Technical Car guy? Could you do this crap and sleep at night?

that builder's motto: "what you can't see won't hurt you"

 

Well that's just it, isn't it? In truth, technically speaking, a nail makes a perfectly serviceable cotter pin, more or less. But it doesn't necessarily look too professional. When I was in the .mil there were certain specifcations that had to be met with a cotter pin installation, the right size had to be used, it couldn't be too small, and there was a preferred method of installation and would never pass inspection otherwise.

As a practical matter sloppy work is a hazard, it's a great way to cut yerself up working on something else. As somebody mentioned it's going to make people wonder "what else is screwed up", it's more or less an advertisement for the person doing the work. What's strange to me is people apparently save up their worst work for steering, suspension, and brakes.

 

Nail only keeps the nut from backing off and a lug nut takes alot more abuse with the side load of a wheel so why are you concerned other than the lack of a cotter pin on the tie rod?

Not that I would suggest building one that way but I have used nails for cotter pins in a pinch.

 

Guilty,,,,,once I put a nail instead of a cotter pin in,but it was on my
snowblower!!

 

hate to admit it but I have to zip tie the radiator in place on my OT truck. The core support is rusted out and I have to make a dump run. But I will fix it right at some point.

 

I have done both. Granted I have had to get to work on and off most of my life and was willing to do what was necessary to get there.

 

Brings to mind what my Dad used to say “If you can’t find time to do it right the first time when are you going to find time to do it again”

 

That guy nailed it.

 

I seen nails as carter pins so many times it doesn't really phase me anymore, the one that really shocked me was the beer can pull tabs used as washers on shiftier linkage. HRP

 

This is a safer repair than a replacement part from the Hoffman Group.

 

At least the nail matches the one on the other end. And the guy used a "finishing" nail. So, you know the job is finished right.

 

Have seen a ton of this working in a garage for over thirty years.My answer is going to shock you on your question “ Car guy , could you do this crap and sleep at night?

The answer is - yes CAR GUY puts his head on the pillow and sleeps great every night after completing half -assed repairs like this.
I know this because I have talked to countless guys who have done stuff like this to cars and they are actually proud of their effort and think they should be congratulated on their ingenuity. These are not temporary repairs.

So yeah ... anybody stupid enough to do that type of car repair probably doesn’t have enough brain power to keep himself up at night?

I would love to see exterior pictures of this car? Is it a show car or something pulled out of the blackberry bushes?

 

Some of you need to go back and look at the photos again. The "nail instead of cotter pin" isn't the scary part.

 

That nail is galvanized. It will last a good long time.

 

Nothing I haven't seen before and sometimes worse. Maybe the threads are stripped and they couldn't get a nut on it and that was their quick fix. Not that this any excuse but there are many a times I have seen quick fixes to roll cars onto a trailer or back into garages and forgotten.

 

Hey - it’s got brand new shocks???

 

Well that's better than what I discovered on my '34 after driving it home. No cotter keys at all in any of the castle nuts. The idiot I got it off of had been driving as his everyday ride for quite some time.

 

When I tore down my Shoebox front end, everything that should have had a cotter pin had a nail instead.
WTF!

 

Again the nail doesn't bother me. There's no castle nuts on the idler arm. And the lug nut is just too funny. Guess i take cars more serious. Not a rat rod builder. But it's all good. I'll fix it and make it right.

 

Nails are stronger than carter pins I recently pulled aluminum carter pins from a off topic car. HRP

 

As long as they were tightened properly this really isn’t scary, I’m not saying they shouldn’t be there but they also shouldn’t be needed.


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Did you change your avatar because I got scared of your old one? lol.

 

Cotter pin sheared inside the transmission of my '29 Model A coupe one summer's day. Only tools I had were a screwdriver and pliers. Took me forever to get the tower off the trans using those pliers, immediately saw the problem and went searching for a nail. Found one - hell, found a whole bunch - in a nearby utility pole and yanked it out using the pliers. Put it all back together and drove away. Taking the bolts out of a transmission with pliers is excruciatingly difficult, but you do what you gotta do sometimes.

 

Time to pull it all apart and start over and change those brake lines while you're at it. Yikes.

 

Is it a driver or a roller?

 

Beer has a way of showing you new and interesting ways of doing things. It's usually introduced with "Hold my beer and watch this..."

 

Be careful Lloyd’s paint & glass some cars aren’t worth working on.

 

Since I got a pm from 34Larry regarding this post I will clarify in no way was I trying to discredit or trash him, I was merely pointing out that the cotter pins are a backup and not holding the nuts on. I thought that was clear when I said that they should be there....all of the posts about nails in place of them really aren’t frightening if the nuts are tight.




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Well, at least it was a CHROME lug nut!!! But seriously, I've never found anything THAT bad on any car I've bought, but there have been some little things that were't critical to operability (coat hanger exhaust hangers, traffic sign patched floors, etc). In high school, a friend-of-a-friend had bought a 68-69 Charger, RT 440, 4 speed car. It had been repainted blue and had the "lacing" down both sides, and the hood/roof/trunk, that was sort of popular at the time. This car was only a couple of years old at the time He came into the Standard Chevron Station I worked at, and wanted me to adjust his Hurst shifter linkage. While under the car I pointed out this buggered up line/weld across the center of the car to him. Course he asked what it was, and when I told him it was where two wrecked cars were joined together to make one, he about went nuts. It was't even a decent job, and was obvious why the car had been laced; to hide the lousy bodywork. It looked like it could easily break apart. I've seen other "temporary" fixes, but that Charger was't temporary; well, maybe how long it'd be on the road. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Yeah this is all just temporary. I was just venting because i was pissed. Yes i too have used a nail to serve as the "safety" on a castle nut. But if i was aware that shit was cobbled together under a car i was letting go, i would tell you. "Hey that steering linkage is just half ass stuck together". Sorry if I'm not normal. I do things right as i go or i don't do them. I take pride in every thing i do. Big or small. Thanks for all of the comments