Hot Rods Willys got crunched, my fault

Let me begin by saying that I don't need any criticism... MY wife did that already.

Last weekend I installed a Gear drive, performance cam & a set of Roller Rockers in my (41') Willys, then I took it for a test drive (It ran great!). I needed to adjust the carburetor so I slipped a wheel chock in front of the rear tire then I put the (Running) car in drive. I was adjusting the A/F mixture when it felt like the car moved a little.
I take a look at the chock to see if it moved, but instead my rear tire started climbing over it! The car hit my waist as I started to move away and my body banged into the cement wall then I fell to the ground... WTF!
As the car begins to leave the garage it stopped immediately (8 feet) when it hit the front of my wife's brand new (2 weeks old) KIA Soul!
I must have used that wheel chock 50 times, never a problem... It's one that is used on Highway construction or City trucks (Metal & painted yellow).
The KIA estimate was $585.00 (My deductible is $500), so I didn't claim it, neither did I claim damages to the Willys on my antique policy.
I need the Grille panel (Already ordered) and I also need a grille.... I'll repair the fender cracks & make new mounting brackets.
The stock grille from "Willys replacement parts" is expensive & I was wondering about the cheaper grilles on eBay, anyone ever use them?
PS: This is a Primed black gl***' car, not a Pretty-boy show winner. (BTW, I'm OK.)

 

E-brake ?

 

Now that's funny right there.
My wife woulda killed me. .
I'd say you musta hit the sweet spot on your carbs and gave it an extra 10 hp to overcome the chock.
Glad no one was hurt.
My wife would have taken this issue to the grave. [emoji12]

 

I can't imagine a situation where I would have a car running in drive and not be inside. that is probably one of the reasons why I have never been run over by my own car.

 

As they say on the HAMB," pictures or it didn't happen".......so you are safe. Seriously, I am glad you are OK and it will only take time and money to fix things. Well maybe the wife will never let you forget.

I once had my car start rolling back toward me while up on a jack in the shop. Luckily the jack handle was in the down position and hit the shop door stopping the car before it ran over me. Bowed the door out some but since it is wood it sprung right back. I had done the same procedure many times that way without trouble.Now I do it differently as I am sure you probably will.

Hope the repairs go well and you are back to har***ing the neighborhood with that gear whine soon.

 

That's cool that you accepted responsibility for it. If it was me I would have blamed my wife for parking 8 feet away instead of a foot or two away when there would have been a lot less (if any) damage....

 

Glad you were not hurt! I have been tempted to do this but have never done it-have my wife in the car holding the brakes. A guy down the street was doing this and his Tbucket pinned him to the wall-luckily no major injury.

 

bigalturk1, we all make mistakes. I don't know if you all remember when I 1st got my 1956 buick station wagon . When I tried to drive it down to the shop it had a hard brake pedal but the booster didn't work. I rode that brake pedal as hard as I could to slow her down but still went thru the back wall of the shop with it. I backed it up and it had 1 tiny scratch on the front bumper but knocked the rear wall out about a good foot and a half . Since it was winter, I had to stuff old bed sheet and rags in the hole to keep the cold out till it warmed up and I could fix it, LOL. I am just glad you didn't get hurt. Bruce.

 

Well at least the story wasn't written from a hospital bed with your leg up in a cast.
Glad that there was no harm to speak of to you and the cars can be fixed even if it is a hit on the wallet.

 

Hell with the cost of body shop repairs in today's market $585.00 is hardly any damage Other than to your psyche, which is repairable too. Glad to hear your good and the wife will get over it soon. Hell tell her you saved her the embarr***ment of putting the first scratch in her new car! You know kinda like doin her a favor! Joe

 

LOL. Bruce.

 

Damn, Kia's.

 

J don't know if it's an option for you but you could go for the 1958 ford in the 41 Willys for a lot less money. They look like this once they are modified to fit.

 

Kia wheel chock?
Kia Willys stop?
Pictures?

 

Pics... We want pics!

 

Yea, my wife is totally cool about it (Since I made the appointment to get her car fixed Monday).
Ever been Jinxed I have, I'll give you two examples...
1-Bad **** seems to happen whenever we go through any town or city named Jasper (Alabama Georgia, Missouri, N.Y. & Michigan, so far).
2-Bad **** has happened to me (Us) since I moved to Florida 7 years now (3 different cities), it even happened when I visited here, so I'm blaming it on that (I won't count Vietnam), and not that the emergency brake is missing (Blazer rear-end) and I didn't install one because I was going to remove that rear-end shortly to install a 66' Ford Bronco rear-end... LOL!
About photos... Still not really in the mood to take photos (I will have the receipts though).

So... Any leads or suggestions regarding a new Grille?

 

you are OK, cars will be OK - hopefully this experience will a warning to others about using a basic method to hold aback a running car or, to stop a car from rolling on a angled driveway - in the local news recently a guy died while working under a car with only a floor jack holding it up - he was under car for several hours before being found SAFETY IS COOL & TRADITIONAL

 

That's just wrong! Cool, but wrong.

 

Thankfully you weren't hurt.

Next time remember to park the Willys right tight up against the Kia before starting the project. Less impact damage that way.

As long as it's confession time....

My 61 F100 did rip my garage door down once when I didn't quite get it into park before I got out to move something and it slipped into reverse. The garage door frame held it in place long enough for me to get in and shut it off.

 

Don't laugh, the late Wayne Arteaga drove his Willys Daily in the winter in the 70s and built bull bars all the wway around the car to protect the tin.

To the OP, WTF????????????????? WHY would you put the car in gear and work on it w/o anyone in the drivers seat? The SCTA doesn't even allow us to fire up a car in the pits w/o a person in the seat. Glad you are ok, don't do it again.

 

This is exactly why they invented the Bumper Sticker -
"**** HAPPENS".
Glad you are O.K.

VR&C.

 

now you see what those cry baby dolls at shows are actually doing......they're tire chocks......

 

I'm thinking the Willys doesn't like the Kia. Its made its intentions known, so you will have to watch it better from now on. Gene

 

Adjusting the carburetor while the car is in gear????? woof........

 

Nice grille for a Demo-Derby or a figure 8 race... Ha!

 

HEY... That Ford Grille looks good, got an extra?

 

My dad was in WWII & Korea... There shouldn't be any animosity!

 

C'mon, you never adjusted your A/F mixture in drive?
What's the matter, scared of getting ran over... Be a man!

 

Regarding "OK", thanks but I always wanted to be better than OK!