Garage Mis-hap's or modding mis-hap's.

About 6 years ago I was being a bit silly in a work car at the time (Rav4) and pulled up to a gate with the aid of the hand brake, doing this I had to put on a bit of oposite lock to keep it strait as I came to a stop directly infront of the gate. I got out opened the gate, got back in and went to drive into the yard, not remembering that I had wound on a bit of lock, so as i punched the gas the car shot strait at the gate post, causing about $300 worth of damage and knocking over a 3m high steel gate and post. Luckely it was at about 2am in the morning and it was a clients gate that I knocked over. I spent the next 30min attempting to straiten the gate post and re-attach it with some old fencing wire. I did a good job with the gate, but it was not fun explainging to the boss why there was a big dint in the front of the car.

I replaced a clutch in an old Cortina and on the test run blew the welch plug on the back of the motor (inside the bell housing). Back up on the ramps in the garage in a foul mood I undid the gearbox mounts and dropped the tail shaft but then had to take it off the ramps ( I needed the space for something else temporarily). I removed the wheel chocks and the handbrake but the car would not roll off the ramps. Back under it again I found the gearbox hanging down on the handbrake cable so in my crappy mood I just lifted it up again. No handbrake, no chocks the car rolls down the ramps with me under it.

The difference in clearance from a Cortina on ramps to on the ground is substantial but in those days my gut was less substantial than currently and it did not touch me. That was the last gearbox I've worked on

Early on during my apprenticeship I was trying to grip an odd shaped piece in a lathe. I was using parallel strips to hold it square to the face of the chuck while I clamped it ready to clock it up. All went well and it clocked up nicely. Gave it a test spin at about 120rpm and it looked nice and true. Selected 650rpm and let her rip and and saw/felt something shiny wizz passed my ear followed by a loud crash at the other end of the workshop. Yep, I left the parallel strips in and 1 of them nearly took my head off. Gulp. Until now I've kept that to myself so let's keep it just between us OK?.

Then there was the time I was helping out with a sprintcar team and we has just finnished assembling a new car with some of the old bits of the old car. The old car had the dry sump oil tank painted black and we all decided that it would look better in polished aluminum. Broke out the gas axe and started warming up the old paint when BOOOM!!!! Thats when we realised as our ears continued ringing, just how much methanol blows passed the rings and saturates the oil on those things. The tank turned into a beach ball.

Be weary of exploding tail shafts and shockers when setting fire to a car. Part of training for local vollie fire brigade, some thought it was a good idea for a live training experience. A tad before we rocked up to put the car out, the tail shaft exploded sending hot metal through the air. Luckily it missed the people there, but might have been a different story with more on scene.

some great stories guys haha. i haven't spent enough time in the shed to have anything terrible happen to me, probably in line with Dave - almost started pouring new oil in the block without putting the plug back in and removing the oil drain pan below.

I have a couple that are either piss funny or annoying.

Changing a tyre on my first car (subaru 1800 wagon) and one of my dad's mates walks passed saying "atleast its only flat on the bottom". I did not laugh.

punching my windscreen in my commodore after being flashed by a multinova for the 2nd time in about 20mins.....I cracked the windscreen due to the fact i was wearing a ring, was an expensive 20 mins.

oh and the best one is shutting to door on my fingers after working on one of my cars. Had locked teh doors and disconncted the battery as it was going to sit for a while. the drivers side door lock isnt connect to the locking mechanism (can only be activated by central locking key).

So basically what happened i shut the door on my fingers, couldnt open the door, had to call my mate that was in the house on my mobile and get him to open the passenger side door with my car key as that one is still connceted to the locking mechanism and open the drivers side door from inside the car. I had still never lived it down.

Matt76 said:

Haha I'm glad it's not just me.

I also did about 15 laps around queensland raceway on my CBR600 then my mate pointed out I hadn't done up my front axle nuts That could have been ugly lol.

I was late for qualifying for my first race out on my new bike, just been fully stripped and repainted, on brand new cold un-scrubbed in slicks and thought I would just take it really easy and scrub them in for a few laps. Had a very big slide, absolutely crapped my pants and went straight back to the pits. How it didnt go down I will never know. Kind of a 'pits' story rather than a garage story but sort of the same.

I have many stupid stories from motorbikes Haha.

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here ya, my first bike was a clapped out dr 250. i spent ages cleaning it, and armoraled everything. my brother and i were doing wheelie practice out the front, (or trying too) and i slided off the backseat, as i armoraled the seat too! dohhhhhhhhh

I once made a pulse rocket, and clamped it in the vice of my folks garden shed. It was only a small one, 1" pipe, but I swear the work bench started to move, I estimate the flame was well over 2 meter long, but it was hard to tell as it was setting the old man paint tins on fire. The noise was something fairly incredible too. Fortunately I wasn't a very good welder back then and the thing sprung a leak and shut down. With a 1kg fire extinguisher and the garden hose I managed to save the shed, but the old mans golf bag was pretty crisspy!

i was taking out some old steel fence posts one day on a reclaimed block using a stihl portable cut off saw. i was having a break and i looked down at my boots and noticed a neat cut right across the top of my boot about where ur toes start. i hadnt felt any pain, but i was still pretty nervous taking my boot off. luckily my socks where all in one piece, and not red. steel caps from now on!

