# Sure glad I'm a prepper!



## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

some minor doodoo hit the fan this week. My car caught on fire. It didn't totally burn up, I put the fire out with a bottle of chocolate milk. haha

But, I'm afraid to drive it now. It burnt a hole thru the floorboard between the brake and gas pedals. yes, completely thru the metal. I can set in the car and look down at the ground thru the floor. It burnt a circle about 6" across and just about perfectly round. I had no idea how thick the padding under the carpet is! 

Needless to say I will not be jumping into that car to make the 100 mile round trip to the store like I used to. I might putter around local with a jug of water beside me, but out on the highway... nope nope nope.

I look at this as another opportunity to test my preps. We all might end up in this position sooner or later. I happened to be sooner.


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

Thank god your okay..like you said it will be a great time to see if your preps are up to the level you need for a while. It would be great if you would share with us the shortfalls you found during the time you are not able to make the long trip.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I had a car like that in the 80"s (hole in the floor)...we called it the Flintstones mobile!


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Yikes! Glad you have more than 3 minutes worth of preps in the house!


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Any idea what started the fire? Figure that out, fix it, have a piece of metal welded in the hole and get back to life.. You can't let a vehicle dictate your life..


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Every so often someone starts a thread--"What do you prep for ??" . . . . .
The answer is for the darndest unknown . . . . .


Need to find out where/why the insulation on the wires failed.
Electrical tape is not expensive.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

A mouse visit lately? They can chew on the darndest things. 
That must have been a scarey moment! Glad it didn't cause an accident.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Flintstones mobile... I like that. heehee When I was a kid my parents had a car with a hole in the in the back floorboard. One year we were on the way to grandparents house for 4th of July. My brother had some firecrackers... You can imagine what us kids did. Mom and dad kept hearing them explode behind us, but I don't think they ever figured out what we were doing. Looking back, it's a miracle that one didn't catch on something and blow us up! 

I'm not real worried about trying to fix it real fast. Hopefully I can get it to town and up on a rack so they can find what caused it. Yesterday I started it up (didn't drive, just started and turned it off) so I know the wiring is ok. I'm leaning more toward the exhaust causing it. The car wasn't quiet as a mouse anymore so maybe the heat was escaping in that spot. 

I've been trying to think up how to patch the hole. I'm thinking a tube of JB Weld and a piece of metal to cover it, then spray foam insulation with a piece of carpet stuck to it to fill the hole up. I don't want to fill the hole until I find out what caused it. It might be easier to fix it from the top instead of crawling under to work from the bottom.  

Will keep you updated on any holes in the preps I find. Hopefully there are none, but that's unlikely. Oh, I just thought of one... rolling papers. I grow my own tobacco, and it could be rolled in a leave like a tiny cigar, but it's much better to have paper to roll cigarettes. I probably have about 6 weeks supply, but after that I'll have to get creative or stop smoking (that would be a good thing, but not something I would enjoy!)

Sorry about the long post, I tend to rattle on...


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

good thing you had tha chocolate milk handy.....:happy2: years ago we had a small hole in the back floor board. let my son play with our last fifty cents.. why would i do that ? yep , fifty cents went down the hole. lol then we realy were broke...lol


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Switch to a pipe. A good briar pipe will last you the rest of your days and no need for consumable papers (which may not be as good for you as the tobacco).

I had to stop smoking but I sure miss my pipe.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Glad you're okay Spinner! I don't know how old your car is or if you've ever had it replaced, but it sounds like maybe your catalytic converter went bad. They're normally very hot, but when they go out they often cause fires and will definitely make your exhaust system noisier.

If that is it, it could very well start another fire (maybe a much worse one) if you drive it far. You also shouldn't start it if it's sitting in high grass if that's what it is, it could start a grass fire. If at all possible, have it towed rather than drive it into town. I'd offer to have my son come tow it for you, but someone just stole his trailer right out of his driveway during the day...in an in-town, well established neighborhood in Prattville!

It's hard for me to get away during the daytime, but if you need something maybe I could help you out, just send me a PM. Maybe we could do it in the evening or on the weekend. Good luck and take care.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Glad you are OK, fire is always scary. Dh was baleing last weekend, he had an unexpected leak in a hydrolic line. Fluid was dripping and puddleing next to the exhaust. No time to fix it, he sure was glad I keep 2 small fire extingishures (sp) under the kitchen sink. He was able to keep working. Another thing, his work updates the first ade kit at work each year-he brings me the "old" kit. A store near us-has a deal going, buy 10 lbs of hamburger bulk(2.99 an lb.)-get $17.71- 9 items free.So he is stopping each day on the way home from work...He's really catching on!


