Stupid things you have done

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1968dartman

1968dartman

life is getting better!!
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Seeing as how it is Friday I thought I would start a thread to give everyone a laugh or two. I had a 95 Cherokee that suddenly would not start. I did the normal things like checking to see if it had spark and gas and could not find what was wrong. I pulled the gas tank to check the pump, I had the fuel injection all apart. I had the truck half torn apart at one point and still it would not start. It kicked from time to time like it wanted to start which just frustarted me more. In the mean time I was taking a bus to work and doing a LOT of walking and I even got my bike out and used it. Now keep in mind that this is during the winter. After a month and a half, yes I did just say a month and a half a buddy of mine came over and we looked at the truck with fresh eyes. I told him everything I had done so we decided to recheck what I had done . We pulled the cap off the distributor and I rolled the truck over to show that it was turning than my buddy reached in and took off the rotor button and handed it to me. It was cracked!!!! It would still turn but was slippping. We went and got a new rotor button put it on and the damn truck fired right up and ran like a champ. Well needless to say my buddies had a GREAT laugh over that and still remind me of it from time to time when we are together. Now it is your turn to tell us your embarrasing story!
 
I had put new plugs on my 75 F250, and forgot to hook up the #8 plug wire. Drove it around and it ran rough, so I thought fuel pump. I got halfway unbolting fuel pump to look over and see the wire dangling there. Ran great once I hooked it up.
 
Bought. Wrecked 74 challenger for parts, by today's standards it would have been an easy fix, cut it in 1/2 to see how it was built, most went in dumpster

Clean rust free sheet metal, how stupid were we in the late 70s?

Hey, I needed parts for my wrecked rusted 72 340 Challenger
 
Got the trans and transfer case back into a 4x4 and got the divelines both put back in and everything all back together.
Went to put the converter inspection cover back on and had forgotten to put the tourqe converter back in the trans first.
 
Installed a motor with three other guys in a 72 Charger.We were done about 2 AM. Hood was on and the coolant was in . It had headers and A/C. It was Finished except for the torque converter bolts and some item's underneath.. Well it was then we saw not one of us ever put the torque converter in the trans. !!!
 
tried to put out a carb fire with windshield wiper fluid...

....of which was alcohol based
 
I was getting the motors down from upstairs with the fork lift. The door on the garage was not up all the way and I backed into it with the mast bending the bottom section of the door and the track. After working on it with my son for about 3 hrs we started moving motors again. The very next trip I did the same thing and ripped the door right off. My son and family never let me live it down.
 
I was just remembering that door incident with my wife. I was actually just out of breath laughing. Remembering the look on my son's face.
 
magnumdart said:
Way back when I popped the cap on a hot radiator.
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Witnessed an incident as a small child that made me cautious for life.

Motorhome overheated while on the interstate. The mechanic of our group popped the hood and attempted to open the cap to let the pressure off. It blew off and covered him with scalding water. Lots of cold water was poured over him and to the ER we went.
 
I had a big old Wrecker. Myself and a friend were towing a truck with VW beetle on the back to the scrap yard. When we got to there. the Beatle was gone.

It took an hour to find it. I drove buy it twice and missed it. It wasn't until I saw people looking at it when we found it. It parked itself between two cars along the street in the city of Bath. \

It was in so tight you couldn't have steered it in. The funniest thing was it was upside down and not a piece of glass left in it. It did no damage to any vehicles or property. I had it back on the truck and ready to pull out when I heard the Siren and speaker Shut it off. He made us sweep the whole block. It took us all day.
 
After spinning a bearing in my 67 coronet with 383, I did a "newfie" rebuild on another 383..... disassembled heads, sandblasted them..lapped valves, regasketed reassembled. Then me and a buddy Mike finally got around to dropping it in...all went smooth until firing up....would NOT fire for the life of us....2 days later another buddy dropped by, watched us with his hands in his pockets and told us quietly "big block distributors turn counter clock wise...." Re-ran the plug wires and BINGO!! Approx 2 minutes time........all with his hands in his pockets!!
 
