Mac Gyver Lives! Man build motorcycle from broken down car to escape desert

AutoBlog.com ^ | Jeremy Korzeniewski

[njslim]

According to Merriam-Webster, ingenuity can be defined as "skill or cleverness in devising or combining" or "cleverness or aptness of design or contrivance." We'd say that's an apt description of a Frenchman named Emile who reportedly found himself stranded in the deserts of Northwest Africa after breaking a frame rail and a suspension swingarm underneath his Citroën 2CV.

What to do? Why, disassemble the broken hulk and build yourself a motorcycle from its pile of parts, of course! As the story goes, Emile was able to use the inventive machine to escape the desert, though not before convincing the local authorities that he wasn't an insurgent and paying a fine for importing a non-conforming vehicle...

[njslim]

Sacre Bleu!

Sounds like something straigh out of Mac Gyver or "FLIGHT OF THE PHOENOX"

[JaguarXKE]

Flight of the Phoenix (the original with Jimmy Stewart) is one of my favorite movies. The Stunt Pilot, Paul Mantz, died making that movie.

[LibWhacker]

Holy cow! What a wild looking machine. Unbelievable.

[NonValueAdded]

I’d say he had a working knowledge of the Mad Max series too!

[Petrosius]

[njslim]

Yea - in SAHARA by Clive Cussler (one of my favorite authors) the main characters Dirk Pitt/Al Giordano build
a sand yacht from crashed plane

[Tex-Con-Man]

I seriously doubt the “story” associated with this project. After looking at the bike, it was likely built in a shop.

[Spktyr]

Finally! A good use for a 2CV!

[gunsmithkat]

He couldn’t repair a broken frame rail so he built a complete new machine, yeah, right! Very nice “mad max” type art work project, though. Does not appear to be a drivable vehicle.

[Army Air Corps]

Amusing Car Ping.

[C210N]

Unbelievable.

Wouldn't you know it... in real life, Emile's profession is to design model motorcycles. Be careful though, don' go up to him and call them toys... his designs are scaled-down exact working models of the big thing!

[skeeter]

Anyone can build a motorcycle from a Citreon.

Lets see him do that with a '69 Chevy Impala.

[norwaypinesavage]

"it was likely built in a shop."

Agreed, conspicuously absent from the picture is the method of driving a wheel. Also, where did the motorcycle handlebar come from?

[South40]

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The Stunt Pilot, Paul Mantz, died making that movie.***

I remember seeing still photos of his homemade(for the movie) plane breaking up.

[MHGinTN]

Wonder where he got the welding equipment out there in the desert?

[The Cajun]

Damn sure have to wear leather just for splinter protection.

[Buckeye McFrog]

you just know that on the next season of Top Gear they are going to be building these and then racing them across North Africa.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Truth or fiction? He must have had more than the usual amount of tools in his crappy 2CV.

[bigbob]

I bit, but a wrench-twister buddy called BS on the whole works, based on his analysis of the photo.

[dblshot]

If I was stranded in the desert, I’d sure want a kick stand on my means of escape too.

[Born to Conserve]

Bullshit.

[Gabz]

Yea - in SAHARA by Clive Cussler (one of my favorite authors) the main characters Dirk Pitt/Al Giordano build a sand yacht from crashed plane

I loved that book! We're also Cussler fans in this house!

[camle]

looks cool, if it works. i really doubt the story tho. he can’t fix a slide rail,. but he can do all this without cutting torches, welders, etc...?

[a fool in paradise]

Anyone can build a motorcycle from a Citreon. Lets see him do that with a '69 Chevy Impala. 2012 Chevy Volt

[The Mayor]

cool!

[JaguarXKE]

I had the pleasure of meeting Clive and got Atlantis Found autographed. Cool guy and boy does he have a car collection!

[Fightin Whitey]

He left out the beer holder??

[lacrew]

“After looking at the bike, it was likely built in a shop.”

I agree...he allegedly had a cracked frame and a broken swing arm...something he couldn’t fix, yet he was able to build this?

And he even found time to add a kickstand!

[Michael Barnes]

Agreed...If you’r in the Sahara trying to escape, do you take the time to make a kick stand???

[dblshot]

If he had beer, why leave?

[ModelBreaker]

“I seriously doubt the “story” associated with this project. After looking at the bike, it was likely built in a shop.”

Either that, or he just happened to have welding equipment and some serious other machine tools in the trunk.

[Errant]

The Leatherman Wave - Git One!

[IronJack]

If he’s so all-fired clever, what was he doing driving a Citroen in the first place?

[Calvin Locke]

It's French. He left out the wine rack.

[newgeezer]

I read it on the Interwebs. So, it must be true.

[USMCPOP]

I never go anywhere without my portable Oxy/Acetylene welding & cutting rig. Unless I’m flying, in which case I take a hacksaw and several tubes of J-B Weld epoxy glue. Or at least a case of Duct Tape.

[BuckeyeTexan]

You’re such a skeptic. One time, my horse broke down in the middle of West Texas. I used the spare parts to build a camel and trekked on out. Sheesh! It ain’t rocket science. If I’d been wearing my spurs that day, I’d ‘a built me a helo and flown out. You work with what ya have.

[ClearCase_guy]

"Transportation wasn't my thing, but I did build a radio out of coconuts."

[Lx]

Which wheel is the driven wheel?

[norton]

Anyone can build a motorcycle from a Citreon. Lets see him do that with a '69 Chevy Impala 2012 Chevy Volt.

The instructions include a really stout side car.

[skinkinthegrass]

Russell Johnson:
With the death of Bob Denver on September 2, 2005,
he is the last surviving male cast member of "Gilligan's Island".
Mary Ann & Ginger; are still w/ us.

[Tex-Con-Man]

You lie!

You can't turn a horse into a camel without a committee.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Bwawawawa! That was too funny. :)

[smokingfrog]

How French electrician stranded in Moroccan desert rebuilt his wrecked car as a motorbike and drove back to civilisation