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

In the early 70's I was stationed in Virginia. Found a 63 triumph sitting in a yard with no top on it. Been that way for years so I bought it for a song! The floorboards were gone but it didn't run. Got it running first to make sure It was going to be able to us. Took it for a spin with bad floorboards and went around a right hand turn with water standing in the road!The right front tire kicked up at least a gallon on me. Totally drenched! But,$8 worth of sheet metal,a drill and pop rivet gun and lot's of summer fun running all over "topless"!

Wade


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

The fire is what would concern me. I've had a lot of vehicles that had holes in their floorboard from rust and such. As long as a kid isn't going to fall out, I've never worried.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Puddlejumper, haha&#8230; yes I was VERY happy to have a bottle of chocolate milk handy. If anyone ever tells me that stuff is no good I&#8217;ll quickly tell them a bottle of it may have saved my life, or at least the life of my car. LOL 

Ernie, I&#8217;ve thought about a pipe, even priced them online. They are expensive, but like you said, probably last a lifetime. I might end up with one some day, but right now I&#8217;m not in any hurry to do a &#8220;Mammy Yokum&#8221; imitation. 

Thank you for the kind offer calliemoonbeam. I would never ask you to travel way down here just to tow a car. I&#8217;ll find a way to get it to town. I have a friend with a trailer and can probably get him to haul it for the cost of fuel. 

I kept the car off of any grass, I have a big parking lot in front of my house and left the car out at the road edge of the lot. My drive has grass down the middle so didn&#8217;t drive in it, and wanted to keep it far from the house in case it flamed up again during the night.

7thswan, sounds like you&#8217;ve got a keeper there.  

Wade, congrats on the great find and fun times&#8230; lol

Yes Ernie, a repeat fire is what I worry about too. Sooner or later I&#8217;ll fill up a couple jugs of water and drive up to the local store 3 miles. I want to try it out around here to see if it flames up again or if maybe there was something caught on the pipe that burnt off. If it doesn&#8217;t flame up, I&#8217;ll feel much better about it. If it does, I know it&#8217;s an ongoing problem that needs considerable attention and not just a simple fix. 

Good news is that a friend ask me to drive her to town today. I told her my car was down so she ask if I'd take her in her car.  Topped off a few things and now feel confident that I can last a good 3 months without another trip.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Ernie said:


> The fire is what would concern me. I've had a lot of vehicles that had holes in their floorboard from rust and such. As long as a kid isn't going to fall out, I've never worried.



Erine I really like you


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Heh. Forcast ... thanks, but stick around awhile. I'll get around to barbecuing one of your sacred cows sooner or later. 

Spinner, if you want you can PM me your address and I'll mail you my big bag of pipes. I've got some briar left that I didn't give away (I think) and a big ol' bunch of multi-sized corncob and meerschaum pipes. They don't last too long, but they smoke really well. I get about 4-6 months out of each one and I probably have 8 years supply. 

Before my cataracts started getting bad, I did enjoy my pipes quite a bit. You end up with several. I had a "walking around pipe" which had a small bowl and a short stem and you could hold in your mouth without having to support it with your hand. Then I had a more common pipe which I would sit and smoke, and then I had my big briar favorite pipe which had a bowl the size of a coffee mug. It was just for sitting and smoking a long, long time and I called it my "thinking pipe". A good pipe can run you a thousand dollars, or you can get a good pipe for $20. 

From the Pipemaker's Emporium, I would buy their "seconds" for next to nothing and end up with a lot of really good smoking pipes. I would often buy just the long doorwarden stems (Gandalf style) and put together my own pipe (as in the photo).

To heck what people think ... if you want to smoke, the best, most enjoyable, most sustainable, and healthiest method is smoking a pipe. Especially if you know how to grow and cure your own tobacco. Who knows what chemicals are in those rolling papers?


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

did you have to stop because of your cataracts? Have you considered the surgery? My dad had it done a long long time ago. Its highly curable


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

beaglebiz said:


> did you have to stop because of your cataracts? Have you considered the surgery? My dad had it done a long long time ago. Its highly curable


Doctor said to avoid sunlight, sawdust, dust, and tobacco smoke. Only one of those things I can do much about. 

They do have surgery, but each time you lose a degree of eyesight. When you start getting cataracts at 70 it's not a huge deal because they're not going to develop fast enough in what remains of your lifetime. When you start getting them at 40 though it's a different issue.

I'll adjust. It could be twenty years before it really impacts me, and who knows what can happen between now and then. It's not a big concern around here. I would not be seriously hampered in life if I lost my sight.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I am sorry you are having this problem with your eyes and I am sorry you had to stop doing something you love. I have seen pics of you with your pipe...always reminded me a bit of something you would see in Middle Earth


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

beaglebiz said:


> I am sorry you are having this problem with your eyes and I am sorry you had to stop doing something you love. I have seen pics of you with your pipe...always reminded me a bit of something you would see in Middle Earth


Heh. Tall dwarves. 

