The irony of it.

[Wolff <wolff_b@ix.netcom.com>]

Well, Steve B. agreed to loan me the two special tools to do an I-5
timing belt. Since both Q's are sick (one desparately needing a new
timing belt about 95k miles ago I found out, hence the tools) We decided
to drive the remaining Audi "over the hill" to Steve's house in San
Jose. This 4k fwd has taken us many places going well over 150K miles
with a stiff clutch since we purchased it in '89. Naturally I had plans
to take it in for a new clutch as soon as one of the Q's was fixed when
we wouldn't need it as a daily driver. 
    We arrived at Steve's and got the tools. Had a short visit. Looked
at his Radio Shack Ur-q and then headed out. Maybe we should go to San
Francisco? Well, I'm feeling a little sick, so we opt for lunch and then
home. My wife is driving and we are stopped at a light in somewhere in
the middle of San Jose. My wife says "Oh-oh". "What?" I say. She
replies:"The clutch cable broke." I took over the driver's seat and
could tell that it wasn't the cable by the small amount of springiness
left in the pedal. The effect was the same though. No clutch.
   To end this little story I will say that we couldn't go back the way
we came. It was bumper to bumper on a twisty, hilly piece of tarmac
known as highway 17. Bay Area listers will recognize this road. Try to
imagine driving it in heavy sunny California Saturday traffic with no
clutch. I tried to imagine it, and it didn't work in my brain so we went
around. Down 101 to Prunedale and out to the coast in Watsonville, then
back up to Aptos. This little adventure took us through 4 counties and
through many towns. At least it was a beautiful day. I only ran one stop
sign (no other cars around) and used the starter 3 times. It took about
2 hours. Well, gotta go work on a car, or two, or three.
Wolff