2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Ever done anything really stupid?

[TGreschuk]

I was working underneath my 91 Ford 7. 3 Diesel F350 outside in minus 30 weather in January in Canada. Seems the block heater was leaking a bit. I had myself laying on a tarp protecting me from the snow on the ground. As I yanked the heater out of the frost plug hole, gallons of coolant poured onto my tarp and pooled under my back. As a reaction I jumped up and knocked the trouble light from where it was hooked in the frame. It fell to the tarp, broke the bulb and electrified the coolant that I was laying in. Being electrocuted, I jolted my head up and knocked myself out on a bolt sticking out of the frame and fell back into the coolant. As luck would have it the copper penny that I had inserted behind the fuse in my fuse box finally melted and the bloody power finally shut off. Except for the 9 stitches and the 10 minutes of my life that I have no recollection of, I survived. However, to this day, the mere sight of a trouble light makes me want to barf.

 

[Diesel Gunner]

Yeeeoooww! My Hi-Lift Jack trick pales in comparison to these last two. I certainly hope that neither of you have any long lasting injuries. By the way, just reading those have healed my embarrassment.



You know, this just might be one of the most important threads in here. We might be saving lives!



P. S. Man, I just about die laughing everytime I check this thread. I guess I've got a morbid sense of humor.

 

[patrobertson]

wow, thats funny

To you two guys, one who lit themselves on fire, and the other who electrocuted himself, Thank you, I haven't laughed like that in a while, be proud though, those are learning moments. And your saving lives of other people.



As for my most embrassing, or stupd, one would have to be me and my older brother, cutting old shotgun shells open to get to the powder, and than playing with it in a hay barn with five gallons, of gasoline maybe two feet away. Well the powder flashed all the way to the neck of the gasoline, and I think we sucked the flames out by every orifice on our body puckering. Luckily we wisened up and put the cap on and called it a day before we blew ourselves up.



I have more, so let me think,



Shane

 

[E7mack96]

I can relate to the shotgun shell thing... .



When I was 8 or 9 we found my dads' stash of shotgun shells.



Well, I proceeded to round up the neighborhood boys and we went to the hideout. I brought along a big hammer.



We tried and tried to get them to blow up (like the little kiddie gun cap rolls)



We tried the hammer, big rocks, little rocks, the hammer hitting little rocks into the metal button, ect.



God must've been watching out for us cause we were unsucessful in blowing up even one. Now I'll tell you they were really mangled up. We tried really hard.



Just one time of many that I would have been killed if my plan had worked.

 

[Lnwing]

I was over at a friends house during Christmas break in college and his dad was trying to start one of the old piece of junk Toyotas he had dragged home. He asked if I would help him. This little voice in my head said "you know better than priming a carb with a coffee can of gasoline. " So after a few starts and sputters, he hits the key just as I moved the can away. Flame shot out of the carb and into the can. I jumped back and managed to slosh some of it on my arm and chest. Ended with about 2 sq/ft of first and second degree burn.

Flashback time!



35+ years ago a buddy and I were stranded at a remote job site with an old Diamond T gas job that wouldn't start. We tried dumping gas in the carb, but couldn't keep it running. Found an old can of starting fluid with liquid, but no propellant, so I punched a hole in it and dumped a little in the carb. (cover your eyes!) Buddy hit the starter before I could get away; it flashed and I tossed the can, but it left a trail across my arm as it flew. I was very lucky. Some singed hair and a red face was all I wound up with, along with a new respect for starting fluid! The strange thing was, it burnt the hair off my arm, underneath the flannel shirt, and never hurt the shirt!

 

[bighammer]

Well this thread remind me of a story of just a plain goofy/bad circumstance. (of course there's no blame on me )



Background:



I had a 76 Datsun B210 sedan that had a starter problem. Wouldn'd seem to crank with the key but a jumper cable from battery to starter did the trick. I was in college at the time and CHEAP (oh wait a minute, I still am ) so it went on for months that I had to pop the hood to start it. I had also put in an automatic so the live-in GF could drive it.



One snowy night:



On our way to her sister's apt, we spun out in the entry road as we were turning into the parking lot. The engine died so I put it in N, opened the hood, and got out the cables. I cranked a bit and it wouldn't quite fire up and keep running. Yelling over a (cranked up) new Led Zeppelin tape, (cassette, not 8 track ) I told her to goose it a bit and keep it going while made the connection. Well she was pumping the pedal (reaching over under the dash) and it finally caught. Somehow though, her reaching over had also shifted it into R, and because of the slippery roads and about 6 inches of fluffy snow, it VERY GENTLY started to accelerate backwards. She never noticed the motion of the car and kept goosing the throttle. I grabbed the bumper and hung on trying to stop it, yelling at the top of my lungs, but she didn't hear. It seemed futile to be bumper skiing from the front bumper of a car in reverse with the hood up and no driver, so I let go and watched. Because of the snow, being in reverse, and the throttle being shut as much as open, it never got going very fast. (It's still in SLOOOW motion, VERY CLEARLY, in my my mind)



The road had a slight curve to it, and somehow the wheel happened to be in just the right position to follow it. When it got to the parking lot though, which was straight, it still kept curving slightly. It started close to the ends of the cars on one side, just missing a few of them, then drifting over the middle towards the other side. It got closer and closer passing small cars way into their spots until near the end where a new Cadillac and an Olds beater car were backed in and sticking way out. It JUST missed the Caddy, and slammed into the corner of the Olds.



The police came and were thoroughly frustrated by the story I gave them. The owner of the car came out and said it was pretty banged up anyway and the headlight was all he wanted fixed. I went back the next day and replaced it. Fixed the starter that day too.

 

[AKAMAC]

Pulled into a friends driveway in my 67 MGB. Half hour later I notice I left the lights on. Go out and succeed in starting her. Leave it idling in N to charge the batts.

Now his driveway is fairly level but the street is very steep. About ten minutes later he looks out and asks me if my car is moving? I glance over to see the slow roll toward the street. Being as the wheels were turned to the right the ol'e MG decides to park itself in the next door neighbors carport going about 30 mph.

I give credit to the British for the amount of steel on the old MGs, The damage to mine was from the retaining wall on RR quarter panel, Oh yea the carport was not empty, the gals new Toyota corolla was there. Totaled the thing.