History When you were young and Gung ho

themoose · Dec 15, 2013

Lets hear some stories form back in your younger days when you had more energy than brains and nothing mattered more than keeping your wheels on the road. I have one that comes to mind when I was somewhere in my early 20s and my 57 Chevy 3 speed transmission blew late one Sunday evening while trying to impress some friends by pulling a holeshot. It was early February and the temperature was hovering around zero. The 57 was my only means of transportation and I had a 20 mile ride to get to work the next day. A friend of mine offered to let me use his spare Muncie 4 speed and Hurst shifter until I could come up with a replacement. Heck yeah lets do it! My garage was tied up with a couple of other projects so we did the swap outside in my driveway on our backs at night in below zero weather and to this day I still talk about how it was so cold that the gear lube wouldnt flow out of the container until I heated it up with the torch. We worked most of the night to do the swap which took twice as long as it should have because we couldnt feel our fingers and I made it to work the next day as if nothing had happened. Believe me when I tell you those days are long gone!

Model T1 · Dec 15, 2013

Yesterday ! Or was that in 1957?

ct1932ford · Dec 15, 2013

When I was 16 (back in the 60's)I did a 54 chev trans in my parents driveway in the middle of winter with snow on the ground. It was not fun being so cold and my first experience with a torque tube Would never do that today!

Wedgehead426 · Dec 15, 2013

My dad used to complain about oil stains on his driveway, from working on our cars. I once did a cam and lifter change on my small block Mopar in one of the bays at a local car wash. It worked pretty good.

Beau · Dec 15, 2013

I came home one day to see both my cars gone. My Dad didn't understand what I was doing with them, and sent them both to the junk yard. The junk yard would not let me buy them back, but they let me pull all the parts I wanted back off them for nothing. I spent two days. I was PISSED!

56don · Dec 15, 2013

When I was in the military I couldn't wait until I had leave to mess with my ride so I installed a 3X2 setup in the barracks parking lot. I had no place to put a 427 Ford engine that I bought other than my trunk and some in my room in the barracks. My luck, we had an unannounced inspection. My captain wasn't amused at engine parts in his building. I had to keep an entire 427 engine in my car trunk/back seat until I got leave to go home.

redlineracer42 · Dec 15, 2013

Almost assinated by 64 Impala S.S. changin punkins in the gas station parkin lot.....YIKES....much more to this story....pic of 64 is in my album...

jetnow1 · Dec 15, 2013

Amazing how many of us changed trans in the snow- The one I did was my best friends
70 Plymouth Satelite convertible that had a 6 cyl/3 speed from the factory. He blew up the
3 speed doing a burnout, could not find the correct 3 speed but found lots of Dusters with
4 speeds that had rusted out so he bought the 4 speed. Bolted right on till we tried to fit
the 4 speed shifter. First we had to cut half the crossmember out, then found out the rods still hit the crossmember. No problem- just reversed the shift arms on the trans to point
down instead of up- this solved the problem but reversed the shift pattern, ie second was
now 1st, first was now 2nd etc. No one else could drive that car after that. All that and we did
it all in his gravel driveway in the snow!

black 62 · Dec 15, 2013

damn--- i finally understand what was wrong with my ansen shifter 53 years ago...

blowby · Dec 15, 2013

Bought a Chevelle at the swap meet with a blown Powerglide. Bought a trans a couple isles over, put it in right there at the swap meet and drove it home.

Mike Miller · Dec 15, 2013

Had to watch the kids but wanted to change sprockets on my motorcycle, no problem, just wheel it in to the living room and let the kids help. Worked out great till the wife got home.
I got an a$$ chewing and the kids got a bath.

Rickybop · Dec 15, 2013

Oh man..........to have that kind of energy again.

Yup, did the tranny change in the snow thing. I was working at the local bakery at night and I guess I was pretty tired. All bundled up, laying under the car and actully fell asleep...lol.

afaulk · Dec 15, 2013

Left Hammond, Indiana, in a blizzard, heading for Alabama in a 58 Biscayne. It took 12 hrs to cover the first 180 miles. People were wrecking all around me but God looks out for the dumb ones.....and I made it home without incident.

Rocky · Dec 16, 2013

Changed an iron 4 speed hydro in a 55 Pontiac with nothin but Budweiser and a bottle jack. Was winter in Portland, Or and the "shop" was the gravel [spelled M.U.D.] street in front of my buddy's house. We dropped that trans about 10 times before we got it buttoned up. Worked great!

chopolds · Dec 16, 2013

Just a couple from a long history of doing way too much work in way too little time:
Had a 57 Chevy daily driver (1976-7) trans making more and more noise, needed it to go to school, and to my part time job (@ Burger King!) Finally decided the best time to do it was on my lunch break at the burger joint...did it with a little time to spare!
Also did a trans change in a blizzard. It wasn't snowing yet, but my buddy Jimmy Catrone and I jacked up the car, put down a big piece of plywood, then covered the sides and front/rear of the car with more plywood, covered with blankets, so we wouldnt' scratch the car. In the street in front of my house. Did the trans, by the time we were done, there was 4 inches on the ground, but it was nice and warm under the car, with all the wood, blankets and 2 drop lights! Neighbors thought we were completely insane! Thought we were building a tent to live it?

