I have been tinkering on the truck all day and came inside to cool off and feed the dogs. Well i hear this loud crash and i go outside to find that one shop light fell out of the sky and did in such a way that it swung towards my truck and put on hell of a gouge in the rear fender and went completely through the paint and scratched throught the primer. So i was going to get the truck repainted anyway but it wasn't even going to start till next year. This murphy law moment is on top of it has taken me 10 days to put in a new motor only because everything you could ever possibly think of to go wrong has happened twice. So what does it cost to get a truck body media blasted?
That ****s. I bet when you heard the crash you already knew what it was based on the luck you've been having with your truck. At least it wasn't after the paint.
Bummer! $hit happens, I just finished painting my wifes car and less than a week afterwards a cat jumps off or onto a motorcycle (I don't know which) just right so it falls aginst the fender and gouges it. Little motorcycle and a little dent but it still hurt, fresh paint.
I had a feeling that it was something bad happening to the truck. All i can do is shake my head and come back inside for a while.
I'v learned to listen to that little angel that sits on my shoulder, and he has served me quite well. Your angel is SCREAMING in your ear, and your not listening. Maybe it's time to step back from the project for a few days and re-evaluate things.
Thing is that my Dad p***ed away last Oct. and i haven't touched it up until about a month ago. Then last week i put a new motor in it and started little things so either i am not supposed to touch the truck at all or Murphy's picking on the new guy.
It's strange how seemingly inanimate objects just decide to move on their own. I mean, what would cause a shop light that was probably there for years decide to let go with no vibration or movement to the immediate surroundings? This had to be a change on the molecular level. The last molecule was getting a cramp & decided to shift position. I'll bet most of us have been subject to this little mystery of life.
I've had projects go like that. Hopefully it will turn around soon. I got my last nightmare project going better by lighting off a gross of bottlerockets in the two car garage I was working in. Actually it was accidental, I forgot they were laying on the workbench and I was grinding something, ( i think it was a spear to kill the DEMONS)and lit them off. It was funny as hell and I had no problems with the project after that.
Man that ****s. I hate it for your luck... I hope it all goes ok for you..... Whos going to paint it for you? someone local....
Good thing you weren't standing there and that sound you heard was your skull cracking open instead. Your truck took the hit for you. Go out and thank it and get'er fixed up. No project on any of my trucks has ever gone smoothly. Not sure why, but always takes way longer and way more money to do something to it than anticipated - ALWAYS. But, it feels good when it is finally done and working and hopefully at least a little better than it was before I decided to 'fix' whatever it was. I think it is just the way it is when fixing old cars. That is why they are old and why not too many people other than wackos like us like dealing with them. Part of the 'charm'. I think the light was just trying to put a little extra kick in your pants to keep you motivated, but missed and hit the truck instead. Probably feels bad about it now. I'd still take a sledge to hit and toss it in the trash though just to teach it a lesson.
I had that feeling once with a '57 Chevy pickup I owned several years ago. It was a runner, but needed a lot to actually use and drive. I bought it off an estate auction, of a guy that took a shotgun to his head. That is usually a good hint not to buy a damn thing there, but for just $225.00, I couldn't go wrong. Most of the buyers were there for the antique furniture and such, and it was just me and one other bidding on it... Got it home...after the '57 had a blowout pulling it up on the trailer, then the trailer had a flat on the way home. Two days later, I'm in the shop and I smell smoke. It's the truck wiring harness going into full meltdown! Fark! I get the problem taken car of, but under the hood is a melty, coppery mess! Fast forward one week. It's running again. I have the RF wheel off to replace the tire. I step away from the truck and the hydraulic jack gives up the ghost, so the truck goes right back down. WTF, over? After a little test drive later that day, the brakes went straight to the floor at the end of the driveway; never mind, they were working great in the shop! Jeez, what else can go wrong? After I backed it up, slowly, up the driveway and to the front of the shop, the engine backfires through the carb when I shut it off. Guess what? Carb fire! Sonofa*****! Out goes the fire, and up goes the "For Sale" sign! This damn thing has a really bad at***ude! Had it been a Dodge, I'd have thought it was Christine's evil ******* step-brother, or something! But I think it was just her psycho Chevy neighbor! Sold it to a guy across town. He brought his trailer and took it home. He got a speeding ticket and a flat on HIS trailer on his way back! He told me that it has gone through several owners since I owned it in 1999, and supposedly it is still NOT being driven! True.
