i HATE when i do stuff like this !!!!!

tmctguer · tmctguer's Garage

after replacing my ignition coil yesterday, and getting my '73 running again after dying on the freeway, i figured i would double check timing, dwell, etc..

i pull out the distributor, reset the points, put the distributor back in and it wouldn't start again. i checked for spark and it was there.

i kept double checking that i had the rotor was pointing to the #1 plug wire when the crank pulley was showing TDC. at least i THOUGHT i did.

after almost running down my battery last night, i wondered could i be 180 degress off? naaaa...........not me........you talkin' to me?.......you gotta be talkin' to me cause there ain't no one else here......

i kept telling myself that it HAD to be something more complex than that. perhaps some sort of strange vapor lock, electromagnetic radio waves.......ANYTHING but my distributor being 180 degrees. it was late so i put it away for the evening.

got up again this AM and tried to start it. i got a very interesting backfire. the last time i heard a backfire like that was in approx. 1978 when i rebuilt the upper end of a '73 Dodge Dart and had put the distributor 180 degrees off.

out comes the compression tester, and sure enough, when the compression stroke hit, i pulled off the distributor cap, and the damn thing was turned exactly the wrong way. correct that, and she fired right up.

i guess it goes to show you that you must never rule out even the simplest mistake.

makaio · 03-10-2002, 02:12 PM

Ruf Blackbird (Jeff) had the same problem yesterday.

Early_S_Man · 03-10-2002, 02:24 PM

Must have been a full moon out last night ... at least as far as 911 distributors go! Nothing like ASSUMING something can't POSSIBLY be the problem ... to bite you every time!

Kurt B · 03-10-2002, 05:03 PM

Cool. That's how I blew my 914 muffler in half. In those days, it was basically put distributor on and twist it until it started. No gears for it, just two slots.
So it started and I twisted it to find the timing. But it just kept cranking and cranking at some point. I had someone cranking it for me while I turned the distributor.

Then BOOM. It was so loud, i thought I had died. I thought the whole car had exploded.

Nope, just blew the muffler in half.
Don't remember how I got it timed after that. Everything was a blur for a few hours.

cept the car sounded like a Harley until i got a new muffler the next day.

I'm beat. Long day in the trenches today taking the front bumper off so I could that the rubber between body and bumper on right. Some of the screws came out. For a simple operation seemingly, it turned out to be a complete b!tch of course.
Then battery replacement. Of course, hold down bolt was corroded on there so badly it took me an hour to get that out.
Sprayed some undercoating all around the area to make sure no more acid would damage it. Hope it works (new battery shouldn't leak anyway I tell myself).
Oh, and mounted the bloody wiper jets ...list goes on and on. It never ends man. Then again, I wouldn't want it to.

pwd72s · 03-10-2002, 05:15 PM

Somehow it just makes you feel better to know you're not the only person to make a dumb goof, doesn't it? I'm too shy to talk about some of mine. It's enough to say I've done my share...oh what the hell. Young punk, first Porsche...first car I ever had with disc brakes. Changed pads...how was I to know the metal part wasn't supposed to go next to the rotors? First time I tried to stop, I'd learned a lesson. Well, what can I say? The pistons weren't damaged at all...

Early_S_Man · 03-10-2002, 05:26 PM

Great story, Paul! I bet that set of underwear was never the same, tho! Hopefully it was just a short spin around the block for the first brake 'test!'

I should have framed my oil-stained work shirt that resulted from about 2.5 qt of very cold oil running down my arm, sleeve, neck, and all over the rest of the shirt when I popped the lower valve cover ... to begin my first valve adjustment!

tmctguer · tmctguer's Garage

speaking of loud explosions...........i was going to create another thread for this one, but read Kurt B's post so i thought i would add it here.

late yesterday, before i had determined that the distributor was off 180 degrees, i cranked, and cranked, and cranked with no results. i was feeling a little impatient so i got some starter fluid and gave a good shot in each stack with the throttle held wide open. i cranked some more, then gave the car 1 more shot of starter fluid. i was gonna fill those combustions chambers so full of fuel that the car just HAD to start.

unbeknownst to me, the lady who lives next door had come out on her driveway to plant some flowers. if you've never been to California, we've got very small lots, so her driveway begins about where my garage ends. she had her back to my open (porsche filled) garage.

eventually, so much gas and starter fluid vapor had built up in the exhaust that it finally blew. it let out a KAAAAABOOOOOOOOOM that was not unlike a 12 guage shotgun blast ! i thought, "holy ***** ! i blew the *ss end of my car totally off."

i run back to look for damage, and the poor woman next door had this very frightened look on her face. she had taken the brunt of the unexpected cannon blast without knowing it was even coming. needless to say, she was totally pissed ! i am quite sure she crapped in her panties.

i apologized and swore i was not shooting skeet in my garage. she wasn't laughing.......i turned away to leave and had to go directly into my house to let out all my laughter ! heck, i was laughing for 15 straight minutes.....tears were coming out of my eyes......my sides were sore.

thought i'd share the lighter side of DIY projects !!!

pwd72s · 03-10-2002, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Early_S_Man
Great story, Paul! I bet that set of underwear was never the same, tho! Hopefully it was just a short spin around the block for the first brake 'test!'

I should have framed my oil-stained work shirt that resulted from about 2.5 qt of very cold oil running down my arm, sleeve, neck, and all over the rest of the shirt when I popped the lower valve cover ... to begin my first valve adjustment!

Oh Warren...I "ran" the first stop sign. It was about 1/2 block from my home. But this cute cheerleader type girl was in her front yard, saw it all. I never got up the nerve to ask her out after that. In retrospect, probably a good lesson! Thanks for letting me know that even you didn't drain the oil before setting valves...Oh, that's rich! Yes, we all feel better, knowing we're not alone in screw-ups! And sometimes, lucky to survive them, right?