What was your best "oh thank you, thank you Lord" moment?

You know that moment when the bolt that wouldn't budge finally breaks loose and you can bolt on the new starter when you are 50 miles from home in the snow.

I just had one today. The 34 has been fighting me tooth and nail while I'm putting a different engine and changing over to a T-5 trans. It's been pure Murphy's law for the last month.

Today was the big day. Lets try to back this puppy up and see how it shifts. So I start the old girl up and try to shift into reverse and she grinds like hell. The clutch linkage is pretty much the same as before. I must not be getting enough throw with the new bell housing. So I pull the lever off and re-drill a new hole closer to the shaft to get more travel. Still no go. So I drill another hole. Nada. I don't even have any toe play yet and it still won't release. Did I put the disc in backwards? I know I checked it carefully right as I bolted the clutch on. I know the flatheads need a special disc to clear the flywheel bolts but I checked that too before ***embling it. My heart fell so far that I was tripping over it as I was trying to hold back the tears. The whole truck would have to be taken apart again to find the problem...front sheet metal, engine and all back out. I was sick!

I washed up and was coming in when I gave it one more try. This time I put it in reverse, pushed in the clutch and then hit the starter ****on. BINGO the disc broke loose from the flywheel and all was as it should be.

OH LORD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

I was so exhausted I called it a night. It won't be long now. This thing has been one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. I'm back up as we speak but there is always tomorrow.

So have you had any seemingly catastrophic moments turn golden for you? Were you ever ready to jump off a bridge when it finally clicked and you said thank you thank you thank you?

 

I almost went off a bridge in a highly modified 66 Mustang I built after high school...had a brake problem and a friend helped me, I had to go up to North Jersey to meet up with my at the time girlfriend...so later I took off.

Take outta the toll booth get it up to around 75, get cut off...hit the brakes...hear something break and pedal goes to the floor.

My friend removed the pin holding the swing pedal to the master rod. ****.

Combo of e brake downshifting, then Park while still rolling...no muerto.

Thank You!!!

 

Yeah, but usually it's in the back seat.

Really though... built a torquee smallblock in my high school cruiser. Knew it was going to kick like a mule off the line because of the high stall and 4.10's.

Took it out for the first country-road test launch after break in...

Spun the wheel centers out of the rims on the old trashy rally's!

I must have sat there for 5 minutes holding onto the wheel cursing and chain-smoking before I got out and looked.


edit: glad to hear you got it going!

 

Mine's less dramatic, but just as welcomed. Pulled the distributor out of my 390 to prime the oil pump (it sits for extended periods). I lift the distributor and hear that familiar (and dreaded) "CLINK" it makes when the oil pump shaft pops out of the pump and drops into the pan. Expecting the worst (and seldom being disappointed) I look down and just see the tip of the shaft showing. I grab "jaws" (the flexible doohickey with the 4 fingers) and figure I have one shot at it before it slides all the way into the pan. Damned if I don't grab it first shot. Almost makes ya want to pray.....

 

The other day I was using my truck and trailer to take my sister-in-laws Volvo to the Volvo doctor..I get in their back parking lot and am jacking around for a good unloading spot..I am pulling forward and suddenly realize the ball has pulled out of reciever hitch..I was using bolt/nut/lockwasher combo instead of pin and cotter, and somehow the nut had backed off etc..the trailer and car just bumped into the back of my truck..I did have a moment where I thanked God and Jesus, Buddha and whoever else was listening for not letting it happen on the Highway at speed. Thanks again ....

 

Recently, after spending a LARGE sum of money on a new motor, it just quit on the way home. I figured my Ignition had ****ped out so I had it towed in and bought a coil the next day. (only old part.) while getting it together, I happened to pull the cap off and bump the motor over. the rotor stayed put. " Why do you hate me god?"

I figured I broke the timing chain...meaning there would be m*** carnage inside the motor. it's a roller, so while dreaming up what could have cause the chain to break, I pictured a lifter sideways in it's bore. meaning roughly 1100 bucks in cam and lifters gone.

Pulled the timing chain cover off. the little dowel pin had vibrated out of it's home...and was still in the top gear.

"Thank you Lord!"

I cussed him again later for the 800 bucks worth of valves it cost me.

 

Put a fuel tank in a Kcar...in a huge rush as usual...had a friend turn the car on to make sure the sender was working...but in my haste I had plugged in the fuel pump as well.
But NOT the fuel lines!!!!

"Thank you Lord" for having the fuel squirt into my eyes instead of over the droplight that was hanging off the rear axle.

