most memorable mishaps, oops! [Archive]

cepx111

12-11-2008, 11:38 PM

Here's a couple that make me laugh when I think about it.

Ford motors are built ford tough right? Right.
I had just got done putting a motor in my 87 ford truck, I had the remote starter button hooked up to the solenoid on the fender.
For reasons I can't remember now I went to crank the thing over and didn't realize I had the ignition on, well you guessed it, that thing fired up on the first revolution, which wasn't so bad, least I knew I had the timing pretty close...lol but there this one little detail I forgot to mention, the upper plenum wasn't on yet!
It went from start to 10 thousand rpm or somewhere near there in the blink of a eye.
I ran over and killed the ignition as quick as I could, my heart was pounding wondering if I just grenaded my new motor, nope.
Buttoned it all up cranked it up and it ran great, needless to say I was easy on the throttle a few days before I opened it up but heck I drove that truck for 2 years before I ended up selling it, now that's the proper way to break in a motor....lol

Now this is more of a testimonial than a mishap but I thought ya'll ford guys would like it.
I had worked at several ford dealerships over my career as an automotive tech.
One day this customer brought in this beaten down work truck, under warranty of course> it was knocking its butt off - so knowing how the warranty system works, the service writer had asked me to grenda the thing so we could just put a complete motor in rather than patch together a worn out motor.
So I promptly drained the oil and went for a drive, I drove it and I drove it and I drove it, I stopped and floored it, I did burn-outs, it got louder but I could not make that thing come apart. finally gave up and just took it apart hoping I had caused enough damage to warrant a whole motor, mission accomplished....lol
Have a little fun and tell on yourself or if know of someone elses funny mishap, tell it, lets keep this thing going.
later, Charles

mytmouz

12-12-2008, 12:16 AM

Somewhat similar to your first one. Just out of high school I bought a 74 Datsun pickup. I got some watery fuel and drained the system. (The tank had a drain plug.) I removed the carb and filter to clean and replace when I decided to spin it over to remove the watery fuel in the line so I would be all fresh and clean. :roll: . Well, when I hit the starter, the fuel line was directly over the gaping hole in the intake where the carb used to be. It started right up, with flames shooting 20 feet high. I panicked and ran for the garden hose. The fire didn't go out (or the engine die), until water ran back out of the intake. Yes, after removing the plugs and letting the water drain, I reinstalled the carb and it fired right up... :oops:

ashtrak

12-12-2008, 02:21 AM

I use to work at a G.M. dealer when i was setting timing on a chevette. I had another guy put it in gear for me to check ruffness of motor so he puts it in reverse and didn't look to see if the parking brake was set. Well needless to say there was an open pit across from me we did alignments on and the car took off. I'm running after the car trying to hop inside and just barely got the car stopped as one of the back wheels falls into the pit. My heart was in my throatand a lil soil in my pants. Thank God nothing happened and we were able to push it up out of the pit.

outlaw256

12-12-2008, 02:27 AM

back in the early 80s i worked for otasco doing tune ups exhaust tires nothing really good. i had a custumer come into the baysand stand there and watch me tune up his old truck. i first grabbed a handfull of plug wires and threw them on the bench and this old man just about had a haertattack. ask me a 100 times how you gonna get them wires back in the right place. made me mad as hell. and mad at the store manager for lettin him in the shop to begin with.i acted kinda like i was shy a brick or two and had that oldman shakin, scared he would have to walk home. i really played it out.when i was all done puttin in new plugs, points etc.i went to start it and i was watching this guy as i tried to start it i wanted to see his face when it fired up, not when it wouldnt start!seemed like i turned that thing over for ever. got out checked firing order. even checked the points. by now the guy had the manager in the shop and was on the verge of crying.as i was heases back in the truck for the tenth time, i loked at the work bench and what did i see , a rotor button. at first i thought it was the old one but then it finally dawned on my dumba$$ that i didnt see a rotor when i checked the points. pulled the cap and no rotor. put one on it and it fired right up. after i set the carb,the truck run great. the old man left holding his heart but smiling and saying truck runs better than it ever has, but he wouldnt let me tune up his bicycle. lesson to be learned never quit working on a half gallon of whisky at 4.00 when you gotta be at work at 7.00.and it was the boss that i was drinking with!!

curtisreed

12-12-2008, 05:33 AM

The first motor I ever changed was in my first car. '73 Chevelle, (couldn't have been '72). I bought a short block from a rebuilder. Brought my new/rebuilt piece home in the back of my buddies truck. We didn't have a garage but there was a room on the end of his mom's house we were going to finish building it in.