Jimbo17 · Dec 16, 2013

When I was 14 I purchased two cars.

One was a 1949 Chevy Coupe with a good running 6 cylinder engine but the body was really bad for $50.00 dollars.

The other car was a 1951 Chevy Business Coupe with a good body but the motor had seen it better days and I also paid $50.00 for this car.

I towed them both home with a rope and a friends help and no drivers license.

One of my best friends Joe Valentine and I decided we could change the engines and with no real knowledge or tools and we started working each day.

I had a neighbor was a who owned a gas station and he took an interest in what we were trying to do and each night he would bring home some tools for us to use and he showed each day what we had to do and after what seemed like months we had the job done.

My the time I was 15 I had my very first car running and in primer and ready for the road.

There is no question that when we are young we are full of ourselves and don't realize that it takes more then just that to get the job done.

Jimbo

57Custom300 · Dec 16, 2013

Add another "trans in the snow" type story. This was a clutch though. Put a clutch in a buddy's 55 Ford while he was at nite school once. Still recall how ice cold that trans was. Got it all buttoned up by the time he got home. When we got it started & he was driving me home I noticed the oil light was on. "Aww, that's always on", he says. Engine locked up a block from my house.

And another "cam in the car wash" story. A lot of car wash places had doors on both ends & heaters in Michigan back then. We just pulled in closed the doors & went to work on a cam swap on a 68 Mustang. A few hours later we had it running. Wasn't bad unless a socket rolled into the drain. Mentioned what I did to the old guys at work the next day and they got a big kick out of it.

khead47 · Dec 16, 2013

My 2nd car was a 56 Ford that ate transmissions. Went through 3 3spds in one week! I was not gentle! During one swap I somehow lost the crossmember. No problem. Fabbed a new one out of a 2x4. Yeah- that's the ticket. Took it out for a test drive on I-94. Had a "little" vibration at about 70 mph. Figured it might get better if I drove faster. Wrong! Busted both U-joints, the trans case, and the bellhousing. Never did find the "crossmember".

BuckeyeBuicks · Dec 16, 2013

I was in the 9th grade(1965) and this kid in my shop class had his uncle give him a cherry 54 chevy Bel-Air with a blowed motor. He asked me what all it took to get the motor out. I knew it had a torque tube and what a pain in the ass that was so I told him to unbolt the trans and every thing else holding the motor in, no problem. About a week later I rode my bike over to his farm and here sits the Chevy with the front end tore all to hell! Turns out this dick head got the bolts out of the trans and motor mounts and hooked a chain around the 235 and jerks it out with the front end loader of his dads tractor. Didn't even take the hood, rad or nothing off first! It sat in the barnyard for a couple years til his dad junked it. No one wanted 54 chevys back then.

slowmotion · Dec 16, 2013

High school years, early 70's. A buddy was moving back to Ohio from Cali for his senior year. '65 Skylark used 29 qts. of oil on the way back. We did the proverbial 'shade tree' engine swap in his back yard, using chain falls. Slid a 327 into that Buick like it was meant to be there (car was a 4 spd). Car ran strong, and we were proclaimed 'real' mechanics among our peers from then on...lol

amodel25 · Dec 16, 2013

Converted my first series '55 Chevy panel from a 6 cylinder/3 speed to 283 V8/ 3 speed overdrive out of a '60 Chevy wagon in an apartment parking lot. No welding involved. Everything (front Hurst motor mount, modified steering box location, etc) was done by drilling and bolting. Fortunately, the early '55 had an open driveline so no rear end swap. At one point, I had the Panel, no motor, the wagon, no front clip, and my '50 GMC daily driver with the 6 cylinder motor and the '60 clip in the bed sitting side by side in the lot. The apartment manager was not a happy camper.

redlineracer42 · Dec 16, 2013

First car,12 year old 63 Impala S.S. and I was 15....many stories of changin motors/trans,front clip in 10 degree weather....during my early days....I remember jackin car up with bumper jack (after I shoveled it out) then breaking ice to get tires unstuck from the ground....the cold midwest winters....

Gman0046 · Dec 16, 2013

Many times we worked all Friday night so we could make it to the Westhampton Drag Strip on Saturday morning. I can still hear my Grandpa saying " you kids are crazy , you spend hundreds of dollars to win a 59 cent trophy".

1971BB427 · Dec 16, 2013

When I was young and stupid, I was replacing the clutch in my Chevelle, and after we finished I decided to give it a test. So I backed out on the street and side stepped the clutch at around 5,000 rpm. Just one big bang, and nothing went anywhere! Ended up pushing it back inside and replacing the trans.
Which brings up another thing.... when I was young I put the trans on my chest and muscled it up into position. No big deal. The other day I pulled the 4 speed on my Falcon, and wouldn't even dream of muscling out the Super T10! Had to build a little cradle to put on my floor jack, so I could drop it and put it back in!

aaggie · Dec 16, 2013

Another trans rebuild story. Coming home late one October night I blew the trans in my '57 Chevy and coasted to a stop in an empty Church parking lot. Luckily there was a big pole lamp for lighting and I had a set of spare gears (and other parts) in the trunk. It only took a few hours to pull the trans and change the cluster gear. It was an old beater but I wish I still had it today.

