admit to your stupidity

[ryans65]

After I removed the engine from my 912E I started working on the tin removal and as you know the cheesehead screws can be a bit of a bear to remove especially on a car from the northeast. No worries I thought, I'll grab my torch and have these out in a few minutes so I can finish the tear down before I take it to the engine builder. I light my torch and I get it within a few inches of the tin and BOOOOM a fireball erupts and I am suddenly looking at an engine that is completely engulfed in flames, inside my shop that I lease with three other cars including my Porsche surrounding it. I reached for the nearest fire extinguisher and had the inferno out pretty quickly. After it was out I realized the huge mistake I had made, I left the fuel pressure regulator attached to the tin, full of fuel and what wasn't in the regulator has ran down in the lowest spot of the tin and made a little gas pool under the intake runners. Not a fun night!!!

[bugstrider]

Helping a friend repair the wires in his com on his Longeze, I used his soldering iron vs the one I was used to that had the guard. Picked it up and allowed it to slip down into the same position as using a pen in my hand.

At least the blister is on my writing hand and is at the exact spot where I hold a writing utensil.
dumbass


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[Koizumi]

Changed the O2 sensor and after splicing it in, car wouldn’t start.

I went thru thematically all of the no-start causes.

Really blew my mind.

So much so, I towed the car to my local shop.

Right after my car got off of the flatbed tow, I opened up the engine bay one last time and noticed that one of the three sensor connector plugs adjacent to the O2 sensor plug connection was 1-2mm out from being seated properly!

I took 1st Place: Idiot Of The Day award went to me.

I still cannot believe what an idiot I am.

[rolfjahn]

I do Stupid things to my cars every week, it never ends...

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by rolfjahn

I do Stupid things to my cars every week, it never ends...

Only a “real” man can openly admit that.


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[bugstrider]

Wife kindly reminded me of this by saying...

“Remember when......”

A couple of years ago, our dog groomer had his very nice tricked out “Cam Bow” at the shop when we picked up our schnauzer, Sir Henry.

I enjoy archery and have had several different bows over the years. Even have a nice but older compound bow still. I’ve dropped off the latest and greatest wagon regarding archery so the Cam design was new to me. Nowadays, the technology has morphed these things into wicked fast (FPS) designs, to the point that the are so compact, they look like toys almost.

Back to the story....

So Aaron (A-A-Ron) was telling us all about his upcoming hunt and how he spent two seasons dialing in his bow. Being the curious type, I ask to see the bow and began admiring the design since he had it at the shop.

Here comes the DSM portion. I then stupidly ask if I can feel the draw of the design, not even thinking about also asking to use the trigger strap. I am sure you are seeing where this is going..... I draw back feel how the Cams allow the super light hold in the full drawn position, I was impressed.

I begin to “let down” the draw and everything is going according to plan. Right up to the point the Cam design takes over and does what it is designed to do. I even had my best Vulcan Darth Vader death grip on the string. The Cams caught and ripped it out of my hand like fat kid swiping a cupcake at fat camp. Nothing in the known universe could have prevented the string from pulling free....except the designed trigger strap.(the one I failed to use) so after the “dry fire” that sounded like a gun shot, and my best “deer in the headlight” look. I felt like a complete arse. Being the type who takes responsibility for my actions, I promptly told him that I would repair any damage and do my best to get it back before his hunt.

1: 100 mile round trip to the local archery specialist shop
2: one fractured lim(only sold in pairs)
3: one stressed string
4: labor
5: tuning session after repairs with owner
6: gas for his trip to the archery shop
=($487.50) which I thought was a bit pricey until I saw that his particular bow was a $1600.00 design.

I felt it was the proper thing to do. He was truly appreciative since he said all the people he knows would have just handed it back saying, “sorry brah”.

Lesson learned

[bugstrider]

Here is a winner for everyone’s entertainment.

Date: Today
Topic: The wife’s Christmas Present


The Stupidity:
We are at home getting ready for the big performance. It was a good surprise for her since she didn’t expect it. We figure three hours drive fine due to traffic from Placerville. The plan is going good. I get the bright idea to thin the wallet out and go with the bare minimum.
I change my black slacks to a lighter shade and off we go.

I get all the way into San Jose and decide to top off the car.

W....T......F ?!?!?!? No credit cards, no debit cards. I guess those were in my other pants. Good thing the wifey had hers.

