OK, make me feel better, Dumbest mistake ever??

[Ziptar]

Today I was working on the 85, I had the battery disconnected. When it came time to hook it back up I dunno what but my mind was elsewhere...

I hooked the + lead to the - terminal on the battery and vise versa, I noticed a small spark but nothing major.

A few seconds later fusible link on the firewall was hissing and smoking. As I started to yank the battery cables I immediatley saw what I did.

DOH!

Luckily no permanent damage, I spliced in a new piece of wire and everything seems fine.

I am sure I am not the only to make goofball screw ups... What have you done in the past that you couldn't believe that you did??

Edited by: Ziptar at: 1/22/06 4:10 pm

[VileZambonie]

Yeah that's a big booboo You replaced the fusible link with another fusible link right? Don't feel bad, my buddy did a brake job on his truck and put the wheels back on. Then he backed up and saw his brake drums still sitting on the ground!  

[1976Scottsdale]

Well, you are definately not the only one.  I put an engine together about three weeks ago to get it ready to be picked up by the buyer.  Put the cranks and rods in and put on the oil pan (one piece rear main and big 1 piece gasket.  Put on the heads, got the valvetrain installed, put on the intake, and got it ready to leave... so I thought.  Next morning, day of pickup, I come downstairs because I could not sleep, one of those anticipation/anxiety deals.  I look at the engine and notice that I forgot the pan stiffening rails, no big deal, put them on and throw some more paint at it.  Then I go eat, then it hits me like a baseball bat, what was the label on the unopened boxes next to the pan rails????  One Word, MELLING!!!  You guessed it, put the whole thing together and forgot the darned oil pump .  So, we disassemble again and fix that and repaint.
Now, I have been building smallblocks for about 7 years now, never forgotten anything before.

Now, Another 1978 owner, friend of my dad, put on... or I should say watched me put on rear spring perches and new springs on his 78 K-10.  He did the driver side because I made him watch me do the passenger so he would know.  I left for work, came back and find that he put all the bolts in backwards and put the spring on backwards.  All I said, "Never shoulda left ya, you need the babysitter."  So, we fixed that and then he did rear brakes, new drums, shoes, cylinders, hardware and passenger side seal and lines.  He left after we told him that his passenger side shoes were not retracting all the way.  He called the next day to tell us that his e-brake cable was stuck and holding his brakes out.  We drove to look at it and found that he had gotten that side so hot that the drum, hardare kit, shoes, cylinder, hub, and backing plate were all BLUE!!!!.  He re-used it all and said that it should be fine.  All I told him was "Not my truck."

Don't feel bad, your mistake was an easy one to fix.

[81ChevyCheyenne]

Me two... in 79 replacing the timing chain on 69 Camaro. had all the stuff off ready to pull the Harmonic balance.... I did and it was a two peice... had a donut and the middle separate. Oh well, hammer'm back together...they'll be alright... Not really... push rods bent and lucky nothing worse happened. Yep... and then I sold it for $1300 bucks... yep I was an idiot.

81 ChevyCheyenne.

Ps. when I was buying the Camaro I had a choice. Two 69s one was white black strips 307, auto with green interior. $1800 buck. The other was RS with 327 Blue convert with black int and top for $2500... I chose the cheaper course.. Dumb dumb dumb!

[Lt.Del]

Have you seen the Barrett-Jackson auctions....many 69 camaros over the $160k mark.  Some over $200k w/ the big blocks.

One small block 69 sold for over $200k that had only 1100 miles on it documented.

Anyway, since we are telling on ourselves, here is what I did on my first rebuild when i was 16.  It was a 68 Mustang.  I yanked the motor. Put it on a engine stand.  I flipped the motor over to get to the bottom end.  I remember hearing something hit the concrete floor of my garage.  I picked up this little hex rod thing that I didn't know what it was.

Anyway, i had it bored .30 over, put all new parts in it.  Torqued everything correctly.  Put her back in my stang and cranked it up.

She started right up.  But it seemed awfully loud, like a diesel or something.  I had a bad feeling.  I took the oil filter off and nothing was in it.

Then I remembered that hex rod thing.  I realized the oil pump wasn't turning.  

