I don't know about the others, but my personal favorite MacGyver tricks are stuff to do with cars and car parts. Done many similar ones myself.

It's been about a year and a half now, but I'm still in sort of mourning about the car we lost to absolute and utter rot in April of 05. It was an 86 Corolla hatchback with flip-up headlights. It was a drifter and I have drifted in it. (You can see an almost exact copy of that car driven by the main character in Japanese Anime "Initial D") It was rotten to the core, I rebuilt what I could. My father-in-law bought that car new with 17 miles on it. My husband grew up in the next-to-nonexistent back seat of that car. He learned to drive on that car. I learned to drive on that car. It was a stick-shift. Nothing accelerates better than a stick-shift car. Okay, maybe a rocket.... The car lived in Chicago and rotted from the salt. It kind of got dumped on my then boyfriend. Well, under the hood it was pretty much a Moskvitch 2140, so I knew what to do with the critter. A leak in the part of the radiator hoses where the thermostat sits is easily fixed by making a new/additional gasket out of thick drawing paper rubbed with a candle to liquid-proof it. Rotten quarter panels are fixed by cutting the rotten parts off and rebuilding with chicken wire and fiberglass paste... etc. Duct tape works relatively well if your main power steering line had turned into a soggy, rusty mush. If you can remove the front bumper, do so, because that makes the access much easier. If it's firmly rotted in place, well, just don't wear your good shirt when you're squirming under it. javascript:emoticon(':tape:')

The beginning of the "Enemy Within" episode, where MacGyver stops a runaway car illustrates an all-important reason as to why I would never buy an automatic transmission car. I had brakes go out at 60mph on the dear old Corolla. Not because the car got shot at, but because the main brake line had rotted out and finally gave up the ghost in the middle of an interstate. I engine-braked the car to low enough speed that the brakes caught (they mechanically catch at about 15mph, the hydraulics really kick in at higher speeds) and I stopped the car. Yeah, the transmission was a little funny after that, but that transmission was always a little funny. Parking brake? Oh the cable on that was broken when we got the car and we never bothered fixing it. Besides, using a parking brake at high speed going downhill wouldn't do much good.

So anyone else done cool stuff with cars?

Convinced my Subaru Outback to start this morning after looking under the hood, wiggling the battery cable and slamming the hood shut.

When it comes to cars, I'm not real creative. I did temporarily fix a broken fan belt with a pair of pantyhose once.

Baking soda in a car battery is great for making sure someones car wont start... so I've heard.

Pouring a can of regular Coke on your battery is a good way to get the car started if you battery terminals are corroded. I almost got stranded once like this in the old Corolla. I drove the old bucket to the gym, worked out, came out and the car wouldn't start. Fortunately I knew where the nearest convenience store was...

The Mythbusters had a show where they used Coke to do that. That stuff is pretty amazing--quite versatile for a soft drink!

Never watched Mythbusters. This was a trick my dad showed me a long time ago. We always used Coke for all kinds of so to say 'industrial' tasks. Hmm, maybe that's why I don't drink the stuff.

image what happens when it hits the acid in your stomach.

and lets not even start on the Mentos in diet coke

I heard that Coke - and/or Pepsi can strip the paint off wood...

That's why I don't drink it...

I think years ago, before they changed the formula, it could be used as oil remover, paint striper etc, but it no longer does any of those things.

I don't think they changed it too much. It's still great for removing road tar from the sides of my car. Besides, your body reacts to drinking the high fructose corn syrup in pretty much the same way as drinking a melted stick of butter.

Hmmm, maybe that's why my high school prom dress still fits after 13 years.

Well I've tried all the suggestions, and non of them have ever worked for me.

you'd probably find that any kind of soda drink would do the trick.


Quote from the Answers.com web page

the television program MythBusters showed that Coca-Cola could be used as a blood cleaning agent, if an expensive one.) Claims of Coca-Cola's unique tooth dissolving properties have been tested on UK television show Brainiac: Science Abuse where a tooth was left overnight in a glass of Coke. It proved Cola could not dissolve a tooth. Coca-Cola was also once believed to have been a possible form of birth control due to this allegedly high acidity level being supposedly able to kill sperm. [2]

One unusual use for Coke is as a rust-control substance — the phosphoric acid in Coke converts iron oxide to iron phosphate, and as such can be used as an initial treatment for corroded iron and steel objects being renovated, etc. The acid can be used to anodize titanium according to various websites.[24] Corroded battery terminals on cars are often corrected through the use of Coca-Cola. The MythBusters tested this and found that Coke seemed to be no more effective than any other liquid.

