Share your late night last minute thrash stories
- Thread starter Ron Vogel
- Start date
Ok....here's an example....
Hanging out in my garage back in the late 80's drinking beer with my friends looking at my '77 GP SJ up on blocks. I was telling them about some frat party this weekend out by my sister's place in Ames, IA. We decided to put the car back together and drive it through a snowstorm on this Friday night. Had to hang fenders, put back together interior, mount wheels...It was a lot of work, but there was 3 of us, then a fourth showed up with an 8 ball of Coke...and we wrapped up the repairs at 3am.
Hit the road and things were great until the last 5 miles before our exit. Car started losing power, then completely shut off about a mile from the exit.
We walked (completely strung out from drinking and the coke) in -25F windchill to get to a phone. Car got towed to my sister's place. We missed the party, my sisters boyfriend used up the rest of our drugs.
We were stuck there a week trying to work on the car in the driveway of here trailer (yes, 4 dudes sleeping on the floor of a trailer). No money left, none of us could figure it out. I called my dad...he drove the 6 hours to figure out the pickup coil in the HEI was bad. We fixed it, and he left. We left an hour later.
So, I was like 18. I had no idea how to use a dial back timing light.
I had to adjust the TDC timing to 16 degrees. So what did i do? Set the dial to 16, then lined up the mark at 16 on on the balancer....
We made it to just outside of DesMoines when it started tapping.
Threw a rod, cracked the cam...which got stuck in the crank...which split the crank in a few pieces and out the side of the block.
OK, great. We had to wait 4 hours until my Dad got home, and another 5 until he could pick us up.
So drinking age was 18 in IA at the time, but the truck stop we walked to wouldn't let us drink out in the open. So we just drank out of soda cups with straws. Needless to say...we were pretty trashed by the time he showed up. Not like we were going to need any of the gas money we had anyway.
So that's what I'm talking about!
I eventually got the car back to IL, dropped a built 400 in it and totalled the car a year or two later
Hanging out in my garage back in the late 80's drinking beer with my friends looking at my '77 GP SJ up on blocks. I was telling them about some frat party this weekend out by my sister's place in Ames, IA. We decided to put the car back together and drive it through a snowstorm on this Friday night. Had to hang fenders, put back together interior, mount wheels...It was a lot of work, but there was 3 of us, then a fourth showed up with an 8 ball of Coke...and we wrapped up the repairs at 3am.
Hit the road and things were great until the last 5 miles before our exit. Car started losing power, then completely shut off about a mile from the exit.
We walked (completely strung out from drinking and the coke) in -25F windchill to get to a phone. Car got towed to my sister's place. We missed the party, my sisters boyfriend used up the rest of our drugs.
We were stuck there a week trying to work on the car in the driveway of here trailer (yes, 4 dudes sleeping on the floor of a trailer). No money left, none of us could figure it out. I called my dad...he drove the 6 hours to figure out the pickup coil in the HEI was bad. We fixed it, and he left. We left an hour later.
So, I was like 18. I had no idea how to use a dial back timing light.
I had to adjust the TDC timing to 16 degrees. So what did i do? Set the dial to 16, then lined up the mark at 16 on on the balancer....
We made it to just outside of DesMoines when it started tapping.
Threw a rod, cracked the cam...which got stuck in the crank...which split the crank in a few pieces and out the side of the block.
OK, great. We had to wait 4 hours until my Dad got home, and another 5 until he could pick us up.
So drinking age was 18 in IA at the time, but the truck stop we walked to wouldn't let us drink out in the open. So we just drank out of soda cups with straws. Needless to say...we were pretty trashed by the time he showed up. Not like we were going to need any of the gas money we had anyway.
So that's what I'm talking about!
I eventually got the car back to IL, dropped a built 400 in it and totalled the car a year or two later
I've had a few run-ins myself doing various things.
I was in the Lemans, halloween night. I decided that a tour was a good idea. I'm rolling down the road, things going pretty well. I'm leaving a light hard on the pedal doing about 45mph. All of a sudden the ass end swings around, I'm perpendicular to the county highway I'm on. As it turns out the fan belt spewed its self and threw coolant all over the road. Major pucker factor. I limped it for a bunch more miles like that, then wound up at the Jewel on 52/59. Went inside, bought a few gallons of water. After that, I took my tool kit (and spare belt) from the back and went to work. Put a new belt on, filled the rad back up and drove it home. All was well, didn't even puke a HG to my surprise.