I KNEW better than to even have a droplight around while working on fuel...but sometimes you just let things slide "just this once..."
That was the luckiest day of my life.

 

About 15 years ago, I had a 1922 REO fire engine. A buddy and I went for a drive and when I got home I parked it on a grade in the street instead of pulling it in the driveway. We both got out to get a "carbonated malt beveridge" out of the kitchen and within about 20 seconds I turned around and the fire engine was gone, out of sight behind a row of hedges. Then there was a loud bang. We both ran to the street and it had rolled about 30 feet into my buddy's van.
Neither the van or the REO had nothing but some minor scratches, not dents, no real damage.
Its the only time I'd ever parked it in the street at that location and its the only time my friend had ever parked his van there.
If he hadn't parked there that day, the fire engine would have gone about 200 more feet, picked up a lot of speed and crashed into the Mayor's living room at the end of the street.
Everytime I think about that moment, I get the chills...

 

I was towing a 70 Nova out to my buddys junkyard at dusk. No lights on in the Nova and had to stop on the highway before turning left. Damned if the chain didn,t drop off the Nova. There it sat in the middle of the highway with no lights and getting dark. Next vehicle to come along from behind was a semi. He saw the Nova at the last minute and went around it on the shoulder.I don,t know who was more scared me or my buddy in the Nova!

 

I have had many many MANY of those moments.

The one that comes to mind first is one that EVERYONE should be concerned about.

We were in the beautiful HAWK coming home with a car full of kids and groceries. We just came in off the highway, turned a few corners, and then I started backing into the driveway.

Out in the middle of the road the steering wheel just spins round and round in my hands without steering the car into the driveway.

Why didn't it happen seconds earlier when we were doing 70 mph towards oncoming traffic?

Why didn't it happen seconds before when we were rounding the corner of our street?

Why did it happen at zero miles per hour when it was survivable?

Word of warning to EVERYBODY---
If you have a steering column shaft that does not have a flex joint (rag joint or u-joint) PUT ONE IN IMMEDIATELY!!

IMPORTANT Life and Death FACTS-
(1) The older cars with the straight steering shafts inside the column have a welded joint down low near the bearing of the steering gearbox.

(2) ALL CARS FLEX, even perfect ones, AND YOU CANNOT STOP THAT.

(3) No matter how well you align the gearbox, the steering shaft, and the dash location of the steering wheel, IT WILL FLEX ANYWAY.

(4) Flexing, even tiny tiny flexing, will eventually fatigue and crack any part, someday somewhere.

(5) That happens usually where the hard hard metal (hardened worm gear+ steering box shaft) meets a weld and the the hard weld meets a softer shaft (inside the column) that was made to take minor flexing of the car frame+body.

That's exactly where mine broke. Right next to the factory weld that joined the soft metal column-shaft and the hard metal worm gear+shaft.

If you have ever wondered why ALL BRANDS of cars switched from straight steering column shafts to rag joints in the ealry 1960's seemingly all at the same time..... I believe this is why.

If you have a car with a straight column and no rag joint--
CUT IT, AND INSTALL A U-JOINT OR RAG JOINT before you climb a tree, or run into ME.

 

I was working on my Hudson this past spring. I channelled the body over the frame of a different car (ch***is swap) and was working on making a new fuel filler tube.

I had drained the gas tank, and let it air out for a couple days before working back there.

I fabbed up a filler neck, stuck it in the tank, and routed it into the trunk. I was working on making a hanger for the top of the filler neck and needed to spot weld the hanger to the body. I wasn't wearing a welding helmet and just closed my eyes for the spot weld. No sooner than I pulled the trigger on the MIG, the gas fumes exploded!

I thought for sure that I would open my eyes and see all the flesh melted off of my arm, the back half of the car missing, etc....Luckily for me, the filler neck popped out of the tank, and the fireball had a place to go and didn't wind up taking the back half of the car out.

I did loose all the hair on my arm though, and every hair follicle was bleeding.

I thought for sure I was a dead man.

That was my BIG "thank-you God" moment....

 

Not very dramatic but I was mighty thankful. I was working on the rear wiring harness of my old Triumph Tiger and had the rear shocks unbolted from the top of the frame to drop the rear wheel. I set the bike back down and the top shock eyes went right back into their pockets. I fired it up, grabbed my helmet and jumped on. As I grabbed the clutch I had a nagging feeling I was forgetting something. That something was the friggin bolts that hold the shocks in place. I thought of how rough the roads are here in Michigan and how ugly it was going to be when the only thing stopping the upward movement of my rear tire was that little 40 year old fender. It probably would've broke and jammed the rear tire putting me into a skid. I had a little moment of thanks as I tightened those bolts

 

First one that comes to mind is a towing story. I borrowed a 59 Ford 1/2 ton truck and trailer to go collect a project for a friend. It's a 69 RR with the engine in the trunk, half stripped, along with a bunch of other stuff. We get the thing up on the trailer and head home. Going downhill at around 60, the tail starts wagging the dog, BAD. Kids, make sure you check your tire pressures and trailer weight distribution BEFORE you drive.....

