Those were the days

[spantini]

I have the same model.

As to starters, I couldn't count how many I have pulled. We used to rebuild 'em and stick 'em back in. But my most memorable was replacing the one in my 64 in the dead of winter with ~9-10" of snow on the ground.

Once replaced an automatic transmission in a 69 Sport Fury in the same kind of weather.

Those were the days. Fond memories. . .

 

[Mick Doobie]

I'm not a mechanic by any stretch, but I do enjoy fixing it myself when possible. It's just something old school about it that I dig. I've replaced a starter or two, or three, but I gotta say that was tight. Damn heat shield was a pain in the ass, and the wires connected to the solenoid were way up on the top, hard to get to. Didn't want to drop the starter and have it dangling by the wires. Had to drive 45 minutes to get the starter, podunk local auto parts store didn't keep one in stock, damn sure didn't want to be replacing wiring. Gotta say, it's becoming less fun and the satisfaction of doing it myself ain't quite what it used to be.

I'm still in good shape, for having just turned 60. But these days I can scratch my ass wrong and end up with a wrist, elbow, or shoulder thing for a half a day. Ain't getting old a bitch.

 

[BTStudio]

Those were the days. Fond memories. . .

I once changed the head gasket on a 67 Datsun 411 in the middle of summer right on the side of the road where it died. I was about 18 at the time. Had to do it in order to keep those wheels under me. That’s certainly not gonna happen ever again

 

[Mick Doobie]

I once changed the head gasket on a 67 Datsun 411 in the middle of summer right on the side of the road where it died. I was about 18 at the time. Had to do it in order to keep those wheels under me. That’s certainly not gonna happen ever again

That's pretty impressive, though, especially for an 18 year old kid. Old guy rant alert....kids these days, forget about it, totally overwhelming to change a tire on the side of the road. Windshield wipers? Iz very complicated stuff only for professionals.

 

[Mick Doobie]

Remember Beevis and Butthead? One episode they were talking about the guy in the neighborhood who was always working on his cars, "Yeah, uhuh, he's cool, uhuh". Back in the day I think every neighborhood had that guy, and he was cool.

 

[BTStudio]

That's pretty impressive, though, especially for an 18 year old kid. Old guy rant alert....kids these days, forget about it, totally overwhelming to change a tire on the side of the road. Windshield wipers? Iz very complicated stuff only for professionals.

Lol I was a very mechanical person, run my own fabricating and small machine shop now.
Guy

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

had that guy, and he was cool.

Guy

haha. Just illustrating the point.

 

[RFR]

I once changed the head gasket on a 67 Datsun 411 in the middle of summer right on the side of the road where it died. I was about 18 at the time. Had to do it in order to keep those wheels under me. That’s certainly not gonna happen ever again

Love that story. Got one of my own should you humor me.

I was at this strip club in Hollywood. One of the girls needed a ride home.

I had a 66 Datsun roadster. All of a sudden my clutch pedal just went to the floor. Oh shit. I knew it wasn't the master cylinder as I’d replaced that a week before. It was the the slave cylinder.

Wokesters, please don’t get upset. That’s what it’s called. ( I didn’t name it )

Anyway, luckily I had a brand new one in the trunk. So at 2 in the morning, in the dark, without a flashlight, I installed the new slave cylinder.

Good thing she was there. She pushed the pedal and let go while I was bleeding the clutch. Me being nice and willing to drive her home was a blessing for me. No way would I have been able to do it without an assistant to pump the clutch pedal. All went well and we were on our merry way.

 

[dogooder]

I once changed the head gasket on a 67 Datsun 411 in the middle of summer right on the side of the road where it died. I was about 18 at the time. Had to do it in order to keep those wheels under me. That’s certainly not gonna happen ever again

My 84 subaru blew a head gasket. The chiltons manual told me I had to pull the engine to do it. Upon removing the valve covers I found the studs that held the head on were threaded into the block. I loosened the motor mounts, jacked the engine up as far as it could, took the nuts off the studs, unscrewed the studs from the block, removed the head, did the work and put it back together. I don't know who wrote those instructions for Chiltons? My VW squareback was such POS that by the time I sold it I could remove the engine in half an hour. If I wanted to cut the wires and splice them back together when done, fifteen minutes.

 

[dogooder]

Love that story. Got one of my own should you humor me.

I was at this strip club in Hollywood. One of the girls needed a ride home.

