the Model Garage? It was a regular series of short stories in Popular Science magazine back in the '60s, written by Martin Bunn.
Gus was the clever automobile garage owner / mechanic and Stan Hicks was his able assistant. There was always some screwy, stumper of a problem and, in the end, Gus would figure it out.
For some reason I remember the story where a "little old lady" complains her car always needs gas, ever since she ran the car out of gas. She compares it to the time she forgot to feed her dog, then the dog kept pestering her for food. Everybody thinks the lady is a little daft, but Gus figures it out. They drag the story out a bit but in the end the vent hole in the gas cap was plugged and when she ran it out of gas the fuel pump pulled a vacuum on the tank causing it to partially collapse. Gus solves the problem with a (new) toilet plunger. He just sticks it of the bottom of the tank and POP pulls the dent out. (I must have enjoyed that story, that's from my memory of reading it in the early '70s.)
My son found a bunch of old Popular Science magazines and I'm enjoying rereading them. Old ads for first generation Dremel Moto Tools, a battery powered Skill drill where the battery is worn on the belt, a silly article where they anthropomorphize computers way more than than we would, and more. Back when I was young, I had about 4 linear feet of Popular Science magazines from the '60s, I'm always sorry I got rid of them.
Gus was the clever automobile garage owner / mechanic and Stan Hicks was his able assistant. There was always some screwy, stumper of a problem and, in the end, Gus would figure it out.
For some reason I remember the story where a "little old lady" complains her car always needs gas, ever since she ran the car out of gas. She compares it to the time she forgot to feed her dog, then the dog kept pestering her for food. Everybody thinks the lady is a little daft, but Gus figures it out. They drag the story out a bit but in the end the vent hole in the gas cap was plugged and when she ran it out of gas the fuel pump pulled a vacuum on the tank causing it to partially collapse. Gus solves the problem with a (new) toilet plunger. He just sticks it of the bottom of the tank and POP pulls the dent out. (I must have enjoyed that story, that's from my memory of reading it in the early '70s.)
My son found a bunch of old Popular Science magazines and I'm enjoying rereading them. Old ads for first generation Dremel Moto Tools, a battery powered Skill drill where the battery is worn on the belt, a silly article where they anthropomorphize computers way more than than we would, and more. Back when I was young, I had about 4 linear feet of Popular Science magazines from the '60s, I'm always sorry I got rid of them.