Man sorry to hear about the bad luck...but that's how things go...sometimes good, sometimes bad. Glad you didn't get hurt...the truck can always be repaired.
Well im not to sure. I have a friend which we recently patched up our friendship from some previous bad dealings. But im thinking of having him do it when im ready. I don't have the ability to get all the paint off in a hurry so it will be a while. Ummmmm WOW! Is all i can say. I have had some bad luck **** the last few weeks but your story makes me think i should shut my whiney *** up!
I have (had) a traffic signal light in my garage hanging from the ceiling. I heard a horrendous crash while working on another car in the driveway, looked up and saw a cloud of dirt and dust rolling out the door over the '36. The first thing I thought was that the gl*** garage door (like old service station doors) had somehow fallen on the roadster. No, it turned out to be that traffic signal, which hung RIGHT by the roadster, had fallen, missing the roadster by a fraction of an inch, and happily, tipped over away from it against the front tire of the Diamond T. The only damage was to one of the big gl*** reflectors in the signal, and a dented shade. I feel your pain tho!
feather it out and spot some primer on it... was it lacquer? if you have somewhere to tint the color its fairly easy to brush touch it. just brush some into the scratch,let it dry and repeat as many times as necessary to get it about 1/32" above the old paint then sand it down with 1000-1500 grit paper wet until its level. then hit it with rubbing compound by hand then follow with glaze, then wax. it wont be perfect(lacquer works the best for this) but its better than a big gouge.....
Shop light mounting option; Drill a hole through the beam and use a eye bolt with flat washers and nuts then run small chain thru eyelet & the eyelet on the shop light - then bolt, 2 flatwashers and nut each end of the chain together. Now the only way that darn light is going to drop is when the building comes down or when the lamp it's self explodes...just my 2 cents for an option - by the way glad you were not there when it dropped.
I've been having the same kinda luck putting rubber seals in my driver side door on my '65... so I can relate. Ya just have to walk away sometimes... sorry about your truck. -W
Friendship and paintjob should never be in the same scenario. Especially one that has had difficulties in the past. I would avoid that. There is a whole list of problems potentially brewing there.
PS. Sorry to hear about your truck... I walked past my '32 roadster with a tape measure on one day. I wasn't paying attention and put about a three inch scratch in it. I was pissed(!) and no one to blame it on but me!
Somebody told me once, "Cheer up, things COULD be worse." So I did, and sure enough,...they got worse...
"Fking" cats! A huge cat got in my garage then panicked and and got up on some shelving. Then he leaped onto one end of a 8' ceiling light which pulled loose and swung down hitting the rear quarter of my wife's 50K mile orig paint OT '67 Camaro. I actually like cats ,but that sure pissed me off.
Although we often think our rides are safest from harm when tucked securely inside our garages, the truth be told, the garage is often the place where your car (or truck in this case) is just as vulnerable to scratches, dents, and dings as it is in the "outside world"... Too often tools, rakes, shovels, ladders, lighting and various other common garage apparatus have a tendency of making their way from their ***igned placement to your treasured vehicle-- often falling and subsequently reeking havoc on your car's paint, gl***, and body... And for some reason, the more valuable and precious your ride, the more chance there is of this happening to you... Squirrels sneaking into garages and nesting in engine compartments over the winter months is also another common occurrence, but that's a separate issue for another time... Good luck with the truck... Sorry to hear about your garage incident... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...
I don't have the squirrels, my cats all hang out in there, the fuzzy tailed rats all hit the road, but somehow my windshield got cracked with the car on ramps.
That ****s...usually when there's a big crash in the shop I'm right in the middle of it, Like the time I had a straight axle car jacked up with the front tires off the ground. Of course ten minutes later I forgot and went to stand on the right front tire to get something out of the rafters, like I'd done many times before. Of course the tire spun down as i stepped up on it and i fell chest first on top of the tire and it turned to the side. I looked over just in time to see the large sheet of gl*** i had been practicing pinstriping on and had set on edge against the left tire get pushed over and shatter all over under the car parked on the other side of the shop. All i could do was laugh, and wish i had had a video camera on .....
The Jalopy Journal