Then again, this was also the vehicle that had a GTA wheel roll by me at a light after feeling a "thunk." I think the 7/6 studs with wheels designed for 1/2" caused that. I chased that fucking wheel a few hundred feet down the road and never caught it before it went out of sight. Man that statey was pissed, but I got a flat bed back to the house. Went back the next day and never found my wheel either.
The one that probably pissed me off the most was my Astro van. I had to get a hook due to it dying. I didn't realize it at the time, but the FP relay and oil pressure switch had died. If I had my wits about me I would have realized this and just stuck a piece of wire in the relay socket and driven home.
Good times I dare say.
I was in the Lemans, halloween night. I decided that a tour was a good idea. I'm rolling down the road, things going pretty well. I'm leaving a light hard on the pedal doing about 45mph. All of a sudden the ass end swings around, I'm perpendicular to the county highway I'm on. As it turns out the fan belt spewed its self and threw coolant all over the road. Major pucker factor. I limped it for a bunch more miles like that, then wound up at the Jewel on 52/59. Went inside, bought a few gallons of water. After that, I took my tool kit (and spare belt) from the back and went to work. Put a new belt on, filled the rad back up and drove it home. All was well, didn't even puke a HG to my surprise.
Then again, this was also the vehicle that had a GTA wheel roll by me at a light after feeling a "thunk." I think the 7/6 studs with wheels designed for 1/2" caused that. I chased that fucking wheel a few hundred feet down the road and never caught it before it went out of sight. Man that statey was pissed, but I got a flat bed back to the house. Went back the next day and never found my wheel either.
The one that probably pissed me off the most was my Astro van. I had to get a hook due to it dying. I didn't realize it at the time, but the FP relay and oil pressure switch had died. If I had my wits about me I would have realized this and just stuck a piece of wire in the relay socket and driven home.
Good times I dare say.
Lol, I can think of at least a dozen off the top of my head...
The one time Steve Miller decided he was going to be an installer. He was doing a centrifigal install on this guys car. He didn't get it done, and the guy was driving 300 miles with his trailer to pick it up. IIRC Steve had to pay back the deposit if it wasn't done. So he swings the car over to my garage with Mike K. in tow. We thrashed on the car all night trying not to get in each other's way.
We got it running about 4-5am. Steve took it out for a test run. We heard him get on it about a block away, then turn off after a loud mettalic noise.
He sheared the flexplate. Probably wasn't installed right...most of the shit I crossed on the motor I had to redo.
Guy showed at my house at sunrise...all 6'6" and 320# of him. I thought I was going to witness a major beat down. Guy was really nice...way nicer than I would have been.
I washed my hands of Miller at that point, but got pulled back into the drama. Same car...I got called to check this car out a few weeks later. Drove down to a speed shop he was working at south of Joliet. I got there and exhaust pressure coming out of oil fill. He put the head gaskets on wrong.
I was offered the job to repair it, but refused. Fuck that shit...lol
The one time Steve Miller decided he was going to be an installer. He was doing a centrifigal install on this guys car. He didn't get it done, and the guy was driving 300 miles with his trailer to pick it up. IIRC Steve had to pay back the deposit if it wasn't done. So he swings the car over to my garage with Mike K. in tow. We thrashed on the car all night trying not to get in each other's way.
We got it running about 4-5am. Steve took it out for a test run. We heard him get on it about a block away, then turn off after a loud mettalic noise.
He sheared the flexplate. Probably wasn't installed right...most of the shit I crossed on the motor I had to redo.
Guy showed at my house at sunrise...all 6'6" and 320# of him. I thought I was going to witness a major beat down. Guy was really nice...way nicer than I would have been.
I washed my hands of Miller at that point, but got pulled back into the drama. Same car...I got called to check this car out a few weeks later. Drove down to a speed shop he was working at south of Joliet. I got there and exhaust pressure coming out of oil fill. He put the head gaskets on wrong.
I was offered the job to repair it, but refused. Fuck that shit...lol
It's -25 windchill my dudes, lets go slap this untested heap together and travel to Iowa in a snow storm buzzed up and high on cocaine...:lmao:
Sounds like you probably aren't the sharpest tool in the shed my man but hey thanks for sharing though... I needed a good laugh:xzbit:
It was like 30ish years ago. I've done stupider crap though.
I bought my buddy a tow hitch for his '72 Impala...we drove out there and towed that junk home with it. Was it's own little adventure. He was showing how he could remove the key, turn off the car, and turn the car back on at speed. Did this on the highway on the way there...blew out his mufflers. Nothing like towing a car several hundred miles with no exhaust. Still a good time though.
Okay correction you weren't...
