Hot Rods The stupidest thing I did in the garage.

Sitting here at my computer thinking of some of the dumbest things I've done in the garage. Some I admit to sheer carelessness, some just stupid youth borne ignorance.
Can think of a few right off the bat. Working late into the night during a work week trying to button up a friends head and cam install on my buddy's small block Chevy. All went well until time to drop the distributor into the block. Somehow I knock the distributer retaining bolt into the empty hole!!! Shit I am screwed it's 1 am tired and now totally pissed. Tried the magnet trick, lights grease on a dowel. Nothing worked, can't retrieve the bolt, the pan is next...great!
Climbing under the car to pull the pan I lay on something hard and low and behold lies the bolt I've tried to find for hours. In my panic I failed to even look under the car. Finished up at 3 in the morning and at age 18 learned a valuable lesson. Take the easy path first prepare for the worst. BTW the car ran exceptionally well after the mods.

 

As a kid of maybe 12 I ‘copied’ my dad and used a lighter to burn away some gas I spilled on the floor of our attached garage while filling the lawn mower. When the entire gas can caught fire a construction worker ran from across the street, up the driveway, into the garage, picked up the burning can, and ran it out to the street - I don’t think he ever slowed down.

I hope I don’t top that one. Geez.

 

That’s where my small parts always end up but true to form they hide under tool boxes, under a tire just out of sight ( first and second look) or under a cabinet right at the wall.

 

All the dumbest things I ever did in the shop involved women.

 

When I was in my teens I had a OT 69 nova. 327 with a 671 blower, 660 center squirters, A real street sweeper. I was about to change oil and do some other maintenance when my buddy came walking into the garage and asked what he could do to help. I had already changed the oil filter so I said hey Earl, put the oil in and then check the level. He dumped the oil in, 5 and 1/2 quarts. Checked the level and yelled, hey MIKE, its the whole way up the dip stick. I had forgot to drain the oil .. My dumb ass mistake. One of many I suppose over the years.

 

Trying to run 2 additional circuits in and outside of garage as it's trying to rain just minutes ago.

 

Does there just have to be one thing?

 

In Jr. High I had a gas tank on a mini bike that had a leak. No problem, I just fired up the propane torch and proceeded to try to solder it up. Why I didn't blow myself and the entire basement to kingdom come I'll never know. And of course the solder "fix" didn't work anyway. Later in HS I had trouble stabbing the distributor in my 289. Always got it in a tooth off. Didn't think about moving the plug wires one hole. Just kept pulling the distributor up and trying to get it right. On about the 10th try the oil pump shaft came out of the pump and fell into the pan. Got up at 6 am the next morning to pull the pan and retrieve the shaft. Finally got the distributor set correctly. Learned a lot since then but unfortunately still do a bunch of bone head stuff.

 

With the SS battery box under the seat, I was removing the positive lead when my ring contacted the edge of the grounded SS box!----In an instant the ring glowed red & exploded my flesh around the ring----OUCH!!

 

Mike, I did just the opposite of that. Years ago, I was changing my oil. At the time we had an old farm house without a garage. The garage was at my dads place. So I just changed the oil on the front lawn. I had drained the oil, and changed the filter. When my wife called me for lunch. When I came back out after lunch. I added 5 quarts of oil. Checked the stick, and nothing! I hadn't put the plug back in the pan yet. Can you say clean oil in the grass? And I wish that was the dumbest thing that I ever did. But NO, that's another story. lol Ron.....

 

Sitting in a heated, completely insulated and sealed shop with 20 below outside temps, checking the cooling capability of the new radiator and fan I'd installed in my BB powered 27 roadster. As I sat there watching the gauge, after about 40 minutes I was pretty happy with the results, some might even say euphoric...
Still get razzed over that one by my Buddy. But if he hadn't showed up when he did, that razzing would be the least of my worries.

 

I didn't have a garage where I lived when I was younger and the clutch had gone out on my car. So me, my 3 brothers and 2 brothers in law, tipped my car up on it's side on an old mattress, propped it in position with the driveshaft, and I then pulled the 4 speed and replaced the clutch. I know, I know, not the smartest thing I could have done...

 

it seems to me that after all these years of dropping things our ears and brain combine and cause a freeze, so you can try to picture where it went. like, fell...but i never heard it hit the floor, check frame rail or on a bad day down into some inaccessible lower fender mount. or, hit the ground, rolled, then "plink" hit somethin, thats an easy one, look near the wrench you dropped an hour ago. hit the ground, bounced a few times, then quiet...thats a tuff one, could be anywhere. those are usually tiny parts that you no spare in stock, neither does the parts store thats closed anyway, and you cant finish the job without it. of coarse all these scenarios require the brain and hearing freeze i started with, however, at 65 the brain and the ears and the eyes dont always perform like they used too.