59Apachegail · Dec 16, 2013

My plight was not nearly as heroic as some of these. I did full brakes rotors and decided to do tire rotation on an OT car after a snow/ice storm on the street. Took about 4 hrs after work one night but I was done in time to take my then girl friend out afterward. Boy was I glad I got those brakes done in time.

wbrw32 · Dec 16, 2013

Transmission and snow??? I have never been that young and gung-ho..you guys are nuts

56sedandelivery · Dec 16, 2013

NOT a transmission in the snow story, but I did change the leaf springs on my 56 Chevrolet in the snow, in the driveway, which was on about a 40 degree incline. My sister had wrecked the 57 Chevrolet wagon she drove, and it was scheduled to be picked up by the wrecking yard, but then it snowed. I used the delay to remove the rear springs from the wagon, and install them on my 56 that had a leaf broken on each side. Both cars on the inclined driveway, in the snow, with limited tools; I'll never do anything like that again. One of the neighbor kids also removed the engine/trans for his car with the wagon sitting on the inclined driveway. The stupid things we do as kids. Butch/56sedandelivery.

55 Ford Gasser · Dec 16, 2013

I was planning trip to Orlando, Fl. in February 2000 and needed to put 3 speed overdrive in my 50 Ford 2 dr sedan. Got it done and went for test drive. Blew second gear. Didn't think I was getting on it all that hard, but Larry (good friend) said I was! I had also just installed a new clutch and four barrel carb. Next day replaced second gear and another test drive. Free wheeling wasn't working right so I told Larry we had to pull trans again. This time took apart totally and ckecked every part. Even had to dismantle another one for parts. Two o'clock Thursday morning we had trans back in. I told Larry I would finish it after work the next day. Got home at 6pm. Hooked everything up and went for a 6 mile test drive. Next morning (Friday) got up and drove 820 miles to Orlando. I was not so young then. I was 50 and Larry was 60. There was no snow and it wasn't that cold but we were outside and on concrete driveway. From 1995 to 2008 I have put 80k miles on the car. And rebuilt about 12 transmissions for it and twisted one axle. Those old transmissions don't hold up with modified flatheads. Especially if you're not afraid to drive them and like to powershift. Although on trips I drive alot easier. What makes it easy is that when I start to jack up the car, all the bolts automatically start to loosen up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Barsteel · Dec 16, 2013

My first engine rebuild was a 327 in my OT '69 Camaro Rally Sport in 1983. I was in high school, and lived with my dad in a condo with not even a carport. A buddy and I disconnected everything, tore the engine down to the shortblock, then CARRIED it into the basement where I used a storage area to rebuild it. We were both 16 and healthy, but not that strong...that thing was FUCKING heavy.

I rebuilt the engine, then we carried it back up to the parking lot, finished assembling the engine, then dropped it in, all in 1 day.

The condo association did not like me at all.

Chris

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History When you were young and Gung ho

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History When you were young and Gung ho

themoose Member from Connecticut Connecticut HAMB'ers HAMB Old Farts' Club Termites and Bowties Primeval Chevy Disciples

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themoose
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from Connecticut

Connecticut HAMB'ers

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from Central Illinois

ct1932ford
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from Bridgewater,CT.

The DOG - Deuce Owner's Group

Connecticut HAMB'ers

Roadsters.

Hamb dog lovers

32 Ford Owners

Vintage Advertising Club

Wedgehead426
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from Brownsburg IN

Beau
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from St. Paul, Minnesota

56don
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from Huntsville Alabama

The DOG - Deuce Owner's Group

Box Truck Bastards

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redlineracer42
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from Stude a monga U.S.A.

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from CT

A-D Truckers

black 62
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from arkansas

blowby
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from Nicasio Ca

Mike Miller
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from LaPine Oregon

Northwest HAMBers

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Rickybop
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from the thumb of Michigan

afaulk
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from jasper, alabama

Rocky
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from Bellevue, Nebraska...suburb of Omaha

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chopolds
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from howell, nj

Kustom Painters

Jimbo17
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from West Coast of Florida

57Custom300
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from Arizona

khead47
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from allen park mi.

BuckeyeBuicks
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from ohio

slowmotion
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from eastern ohio

amodel25
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from Crowley, TX

Fort Worth Area Builders And Rodders

shoe box hambers

Ford flathead 6'S

Tarrant County Social Club

Inliners

redlineracer42
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from Stude a monga U.S.A.

Gman0046
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from Possums Crotch, Kentucky

1971BB427
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from Oregon

aaggie
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from Porter, Texas

59Apachegail
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from New York

wbrw32
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from jefferson,tx

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56sedandelivery
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55 Ford Gasser
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from Seaford, Va

Barsteel
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from Monroe, CT