Well, did you learn your lesson?

[Donaldo]

""Its better to let people think your stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!""

I wish I could remember that..................

[OrrieG]

Keep your mouth shut when under on something above. Dropped a starter bolt into my pie hole this weekend when fingers slipped. Will also save your teeth, I've had plenty of busted lips.

[imjeff]

One from many years ago in several parts. 1 - If you smell gas in your big block Camaro with dual quads don't drive it to the parts store before finding the leak; 2 - when smoke starts pouring out of the shifter area don't jump out (with engine running in neutral on a hill) leaving your buddy (me) in the passenger seat of the now flaming, backwards rolling car; 3 - don't be afraid of a little road rash versus a fiery death; 4 - specify an ASSEMBLED extinguisher when you call to your buddy who's running toward the store and; 5 - distance yourself from your buddy's life before his brother comes home from Special Forces training to find his lightly singed Camaro in the driveway.

[72freak]

Never believe an ad that says minimal or nor rust. I also learned the hard way about putting headers on vehicles that don't go down the track. Not worth the headache.

[55metalmonkey]

I learned that you should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER let your wife have the slightest say in what direction the project is going.
After 2.5years of busting my knuckes, getting everything the way I wanted it, I couldn't decied on a colour so I let my wife suggest what she thinks (she has a better eye for that sort of thing)....... now she has this twisted thought in her head that its her's when it's done.

[Highsider]

crossfire is ahead in the running, so far!

[Lo1dakota]

When you use a crescent wrench to bend metal and are aware of what it can do... It will. Hit you in the mouth that is. Rub your tounge over your teeth first haha.

[AZ DESERTDOG]

Measure twice, cut once... oh heck, measure 3 - 4 times, then cut once...

[joedoh]

rule 1. never start a truck project you cant afford to have someone finish

rule 2. never choose someone to finish it based on price, or friendship

rule 3. if you break rules 1&2, do not repeat them


scrapped 12/29/13, violation of rules 1 and 2, and 2, and.... 2.








rule 1. 3/29/14. crap.

[Old Crow]

You guys are sure making me feel better. I've learned a lot of these lessons over the years by myself. Now I don't feel so dumb.

Crossfire's spark plug wire.
IMJeff's fuel leak
Highsider's deer
Orrie's broken tooth(also laying in the snow)
Hogger's eye doctor
and mostly:
Wheelie's price advice.

Heck, I feel smarter just going over the list. Thanks guys!

[crossfire84]

I feel so honored

[chris j]

If you are using an air impact when removing your axle shackles, make sure the truck is in the air high enough so your finger that is on the but of the gun and getting very close to the ground as the wrench unscrews the bolt doesn't get pinned between the wrench and the pavement, and you better hope your buddy that's helping you is close as you wont be able to reach the jack with your finger pinned to the ground by your air impact wrench!

[1project2many]

1) Tighten the lugnuts or else the wheel that passes you at 2am on a dark night and bounces over the side of the mountain will be yours.

2) Yes, you probably do need to put the jack back in the trunk.

3) And the lug wrench.

4) And the spare.

5) No, that fellar down the road won't understand no matter how many times you say you were only gonna borrow his tire.

6) The cop might seem like a nice guy, and he seems to get that you would have returned the tire, but he's still going to call the tow truck.

7) No, he won't call your buddy. It will be the other guy. The one that can't stand you.

8) The tow guy won't drop your car at your house for $30. Doesn't matter that he's driving right by.

9) You could have bought a complete set of new tires for what it will cost to get your car out of the impound yard. And had them professionally installed.

10) None of this will seem funny until you're much, much older.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by Spblack

would the tip be "always carry fire extinguisher behind the seat?" lol

In the case of that particular car I doubt it but it may have helped save it if he remembered he had one.

From my own experience on a vehicle I was driving having one in the vehicle but out of easy reach and somewhat hidden is no help what so ever and I did know it was there but ran and beat on the fire departments door where I work instead. I was in the parking lot less 100 ft from their door when it caught fire when I got to work. Leaky fuel something on top of a 460 in an E350 Van/mh conversion.

Some of the other posts bring out other things that have happened to me over the years.

Hit myself in the mouth and broke a tooth with a 15/16 wrench aligning the front end on a 65 Chevy Impala.
Smashed my right thumb and needed four stitches when I hit it with a 2-1/2 lb hammer when I missed the pickle fork taking a ball joint off a car. JD Fikes took the long way to the hospital emergency room to show me a shoebox Ford sitting in someone's driveway.
Slipped on a puddle of antifreeze and trans fluid and sliced my arm in several places on the trans cooler on my 48 when I was putting it together in after painting it in 1982. I had to close up the shop and drive myself to the doctor that time.

One thing that I found out the hard way is to make sure an use the same tape measure for all of the measuring on a segment of the build. All tape measures are not created the same, especially the tab on the end to hook it around what you are working on.

[1project2many]

One thing that I found out the hard way is to make sure an use the same tape measure for all of the measuring on a segment of the build. All tape measures are not created the same, especially the tab on the end to hook it around what you are working on.

Ohhh... that one! Had friends for years that were country folk and sometimes we had some funny adventures. Like when they were building a house. One guy measures door, second guy frames it, door is an inch too tall for frame! ???? Back and forth, back and forth, each guy measuring his own work. Kinda funny 'cause one guy, "Jim," gives measurements like "three little lines past the big line after 96." Finally someone looks at tapes. Turns out that Jim decided to save $$ when the end of his tape broke. He drilled out the rivets and reinstalled the hook somewhere around 2". Oh did that cause some howls! I got the honor of going to the store in town to get Jim a new tape and from that day forward we'd all learned that lesson. Someone was always willing to pitch in and get Jim a tape. But we saved that "fixed" one for years. "Not coming out right? Try measuring with Jim's Tape!"

[BADAZ chevy guy]

Originally Posted by AZ DESERTDOG

Measure twice, cut once... oh heck, measure 3 - 4 times, then cut once...

I cut it off twice... and it's still to short.

[pvienneau]

Never peel out across a busy square with your older brothers unregistered vehicle. Try explaining where his 71 Lemans is. Never mind the cost of getting it back.

[4DSEVEN]

Never plan on meeting your budget or timeframe...