 

on new years night 2003 i hit a deer at 75 mph , slid about 200 feet down the road along side the bike (know idea about the deer) into a ditch .. i walked away from it with 1-destroyed harley 6-broken ribs 1- broken wrist 1-slightly fractured ankle .. i was lucky it was cold that night about 20 degs and all my leather **** saved me from a ****load of road rash..

 

I used to drive big trucks, once on the freeway I got cut off, then for no reason he stopped. No one in front of him, he just locked up all 4 wheels and stopped.
I rear ended that guy straight on doing about 45mph , I went airborne for what seemed like 25 feet but in reality was only about a foot or two ,he was pushed out of the way and I stopped about 15 feet from going over the edge of an over p*** in downtown L.A.

I needed a new pair of shorts.

 

'65 Mustang, 30 miles from home. Dark outside. Car is my only transportation. Bad neighborhood. I'd been having drivability problems. OIL LIGHT pops on! Quick! Switch off, coast to a stop. LARGE puddle of oil under car...I'm thinking I've blown the engine. Call friend, who shows up with car trailer. Load, hit the freeway. Trailer starts FISHTAILING. Friend speeds up to pull it out of fishtail. Begins fishtailing again. Repeat above scenario. Same thing. Twice. By now we're doing maybe 80! We think we're gonna flip, jackknife, and/or die, right in the middle of Interstate 10. How we got her slowed down, I dunno... Get home, get droplight, look at the Mustang's engine. Bad motor mount allowed engine to torque over and puncture oil filter. Result: no oil presure. Replace mount, filter, engine runs fine. THANK YOU LORD! TWICE!

 

Never never use cheap jack stands.

Never never use those concrete blocks you see people use sometimes. Even if you think it is an emergency.

Long ago when I was in high school and didn't know any better, I did like everyone else and used two cheap jack stands and four concrete blocks to hold up a car as I put in a new transmission.

As I worked, I would sometimes look around to see if someone was coming. I couldn't exactly hear anything, but something was telling me that someone was quietly walking towards me.
I looked around again. I guess I was hearing something very quietly settling with no sounds loud enough to actually get my attention.
I didn't know why, but a chill went down my back, and I don't know how I did it, but with one quick movement I literally jumped sideways 2-3 feet while laying on my back. The car followed me about one foot to the side and 1 and a half feet down to the ground. The body and rocker panel resting solidly on the ground next to me just barely touching my shirt sleeve. Frame rail on the ground, body on the ground, and I barely missed being crushed. (edit- I forgot to mention that the wheels were off too, so it really was ON THE GROUND)

That was decades ago, and I have never trusted cheap stands or used blocks again.

After I raised the car up again, I found that the weak spot welds on the jack stands must have let the legs slowly spread out, then the blocks just started leaning over as they sunk into the soft dirt. The car really didn't start moving until it just "took off" headed for the ground.

From then on, I have always used a few boards on the ground for anti-tip anti-sink support under the STRONG jack stands, and never used any kind of brick, block, or masonry that could pop and crumble without notice.
Since then I have every now and then, noted how many times I read about someone whose car slipped off a jack (no stands) and crushed him, or dropped from a cable when on a wrecker while someone was checking underneath, or fell when a brick popped.

 

I'm still waiting for mine. For the past 3 weeks, I have been trying to get my $$$NEW$$$ model B to quite leaking oil out the rear main. I have had the pan off 5 times, and after a half days work on it each time, I wait for the moment whan I can yell "THANK YOU LORD, OH THANK YOU".....That time has not arrived yet

Seriously though, one time I was towing a buddies car, with a barrowed trailer, with his parents truck. We loaded it on the trailer, and went our way. Once on the road, I thought I heard a "POP". I look in the rear view, to see the chain that held the rear of the car dangling behind us!!!! There was no engine, ****** or brakes on the car, so the only thing holding it was a chain in the front and back!!!! I knew if I hit the brakes, the car would fly forward into us. I started slooooowly slowing down, but was aproaching a red light! I finally had to press hard on the brakes, doing about 30. Of course the car flew forward, and I braced myself for being rearended. Nothing happend! Turns out the cars front tires wedged down in the A frame of the tounge, leaving about an inch clearance between the front bumper and the taigate of the truck!!!!!! No harm, no fowl. God was watching me that day

ALWAYS HAVE A SAFTY CHAIN OR STRAP FRONT AND BACK WHEN TOWING ANYTHING!!!!