I changed oil in our van..............well I drained the oil and changed the filter. I started it with no oil in it and let it run a little too long. 6 months later a cam bearing spun and shut off oil to the front bank rocker shaft. In 45 years I have never done that. Duh!!!!!
 
Don't know if this counts or not, but here goes. In late 1973 I ran across a brown '70 Roadrunner on a used car lot in Wisconsin. It was a bench seat, dog dish stripper with very few options. Didn't even have a radio. The car had less than 3000 miles and looked like it came off the showroom floor last week. It was priced at $1350 and I passed since it was obviously a dumped gas guzzler. The options it did have? Hemi, 4 speed, Dana 60. Been kicking myself for years over this one.....:banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
Letting my 16 year-old Girlfriend (who had her license for about 2-weeks) drive my
'Mint' 1969 Dart Swinger 340 by herself.

I told her 'not' to get on it while driving it to High School.

Needed 'two' Tow Trucks to pull it out of the 'swamp'.
 
69 Cuda 440 said:
Letting my 16 year-old Girlfriend (who had her license for about 2-weeks) drive my
'Mint' 1969 Dart Swinger 340 by herself.

I told her 'not' to get on it while driving it to High School.

Needed 'two' Tow Trucks to pull it out of the 'swamp'.
Click to expand...

did the car survive?
 
rebuilt a motor and dropped it in, fired up and had low oil pressure. stopped it and took a deep breath...there was a new upper main bearing shell on the bench....and 10 old ones next to it.

I primed a LA motor with a drill and didnt have any oil sender in the hole, the oil guyser shot up right into my face, glad I wear glasses....

Filled a Ford C4 trans with about 2 gallons of ATF. "Dang, this thing is taking ALOT of fluid!" About that time I see a puddle of ATF growing under my boots. It was coming out the top vent! Reminder to self, fill trans when RUNNING and check stick often!

Dont install MSD with old crusty wires and then attempt to adjust timing by grabbing the cap to rotate, while your other hand is leaning on the block. MSD shocks you about 6 times instead of once!
 
Hauled a 70 Torino Cobra home with rusted rear brakes. Pulled under a gantry hoist, picked up the back end and drove the trailer ahead slowly until the back was clear of the trailer. Let the back wheels down to the ground and pulled out from under the front. Got out and all looked good. Was going to drag the car to it's parking spot.......forgot to unhook the gantry! :eek:ops: Realized I had extra drag and stopped.....just as the gantry tipped. If I would have pulled ahead all would be good, but nope, gantry vs roof, roof looses! :banghead: Never broke any glass, just drove the windows down. Sold the car for the drag pack rear diff for the price I paid. Not a total loss! But, duh, dumbass!
 
Oldmanmopar said:
I was getting the motors down from upstairs with the fork lift. The door on the garage was not up all the way and I backed into it with the mast bending the bottom section of the door and the track. After working on it with my son for about 3 hrs we started moving motors again. The very next trip I did the same thing and ripped the door right off. My son and family never let me live it down.
Click to expand...
If this does not make you laugh something is wrong with you.....
 
As mentioned a few times, forgot to put convertor in a trans before putting it in. Changed the oil on one of my old beaters and forgot to check if the o-ring had come off with the old filter. Leaked like a b&tch. Big hurry one day putting a starter in my 79 Regal with the Pontyrat 301 in it and did not realize that the cable was lightly touching the exhaust manifold. Managed to get 10 miles form home before melt down occurred. Had a brand new battery in it. Battery did not explode, but it expanded to almost double its size. Was still hot 2 days later when I bought it back to Napa at there request. They gave me a new one, mine sat on the counter for several years as a reminder to not be a knucklehead.
 
High school auto shop had a dual post lift that had independent controls. Guy manned the rear post only and propped up his car at about a 45 angle before he looked back.... wasnt me but everyone saw it after the auto shop teacher screamed "STOP!!!!!"

Jacked up a VW bus with the stock screw jack and driver forgot to set the E-brake. Semi blew by us and literally blew the bus forward and rolled it right off the jack. Broke the jack, bus now sitting on rotor. Middle of desert.
 
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