I had a 66 Datsun roadster. All of a sudden my clutch pedal just went to the floor. Oh shit. I knew it wasn't the master cylinder as I’d replaced that a week before. It was the the slave cylinder.

Wokesters, please don’t get upset. That’s what it’s called. ( I didn’t name it )

Anyway, luckily I had a brand new one in the trunk. So at 2 in the morning, in the dark, without a flashlight, I installed the new slave cylinder.

Good thing she was there. She pushed the pedal and let go while I was bleeding the clutch. Me being nice and willing to drive her home was a blessing for me. No way would I have been able to do it without an assistant to pump the clutch pedal. All went well and we were on our merry way.

I had a Mazda pickup where the nose in the transmission would no longer engage an you couldn't shift. I just kept driving it and power shifting it for a few months and finally wound up giving it to my daughters boyfriend. Other than that, it was a decent truck. I just didn't feel like pulling the tranny and fixing it at that age. I tried my best never to come to a full stop lol.

 

[dogooder]

One time I was swapping engines in the winter. We had a homeade quadrapod hoist about fourteen feet high. Four two or three inch diameter legs that would fit
into a steel plate with a hook on it for a comealong. I was working with a buddy and after pulling the first engine I had to move the quadrapod. It was stuck in the ice and snow. I start puling on one of the legs and it comes out of the steel plate and the whole things comes smashing down on my head. Knocked me to the ground but not out and all I could see was stars. I have a big gash in my head, blood all over. My buddy says you want me to take you to the hospital. No, ten minute joint break and back to work. The next day my jaws had smashed together so hard, my teeth hurt so bad I could barely bite spaghetti for about two months. I lived on soup and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

 

[Mick Doobie]

One time when I first got the Suburban, low miles but running rough, process of elimination among other things I replaced the plugs. Bingo, a plug was fouled. I think it had been skipped in the past, had to remove the wheel well, it was really hard to get to. I mean really hard.

Heh, that's all I got. I'll go sit in the corner now.

 

[spantini]

One day everyone was leaving work and heading out to the parking lot. One by one they fired up their cars and pulled away. I got into my '66 Corvette and it started immediately, then it bogged like crazy when I tried to pull away. I had recently tuned it up with new unipoints and plugs, so I pulled the distributor cap to recheck everything. BINGO! One of the centrifugal weights had flown loose. I went to reattach it and ... Oh No! The pivot pin it attaches to pulled out of the plate and there was no way to get it back in and attached to the plate - the pin hadn't broken, and the hole in the plate was clear and clean, it needed to be tack welded and I just didn't happen to have one of those in my pocket.

Fortunately, I worked at a car dealership and one of the guys who hadn't left yet saw me with the hood up and came over to see about it. He was a body shop tech and said he had a solution. He walked back to his tools and returned with a small hand torch and some brazing rods. He brazed the pin securely into the hole but there was so much extra material at it's base the weight couldn't slide all the way down flush to the plate, which caused it to fly off when the engine started.

The guy who helped me had a small pocket file which he handed to me and I spent the next half-hour filing it all down and reshaping the brazing material to allow the weight to sit flush and not fly off.

 

[dogooder]

I had a 69 chevy van, the ones with the engines in the middle. There was a fork at the end of the linkage of the shifter linkage. I can't remember exactly how it went together. There was a pin in it that broke on the way to work and I had to power shift the rest of the way. I found the broken pin. I was working in a machine shop and I am thinking now I have to go and get this pin which had a head, a cylindrical body and tapered on the end with a hole for a cotter pin. Well, that morning a box of parts comes into the shop with parts that had no relation to the pin. I open the box and there is a pin it, almost an exact duplicate! The shaft diameter within .005 of the original and same with the length and taper. I am working with four other people who I had told of the problem. I said okay, which one you is the joker who put this pin in the box. Everyone pleaded not guilty? I put that pin in and it worked like a charm. I kept pumping them for days who did it and no one ever owned up to it?

 

[spantini]

That was my grandfather. I'll bet he gave away thousands of those pins over the years. He never wanted credit for them. . . just a generous guy.

 

[dogooder]

That was my grandfather. I'll bet he gave away thousands of those pins over the years. He never wanted credit for them. . . just a generous guy.

You're a lucky guy. All my grandparents were gone before I was born.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

The V-8 rear-wheel drive cars of the60-70-80's with carburetors and a 4 speed. They made some nice memories. If you are into wrenching, I highly recommend the newer cars. The 90-00+'s , with a 4 cylinder that have 5/6 speed with programmed fuel injection. Then go and turbocharge it. Use your laptop and TUNE IT!


