Maybe the dumbest thing I have ever done... OT long

Go ahead and laugh, I deserve it. A regular customer brought in a 66 Vette not running right. Ordinarily, I try to stay away from classics, custom, and speciality cars, for we normally are running about a week out for appointments. Some one else can have the glory and the headaches. The vette quickly quickly progressed from running rough to not starting at all. So I had to leave it in the shop so we didn't have to push it in at night. Yesterday I took a look at it and couldn't find any reason why it wouldn't run. I checked all the basics, and everything looked good. I went in early today, figuring I needed some quiet time to find the problem. I decided that it just had to be old gas causing the no start. So I hooked up a battery charger, the battery is just behind the drivers front wheel. I took off the air cleaner, propped the choke open with a screwdriver, opened the drivers door, reached in with my right foot to floor board the accelerator pedal. worked the key with my right hand, and sprayed some ether while cranking. Unbeknownst to me the local trans shop decided that the neutral safety switch wasn't necessary and bypassed it. The car started and immediately started to move forward. At the same time, the engine backfired and caught the ether on fire. I got the car shut off, blew out the fire and then looked at the damage. Wasn't too bad, the drivers door hit the battery charger. The body shop looked at the door and said that they would have to sand the door down and repaint it. It could have been much, much worse. I've been working in this business for almost thirty eight years now, and I can't say that something like this has ever happened before. Just go ahead, have a laugh on me.

I want a video of this!!! I though I was the only one to do stupid things. LOL

Did you figure out what was wrong with it??? I would get it running right before I had the paint guys do their thing. You might have more work for them by the time you are done with it.

You are lucky it didn't go through the wall. The last time I did something not so bright.(yesterday) My motor home has hydraulic leveling jacks. I put them down to keep some weight off of the tires. I forget to block the wheels. My driveway has a slight down hill. The mnotorhome rolled ahead into my F150,which was parked right in front. So don't feel bad we all mess up sometime. Stan

That's NOTHING. I was teaching this beautiful gal how to ride her Sportster. She did a good job, very careful. We were out for about two hours and got back to her house and there was some time for
critiqueing (sp). We were sitting there in front of her garage door talking. Things were looking really good for me...
I told her, 'You're doing everything right, but you need to know how to do a smokey burnout...

Two hours later after I got my handlebars put back where they belonged, and after I got her 16' garage door back on the tracks that I had to
remanufacture, I guess the romance went out of the moment.
good luck
k

Yup. Wrong plugs, exhaust passage under the carb blocked, causing no heat to the choke thermostat, and a bad vacuum advance on the distributer.

I can't laugh at something like that. But I think I would have a talk with some a$$hole at the transmission shop. Wonder if the owner knew about it, if so I wouldn't pay for a darned thing, it would be his fault for not telling you about it.

Well I will tell my about one of my many "DUMB" moves.

I was working on a JD 2630 three point lift valve/piston. I had the rock shaft housing off of it. I was waiting on some parts to come in. So it was in the middle of the shop just setting there. So I decided to bring in another tractor to work on. The JD 2630 was kind of in my way. So I had a MAJOR brain fart here. The tractor was still able to run. So I just reached up and started the tractor. Remember I had the three point cover off. Well I got reminded about that real fast as soon as the hydraulic oil started to rain down off the ceiling.

On any of the JD Mannheim designed tractors the pressure port to the three point housing comes straight out the top of the transmission housing. So I had a 2200 PSI hydraulic oil geyser in the middle of my shop.

It has been 5-6 years ago since I did this. I still find hydraulic oil in things from that. I just replaced a couple of the ceiling light fixtures and they has oil in the inside of them.

Ted,

Many years ago I was stationed at a small Navy base in Maine. They had a garage with a walk down pit in it that you could use to do auto maintenance. I replaced a muffler on my car, got into the car, and started it. Sounded pretty good, but I wanted to make sure it was sealed properly so I leaned out the door and looked under the car as I backed out of the garage.

My car door met the frame of the garage door as I backed up. The car door never really sealed properly after that. Doh!

Tom in TN

Never had a vette to say. Don't remember other chevys having a neutral saftey switch or clutch release or push down switch in 66. My memory has went down hill since 66 though.
Done a lot of dumb things then and since also.

Was working on an AC 200. I think it was a total engine job after the sleeves eroded and dumped coolant into the oil. It wasn't a very old tractor(I retired from that job on 1984!), and the owner didn't catch it until the gray goo had really gotten nasty. Regardless- I like to crank an engine enough to circulate oil before it experiences resistance from compression. I went to crank over this 200 and "fffffffffwwwwwwwwwwwttttttttttttt", followed by a smack-bang. Sounded just like a model rocket going off! But the smack was the injector I had set in the head hitting the ceiling, and the bang was it hitting the floor. I have no idea why I put the injector in.
When I thought later about leaning over that engine, I was a bit shaken to think how easily I might have done myself in!

Think on the bright side, it could have been worse.......much worse!

The mechanics I know would be a little ticked off if I told them to push the clutch in before starting starting a car. I learned that one when I was 7 years old.

I don"t recal neutral safety switches on them ..But I did a real dumb move years ago . we had a Mack truck with a hydro seeder tank on it . It had a big turrent gun on top for spraying it . Well, truck would not fit in shop with gun on . it had quick mount system on it ,so we took it off . Pulled truck in to work on . Got work done on pump motor,fired it up to check it out . GREEN RAIN !!! Poured all over the shop. Shot up against the ceiling, splashed everywhere . Tool boxes ,you name it . all the places we missed power washing clean up showed up as green grass weeks later .

(quoted from post at 08:31:34 10/26/12) I don"t recal neutral safety switches on them ..But I did a real dumb move years ago . we had a Mack truck with a hydro seeder tank on it . It had a big turrent gun on top for spraying it . Well, truck would not fit in shop with gun on . it had quick mount system on it ,so we took it off . Pulled truck in to work on . Got work done on pump motor,fired it up to check it out . GREEN RAIN !!! Poured all over the shop. Shot up against the ceiling, splashed everywhere . Tool boxes ,you name it . all the places we missed power washing clean up showed up as green grass weeks later .

Click to expand...

"I don"t recal neutral safety switches on them". Probably didn't. I know 1962 Corvette didn't and even as late as 1980, Datsun 280ZX didn't, but........a guy needs a little face saving way out. :wink:

Murphy's law ! They always start right up when in gear !!

BTDT !!!!

I just don't understand how some people can be so stupid.
Not me. Even when I make a rare mistake,it's still genuis on my part. Take the day I invented the Flying Ninga Warrior Guillotine. I had just finished setting the points on an old Mercury Mark 78 outboard when I decided to see how she starts. The flywheel was lined up with keyway resting on the crankshaft without retainer nut installed. Woopeee! She came right to life and I hit the throttle and she let out that worderful scream the Marks were so famous for. Did you know the teeth on a spinning flyweel will cause it to remain airborn longer than if the edge was smooth. When the spinning teeth contacted anything they sent the wheel off in another direction without killing off as much energy as a smooth edge which would just bounch back. Made quite a mess inside the shop , , , , as well as my pants.

Come on fellers,as far as neutral safty switchs and clutch pedals,lightn up on the man.
A.He very well may have worked on one of the two thousand plus Powergluides install in 66 vettes.

B.Any thing other than a numbers matching 66 vette has problably been upgraded to one of the much better later transmissions.

C.What possiable benifit can those remarks add. It's a story meant as humor without regard to the when where and hows.

According to Mitchell Vintage wiring diagrams, 66 vette's do have a neutral safety switch.