Dumb things that you did.......because you didn't know any better.

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I tossed a 65 273-4 short block into a field because it only had a spun rod bearing. I built a 68 318 out of everything off that 273 including the cam and it was faster? Yup. I also cracked the 4bbl intake (318 block had dowel pins, Doh!) so I replaced it with a Performer. Did the Performer save the build?
Had no brakes in my Honda AN600 car, found I had no brake fluid. I had to get out of that party and get home so I put water in there, pumped them up and it got me home. Spent the next day replacing the rear piston seals and flushing the system.
 
How about the dumbest one "with luck" I ever did, not too long ago? Got a free junk boat and trailer. Hooked it up, no lights decided "I'll risk it" about 15m from home, but I could mostly stay off the freeway. And it had no safety chain, the one "loose" one in the truck did not seem to reach.

Off we went, maybe, 3? mi or so. YOU COULD NOT SEE the thing in the mirrors as it was narrow, and the little camper, etc. I was on a straight section of town into Post Falls. Finally realized IT WAS NOT THERE. Went back maybe 1/2 mile, nearly decided it was gone....someone else dragged it off? Damn near A MILE back there the stupid thing was, coasted harmlessly to the curb (35 zone) sitting there "waiting." The receiver stinger was REALLY short, I had stuck it in, then pulled it out until the pin went through.....COMPLETELY BEHIND the stinger!!! The SECOND time, I GOT THAT CHAIN to hook up LOLOL
 
When we borrowed a friends flat deck trailer to drag my Toad home we found out the receiver tang was bent and wouldn't engage properly.
A little Macgyvering and all is good. Seems legit! Made it home no problem but we should know better.

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67Dart273 said:
How about the dumbest one "with luck" I ever did, not too long ago? Got a free junk boat and trailer. Hooked it up, no lights decided "I'll risk it" about 15m from home, but I could mostly stay off the freeway. And it had no safety chain, the one "loose" one in the truck did not seem to reach.

Off we went, maybe, 3? mi or so. YOU COULD NOT SEE the thing in the mirrors as it was narrow, and the little camper, etc. I was on a straight section of town into Post Falls. Finally realized IT WAS NOT THERE. Went back maybe 1/2 mile, nearly decided it was gone....someone else dragged it off? Damn near A MILE back there the stupid thing was, coasted harmlessly to the curb (35 zone) sitting there "waiting." The receiver stinger was REALLY short, I had stuck it in, then pulled it out until the pin went through.....COMPLETELY BEHIND the stinger!!! The SECOND time, I GOT THAT CHAIN to hook up LOLOL
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Reading this gave me flashbacks
"Hand me down" "work truck"! Receiver was home made and they had drilled the hole just far enough back that a drop down stinger would just miss the hole. YUP! shove it in and pulled it out until the pin when thru.
70 mph, going down hill, it decided (had safety change on), it decided to come out but this trailer was heavy. Slam Bam back and forth until i got it stopped. the guy behind me stopped and came running up with a fire extinguisher. guess the hitch made one hell of a light show dragging on the ground.

Got wrote up for that one!!!! only trailer i have EVER dropped.
New technique now. INSTALL PIN THEN TUG VARY HARD ON STINGER BEFORE HOOKING UP TRAILER.:BangHead:
 
Buddy took his boat out with me into the bay, got outside the jetty down maybe 2 miles and the outboard seized up, he had no oil in the gearbox. Needle bearings welded themselves to the driveshaft and race. Also had a 40 foot anchor 'rope' that was no where close reaching the bottom.
 
Hmmm only think i can say is that that kid in the pic probably sold it for way to cheap???!!!!....
 
I guess you can call me dumb because I told him to do it, but in my mind I'm not the dumb one...lol..
In the early eighties we were juniors in high school and auto shop class... My best friend was tuning up his 67 Impala with a 327 and it had 202 fueler heads LOL... That's what I remember him saying... Obviously he had the timing way off and he turned the car off and it started dieseling terribly and would not stop... He was in a panic and all I could think to do was to cut the electricity off to the distributor.. I balled out "GRAB THE COIL WIRE!!"... Well he did..LOL... Needless to say he got every last one of those 10, 000 volts... First off I know I never seen our shop teacher mr. Kingham (RIP) laughed so hard... Needless to say we weren't his favorites... Actually the whole auto shop was pretty much in tears and Steve wasn't all that happy either..lol..
To this very day 35 years later I can say hey Steve "grab the coil wire" and still get a f-you!!... LOL.. I was just talking to my son who's 30 years old the other day and told him I was talking to Steve LOL he said did you ask him to grab the coil wire LOL... That story is legendary...
 
Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories. It takes a good spirited person to admit their mistakes!
I've made plenty...BUT I feel that the guy that makes NO mistakes is the guy that never tries anything. You can't screw up stuff if you never leave the couch.
I look at things and wonder how they work. I ponder odd ways to fix things too, sometimes. Add to that the occasional tendency to just jump in without knowing what I am doing and mistakes are sure to happen.
With my first car, I decided to change the points. 1969 Dart with a 318.
I pulled the old ones out and put the new ones in. It wouldn't start. Guess why?
Yeah...I didn't set the gap. How the heck should I know that it was necessary ? :eek:
I've driven cars after forgetting to tighten the lug nuts.
I cleaned the sludge in the top end of a Honda Civic, only for the sludge that fell through the drain holes to block the oil pickup and caused a rod knock.
I once set the air gap too wide in my '70 Charger and tried to drag race it, only for it to pop and sputter to an embarrassing ET.
 