We get home and we are just going to lift it out and carry it inside. He has me back up close to the door. I'm backing up slowly, which was too slow for him. He gives me the big come on hand wave and yells back up, so I start heading back quite a bit faster watching him not where I'm at. Well I am getting close fast so he panicks and yells STOP. Yeah you guessed it, out on the concrete driveway it goes. :oops: :oops: I couldn't believe it didn't land on the deck or anything just messed up the belhousing mount a little. Well you live you learn. Usually the hard way.

Same friend same place we are putting a lift kit on his new Ford truck. Of course we have it jacked up a mile and held up by the safest concrete blocks we could find. We are under it working away, the u-bolts have to be torqued to 150lbs-ft. I say, "did you hear that?" We stop for a second and there is another creaking sound. We fly out from under it just as it falls to the side and to the ground.

Same truck he is changing the intake to a performer and has his hood laying in the yard. Some people come over and my car is blocked in the driveway. That night when I leave I pull through the yard not able to see the black hood laying on the ground. Made a sick crunch as I ran over it!

A tornado came through a few weeks later and threw someones roof on top of the truck so the insurance company took care of my screw up. :D

Luckily we just laugh about that crap nowadays.

Tod74

12-12-2008, 06:09 AM

ME!!!!

curtisreed

12-12-2008, 08:01 AM

ME!!!!

Did your parents tell you that?? :lol: :lol:

Harbone

12-12-2008, 09:40 AM

I had spent years as a kid from 10 years old and up working in my grandpas shop, swapped my first 4 cylinder for a customer when I was 16. 99% of my experience was GM based. When I was 18 I purchased a 1965 Dodge Coronet with an 318A motor in it. She had oodles of miles on her and I wanted to do my first engine swap on a Chrysler. I scored a wrecked mid 70's Aspen with a 318B motor and proceeded to swap them out. New carb, distributor, wires all the goodies and I was damn proud. Till it came time to start it, all it would do was pop out the intake and the exhaust. I checked the carb, fuel system, firing order, everything! After 2 more nights of frustration my good ole grandpa finally came over to take a look. asked me all I had done, double checked my work and then started laughing out loud. I was really confused, he asks me "what about the firing order' I was like gpa its right there on the intake, I timed up to #1 cylinder 2 or 3 times so I know its right!! He cracked open a beer, sat back and then let me know that the cylinder order on a Chrysler is not the same as a GM product. Unlike GM on this Chrysler the order was 1-4 on the left side and 5-8 on the other! I had no idea, so swapped the wires and she fired right up. never did like Chryslers that much anyways!!!

bowtie4542001

12-12-2008, 01:22 PM

I was working on a 4x4 Nissan truck replacing the rear seal in the trans. I had drove the truck up on the ramps and started taking the drive shaft out. Well...you guessed it. I pulled the drive shaft out and the truck started rolling down the ramps. Lucky for me the truck had a suspension lift on it with some pretty big tires, there was no time to get out from under the truck so I turned my body longways with the truck and it rolled right over me. Needless to say, I always chock the back tires now. :D

Chris

Racefab57

12-12-2008, 02:12 PM

I went to ALFRED AG< TECH for automotive,and I was tuning up my roomates car and I hooked up the push button remote starter,and guess what ..... now this car was a std. trans.... and yes its in gear,the starter solonoid stuck and it kept jumping forward and trying to start ...and ended up against the work bench jumping and fartin.. and me trying to get the battery unhooked, WELl I dam near died!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD THERE WASNT ANYONE IN FRT. OF THIS CAR....OH MAN what a day.BUT thats the things you learn.DR. LOL,LOL,

Scooterz

12-12-2008, 03:03 PM

Great thread Gentlemen!!

I kinda blew my wad already on a similar thread back awhile ago invloving one gas scotter & one cop & two broken arms, so I don't have too many mishaps that match up to that one.

