the fact that his expensive shoes and pant bottoms were now soaked from the puddles had not effect on him and he went back to his gleaming porsche and filled up, watching me drive away.
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aageraci
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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2005 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I went to Florida State and Football is king at FSU. Once I was working late at night and the Seminoles were playing in the Sugar Bowl at 8:00, but by the time the game actually starts it is more like 8:40.

I never missed a game during school and it took about 3 years after college, that if I wasn't able to see every game.

I was working at Walt Disney World at the time and if anybody has worked there, they know the employee parking lot is huge.

I run out to my car and, click...click...silence. Nothing. This was before cell phones and my family is about 30 minutes anyhow. I scurry around the parking lot looking for somebody to push me or jump me, but no one was around.

So I open the hatch, jiggle all the wires, and then try. Silence.

I then put into neutral, open the drivers door, and push as hard as I can, drop the clutch and it stumbles, but it doesn't crank.

I gathered up the strength and do it again, and it cranks and runs! I was so excited, that I did it myself, and it worked. I put the radio on and listened to the game as I went home.

I think we lost that bowl game, but it was cool to know that if my battery died, I could crank my car myself. Although come to think of it, I haven't had a dead battery since then.
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Air-Cooled Head
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last Summer, a bunch of us met up to caravan to a local show. One guy says his battery is dying, but it'll push start.

4 or 5 of us give him a push. Nothing. More pushing=more nothing. We must have pushed him around the parking lot 3-4 times (maybe 1/4 mile).
Finally, somene else gets in and we push again. Car fires up in less than 15 feet. The guy gets out and says; "Joe, you have to turn the key on to push start it!"
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BugChick6066
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only story I have of having to push start my '60 bug was that I met my boyfriend doing it.

I was pushing the bug on the street after having picked my little brother up from school. I had my little brother in the seat steering, and he was going to work the clutch. All of a sudden, while I was pushing it, this guy in a Jetta came up and started helping me. Not that it was hard to push..but he saw a girl in distress and *HAD* to help. We got it going and my brother popped the clutch and it started. My brother was 10 at the time..I was 17. He asked for my number, I gave it to him, and the rest is pretty much history. Ive been with him for 7 1/2 years now. The only time Ive had to push start it too...fate? Maybe:)
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slackin' at work
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

most embarassing push-start was in 1995 right after winning 1st place and 'Presidents choice' award in my early 55 rag at the Litchfield Bug-inn. Getting the awards then having to ask for a push... I thought they might want the awards back. Embarassed

of all the times for it to die.
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stevo_2006
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i had to push start twice yesterday dont know why just decided the battery was dead lol
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bajabettie
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:47 pm    Post subject: push starting that bitch in a mini skirt Reply with quote

My starter gets hosed up all the time, and I was on my way to a party...with thank god, one of my more...ah...masculine of my female pals.... and we had to push start the mother in a mini shirt and high heeled clogs with a house of frat boys staring at us (we wouldn't lower ourselves to letting those boys push the car for us)

I'm sure that image stuck with them for a while...or one should only hope.

Needless to report, the car started and we took off in a cloud of too rich exhaust leaving them forever stunned at the "mad skilz" of hot VW chicks...whoo hoo
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Andrew
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BugChick6066 wrote:
The only story I have of having to push start my '60 bug was that I met my boyfriend doing it.

I was pushing the bug on the street after having picked my little brother up from school. I had my little brother in the seat steering, and he was going to work the clutch. All of a sudden, while I was pushing it, this guy in a Jetta came up and started helping me. Not that it was hard to push..but he saw a girl in distress and *HAD* to help. We got it going and my brother popped the clutch and it started. My brother was 10 at the time..I was 17. He asked for my number, I gave it to him, and the rest is pretty much history. Ive been with him for 7 1/2 years now. The only time Ive had to push start it too...fate? Maybe:)


Now why can't I come upon a girl that's push starting her '60 beetle...
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Chris21
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got a couple good ones

Me and a friend were cruisin my 64 bus and I stalled it at an intersection. My bus has wiring that's so ghetto the damn battery needs charged every couple days, so of course I couldn't restart the stupid thing. The car behind was laying on the horn so me and my buddy said fuck it, hopped out and started pushing. A few minutes later and about half a block down the road, wiith about three cars behind us, we got some speed going and parked the bus in mcdonalds for the day.


