Stupid Things we did in the past - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

leathermang · #1 04-09-2011, 01:27 PM

I once carried a 6 cyl Jag XK 120 cast iron block into a house from the pickup truck by myself. Just to show I could do it. It was not even mine.

I once hooked up a can of R12 to the AC system on a car backwards. I was lucky enough to notice that it was getting hot instead of cold and it did not explode in my face. Very lucky.

I once put a 1964 Lincoln onto four bottle jacks and got under it... it was wobbly needless to say and I got out from under it fast... I deservedly had nightmares about that for a while.

After making it though my tour in Vietnam as a Huey Slick pilot without taking any rounds... I decided flying a helicopter here in the US was too dangerous due to the wires and towers all over the place.. so I spent the next ten years riding motorcycles... DUH !!!!

Stretch · #2 04-09-2011, 01:52 PM

How does the weight of an OM617 block compare to the XK120? (I could have been stupid then)

I was stupid when I tried to weigh it and the string snapped between the block and the scales and I twatted myself in the face... (I wasn't that much younger when I did that!)

...don't call me scar face...

Codifex Maximus · #3 04-09-2011, 01:53 PM

I once stood up on the strand of the CATV while gaffing a pole. I felt the hair raise on the back of my neck and looked up to see the high-voltage electrical line very near my face. Good thing I was wearing my hard hat.

Almost ran myself over once. I'd had a fender bender in my old Mercury - messed up alot of stuff. Pulled the car into a parking lot and lifted the hood with the engine running. The dang thing klunked into gear and nearly ran me over. I couldn't stop it so it gunned across the lot and hit a restaurant on the corner putting a Deep-V in the front end.

Oh, and I married my wife.

pelon · #4 04-09-2011, 02:02 PM

My list while driving semi's in Africa, Flying small planes, riding motorcycles, operating heavy equipment, driving in Houston, visiting Juarez, etc. would be too long to mention on the forum.

But the bad thing is I still do stupid things... just different.

r

kerry · #5 04-09-2011, 02:03 PM

I once carried an Atomic 4 sailboat engine down into my basement.
Not exactly, me but I was involved. Friend in Brooklyn had an early 60's Chrysler with the push button transmission. It stuck in drive parked on the street and wouldn't start due to the NSS. I told my friend I could start it for him by jumping the starter. I told him to sit inside hold his foot on the brake and I would start it. I did. Car wasn't moving but was parked directly behind another car. He got out from behind the wheel saying he wanted to see the starter connections. I told him to hang on a second while I got in the driver's seat. Before I did, he walked in front of the car and decided he want to rev it up for some reason. He reached into the engine compartment and opened the throttle wide. Being in drive, it sped forward pinning him between the two bumpers. Lucky for him one of them had the big vertical bumper additions so it didn't completely crush his legs. He didn't walk very well for quite a few days after that.

tbomachines · #6 04-09-2011, 03:35 PM

150mph

Beastie · #7 04-09-2011, 04:37 PM

I have many but here is one the wife loves to throw in once in a while.
Bought new 23 HP JD Garden tractor and when I went to drive it out the pickup truck bed the mower deck dragged the 2 ramps with it as I rode backwards and realized only one ramp was still hanging on the tailgate ( and barely at that)
I jumped off ( pretty high F-350 TD offroad pkg) and instead of waiting for help
got behind the tractor ( at chest height) and pushed up and forward to get the 3/4 of the tractor back into the bed. This was stupid becauunny.
Alanse my "real" ramps were in the basement these were just 2 2x12's also my one arm was in a cast.
I will post some real doozies later. Keep posting these are pretty f

Beastie · #8 04-09-2011, 04:38 PM

Crud, must have hit a key by accident. I can spell.
Alan

bustedbenz · #9 04-09-2011, 04:53 PM

Several years ago I parked the 300SDL where I don't normally park it and then later that night backed into the right rear quarter panel with the four-wheeler.

Same car, a year later, the first time I ever changed a Mercedes flat tire, young and impatient. Got the jack out, didn't know there were jack holes under those plastic covers, and thought the little jack foot was supposed to just stick under the side of the car instead. Jack proceeded to fold inwards, inwards, inwards until, as the car settled slowly to the ground again (tire wasn't off yet) the top of the jack left a nice jack-shaped dent in the chrome up near the right front jack point.

Same car, a different year, slammed on the brakes in some ice and never thought to release them until I fishtailed my way down a bank and into a white oak.

When I was about 7 I backed our F-250 into our Cub Lo-Boy lawn tractor. Not a small lawn tractor. A 5-foot deck behemoth made in the 60s or 70s out of sturdy metal. Bent the rear sheetmetal surfaces, crushed the battery holder and the ground cable. The following summer I was backing that truck up towards the porch to load some trash and sprung the (open) door back against a tree.

Not car related, I got the bright idea one time that if I could measure how many volts were in a wall socket with a meter, i could also measure the number of amps that were in it. Stuck the plus and minus leads into a power strip just like they were a lamp. Power strip made an interesting "pffffttt" noise as it cooked itself, blew its internal wiring loose, and melted my meter probe tip.

Matt L · #10 04-09-2011, 04:54 PM

Changing transmission oil and coolant on an old water buffalo, I filled the trans, then went about filling the radiator.

Coolant all over the place. Darn, left the plug out. Look under, and what do you know? Left the transmission drain plug out too. The oil had just made it to the drain, and now it was twice the mess.

Orv · #11 04-09-2011, 05:21 PM

While driving a VW Cabriolet on the beach, I got cocky and drove into a soft spot, where of course the front wheels dug in and the car went down by the nose like the Titanic. Got someone with a pickup and a tow strap to yank it out. It seemed oddly reluctant to move. After the third try, I realized I had set the handbrake when I got out of the car, then forgotten to release it again. It came out a lot easier without the brake on.

leathermang · #12 04-09-2011, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orv

I realized I had set the handbrake when I got out of the car, then forgotten to release it again. It came out a lot easier without the brake on.

That reminds me of another of mine... working on the rear brakes of a VW .. trying to pull the hubs with a puller... a BIG hammer operated puller.... I pretty much ruined the puller because I had left the parking brake ON...
Sometimes ' get a bigger hammer' is not as good as ' think about what might be causing unusual problem...' ....

vstech · #13 04-09-2011, 06:06 PM

pfff. I never make mistakes...

leathermang · #14 04-09-2011, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

pfff. I never make mistakes...

I thought you were going to say " volunteered to be a moderator " ..... LOL

vstech · #15 04-09-2011, 06:16 PM

I LOVE that!
it's fun reorganizing mishmash posts, and cleaning up titles, and fielding tantrums from ticked off members...
wait, did I say that out loud?