I paid my brothers buddy to do a 5speed trans and clutch job swap for me back when I was 17 on a 5.0, he didn't fill the trans with fluid... I made it from Kenosha down to Glenview before I suddenly lost all gears but then on side of the road I found out that I still had 4th gear. I made it all the way home like that. Made him buy me a new trans and clutch. Ever since then I've done all of my own work on my vehicles... He was probably high and I know I was high on weed, I always was at that time...
I paid my brothers buddy to do a 5speed trans and clutch job swap for me back when I was 17 on a 5.0, he didn't fill the trans with fluid... I made it from Kenosha down to Glenview before I suddenly lost all gears but then on side of the road I found out that I still had 4th gear. I made it all the way home like that. Made him buy me a new trans and clutch. Ever since then I've done all of my own work on my vehicles... He was probably high and I know I was high on weed, I always was at that time...
2009
Tom Urbiks vette.. its KOTS week...
i forgot why, but hte car was apart and we were putting it together in his garage and adding a insurance policy(n2o fogger).
all goes well.
7pm thursday night = dyno time
2nd or 3rd pull hitting it with both kits as the rollers are slowing ye ole china 496 is cheefing like a choochoo out the breathers.
"its ok, it will clear up, rev it a couple times" says Tony..... it did not clear, it got worse..
pull the plugs and THEY MELTED.
i forgot why, but we pulled the cap of the distributor to check something and found the ignition rotor was installed with the wrong size screws, so it basically had variable timing the entire time while being shot with over 500 worth of the NAAWWWWWWWZZZZZ
oops.
9/10pm ish
drag it home with our heads down low, unload it in the garage. stood around it with the hood off and started pulling it apart while casually drinking beer. got head off, 1 fucked up piston..
tom calls summit/jegs and gets a replacement piston overnighted somehow to have by 9am i think?.. in the mean time, everything is cleaned, honed, that rod assembly is taken out, distributor is fixed..
slapped her back together with piston, and made it to kots in time.
and this happened i think 2nd round and we were done.
Tom Urbiks vette.. its KOTS week...
i forgot why, but hte car was apart and we were putting it together in his garage and adding a insurance policy(n2o fogger).
all goes well.
7pm thursday night = dyno time
2nd or 3rd pull hitting it with both kits as the rollers are slowing ye ole china 496 is cheefing like a choochoo out the breathers.
"its ok, it will clear up, rev it a couple times" says Tony..... it did not clear, it got worse..
pull the plugs and THEY MELTED.
i forgot why, but we pulled the cap of the distributor to check something and found the ignition rotor was installed with the wrong size screws, so it basically had variable timing the entire time while being shot with over 500 worth of the NAAWWWWWWWZZZZZ
oops.
9/10pm ish
drag it home with our heads down low, unload it in the garage. stood around it with the hood off and started pulling it apart while casually drinking beer. got head off, 1 fucked up piston..
tom calls summit/jegs and gets a replacement piston overnighted somehow to have by 9am i think?.. in the mean time, everything is cleaned, honed, that rod assembly is taken out, distributor is fixed..
slapped her back together with piston, and made it to kots in time.
and this happened i think 2nd round and we were done.
Years ago heading downtown to the China club smoke started flowing from the heating vents. Limped it off the highway.
We were on the west side, there are definitely nicer parts of the west side and this was not one of them.
Anyhow, there were three of us, it was not my car nor was I driving. We popped the hood and once more air hit poof, it was in flames.
The locals started swarming us, asking me for dimes "Hey man, you got a dime?"
It was about 15 min when one Chicago cop rolls up, he tells us this is a nasty place to break down as the tires ignite then he leaves us there. We were like Thanks.... Hahaha
20 min later the fire department comes, two trucks and they put out the flames. They hung with us until my pals Father came and got us out of there.
Before he came my pal asked to borrow an axe so he could take out frustration on what was left of his car. Man, that was back in 1991.
We were on the west side, there are definitely nicer parts of the west side and this was not one of them.
Anyhow, there were three of us, it was not my car nor was I driving. We popped the hood and once more air hit poof, it was in flames.
The locals started swarming us, asking me for dimes "Hey man, you got a dime?"
It was about 15 min when one Chicago cop rolls up, he tells us this is a nasty place to break down as the tires ignite then he leaves us there. We were like Thanks.... Hahaha
20 min later the fire department comes, two trucks and they put out the flames. They hung with us until my pals Father came and got us out of there.
Before he came my pal asked to borrow an axe so he could take out frustration on what was left of his car. Man, that was back in 1991.
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