admit to your stupidity

[hcoles]

re. tow connection not latched - happened to me but trailer (with Dads boat on it) came off the ball and started skidding down the street - hit a curb - boat flew off and landed in a sand lot. I got the marina guy with a boat picker upper to come get the boat and put it in the water.. very lucky noone was walking where this happened - I'm now very sensitive to triple checking the connection and chains/etc. - do I get the prize or what? - I probably shouldn't have posted this but since it happened e.g. 30 years ago... I have another very close call story.

[trond]

Shortly after I got my first car in 1982, a 1965 Volvo Amazon, I was under the car inspecting the undercarriage. For some reason that is hard to remember now I had all 4 wheels off and the engine idling in first gear while I was happily lying there under the car gazing at the rotating prop shaft. As I was getting out and rising up I supported myself on the car which toppled off the jacks and improvised supports and crashed to the floor.

There seem to be a number of wheel lug nut stories here and I have one of those too. Towing my next car, a Fiat 128 home, the left front wheel came off. The car was barely hanging together having been used hard and the exhaust had sheared off at the manifold, and i didn't notice the wheel working itself off. For some reason the wheel picked up a lot of speed as it came off and just shot off ahead. Seeing the dark object immediately in front of the car I instictively touched the brakes and the car went sharp right into the ditch and a rock. Thankfully I had enough sense to use seat belt and was not hurt but the car was totalled.

[Hugh R]

Years ago I spot welded shut the bracelet on my BRAND NEW Rolex Submariner when I shorted it across a car battery. I'd had it like three days and there is was with a big burn mark in the stainless steel. I had to have a buddy break it loose with a screw driver. Ouch!

[Brian 162]

I saw a small leak from under the car. Under close examination the leak is coming from the reverse switch. I installed the switch earlier this year when I had the engine out. I tightened the switch 1/2 a turn. It turned really easy.I bet you know where this is going. I started to tighten the switch a little more. It snapped flush to the transmission so now transmission fluid is running out.
I had to remove the transmission anyway to repair third gear over the winter.I just thought I could get another month of driving before winter.
If there is an award for moron of the year I would like to nominate myself.

[doug_porsche]

Change oil on my Corvette, Never did find the oil drain plug. Chevy took three days to order one.

Loose lug nuts, So I repacked the CV joints to trying to find the sound.

Dropped nut into the cylinder, magnets are your friend.

replied to this thread, setting the 12 step program on stupidity back to step two

[SteveinTO]

Installing ER bushings on the newly re-plated spring-plates of my '82 911. JB Welded the bushing insert to the spring plate pivot. Waited a full 24 hours to discover you need to assemble the two spring plate halves together B-EFFING-FORE you glue the insert to the spring plate. Chuck was really good about sending new inserts and info on dremmeling the pieces apart w/o boogering up the spring plate. Said I wasn't the first, so I know some of you guys aren't telling.

[911Etarga]

I got my engine rebuilt by Motor Meister.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by 911Etarga

I got my engine rebuilt by Motor Meister.

OK You win. I am sorry for your loss.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by 911Etarga

I got my engine rebuilt by Motor Meister.

that is really cracking me up... you win

now I don't have to tell my story of how I almost caused a 100 car train to go off a bridge

[dentist90]

I've been following the 'Do you believe in Evolution' thread on OT for weeks.
Not as harmful as a MotorSheister rebuild, but probably stupider.

[esotoracing]

Car wouldnt start so i took apart the ignition COMPLETELY. No manuals to go by, so i had to guess at where the plug wires went. . . .then about 3 a.m. realised the problem was the gas tank was empty. I was 15

Was up ALL night preparing the car for a rally. . . got like 2 hours of sleep and when i left for the event i had a wheel fall off one block from my house. damn that was embarrasing

Was asked to drive my buddys car at an invitational IT event with the Trans Am series. It was damp and first lap of practice i went off. Bent some fender, tore up a tire, bent steering arms and my ego. In qualafying i took it REAL EASY not to do something stupid again and the motor blew up. . .qualafied 4th

As a tire changer for a NASCAR BUSH team. . .i gave away a top 5 finish becasue i didnt hit all 5 lugs =/

[Vern Lyle]

Two quick stories that could have been disastrous. Towing a totally junked and stripped out 356 to the yard. Almost there and went across a railroad crossing - the rusted out car broke in half and was only held together by the clutch and accelerator cables. Drug it 2 more blocks.

Had a 911 halfway out of the garage in the rain to repair the garage door opener. Accidentally hit the button and watched the door closing down on the car. Since I was up on a ladder there was no way I could get to the door to stop it - and the button wouldn't work! The rubber bumper on the bottom of the door hit exactly on the windshield wiper posts - and stopped, of course. No damage to the car - but to my self esteem - lots!

[Mark Morrissey]

I got married

[euro911sc]

Not as funny as most of these... Last week I tried to set my idle timing at 25 deg. BTDC... that '2' looks like a 'Z' and that must be a 5 so that's the 5 deg BTDC mark that the manual is looking for... er.. um.. hrmnn my distributor does not adjust that far *scratch head*

-Michael

[esotoracing]

Originally Posted by marksgtv

I got married

Yea. . . watch out for this one, single gentlemen

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by esotoracing

Yea. . . watch out for this one, single gentlemen

You just have to find the right woman. My wife does not ask how much I spend on my toys. She lets me take off for a week for Parade by myself. She pouts about being a garage widow when I spend all weekend in the garage but never asks "how much will this project cost?" She LOVES F-1 racing and reads my Autoweek for race reports on F1.

I found a real keeper.

[Hebrewhomeboy]

I have a $300 beater that I drive around sometimes to save miles on my 911. When it needed a new alternator, I wasn't smart enough to disconnect the battery before replacing the alternator. Sparks flew, I was okay, but I had to change some fuses.

My dad was rebuilding an old car once and was laying underneath the car drilling holes for some custom motor mounts. Without safety glasses. He ended up getting a big blob of congealed road grease mixed with metal shavings right in his eyeball.

[TroyGT]

Okay, my turn. I was 16, had an 81 Camaro that I wanted to install a new stereo in. It was the middle of summer and hot as hades outside and very humid to boot, so I had nothing on but a pair of shorts. Now, if you've ever had the pleasure to work under the dash of a Camaro, you'll know how tight of a squeeze it is to get under there. I had the stereo in the hole and mounted and needed to solder all the wiring together. So I climbed into the seat backwards, put both feet up on the headrest, wriggled my head between the steering wheel and seat, and slid down into the floor board using the brake pedal as a pillow. I began my soldering. I was sweating like a pig when I slid my bare back over to get more comfortable... that's when I realized that my soldering iron cord had some exposed wires. I got zapped, which made me raise my head up abruptly so that I could smash my face into the under side of the dash, then back down again onto the exposed cord... and the whole process repeated several times in rapid sequence before I finally managed to get myself out from under the dash and off the cord. Needless to say, I had a bloody nose and a bashed up forehead for my efforts. zzzt bam zzzzt bam zzzt bam.... what an idiot. Check your tools people.

-Troy

[slw911SC]

Backed my then new 1998 Volvo S70, at my new house, into: a pile of topsoil, a wheelbarrow, a pallete full of sod, a planter pot, a garbage can - and (no foolin) the neighbour - all at separate times - and all in 1 day! Freakin blind spots! Gotta get more beer, I suppose! Or quit driving all together! Scratches? No, really?

[Jamie79SC]

I am crying with laughter. The Camaro soldering story is the best yet.