This one happened when me and some friends were at my house one night. My cousin and his girlfriend were hangin out in my room, and I told him that he had to have her out by two (my dad goes ape shit over this kind of stuff). Well 5am came around pretty quick, they're still in the room, and my dad wakes up. I go in the room and let them know, and we had to sneak her out my window. At the time this happened she was driving a 60 ragtop with a weird starter. She gets out and pushes it down the road and the damn thing wouldn't start. I hop out my window, run down the road, and push the car down the street myself. It wouldn't start, so I'm on my way back to get my friends and the car just fire right up and she takes off.

I got more but I'll stop for now

Volkswagen for Life!!!
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Chris21
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Air-Cooled Head wrote:
Last Summer, a bunch of us met up to caravan to a local show. One guy says his battery is dying, but it'll push start.

4 or 5 of us give him a push. Nothing. More pushing=more nothing. We must have pushed him around the parking lot 3-4 times (maybe 1/4 mile).
Finally, somene else gets in and we push again. Car fires up in less than 15 feet. The guy gets out and says; "Joe, you have to turn the key on to push start it!"


Man that's happened to me so many times! Pushin for so long and then some remembers to reach in and turn the key on! That's awesome I thought it only happened to us.
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T_Wing
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 8:10 pm    Post subject: Pushin' Reply with quote

I've got a couple of good stories popin' the cluch on cars. I'll start with the non-vw two and finish up with the vw's

1: Anchorage alaska, summer, in a park that is closing, with the cop who is there to lock the gate sitting in his car nearby. I see three people trying to get a p/u started in the gravel. Swing by, hookup a tow rope, drag them 20ft and they're off. That winter, sitting around with some people that I just met sledding and hung out with for the last couple of hours talking about pop starting cars and one of their stories starts to sound really familiar. . . yup, same people.

2: Anchorage Alaska, winter, after work. Left the lights on in my truck and killed the battery. It's a little Nissan with a 5spd and the parking lot's got a bit of incline, so I pull it out of the spot and start pushing it down the incline when I hear *crunch* wasn't very loud, so I keep going and it starts up. Drive back to where my phone had fallen out of my pocket and I pushed my truck over it, good thing I didn't end up needing it.

3: South sound WA, who knows when 1972 914 (my first vw, uh, porsche, whatever) Starter wasn't working well, so I threw my dads tire ramps in the front trunk and drove around with them for a couple of weeks till I could get the starter fixed (poor college student at the time). got some funny looks always parking on ramps, but they were enough to get it started if it was flat.

4: last one, I swear, and the bug this time. left the lights on (again) and had to push it, 3 guys and maybe 10ft, reverse works well on pavement, you don't have to get it going as fast. 2 weeks later, do it again, ended up tieing it to the back of a truck and draggin it through the parking lot (after we tried pushing it back and forth a LOT) Anyone know where I can get one of those buzzers for leaving the lights on??
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jewest
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 3:34 am    Post subject: Stuck on hill... Reply with quote

The bug was stuck in ice and snow at CU in Boulder (you know the hill) and my wifey called me for help. I started it in gear with the wheels slipping and got out and pushed at the same time and jumped in then it started coming out. It worked and I looked much smarter than I am.
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VdubDreamer
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

back at my folks house, the spot right in front is the top of a decent hill, not steep, but decent enough to roll it. my neighbors watched me one day as i pushed the car to get it started, (laughing at me, and cracking jokes) but it started no problem.

anyway, they had this jeep, some POS missing half of its bodywork, they never took care of it. but one day i get woken up to the sound of screeching tires.. over. and over. and over. so i go outside in pajama's and ask if they need help(they laugh) and i say, fine, you want me to do it? they say sure, so i get it, and the R-tards are trying to bump it in 1'st with the key off... so i pushed it and eased out the clutch into 2nd and all i got is one little "Chug".. but i immediately threw in the clutch.. and then.... "...chug...chug.. COUGH.. vrooomm....." so i turned it around and drove it back to them.

their girlfriends had been watching the whole thing... as they laughed at them and were nice to me.. but they werent all bad. they ran into one of the guys that had stolen 2 of my hubcaps, and left them in a box on the top of my car with a note saying "saw these in town, thought they looked familiar.. thanks for the start"
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fred69vert
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Had an 84 GTI that developed a weird electrical problem. Sometimes it wouldn't start. The starter wouldn't engage. But I could push the car, bump it (even without starting) and then the starter would work.

Cost me a good sum of money at the VW dealership, but they found a busted ground strap between the firewall and the engine block.