Did I ever mention that I can be a major dork? So much for a nice night out on the town. At least I grabbed the tickets and parking pass. The wife just said “hhhuuummmmmm, you did this on purpose.”

Something tells me that I will not be allowed to live this one down any time soon.


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[cpa]

Bugstrider, so I’m sitting in the $25 dollar parking lot killing time and what do I find... I fortunately brought my wallet although a little lighter after a bite to eat & parking. Just wait till we get into the show. Lots of goodies to buy. We’ll be in sec 114, I’ll spot you a beer @ intermission. Enjoy the show.

[bugstrider]

Hahahahahahah
That is too funny, thank you for the beer spot too. I figured on spending some $ on goodies for the wife but that plan is shot to heck.

Dam this is embarrassing.... I have the wallet, just the important plastic is missing.

Driving over to the paid parking section in a couple.

Update: I think the Mrs forgave me when she saw the seats.... She even got some dust in her eyes



Big shout out to section 114!!

[jeffbottman]

At a freeway rest stop, installed targa top, then forgot to latch. At about 65 MPH, I observed said targa top rise 50 feet then disappear into the distance. Not funny, could have killed someone but luckily the only casualty was the poor targa top. Luckily, my insurance guy lives a couple houses down from me and classified it as "wind damage", saving me about $4k. Here's Daisy thinking WTF, Jeff?

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by jeffbottman

At a freeway rest stop, installed targa top, then forgot to latch. At about 65 MPH, I observed said targa top rise 50 feet then disappear into the distance. Not funny, could have killed someone but luckily the only casualty was the poor targa top. Luckily, my insurance guy lives a couple houses down from me and classified it as "wind damage", saving me about $4k. Here's Daisy thinking WTF, Jeff?

I think I actually shed a tear reading this and the top damage...........
Cute pupper though

[kent olsen]

When I finished a year of Navy electronics school in Memphis back in 1963, I bought my first sports car from one of my instructors. It was a 1957 Triumph TR3. Wow!

I took of on my drive home up near Seattle. Early in morning of my drive the ammeter pegged after hitting a bump. I pulled over and opened the hood, tapped on the regulator and wa la it went back to normal. Well I guess I learnt something in electronics school.

I closed the hood BUT forgot on those old Triumph's there's a zuss fastner in each front corner of the hood. Well I took off and about 50 mph the wind got under the hood and ripped it off, bounced off the top and landed upside down on the road.

I stopped and retrieved the hood and locked it down. I thought maybe I could find a dealer in St. Louis but when I got there about 5 o'clock in the morning I decided I didn't want to waste most of the day looking on a saturday.

I took off and everything was ok until a semi came by the other way which caused the rear of the hood to rise . I would get up real close behind the car/truck in front of me every time I saw a semi coming the other way.

I finally stopped in a small town in Colorado and found a guy who could put some external hinges on the hood to hold down the rear of the hood.

[John W.]

Wow Jeff! Guess I got lucky. Went to Home Depot and realized I needed a ten foot piece of PVC pipe. No problem. I'll open the Targa top a crack stick it out the front. Take side streets and go slow. Was almost home when I sped up a tad. Top flies off and is laying in the middle of the street. Hit brakes and sprinted back to get it before someone crunches it. Only ripped up a flap about the size of a dime that I could epoxy back down - doesn't look bad. Should have taken it off but I don't like folding it. All things considered, I was quite fortunate for my stupidity.

[bugstrider]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
Forgetting to properly secure the fuel cap on the top of the wing. Thank goodness for the safety chain.

Nuffsaid


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[Hawkeye's-911T]

I've long been a proponent of the philosophy - "when you get tired, you get stupid". After a long day doing other engine work,
I thought I'd finish off by installing new oil return tubes - a relatively straightforward task.
I referred to some notes & "read" - place larger end towards head instead of course, longer end.
After admiring my installation handiwork for a few seconds, I realized I'd done it azz-backwards.
Needless to say I got the tube out in a hurry - the silicone pre-lube saved me - re-installed it in the correct orientation.
I then quit, had a beer & left the other 3 for the next day.

The next day & all is well.

Cheers
JB

[Carl S.]

I used the blue 3M painters tape with Lacquer when I restored my original 68 wood steering wheel.

It worked fine when I masked the wheel and sprayed lacquer and removed the next day.

I had to respray the spokes and after sanding did the same as before. This time I let is sit masked over the weekend. MISTAKE!!!

The adhesive from the tape was dissolved by the lacquer from the wood and 100% stuck to the wheel and not the tape. I had to use a ton of solvents and start all over.