Got a job pumping gas at the local Enco station. 14 years old.

I had tried to impress the boss with my mechaical skills but he kept me pumping gas (full service) for several months.

Then one Saturday I was told to help our lead mechanic on an oil change on a ‘53 Plymouth. Gene told me to check the transmission “grease”... so I got a 9/16” open end and pulled the DRAIN plug.


After I cleaned the shop floor(they were hospital clean 24/7) I pumped another several thousand gallons of Tiger Piss until I got a second chance.
 
no headers for a streeter.
My boss bought three different sets to make one set, for an E-body. And we built custom engine brackets. And what not. The thing is, I told him before we started there were no headers for that combo . And there was no good reason to put those Ultra heads on there. I knew the owner and he was a pussy. A 318 wouldda been enough for this car.
The owner said that 6-pac 340 made 497 .. on dyno headers. Yeah right. In any case the car is parked in an air-conditioned garage and I wonder if in 6 years it has a hundred miles on it yet.
I bet those headers cost the guy $2000Canadian...... plus powdercoat, sheesh.
I quit that job shortly after finishing that project. Between the two of those thick fellows, I had had enough.
 
Cudafever said:
so inlighten us.
why was these heads a mistake?
I have heard good and bad on these heads...why were they a bad idea for you?
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Headers, brackets, rocker stands, special head studs, now fighting an intake leak.

Sold a set of tti’s that were new because I refused to cut them. Ended up with custom headers.

They are a gift that continues to give
 
My first car was a '55 4-door dodge with a Red Ram V8. As I was changing the oil one time, I noticed that there was a deep deposit of sludge in the bottom of the pan. Of course, I reasoned that the sludge needed to be removed and the engine "cleaned out". I wasn't about to drop the pan, so I just re-filled the crankcase with kerosene. I cranked her up and ran it till it started knocking, turned it off, drained the kerosene and re-filled with motor oil. Hell, it was still running fine the day I sold it. I don't recall any sludge coming out with the drained kerosene:realcrazy::realcrazy:
 
Work related, gas stations and Sears auto center.

1) I had gotten pretty good at giving a hot radiator cap a little twist to the first stop and jumping back while the steam flew. One time the cap came completely off and the rad pretty much exploded in my face. At least I got the rest of the day off.
2) A guy came in and needed an alternator. Pulled the car in the bay, loosened up the alternator bolts, and it dropped down on the bracket until the battery terminal hit the block and stopped it. I watched the cable burn like it was in slow motion.
3) A cow-orker pulled a car in, told me the engine was dying. So I go over, pop the hood, pull the cap, and grab the rotor to remove it. Cow-orker had left the key on. Lucky me the rotor pulled up off the distributor but still knocked the crap out of me.
4) Was working on a car, trying to figure out if it had jumped time. Had the plugs out cranking it. Fumes built up in the engine compartment until a spark cleared them out. Was having trouble putting the fire out until I realized the oily floor under it was what kept sparking up.
 
not a car, but close enough
I musta been 16 at the time, 17 tops and my main means of getting around was a two stroke 80CC dirtbike
for whatever reason I decided to do a tune up
new plug, new wire, and why not...new points
in order to get to the points I had to pull the fly wheel off
so I did, and wouldn't you know it, I lost the index key

no problem, ill just eyeball it
got it back on just fine

gave it one good kick and she fired right up
so I grabbed my helmet (it was getting close to beer o'clock) and hopped on
I gave her a big twist of the throttle, kicked her in gear, let out the clutch....and over the handle bars I went
apparently, I got the flywheel off just far enough that the timing was so far advance that then engine was now running in reverse


you should have seen the looks on the faces of the guys as I pulled into the bar BACKWARDS
 
Uncle Bob said:
Work related, gas stations and Sears auto center.

1) I had gotten pretty good at giving a hot radiator cap a little twist to the first stop and jumping back while the steam flew. One time the cap came completely off and the rad pretty much exploded in my face. At least I got the rest of the day off.
2) A guy came in and needed an alternator. Pulled the car in the bay, loosened up the alternator bolts, and it dropped down on the bracket until the battery terminal hit the block and stopped it. I watched the cable burn like it was in slow motion.
3) A cow-orker pulled a car in, told me the engine was dying. So I go over, pop the hood, pull the cap, and grab the rotor to remove it. Cow-orker had left the key on. Lucky me the rotor pulled up off the distributor but still knocked the crap out of me.
4) Was working on a car, trying to figure out if it had jumped time. Had the plugs out cranking it. Fumes built up in the engine compartment until a spark cleared them out. Was having trouble putting the fire out until I realized the oily floor under it was what kept sparking up.
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you sound lucky to be alive....lol
 
I think I'll just sit back & keep MY stupidity to myself. I won't admit to some of the really foolish things I've done.
 
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