define stupidity
 

this, boys and girls, is what happens when you dont shut your hood all the way and walk off and forget about it....

dont even feel sorry for me, i AM A COMPLETE MORON...heres two of the pics i just took, one of them was too large

That's a shame, but you are not alone. It has happened to many professionals at one time or another.

Ouch
 

Very sad.
Why was it open???

I was going down a long stretch near jacksonville Fl back in 73 driving a 63 Plymouth Valiant going 70 mph while at the same time coming from the opposite direction doing about 70 mph was a semi rig, when we passed, off came my hood and watched it in my rear view end over end to the side of the road along with the roof racks I had too!

i had just replaced the return fuel lines, and was doing some other poking around in there, trying to figure out what all i wanted to either adjust or replace....just set it down and came inside for a little while, then i jumped in it to go get some cigarettes and didnt think twice about it being open...made it about 200 yards from the house, and WHAM! i got a hood in my face, and some poop in my pants

its not that bad though...i just cant drive it for a few days....i had been needing to replace the hood hinges because it wasnt straight due to an accident i was in about a year ago....now i get to just replace the whole hood, or rather have it replaced

See....there's a cloud in every silver lining :D

Have you ever seen the movie 'Tommy Boy' where they're going down the freeway and the hood goes up? That's so hilarious. Your post reminded me of that. They were singing some Carpenters' song and BAM. Always soils people's shorts when something like that happens. I'll bet you had to scrape yours out after that one! Next time make a video:)
Hope you get it fixed easily and cheaply.

Actually I have a moron moment to share. I left the socket and ratchet head on the crankshaft bolt after adjusting the valves. I started the car like that. Luckily I was spared, the direction the crank turns just ratcheted the head in the loose direction, furthermore the ratchet head itself was old and well worn so it just kinda spun and made a loud ratcheting noise and didn't take out my oil cooler lines.

When I was a kid I saw that happen to a cherry white Camaro driving down the highway just as he came by me. I saw this beautiful white hood sailing away like a frisbee. The car locked up the brakes, the driver got out, picked the hood up, slammed it back onto the car, and floored it. I could tell he was annoyed :rolleyes:

85drtysthbenz,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I would really hate for that to happen to me. But I guess the best part of sharing something like that is for all of us to be more careful, and double check our work.

I was on ebay (buying things i dont even need for the car) and found this. I hope it is of use for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7950806803&category=33646

Good luck! :o

continuing to bravely point out my defects...
 

had the wifes car. i wanted to adjust the headlights. the bulbs were replaced at the gas station she usually goes to but they didn't do the lights. i opend the dood, got out the screwdriver and promptly dropped the screw. put the hood down and backed up to get light on the screw but never found it. got back in the car and drove the 2 miles home. next day the wife gets in, turns the corner and WHAM hood in face. yep i never even got the safety latched.

i did remember to disconnect the battery while working around my car today. just thought i would throw that in for the person who would appreciate it.

A long time ago I did that with a VW beetle. Fortunately the hood, being a thin fiberglass replacement, simply flew up, bounced against the windshield, and stuck there. When I stopped, I lowered it, latched it, and everything was fine.

Then it happened again a few years ago in a friends car. It was a saturn or something, and she had gotten into a wreck, and I was driving the car home for her, since she was very distraught, as were the other people who had been in the car at the time. The car was pretty banged up, but drivable. As we got onto the highway and I started to speed up, the hood came up and slammed against the windshield obscuring my vision. The girls in the car started screaming, and I, remembering my VW experience, just peered through the crescent moon shaped space at the bottom of the windshield. I told them, "Don't worry, I've done this before." and calmly pulled over, and removed the hood. After removing it, we tossed it on the side of the road, drove to a Home Depot and bought some rope, then drove back to the hood so we could use the rope to tie it to the roof of the car. Not a fun thing, but a hilarious site for all the people witnessing it.

After the fiasco was all done, everyone looked at me with amazement, and mentioned how calm I sounded when I said, "Don't worry, I've done this before" and that once I said that, they knew we'd be OK no matter WHAT happened.

So now, due to your unforunate occurance, can claim with confidence that you've 'been there, done that' next time it happens.

peace,
sam

More Silly Hood Tricks...
 

1) Left tool on top of valve cover on Marlene, shut hood, new 'outie' :mad:

2) Went tooling around in John Doe-ner parts car that had been wrecked and hood wouldn't latch properly; held same down with, dig this: a bungee cord. Totally forgot about hood being loose and used hood to wipe out windshield at 35+ mph. :eek: :eek: :eek:

VERY careful now about leaving crap on engine and latching hood.

Do you know why one should NEVER put a screwdriver in one's back pocket? Ask the driver's seat in my old 300SD.

Backed out of a garage with my antenna up last year. The garage door was not all the way up.

Hooked the charging cables reversed on a battery once. Lots of smoke and expensive smells.

Those things probably won't happend again, but I'm sure I can find some other ways to break things. I'm creative like that.