 

Gorden c, i had a 50 chev up on its side to get the tranny out and the neighbors called the police! thats when i knew i had to live in the country

 

I put a sbc 400 in my truck with all the 350 stuff including the balancer, made it 20 miles and it left the room.

 

After finishing a beautiful paint job I began the demanding task of wet sanding. Had about half the car completed when I heard a scuffing sound coming from the other side. I looked for the source of the noise and found my 4 year old son helping his Dad sand the other fender. I thought that was cool until I saw the 80 grit paper in his hand.

 

One night while drinking a few and cleaning the shop I had some clear that hardened in the bottom of the cup. I thought, hey let’s see if it will burn. I set it on the floor and lit it. As the flame grew and was starting to really stink up the place i decided the best way to put it out would be to STOMP on it. Not only did that not put it out but ,what was once one fire was now about 20 smaller fires. Of course in my state of mind I thought it would now be easier to extinguish them again with my foot. I now had 50 tiny fires that hid under cabinets, tool boxes, cardboard and anything else that might cause a much larger problem. Thinking to myself oh shit I grabbed the fire extinguisher and proceeded to fog my entire shop with an unsightly yellow dust. The worst of this whole ordeal was at the peak of the fogging my wife decided to come to check if I was ok because she hadn’t seen me for awhile. I now am not allowed to play with matches when I’ve been drinking.


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Came home after night clubbin' in my Vette, pulled into the garage, knocked my Harley over into some shelving, dumping the contents on it.

 

I've already divulged too much in previous threads. Maybe I should try to retain at least a little of the illusion that I know what I'm doing.
Or, I could start a build thread and shatter any remaining illusions.

 

My 32 was Chebbie powered with a Vertex Mag . The Mag was laying on the work bench when an Ole Buddy arrived with his date on his Harley . He tells me watch this , he leaned against her twisted the Mag and she wet her laundry ! Naturally it was my fault because I was laughing , she slapped the smile right off his face causing him to drop my Mag . Not good . But it was funny .

 

Had a 421 Pontiac engine apart in the garage in my first apartment. Newly married and worked days and attended college at night. I got home late after class and decided to stop in the garage where I had found rust starting to form on the crank journals. In a moment of genius the previous day I thought using sulphuric acid I had gotten at work would remove the rust. Yes still stupid! Bottom of the glass acid bottle burst spraying my coat and shoes with acid. Ran into our apartment ripping clothes off. There they sat smoldering like the wicked witch in the Wizard of OZ. My wife laughed herself silly watching me dance around ripping off clothes once she realized I wasn't hurt. Scared the living crap out of me! Had the crank turned down the next week. More to come from the land of stupidity and to think I'm considered smart in some circles.

 

Saw a guy do that once on a GMC tractor with an 8V-71. When we walked in, he was on top, halfway through the second case of oil, and a sea of oil 10ft past the front bumper

 

Tried to put out a carb back fire with a greasy, solvent soaked rag...poof.

 

Stupidest thing I did in the garage- Carol, in her Escalade

 

^^^^^

 

I was parting out this late model EFI car and didn't want the gas to go to waste so I decided to drain the tank. Since these cars come with electric fuel pumps in the tank, I found the correct wires and hot wired the thing with the fuel line dumping into a plastic jerry can. To make sure that I didn't overfill the jerry can, I placed a trouble light along side it to see the fuel level. Of course, it overflowed and once it hit the hot trouble light, caught fire and I got burnt trying to move the trouble light away.

 

How about when I installed a C4 Ford transmission, get it all buttoned up, try to drive it....no go.....left the input shaft laying on the bench. No wonder it went in so easy.

 

We have a old fridge in the shop that we store welding rod in . I was going to cut the small freezer out of the top for more storage. Dad tells me don't put your head in there when you cut the lines . Some companies used propane for refrigerant . So I stand to the side and reach inside with the die grinder to start cutting. I cut the first coil it goes pooff and a 6' flame shoots out. The freezer is still in there .

 

The dumbest thing I have ever done is put a socket extension under a kingpin and lower the car on it. Then I proceeded to hit it with a 5-pound hammer . Luckily for me I was sitting off to the side because the socket extension slipped it went through the sheetrock wall. My latest trick was to put a strut in a vice I managed to launch that across the garage.

 

well ...its early, aint got done with coffee and gone out there yet.