a fair few years ago my old xe falcon had a 250xflow in it which i decided to convert to strait gas, so i fitted an xf inlet manifold and throttle body, plumbed the gas tuned it and of i went, a couple of weeks later i was off to melbourne when i ran out of gas. unable to contact any one i decided to be creative as the car still had an electric fuel pump and fuel in the tank i plumbed the old petrol line to a vac port on the inlet manifold, switched the pump on, waited for the plenum to fill up and started the car. well i started and ran (sounded like a 2stroke) so i took off and travelled a few k's before going down a steep hill and all the fuel in the plenum ran into one cylinder causing it to hydraulic and explode, which busted a conrod, punctured the sump and blew the rocker cover open!

stubbsy351 said:

a fair few years ago my old xe falcon had a 250xflow in it which i decided to convert to strait gas, so i fitted an xf inlet manifold and throttle body, plumbed the gas tuned it and of i went, a couple of weeks later i was off to melbourne when i ran out of gas. unable to contact any one i decided to be creative as the car still had an electric fuel pump and fuel in the tank i plumbed the old petrol line to a vac port on the inlet manifold, switched the pump on, waited for the plenum to fill up and started the car. well i started and ran (sounded like a 2stroke) so i took off and travelled a few k's before going down a steep hill and all the fuel in the plenum ran into one cylinder causing it to hydraulic and explode, which busted a conrod, punctured the sump and blew the rocker cover open!

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^ Never seen that post before.

Lol.

Was tidying up a few things last night in the engine bay and removed one of the pipes coming off the turbo.

Then got distracted and decided to shorten the boost gauge line.

All was going until I dropped a little brass fitting.

Looked everywhere and thought it may have fallen into the turbo.

So started removing more shit and nope, not in the turbo.

However, checked the shaft play on the compressor wheel and very very minimal.

Was thinking I may aswell change the turbo over while I am in the engine bay but realised a intercooler pipe needs modifying as its to small for the new turbo.

From a quick measurement, the new turbo is 12mm bigger in compressor wheel size.

Hopefully should have it fitted next friday and dynoed before and after.

Well the worst mishap i've done was about 2 or 3 years ago.

Was working on hull repairs on my boat, fixing small blemish's in the fibreglass hull. I had wound the jockey whell up as hight as it would go, put some timber block under the hull to prop it up, and then wound the jockey wheel back down again. To keep the trailer down and away from the hull, i suspended a 20kg drum of paint on the tow hitch. Worked like a treat.

Well, after working hard for many hours that night, and many beers and JB's/coke later - we started to pack up. I took the drum of paint off the tow hitch and the draw bar sprung back up without the weight on it due to the weight of the boat on the 'back' of the trailer. Then the whole boat and trailer started moving around on the props under the hull. I grabed the front of the boat to steady it - then i did the stupidist thing and got one of my mates to kick the prop out from under the boat (jockey wheel in the horizontal position mind you).

The whole thing came down on my left foot - one of the bolts protruding down below the tow hitch directly hit my foot just above the big toe. Due to the flex in the trailer, it bounced once and the bolt landed a 2nd time between my big toe and 2nd toe.

Well, a late night trip by ambulance to the local hospital had me x-rared, stiched up and sent back home at 3 in the morning on crutch's. Nothing broken. Very lucky. Very sore.

Thats the stupidist thing i've ever done - and never want to repeat it.

I'm so thankful I don't do work in my garage so I can remain safer than you lot. There has been mishaps in the bush, mishaps on the farm, mishaps in the shed I'm just not game to admit to but no mishaps like that in my garage.

4 years ago i was cutting up a old parts ute i cut the chassie and i could not get the tail shaft out so i thought stuff thiss i will get the 9 inch so i started cutting almost threw i thought wont this and then quicker the i could react the tail shaft clamped the cutting disc blew the disc and sent the 9 inch into my face cuting my from the bridge of my nose to my cheek bone under my left eye 4 days 57 stiches later i was sent home needed a new 9 inch took me 6 months to pick up any grinder now i use my plasma cutter no 9 inch grinder for me

^ There dangerous.

I hate the things.

bloodviper said:

4 years ago i was cutting up a old parts ute i cut the chassie and i could not get the tail shaft out so i thought stuff thiss i will get the 9 inch so i started cutting almost threw i thought wont this and then quicker the i could react the tail shaft clamped the cutting disc blew the disc and sent the 9 inch into my face cuting my from the bridge of my nose to my cheek bone under my left eye 4 days 57 stiches later i was sent home needed a new 9 inch took me 6 months to pick up any grinder now i use my plasma cutter no 9 inch grinder for me

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Ouch, I always thought a 9" was safer because it was less likely to jump out o your hands. Thanks for the reminder that all power tools are dangerous.

I have 2 sheds at home side by side, one ground level the other 1m higher. Had my 5m boat in the lower shed changing the oil in the leg, and give the rather new 90hp a good going over whilst having a few beers. Once finished decided to drag the boat out of the shed and put it to bed in the raised floor shed where it usually resides. As i was reversing it and got to the cement ramp it pulled up.....thinkin i didn't have enough speed to get up the incline i tried again with a bit more gutso.....pulled up again....then i realised I had left the motor down......new skeg and prop please.....

^ They expensive parts ?

They sound it, I have been told before that boats are a money pit.

You want to try farming if you want to donate crap loads of money to someone else.