 

I just had one about twenty minutes ago. I was driving home and my truck slipped into a pot hole on the far right of the road and when I pulled back she got squirrly almost putting me into and oncoming truck. Luckly I was able to straighten the truck out before I collided with the truck or went of into a ditch. These roads in Charlotte.....you would swear they use salt on the roads like back in Buffalo. Pot holes the size of 35 lb turkeys all over!!!!!

 

I was riding with pops going down a steep grade in his 46 GMC cab over, he always drove like hell and we're going around a turn and all of a sudden there's a lane closed and a huge front-end loader in the middle of the road. Dad jerks the wheel and in doing so his knee hits the split rear-end knob and kicks it to neutral. So now, we're out of control going even faster with basically no breaks... After this point i think the story gets elaborated on over the years but we road on the burm made it around the loader and all was good.

At the time to me it didn't seem like that big of a deal but it must have been because this man has lived a crazy life and this is the one story that he keeps telling.

 

Two come to mind. When I was in college (late '70s), I drove home for the weekend one fine April Friday. The drive consisted of traveling as fast as possible in my '64 Malibu SS, all on twisty two lane roads. I arrived in my hometown, and as I was approaching the street my parents lived on, I heard a "clunk". When I tried to turn right onto the street, the car continued to go straignt. I managed to get it off the road onto the shoulder, and got out to look under it. The idler arm had separated at the joint and was hanging free! That would have been nice fifteen minutes earlier, at 80-90mph. The second twist of fate happened on a trip back from a concert on very icy roads, once again of the two lane variety. I hit a bad patch and the car went sideways. After about eight rounds of whipping the wheel several turns either way, taking up both lanes, I got straight and back in my own lane. Five seconds later, a semi topped the hill traveling in the other direction. Five seconds earlier, I'd have looked like one of those deer I see along the highway every day.

 

My Dad is a lurker here so I'm sure he will clean my clock for this. I was about 18 and we were moving to Austin. My parents had gone through a nasty Divorce and My Mother tried to sell my Dad's 57 Chevy Nomad. We got the car back and were leaving the next day. I had NEVER driven it before and it was a bad *** car. 327 detuned dirt track motor, Muncie 4 speed and BIG. I was to drive it back to austin the next morning but wanted to get a feel for it before we left. He was going to show me all the tricks to driving it the next morning. I didn't want to look like a fool so I took it out and drove it through the neighborhood all was great and I got ****y. I rounded a corner and put it to the floor, The car fishtailed right, I over compensated and it came all the way around to the left and I got it stopped just before I put it in a 6 foot ditch. Oh thank you dear God

My clutch foot was so shakey I almost didn't get it home. cold sweat and about to throw up. I eased back in the driveway and put the keys on the counter and never told him about it.

sorry Dad....

 

You know what? Now that I am thing a bit, right after I got out of work today I had another one about a half hour before the other one mentioned. I was sitting on the entrance ramp to the 77N at a stand still. All of a sudden I look in my rear view mirror and there is a tractor trailer that came over the hill and did not give enough time to slow down. It locked up it's wheels and al i could see was smoke pouring out from underneath. And at about 200 yards away he finally managed to switch lanes and miss the exit. I feel like I am in another installment of the movie Final Destination. You could not pay me to go work in that garage tonight. I am taking it easy.

 

I had a bunch of close calls with disaster like that, but one that comes to mind is when I took my '54 Chevy pickup out for its maiden voyage right after breaking in a new pumped up SBC I'd just built and installed. I drove it around town at normal speeds and everything seemed great. I worked my way over to an industrial park where there was nobody on the road because it was a Sunday morning. I tried goosing the throttle about halfway a few times. Everything seemed okay, so I stomped it to the floor, figuring I'd just floor it until the 1-2 upshift to see if the tires would chirp. I chirped the tires at the 1-2 shift and took my foot off the gas. But the throttle stayed stuck at wide open throttle! In the split second that I thought about "WHAT DO I DO NOW?" it got up to about 70 and I was fighting to keep the truck on the skinny road which had some gentle S bends in it while I reached down and turned the ignition off one click. Then got it slowed down. Man what a relief that was.