According to popular belief, the coca leaf extract cocaine was once added to Coca-Cola. Because cocaine is naturally present in untreated coca leaves, small amounts of cocaine were also present in the beverage. Today's Coca-Cola uses "spent" coca leaves, those that have been through a cocaine extraction process, to flavor the beverage. Since this process cannot extract the cocaine alkaloids at a molecular level, the drink still contains trace amounts of the stimulant.[25] The United States DEA oversees the importation of coca for Coca-Cola, and later sale of the extracted cocaine to the drug industry.

Most soft drinks have a pH of between 3 and 4. This ranks them as fairly acidic. I have used club soda as a battery cleaner a number of times. The problem with my car isn't that the battery terminals are corroded, they were replaced in September of last year. It is that my car is 11 years old, has almost 250,000 miles on it and the temperature is below zero. One of the personality quirks of older cars is that sometimes they have issues about running.

But its paid for. It handles great in the snow ( a plus when the average storm dumps 10+ inches). It holds all the stuff we need when we travel. And it has an awesome stereo system. Its mine and I'm going to drive it until the wheels fall off. My husband's Honda CRX is entering its 21st year and has (drumroll, please) 400,000 miles on the original engine!!!

I had a Ford Ranger that i had to fix the hood cable on when the cable decided to part company with the hood release in the cab.I ended up taking what was remaining of the cable from the hood latch itself sown to the bumper.I zip tied the hell out of the cable,then cut/stripped out the cable,I then attached a large key ring to the exposed end of the cable.It worked for several years before I traded the truck in with 250,000 miles on it.


Dtrain

Sodium bicarbonate in a paste with water is good for cleaning the outside of acid-cell car/motorcycle/marine batteries and battery terminals ~ as it neutralises the acidic corrosion gunk and any spilt battery acid on the outside (with the bicarb' being alkaline...).

(After this cleaning, I wipe the outside of the battery with some "methylated spirits" (diluted methyl alcohol..) on a rag to remove the water and any residual acid, cover the terminals with petroleum jelly to protect them from further corrosion, and spray some WD-40 into any spots I can't reach).

"Baking Soda" is basically bicarb' with a little tartaric acid mixed into it.. If you only have bicarb' on hand you can make your own baking soda/baking powder substitute by adding tartaric acid ("cream of tartar"), or citric acid (or straight lemon juice..) to the bicarb'..

Because sodium bicarbonate, baking soda and baking powder are all alkaline compounds, adding them into an acid battery will neutralise the sulphuric acid ~ effectively turning your battery into a doorstop or paperweight (at least until it's washed out, refilled and re-charged..).

5 Car Battery Tips and Tricks
Aspirin

If you get behind the wheel only to discover that your car’s battery has given up the ghost — and there’s no one around to give you a jump — you may be able to get your vehicle started by dropping two aspirin tablets into the battery itself. The aspirin’s acetylsalicylic acid will combine with the battery’s sulfuric acid to produce one last charge. Just be sure to drive to your nearest service station.


Baking Soda

Eliminate the corrosive buildup on your car’s battery terminals. Scrub them clean using an old toothbrush and a mixture of 3 tablespoons baking soda and 1 tablespoon warm water. Wipe them off with a wet towel and dry with another towel. Once the terminals have completely dried, apply a bit of petroleum jelly around each terminal to deter future corrosive buildup.


Epsom Salt

Is your car battery starting to sound as if it won’t turn over? Worried that you’ll be stuck the next time you try to start your car? Give your battery a little more life with this potion. Dissolve about an ounce of Epsom salt in warm water and add it to each battery cell.


Petroleum Jelly

It’s no coincidence that your car battery always dies on the coldest winter day. Low temperatures increase electrical resistance and thicken engine oil, making the battery work harder. Corrosion on the battery terminals also increases resistance and might just be the last straw that makes the battery give up. Before winter starts, disconnect the terminals and clean them with a wire brush. Reconnect, then smear with petroleum jelly. The jelly will prevent corrosion and help keep the battery cranking all winter long.


Soda

Yes, it’s true, the acidic properties of soda pop will help to eliminate corrosion from your car battery. Nearly all carbonated soft drinks contain carbonic acid, which helps to remove stains and dissolve rust deposits. Pour some soda over the battery terminals and let it sit. Remove the sticky residue with a wet sponge.

http://www.rd.com/home/5-car-battery-tips-and-tricks/

um.. nearly...

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate (bi-carb)

Baking powder is baking soda (bi-carb) mixed with Tartaric acid.