I do recall a time when I was getting ready to tow my 72' Chevelle once when I was 17. Unfortunately I "assumed" my e-brake worked in that car.... on a slanted driveway.... while pulling the driveshaft... BAMM!! I remember watching the oil-pan bolt rushing closer to my head as I wiggled away from a 3000+ car getting ready to crush my body of about 160lbs... man that sucked. The front pass tire rolled into my side & busted my clavical bone in my shoulder & I remember mucas spitting out of my mouth taking the breath away from me. As my 110lb girl friend was pushing on the back, I somehow was able to wiggle out & the car went into the street to a stop.

Another trip to the Hospital... first time I had Morphine too. I was told later that I was flirting with a big fat nurse lady who was helping me... they said I told her I was into "big luvin" & that I wanted her number.
WTH??? I am NOT into fat chicks.

mytmouz

12-12-2008, 03:37 PM

But you were trying to be... :P

zipper06

12-12-2008, 05:36 PM

Well this was stupid as hell and you'll probably wonder how i live to be so old, but here goes.

I was living in Phx. at the time, and had a excellent running 65 Chevelle track champ 84/85, i also had a 2 car garage attached. I had taken my 10' camper off my truck and set it down on the one side of the garage door, real close outside. I had my Chevelle parked on the other side of the garage and pushed back with in inches of the door. I was building a 427" b/blk for a friend in front of the Chevelle, and the last thing i was stick welding the pickup tube to the oil pump. About 3 ft. away was a drain pan 1/2 full of gas that i had been washing parts it. You guess it one of the chingle berrys jump into the drain pan, instent flames. I couldn't get the drain pan between the car and the camper, and in seconds the flames were like 5 ft. high. I was afraid to throw a blanket on it for fear it would splash out. I had some 2X4's standing against one wall, so i dragged the flaming pan around the front of the car and out the front door of the garage, by this time the flames were 10 ft. high, and the garage was so heavy in smoke you couldn't see in it. I put a hose on the pan and all it did was splash out for about 2 to 3 min. by the time i got it out i had burned up 10' of lawn and 2 neighbors were already calling the fire dept. I keep the burned 2 X 4 in the garage as a reminder untill i sold the house.
That's the last time i ever used gas to was parts, indoor or out doors, lesson well learned. :oops:

Zip.

eddie1963

12-12-2008, 09:40 PM

worked in the automotive repair field [exhaust too] for several years and as usual was very busy [KEEP IN MIND I am the manager thus I know eveything]. vehicle needed an exhaust fron the converter back, so me, knowing everything and all the part numbers from all the years of using walker exhaust, I pulled the parts and proceeded to cut the old off and install the new! heck my Grandmother could install this exhaust in 30 minutes or less!!!!!!!!after inventing a few new curse words, stating walker exhaust sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I lowered the FORD ranger pick up with a new CHEVY s10 exhaust system installed!!!!!!!!!! I AM THAT GOOD !!!!!!!! OR WAS I THAT STUPID?????????? NEVER EVEN REALIZED HOW STUPID WE CAN BE WHEN IN A HURRY? the FORD ran like a CHEVY and all i did was use a universal exhaust hanger, make a pipe sleeve, and tack weld it so it would HOPEFULLY rot off before it fell off! I SMILED AND BRAGGED AS IT DROVE AWAY... SEE MY PROFILE I LIKE MAKING IT WORK. ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE> On the morning of the 25thof DEC. close you eyes 'so we dont see the gifts' and lets count our blessings and remember our loved ones not with us and pray for their safe keeping! STILL KEEPING THE FAITH NOW BACK TO FUNNY> hope i get that new carb from Santa! HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS...

Tod74

12-12-2008, 11:13 PM

When I was about 15 years old my dad and I came home to find my moron brother in law under the hood of a neighbors car...trust me he was the last guy you wanted "helping" you.We walked over and found him testing for fire with a screwdriver stuck into a spark plug wire...only instead of trying to jump the spark to the engine or what have you, he was just holding onto the metal part of the screwdriver...He told my dad "this thing aint fireing a lick..." Dad pulled the coil wire off, scraped the post(which by the way was coroded) with a pocket knife and reinstalled the wire...my brother in law,still holding the screwdriver, yelled "TRY IT NOW" VROOOOOOOMMMM!! as soon as the guy cranked it.