Once with my 65 I had 25 years ago, I slid under the car to start it using a screwdriver on the solenoid (the ignition switch was bad) and had forgot to take it out of gear. Was I glad it didn't start that time!!!
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Da TOW'D
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I installed a 12v motor in my '56 deluxe after pulling the 36hp and had to grind out the bellhousing to get it to fit. I tried to spin the motor with the 6v starter but that didn't sound all that good.
I bought a used 12v starter at the JY but the bushing was still 6v size so it would not work either.

I then remembered the handcrank nut on the 36hp and made the switch over and hand cranked that little beauty for almost a year before I found out about the auto trans starter.

I've pushed my share to get them started not all VWs
hank
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jwd722
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

February 1978, living in Detroit, 6+ inches of snow on the ground and no salt or plows yet.
My wife goes into labor. The 66 Beetle is in the driveway with a dead battery.
It has to be push started but only have one shot. My wife has never driven a stick.
She did the pushing and we got the car started!
Been married to her for 36 years and have four grown sons.
God I love that girl!!!
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Itawayoflife
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I borrowed my friend's 62 rag to go to the prom in and the bug was having problems with the battery. Long story short... I made my prom date get out and push because she didn't know how to bump start the car. Yeah, she had to do it 3 times before I figured out the battery cables weren't tight. Rolling Eyes
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timmaah
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My cars never seem to start.. I'm an expert these days..

Two of the few that spring to mind.

Going x-country in the splitty, stopped for the night at my grandparents gated community in Florida. Of course it didn't start the next morning. Gramps decided to help push. Wish I could have gotten a pic or two of that or heard the shit he got at the "club house"

The second, same trip in Utah at some sandy campsite surrounded by scrub brush down a steep 3 or 4 foot embankment. Had about thirty feet to push it, pop it and stop. Had to unload just about everything in the bus to get it light enough, but it worked.
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Dunebubby
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

November 3rd 2006. Having ditched the 4 kids my wife and I went out to dinner at a Mexican food place at our local airport to celebrate having tolerated each other for 20 years.We drove the dune buggy which had a temporary Reg. sticker,(windshield mounted as prescribed) and tags from 91 on the license plate. Having had a beer at home and a few margaritas over dinner I was feeling pretty good. We decided to take the scenic route home since we rarely had the opportunity to take the buggy out. The fact that my wife had to give a shove to get us started when we left the airport should have made everything clear but I threw caution to the wind. Laughing

After cruising around for about a half hour the headlights were getting pretty dim and my better half was feeling her margaritas kickin' in and being without the kids,(as rare as a ride in the buggy) I found her getting "in the mood". Next thing you know my pants are unzipped and there's some minor pokin' and proddin' going on. I come up to a stop sign about two miles from home.No other cars in sight so I throw it first,roll the stop sign and give the 1200 all it's got.Wind it out in first,hit second and mashed the pedal again,That's when the lights went on. Shocked The cop was sitting at the four way stop,(pitch black as it's in the country) waiting for a sucker like me to come along. So I pull over and pull my jacket down to cover the fact that my pants are down about 6 inches by now,praying I don't get the ,"can you step out of the vehicle"routine. So the kindly officer approaches and says,"is this thing even REMOTELY legal"? I said,in my best post-margarita voice,"ya,I've got a temp right here" (pointing to the sticker he couldn't see from behind).He says,"looks like you came through that intersection with a full head of steam".If he only knew...... He then asked for the documents. I handed him license,insurance and a huge stack of paperwork from the DMV as I was trying to complete a certificate of sequence at the time. He told me hold on a minute. Came back and told me I should "slow it down".Then he told me the buggy looked like fun and that he had had a 66 baja bug in High School with an 1835 and a bugspray carb that he had had a lot of fun in. He then told me I could leave and that I should take it easy.I hit the starter (knowing it wasn't going to start) and heard the telltale"click". He said,"No problem,I'll give you a push". He pushed on the roll bar,I popped the clutch and with a huge sigh of relief continued toward home.I went around a corner,up a hill,(about a 1/2 mile)and the buggy sputtered to a stop.Out of gas. We jumped out,( I wasn't in the mood to talk to the cops again),pushed the buggy into some bushes that lined a field of heather plants and started walking home. Got the trusty "tow vehicle" and a chain and drug it home. Good times,for sure........
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66busman
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The starter went out on our '81 cabby in January, and we bump started it for a month before one day. My friend and I wanted to go to wal-mart, so we headed out to the parking lot and began pushing the car around. Problem number 1, it was uphill. Problem #2, snow. We pushed it around for maybe a half an hour, when it was about 10 degrees out, until some parking enforcement people came and gave us some help. Still didn't start, the wheels were too packed up with snow. I rode out to the auto parts store the next day on my bicycle and bought a new starter.
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