No jack, no garage, no problem
If you live in an area hostile to working on your own car or don’t even have a garage, a broken transmission often means game over for your car or an expensive several weeks at the dealership, but not for these two Corpus Christi legends (or environmental terrorists…)
Local news site Corpus Christi Cronica recently shared a user submitted photo of two sunburnt Texans casually swapping out a Ford Mustang transmission with only a pop-up tent to shade them on this Corpus Christi beach.
Check out the photo of the two deadset legends pausing for a photo below.
While it’s theoretically possible to swap a transmission on a front wheel drive car coming up from the top, on a rear wheel drive car, you have to either lift it up or put it on jack stands to extract the transmission.
And, as mentioned, if you live in, say, an apartment complex that doesn’t allow even an air filter change in plain view without hitting you with a fine, you have to get creative.
These two geniuses, probably a stone’s throw from the beach, simply dug themselves a mechanic’s pit comfortably far enough from the waters of Corpus Christi Bay, and got to work.
While ingenious, it’s worth noting this isn’t the safest way to do this. For one, sand, by its very nature, can shift around on you without so much as a warning.
Mustangs, weighing in around 3,500 pounds, carry a lot of potential energy that can be directed in the wrong direction, especially when the weight balance begins to shift when you pry a 100+ pound transmission from underneath.
It’s also probably not environmentally friendly. Take a good look at these two guys, do they look like they give a hoot if several gallons of automatic transmission fluid come spilling out into their makeshift pit?
They way they see it, the beach is one large deposit of oil absorbent.
Regardless, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and they performed this level 10 bit of mechanic’s work without spilling a drop of fluid.
Safety and spills aside, a tip of the hat to these two beach mechanics.
This certainly ranks up there with the likes of that Audi A4 owner who performed major front end surgery in the hot sun of an Autozone parking lot (story linked here.)
You gotta do what you gotta do.