I did a bunch of them. Prelude.Infinity G20.Civic. Integra. Accord.Sentra. All the same. 4 cylinder 5 speeds. Who knew to go fast you knock off 4 of the cylinders..The rotating assemblies are soooo lightweight. They can whip up so fast , and hit full boost by 3rd gear. bee meep zip tang

 

[dogooder]

 

[TalismanRich]

One day everyone was leaving work and heading out to the parking lot. One by one they fired up their cars and pulled away. I got into my '66 Corvette and it started immediately, then it bogged like crazy when I tried to pull away. I had recently tuned it up with new unipoints and plugs, so I pulled the distributor cap to recheck everything. BINGO! One of the centrifugal weights had flown loose. I went to reattach it and ... Oh No! The pivot pin it attaches to pulled out of the plate and there was no way to get it back in and attached to the plate - the pin hadn't broken, and the hole in the plate was clear and clean, it needed to be tack welded and I just didn't happen to have one of those in my pocket.

Fortunately, I worked at a car dealership and one of the guys who hadn't left yet saw me with the hood up and came over to see about it. He was a body shop tech and said he had a solution. He walked back to his tools and returned with a small hand torch and some brazing rods. He brazed the pin securely into the hole but there was so much extra material at it's base the weight couldn't slide all the way down flush to the plate, which caused it to fly off when the engine started.

The guy who helped me had a small pocket file which he handed to me and I spent the next half-hour filing it all down and reshaping the brazing material to allow the weight to sit flush and not fly off.

I don't miss those centrifugal timing systems. Years ago, I had a problem with my wife's Chevy Monza. It would be buzzing along happily, and suddenly bog down. Pop out of gear, let the engine idle, pop back in gear and it would be fine.

We took it into a shop who put it on the diagnostic.... nothing wrong that they could find. That was money thrown away. It turned out to be a weak spring on the centrifugal advance. Something so simple to cause such problems. A couple years later a friend had a Monza and he was describing this recurring problem. I told him to pull the distributor and replace the springs. Problem solved.

I had a Capri that used to develop leaks in the cap of the radiator. I pulled the radiator in the driveway, soldered everything back and prepared for a 200 mile trip the next day. Just in case, I put the propane torch, solder and paste, and a gallon of water just in case, but it held fine.

One night driving home from the university, the bolt that held the harmonic balancer to the end of the crankshaft came out and was tossed into the hood leaving a dent. The threads were stripped out, so it was either replace the whole crank, or get a big old tap, tap out new threads, and put in a new bolt. Some Loctite and a new half inch bolt locked everything down. I drove it for another couple of years before I sold it and got my RX7.

I don't bother working on cars much anymore, but I have replaced power window parts, water pumps and alternators on my daughter's 2009 Nissan Sentra. Crawling around a car isn't nearly as easy as it used to be!

 

[TalismanRich]

I had a 69 chevy van, the ones with the engines in the middle. There was a fork at the end of the linkage of the shifter linkage. I can't remember exactly how it went together. There was a pin in it that broke on the way to work and I had to power shift the rest of the way. I found the broken pin. I was working in a machine shop and I am thinking now I have to go and get this pin which had a head, a cylindrical body and tapered on the end with a hole for a cotter pin. Well, that morning a box of parts comes into the shop with parts that had no relation to the pin. I open the box and there is a pin it, almost an exact duplicate! The shaft diameter within .005 of the original and same with the length and taper. I am working with four other people who I had told of the problem. I said okay, which one you is the joker who put this pin in the box. Everyone pleaded not guilty? I put that pin in and it worked like a charm. I kept pumping them for days who did it and no one ever owned up to it?

My dad had one of those vans for his florist business. Ours had windows all around, and the step that popped out with the side door. We used it for hauling band equipment too. Big Blue was a good ol' van!

After sitting for some time, the clutch plate stuck to the flywheel. My brother and I pulled the tranny, removed the clutch and plate. A friend popped it apart, we sanded it down to get the rust off, and put it together and off we went. However, if you didn't drive it for a week, it would lock up. I would warm it up in neutral, turn it off , then start it in first gear. A few hits on the accelerator would pop it loose. Burn the clutch a bit and it was good for another week or so.

It was fun to pull right up on someone's back bumper, since you could almost see the front bumper with that flat front end.