The eyesight issue is minor. So many people have things much worse. So far I have only lost a little bit of vision, and I don't particularly know that the doctor is in anyway correct.

I will probably stop making knives in the next couple of years simply because of the eyesight needed to make precision work. But I can do all of the other things I love right up until I'm in the complete dark, and beyond. I'm a very blessed man.


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## poorboy (Apr 15, 2006)

Ernie said:


> Doctor said to avoid sunlight, sawdust, dust, and tobacco smoke. Only one of those things I can do much about.
> 
> They do have surgery, but each time you lose a degree of eyesight. When you start getting cataracts at 70 it's not a huge deal because they're not going to develop fast enough in what remains of your lifetime. When you start getting them at 40 though it's a different issue.
> 
> I'll adjust. It could be twenty years before it really impacts me, and who knows what can happen between now and then. It's not a big concern around here. I would not be seriously hampered in life if I lost my sight.


I was legally blind in both eyes due to cataracts, same summer 1st wife left me after 31+ yrs of marriage..wuz really down in the dumps alone and extremely poor vision+ ruptured disc in my back ..six months later got first cataract surgery, wow next day they removed the patch and holy cow I had almost perfect vision in that eye..Month later the other eye, i could pass drivers test without glasses even though vision wasn't perfect...


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## tiffnzacsmom (Jan 26, 2006)

Sheet metal and pop rivets for the hole.


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## tiffnzacsmom (Jan 26, 2006)

Ernie get it done, a mild loss now is better than not being able to see your little one. My boyfriend is waiting for his to get bad enough to be removed.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Ernie, one of my natural cures books tells me that 2 drops of cold pressed castor oil in the eye every night will improve vision daily. You might want to try it.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Heh. Thanks for the concern, but it's not a huge concern of mine. Certainly not enough to be running into the arms of the medicare/medicaid system which would be necessary to pay for such surgeries.

God is greater. I will wait upon Him.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

calliemoonbeam said:


> Glad you're okay Spinner! I don't know how old your car is or if you've ever had it replaced, but it sounds like maybe your *catalytic converter went bad*. They're normally very hot, but when they go out they often cause fires and will definitely make your exhaust system noisier.


This is an old thread, but I wanted to give a couple of updates. callie, you hit the nail on the head, it was the catalytic converter. 

I drove it local no more than 6 miles at a time and carried a gallon of water with. It never flamed up again after my son drilled a hole in it and emptied it. 

As for the preps holding out. I discovered I needed a wider variety of snacks. I have 3 kinds of hard candy and a lot of cocoa to make things like brownies, fudge, etc. But... I really wanted something more. I was craving things I normally don't eat. I guess that proves that you want something more when you know you can't have it. 



http://www.homesteadingtoday.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

fire extinguishers , if you mount them on their side they don't cake as they bounce around in the car


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## Woolieface (Feb 17, 2015)

...adding chocolate milk to the prep stash as we speak.:thumb:


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Spinner said:


> callie, you hit the nail on the head, it was the catalytic converter.


I have my moments, lol.  Many moons ago, I did most of my own car repairs. My stepdad started teaching me the day I got my first car at 16. He said every woman should know basic auto mechanics, and it just sort of grew from there. I also did my own wrenching on my motorcycle when I had one. I haven't actually worked on cars in quite a few years, but I still have some tiny nuggets of knowledge buried in there somewhere. Just sorry you had to drive around, never knowing when it might cause a problem and glad to hear you got it figured out.

I know exactly what you mean about your preps...seems like I always crave the one thing I don't have or ran out of, and then I end up eating too much, trying to find something to satisfy that craving, when nothing really will except that one thing I don't have. I try to cover all my bases now and not ever run completely out of anything if I can help it, but I'm sure something will pop up that I never thought of, lol!


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

Chiming in here as another former "Flintstone" car driver; I just bolted a piece of 1" plywood to the former decking! But it was a long time ago.

I don't like to run out of anything either, tho sometimes things escape me!

OP, thanks for the update!


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Hey,

I really appreciate the update. Quite a lot of dedication to even find this old post and let us all know.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

FWIW, a car with a hole like that can be perfect for some situations -

"Daddieeee, I have to peeeeeeeeee!"

"Aim for the hole. I ain't stoppin' agin!"


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## sandsuncritters (Nov 18, 2011)

Glad everything worked out for you Spinner! Nice of you to come back and update 

I miss Ernie! I wonder how he's doing, and if he's still making knives. I had in mind to have him make one for my husband for his birthday, but of a sudden the dreaded "B" word appeared and he was gone. 

In His Love
Mich


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