It had nothing that could go wrong. No electric windows, no onboard computer, no air-conditioning, no power steering, no airbags. Just a basic car. Very nippy but the drive is like a tin can on wheels. When you lifted the bonnet there was plenty of room to put your arm between the engine parts - a far cry from my old Beemer which was wall-to-wall engine. However, the sound system was fantastic and made up for the lack of driving pleasure.
One day as I idled in the rush hour (now there's a misnomer) traffic going up Wynberg Hill, I noticed steam coming out from the sides of the bonnet. Aaarrgghh! A quick look at the temperature gauge showed nothing amiss, so I hung in there until I eventually reached the parking garage in Claremont. As I turned off the engine, it was as though I had flipped the release knob on a pressure cooker. Steam blasted out from every available exit of the engine and a large puddle formed underneath the car. I decide to leave it to cool and go off to work to ponder my next move.
Later I eased over to the nearest garage (I thought it would be a good place to leave it) and parked under a cool tree before opening the bonnet. A quick call to my husband (aka He Who Can Fix Anything) to summon him to the scene - in the meantime, I got a bottle of water from the garage shop (for me, not the car). While I waited, I stuck my head into the engine compartment to see what I could see and (I kid you not) immediately noticed a hole in the bottom of the engine block which looked as though a bolt or suchlike should be there.
He Who Can Fix Anything duly arrived and I pointed out the apparent defect. "Oh, the welsh plug has corroded." What a team! He sent me off to the nearest motor part dealer to buy a new plug. Living dangerously, I bought two. They cost R8!
In a few taps of a hammer and a refill of the water, I was on the road again. If I had taken it to a mechanic, I'm fairly sure I would now have a new cylinder head, water pump and radiator!
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