Luckily i caught the problem before much damage occured and that old motor lasted right on through high school and college.   I broke the engine in good to say the least.
I used to put that heavy STP oil treatment on all the bearings and pistons during rebuilds....i think that is what saved me.

Live and Learn

SgtDel
www.delbridge.net

Edited by: SgtDel at: 1/23/06 9:38 am

[Ziptar]

Thanks, at least I don't feel so bad now...

A buddy of mine just brought home a Matching numbers 69 Camaro w/ 307 and a 4 Speed. The guy he bought it from had just finished the interior, re skinning the full rear 1/4's, new fenders , new door shells and had it primed ready to paint.

I guess the guy was in a nasty divorce and had to get it out his garage quick or the wife was going to junk it. My buddy got the car, and extra 327 engine, 18" alloy wheels and new tires, bunch of new and used parts for $12,000.00

[78rustbucket]

hmmm guess mine would be last weekend, put a new dist in my 84 and after trying to figure out why it wouldnt start for a good 15 mins i noticed a shiney new rotor siting on the battery. as for the 69's i been looking for years cant even find a decent basket case under 10 grand

[mike357]

my dumbest mistake, well its hard to tell which one was the dumbest. when i was 16 many moons ago, i had a pinto(no jokes please  ) i was driving along and the tranny quit shifting. it would not go no matter what you did. i looked under and did not see any fluid under the car, so i went and bought another tranny. started unbolting stuff to get ready to pull it out and my mother of all people said" did you ever check the fluid?". mom do i look stupid or what? so just to prove to her i wasnt an idiot i checked it. sure enough there was no fluid in it. i filled it up and it worked just fine.

[ccb]

heck I have forgot to do a lot of thing when I was a young man.
With that being said my last big one was. not really  something I forgot to do but not well enough. My truck set on the side of the house cab chassic engine trans everything is cover all the hole are plug with duck tape. Well out here in  AZ we get little rain ,but wen it rain it rains. long story short My new cover had a pin hole which leak down on the engine and some how got past the duck tape and filled the engine with water. Well lucky for me I went out to check on the truck after it rained and said a couple of four letter words. drained the oil  ran a oil base cleaner through the engine then refilled it and reprimed the oil pump.  So life happens Some time you just have to laugh even when it hurts.

Craig

Craig  

[123 pugsy]

I thought I'd clean my fuel gauge and used a damp cloth(just water).I didn't know at the time GM used finger paint on the darn things.Had to search a month to find another one.

[87swb]

yeah we get ahead of ourselves sometimes. i changed the spark plugs and wires when i put my headers on i got a couple of plug wires on the wrong plugs i cranked it, just had headers on it no pipes and it crossfired really loud it scared me half to death.  

[Blazin]

Years ago I worked at the local oil / propane co. as a mechanics assistant. I droped the oil and filters on a 7.8 Ford in an LN8000. I prceeded to fill the oil, go to brake and then come back and fire it up. Oil presure did not climb so I shut her down. Hopped out to check on things, only to see a large pool of oil ( approx. 3 gallons ) on the floor. I forgot to put the new oil filters on! der!!
 

[ccb]

Did that only I heard it squiting out. Bad deal was I got or was sold the wrong oil filter did not check to make sure it was the right one.
And my dad gave me a funny look.  Like the 70's show dum ass.
Scoop all the oil up and but it to good use in a cutting oil can.

heck I think I got a bunch more of these to wright about. lol


Craig

[DnStClr]

Long tme ago I had a 56 ford and started datin a girl who's dad owned a big salvage place for military vehics- he had $$. I was poor and broke, but I really wanted to impress him ya know.
So late one night as I was leavin their place it was raining cats & dogs, and I get in the Ford and it won't go forward. Spinnin tires all over the place, ya know, but just didn't go. ok so I put it in  reverse and it backs uo pretty good. So I try fwd again- just sits there spinning. About a half hour of this, and the old guy comes out, soaked, p'.o.d of course. He says
"Look dummy, did ya check the emergency brake?!"
Well, I called her a couple more times after that, but the old man never let me go back- not even to straighten out the ruts I left in his yard...