sounds like the best lessons taught are the one you teach yourself. we have all been there and even with 61 years of learning, I'm still teaching my self the hard way. jim h
Yep........ been there, done that, will do it again! Just another colorful page in the book of life! Good story, Ryan. Happy Friday to ya!
When the Beater was first on the road, I reached in, hit the key and it went about 40ft.....in front of hundreds of people at a concert. Wrecked a barstool. Man, did I feel like D-bag.
Thanks for sharing this... I can relate. Not only have I lived in Norman, but I'm gearing up to do a front end swap and freshen up the motor in my Chevy coupe. Part of me is saying "You've got to be an idiot to tear apart a perfectly running and driving car just to get the front down a couple inches!" But isn't that what Hot Rodding is about? I don't know when it'll happen, I've gotta save my pennies for the parts. But I might be that Hack that gets in way over his head..
Sure makes you feel good when you fix something on your own ! I try , but I'm a lousy mechanic also . Better to hit a trash can than drywall (my Wife did the same thing as you with a cherry 72 911 I had a while back) Hidden by a Lincoln poster .
Awesome read man!now im sittin here thinking back to all the times i was in the same boat.it is a great reminder to all of the stuff i have learned over the years from friends and this place!!!
reminds me of the time I had my young daughter hit the starter to turn over my 39 Buick. [the dist wire was pulled] It was in gear, and it jumped forward crushing an old chest [I had just moved away from it good thing it wasnt able to start.]
Sounds like exactly what I went though when I re-built my Strombergs. I was told by numerous persons that it's a snap. I spent two weeks going through these carbs, rebuilding them and adjusting every variable under the sun. I've come a long way since then. The frustrations really made me understand how they work. If I ever had to do it again, I would really know what I'm doing. Without frustrations / failure you don't learn anything. And if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Ha ha...don't feel bad about forgeting it was in gear, I almost put my roadster through my neighbors kitchen wall. It was less than an inch away before it stalled and lunged back. I'm pretty sure everyone has done this at some point.
I'm glad you didn't hurt your coupe and it's also nice to know that you're still learning, I know I am.
We are all hacks. The hard part is determining if we are being a hack at any particular time. When ego gets in the way, that is when the big problems come up. Sometimes I think I'm getting dumber as I age. It took me 2 1/2 F'n hours last week to change an oil pressure sending unit. That sure makes you feel like a hack no matter how much experience you have. When you think you have a handle on this stuff the automotive gods jump up and say we'll fix his smart ass wagon. Hopefully it's only a temporary affliction.
Yer not a hack. You think it's bad now....wait until your 60. "Now where did I leave that wrench, it was right here a minute ago?"
Think about how little you would have learned about those carbs had you bolted them on and everyhting went smooth. You now have first hand knowledge about how they work and what to do if you are in a pickle. If we never made mistakes we wouldnt know shit from shineola. congrats on your carb learning experience and watch out for those trash cans. you should get one of those shift knobs with the shift pattern in the top so you know where nuetral is. hehehe. been there done that. Eric
Ryan, As the old saying goes ''We live and learn'', the day we stop learning is the day we throw in the towel.Great story, nice to hear that you didn't bugger your Coupe up! Nick.
Boy howdy, can I ever relate to that. My son gives me a hard time every I do something on one of the cars about spending more time looking for tools than working. When I worked out of the tool box for a living I had things so organized that I didn't even have to look in the drawer to grab the right tool but now it seems hard to get the tools to make their way back to the tool box like they should. I am a firm believer that if you haven't struggled through at least one redo on your cars and had to step back and take another look at it or you don't have at least one "that was really stupid" story to tell you have never actually worked on a car or you lead a charmed life. I'd beat the dent out of that trash can and put back exactly where it was Ryan. It will always serve as that silent reminder that you were lucky that time. My best and funniest automotive "Oh #$%^ moment was after I had rebuilt the 283 for my T bucket around late 1973. I had been trying to start it for a couple of days and had nothing but nice backfires at both ends. At about 0230 in the am one morning I woke up with the revelation that I had wired the distributor backwards. Out to the garage in my bathrobe, rewire the firing order in the correct clockwise direction and bust off the engine with open megaphone hedders. I only ran it for a few seconds before going back to bed but I think the whole neighborhood knew it was running. I found out the hard way that you don't let loose of an air hose on an overhead hose reel and let it roll up. I had to buy a windshield over that one. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
I never learned anything when it all went right. I like "grease the pig" better than "gild the lily".
It takes a big man to admit his shortcomings! You not only did that,but had the nerve to do it in front of a large audience!! When someone asks me how I know how to do so many different things, I tell 'em, learned by doing!!! I don't claim to be an 'expert' at them, but I'm (usually) not afraid to give a it a try. Bravo, Ryan
PanHeadGuy, just turned 6T and I haven't lost a wrench yet. I guess I already lost enough for one lifetime!!
Great story.Sounds familiar.A rubber trash can stopped my truck from going through a brick wall when i started the truck in reverse while standing out the drivers side door.learning things the hard way is the only way I remember what Ive learned
"Through the years, I learned basic mechanic skills simply through trial and error and tons of patience." Patience and learning mechanical skill, that's a new idea!
Ahh brings back memories alright! My old man asked me to climb on to the farm tractor, turn up the hand throttle so he could hand crank it to start, I was ten or so and followed his directions even the one about pushing the pedal on the left down as he cranked, I somehow reasoned, pushing the pedal down makes stuff move, hmm, so I let her (the pedal) go. The half started farm tractor leaped forward than stalled, pinning the old man to the plywood front wall of his store. He knew that day what he was dealing with. Keep the stories coming boys, no one could make this shit up.
Hi, my name is Scott and I'm a Hack.... My banger ran like crap with two 94's - real rich, black plugs. I got on this kick-ass website where all these hot rod guys hang out and did a search and post. In about 3 hours of goofing off, one of them gave me the answer... Apparently 94's have some accelerator pump adjustment holes you can play with. I think hole 3 was the right one!
I know exactly how you feel, especially when you have friends that can do things blindfolded and it takes you three days and you still don't have it right(it nice to have friends like this to get that help).But as everyone has pretty much said it's all a learning curve. Problem is when you get to be my age when I finally get it I'll probably be about ready to kick the bucket. They don't call me Repete for nothing
Your questions would have been answered if you had used the search function on that website called The HAMB....
I`m a hack `cause I chose not to hide the wiring on my truck....in fact,there`s a lil hack in all of us I bet.
The Jalopy Journal