:lol: the scream was great.

cepx111

12-12-2008, 11:46 PM

I got loads of these, I'll share another with ya'll.

One day at the ford dealership a truck came in that wouldnt start, after performing several different "tests" I figured the module in the dist was bad. Someone left the ignition ON not me...lol
Soon as I lifted the dist out of the block BOOM! The crankcase was full of raw gas and fumes from trying to crank it and when the dist was lifted with the ignition ON it broke the ground to it and the spark it created ignited all those fumes, my left ear still rings to this day. The explosion balloned the valve covers and the oil pan pretty bad, it was an expensive lesson, but looking back it was still funny I must have looked like one of those cartoon characters whoes bomb went off in their face....lol
Cp

mytmouz

12-13-2008, 03:05 AM

Back to the teen years. I was working on my first car. A 4 door 65 Impala.
(What a chick magnet in the mid 80's) The starter went out and I decided to change it myself. (This was my first time). I had the car jacked up as high as the bumper jack would go. Well, it was difficult to start the bolts for some reason and I had been underneath struggling for so long my arms were tired. I finally got on bolt started, (I thought) and laid my arms by side for a break. That's when the starter fell and chipped my front tooth...

Tod74

12-13-2008, 04:57 AM

I posted this before in a different thread...but it still remains my most memorble mistake that made myself out to look like a fool...

This isn't race car related but probably the most humiliating moment of my life happened when I was a freshman in High school. Our wrestling coach aranged for us to have access to the school swimming pool(indoor pool) for a night at the end of the season...well they had the swim coach there along with a classmate of ours ( female, cheerleader,swimmer, hot,good looking..you get the idea) anyway she was there as a life guard..well we were trying to get her wet when we jumped off the diving board..nobody could do it. She was standing close to the edge of the pool but it was too far for the splash to get her...so I jumped off and then swam over to the edge right next to her and climbed out of the pool and started to head back to the diving board line...I walked two steps past her then turned real quick and did a "canonball" right in front of her so I could splash her...well my aim wasn't so good and I misjudged the distance and the back of my head smashed into the edge of the pool ...knocking me completely unconcious, leaving me floating in the pool with the back of my head cut open. ....she had to jump in the water and rescue me.

So I DID get her wet, but I didn't get to look at her cause they took me to the Emergency room to get stitches.

This pool was on the second floor of our High School and sounds echoed pretty bad...well I was told that it made quite a loud boom and echo when I did it. All I remember is jumping and then coming too with her in the water and the coaches pulling me up out of the pool....Oh yeah and all my friends laughing their asses off at me. I heard about that one forever.

JimmySmith

12-13-2008, 05:47 AM

one nite at Memphis I drove ZIP's malibu and it launched high and hard and down track it went to viberating so I shut down and got off track, no oil down but broke trans, drive shaft and rear end. Zip ain't let me back in his car but then it had a 406 and it would really be fun with the big motor. Later J.Smith 4621 racing :D

NorthMotorSports

12-16-2008, 11:25 AM

I got one lol........

Well about 8 yrs ago when I was 18 I was workin a muffler shop in kck.... I was weldin up this exhaust for a guy and he watched me lay the bead and everything..... Well when I got done weldin up the exhaust the guy graved it make sure it was good and burnt the piss out of his hand and four arm lol........ How stupid can you get???

hollowayshotrods

12-16-2008, 03:15 PM

I was a new mechanic at a local Volvo dealership about 15 years or so ago, no experience at all anywhere other than my own shop at home. About 3 months into this gig, I get my first front wheel drive tranny r&r. I struggled for several hours trying to get this thing out. I had never really dealt with the large number of wires, sensors, etc on these computer cars. I pack up for the day thinking I had it made in the morning, button up the subframe, reinstall strut assembly, etc.

IT ABSOLUTELY SUCKED when I walked and unlocked my toolbox, to find the flywheel laying under the jacket I had thrown in the top of my tool box earlier the day before. Needless to say, I was ridden like a donkey for days to come for that.