If that ever happens to you, and you have a modern steering column mounted ignition switch, remember to only turn the key one click. If you turn it two clicks, the steering column will lock up and you won't be able to steer. I'm glad I remembered that while I was turning the key, because the road got pretty twisty while I was slowing back down.

 

I've got a hundred of these, but I'll quit after this one I hope.

I don't know why, but for some reason I can't ride a bike and stay under 80 for very long.

One day long long ago, I was zipping along on my bike coming home from cl***es to get back to work on my hot rod, and I got so frustrated about being trapped behind a long row of cars on a two-lane highway. I pulled out and p***ed about 8 or nine cars quickly, then as I was still in the left lane, coming up on car number 9 or 10, the car pulls out to p*** those in front of him.

He doesn't see me flying fast up from behind him, almost like that scene on the sand in World's Fastest Indian, and I can't move over because of the speed I'm going.

He pushed me right to the white line, and then jerked back to his right lane.

All I could do was hold steady then drift back into the p***ing lane and finish p***ing. There was no way I could have changed course at that speed, and all there was on the other side of the white line was a lot of concrete culverts, cut outs, and certain decapitation or at least turning into a ground-up greasy spot.

Two adventures for the price of one---
Once in the 1970's I was visiting my brother in Charleston. He was on leave after a 6 month duty under the water on a Nuke Sub.
It was a drizzly day but warm.
He said he needed to get his coffe maker from a friend.
"Wanna go with me on the bike?"
Sure. I forgot how wild and crazy he was.

As we zipped along on his Yamaha 1200, he said "by the way, I don't want to use my rear brakes because they are down to metal and I haven't had time to put in new pads"
FRONT BRAKES ONLY ON A RAINY DAY?

I knew we were in trouble.

We were zipping along down Ashley Phosphate Road a 4-lane with a median that looked like two parallel drainage ditches.
He points to an apartment building across the road on the left.
"we have to go there"
My brother, at full highway speed, drifts over to the edge by the median, lays on the brakes, and down we go.

Somehow we miss the gravel edge and end up in this super fast waterslide on wet gr***, sliding along on our backsides like we were bowling balls running down the gutter, spraying water everywhere with the bike sliding along beside us.
When I got up I was soaked and I was mad.
I kept trying to yell at him and tell him how stupid that was, but I couldn't catch my breath and just started laughing and laughing.

He acted like he did this every day and pushed the bike thru a hole in the fench and we rode the big street bike thru some woods to the back of the Apt building.

Too many stories to tell here. I don't know how either of us survived all the adventures all these years.
Here I am on cruise control and letting the balance of my homemade bike do the steering and lane changes. Yeah I guess I am still too much of a daredevil to slow down. I'll live till I die. I won't stop living a moment sooner.

 

the long island expressway(L. I. E.)
coming back into the city.
the road is four or five lanes.
it rolls up and then rolls down, rolls back up and then down in huge distances.
hauling *** in my p.u. I crest the top of one of the rolling hills.
5 ****ing lanes of skidding cars, jacknifing semis, cars facing back at me.
everybody was still going like 75.
felt like how nascar accidents look on TV.

 

I was in high school driving a '37 Chevy p/u. I was comming up on traffic way to fast that was stopped at a light. I push down on the brakes and nothing.

I looked over and there was no shoulder, then almost right next to the last car on the right was the beginnings of a shoulder. I whipped over, coasted onto the shoulder and eased into a gas station.

That was hairy.

 

When a cop gave me a dime and had me call my wife to come get me instead of hauling me in for drunk driving. It was about 25 years ago, and I was on the eve of deploying on a military operation. Had I missed that bag drag, my military career would have taken a nosedive. To this day, I have no idea why that cop cut me a break, but I've honored his gift by never being stupid enough to drive after drinking since.

 

Every time "her" period came late.

 

Mine was kinda spooky even, years ago I used to carve up the twisty roads in an early camaro that I had tricked out, lowered, big sway bars and stiffer springs and etc. One night I had a vivid dream where I saw my car in the woods upside down with the taillights still glowing. When I woke up next morning I shrugged the dream off, but remembered the curve in the dream, which was on a country road where I usually drove pretty hard. Lots of tight curves and seldom any traffic at all.

A week or two p***es, the dream long forgotten. I'm on my favorite road, eating the curves up and approaching "the" curve and the dream flashes in my mind. I decide to back off the pedal and cruise around the curve, and there in the middle of the road is a huge wood pallet that had fallen off a truck. No doubt i would have either hit it dead on, or swerved to try to miss it, , and who knows. I had goosebumps for a while after that.