One of the best traits a person can have is their ability to adapt to a particular situation. It means using every resource available to you, no matter how seemingly impractical or unorthodox, to get a job done. In that respect, perhaps no one is more qualified than a mechanic in Australia’s outback—one of the most unforgiving environments on the planet.
As an amateur follower of the mechanical arts myself, I know what it’s like to repair or modify cars with standards that aren’t exactly to the manufacturer’s specifications, and I wager that it’s human nature to be attracted to making something awesome work by using parts that simply don’t belong. It’s the reason MacGyver was a goddamn phenomenon and it’s the reason why I watch the antics of the guys on Roadkill.
However, the bush mechanics featured on an ABC Indigenous show called Black As, are the most impressive examples of making lemonade when life gives you a rock, a rubber chicken, and five damp twigs.
They manage to find two wrecked cars—a Hyundai Accent and a Holden Commodore—on what looks like abandoned property, and proceed to use whatever they can, including a plastic doll’s head and broken baby stroller to get the heavily damaged Hyundai running. Their tools of choice? a rusty axe and a tire iron. Everything else is improvised.
Freiburger and Finnegan, you have been outclassed.
Unfortunately, those outside of Australia can’t watch the whole show, but you can watch this snippet that they posted on their Facebook page, outlining just how insane repairs in the outback can truly be.
I am not worthy.