If your read closely at the fine print inside a roll of blue painters tape with a magnifying glass it states "do not use with lacquer"

Lesson Learned.

[Locker537]

Here's a recent one that is one part stupidity and one part mystery.

My friends tend to bring their cars to me and we work on them together. My cousin's S2000 had a squeak/thud coming from the rear brakes. Our likely diagnosis was a sticky caliper, specifically the slide pins.

We removed, thoroughly cleaned, properly greased, and began re-installing. It's getting late now, we stop for dinner, mosquitos start bothering us, apparently Japanese beetles begin dive bombing the open garage; either way our mojo gets messed with.

When torquing the caliper bracket mounting bolts to spec, one of them slowly fatigues and sheers in a very soft fashion. Hmm, that's weird. Well, we don't have spares and it's 10PM, so his car is staying here for the night...

Next day, he buys more bolts (and spares, smart kid, he must be related...) and we keep working. Install the new bolt...same problem; it fatigues and sheers.

We triple check the torque spec, torque wrench, use another wrench to confirm, and eventually decide to torque it in stages; 50 ft lbs, 60, 70, then 80, which is the proper spec.

The bolts torque to 70 without issue. They fatigue at 80. I've always put a little anti seize on these bolts as we live in NE and I've seen plenty of others do it as well. We tried with and without. After snapping three bolts, we decided 70 ft lbs was plenty and called it good.

I still don't know exactly what the root cause was. Maybe the threads in the bracket are ever so slightly worn? We did use the proper size thread chaser (confirmed that three times too) to get the New England crust off the OE bolts and bracket. That's never caused me this issue before. Any ideas?

Good news is the original noise coming from the rear brakes is no longer present, so we did address the issue.

[Driven97]

Just to bump this thread.

I've been chasing a problem for years of my radio shutting down at idle, especially with the lights on. Classic low voltage, right? Weird part is zero other issues. Car has always cranked, started, and ran strong, lights bright, etc.

I got a new battery, replaced the belt and alternator, removed, cleaned, and tightened all the grounds, checked and cleaned all the fuses. I bought a voltmeter and installed it on the radio line, found that when it would drop below 10.7v it would shut down.

Six years. SIX YEARS I've been chasing this. Finally found the problem, in order of revelations:

1) I installed my voltmeter on the turn-on output from the radio, instead of the switched power. Oops.
2) Switched power was only showing ~9V
3) There was an inline fuse on the turn-on wire I left in place when installing my new radio. More protection is better, right?
4) Oh wait, there's full voltage before this fuse. That's weird.
5) THIS ISN'T A FUSE, IT'S A RESISTOR.

So all that work I did, all that money spent, all that heartburn was because the previous stereo had a voltage drop resistor in the harness that I thought was a fuse. SIX YEARS.

Anyways, I now have the voltmeter on the turn-on circuit and I chopped the resistor out, back to 100%.

[Funracer]

Originally Posted by jeffbottman

At a freeway rest stop, installed targa top, then forgot to latch. At about 65 MPH, I observed said targa top rise 50 feet then disappear into the distance. Not funny, could have killed someone but luckily the only casualty was the poor targa top. Luckily, my insurance guy lives a couple houses down from me and classified it as "wind damage", saving me about $4k. Here's Daisy thinking WTF, Jeff?

During the last spike in gas prices about 15 years ago I bought a Geo Metro convertible to drive to work because it got 51 mpg on its little 3 cylinder engine. Bought it in Norfolk, VA in February when it was about 20 degrees out and wife and I drove it home to Louisville, KY. Drove for many hours then pulled over to gas up. While gas was pumping I decided to check out the operation of the brand new convertible top that was installed on the car just before I bought it. I opened the single top latch, folded the top back a bit, then pulled it back into place an relatched it.
Back on the expressway going 65 mph in traffic, the convertible top blew open just like opening an umbrella in a hurricane. It slammed itself down behind the seat and in the process shredded the soft rear window. Wife was not impressed! Pulled over, duct taped the window, and looked at the latch.
Turns out I had closed the latch, but the latch hook had not caught the opening in the windshield frame. It was possible to close the latch and the top looked locked. Operator error and a total dumb azz move by yours truly. New top $200. Could have been worse,

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by jeffbottman

Here's Daisy thinking WTF, Jeff?

Any signs of life left in that Targa top I think Daisy would have finished it off.

Cute dog too.