Saw this post on OZDAT about all the stupid things people have done and would like to hear some of the datsun1200.com members stupid antics.

Ill get things started. Never had anything too embarrising thank god.

Forgot to put floats back in the carbs. Started her up began reving away when i smell fuel and see a large puddle forming. Jump out to have a look and see fuel spurting a good 30cm out of eash float bowl.

Another fuel one. Forgot to put a fuel hose on one carb. Same as above.

No mechanical fan means I turn the engine over by using a large socket and rachet on the crank bolt. Forget to take it off and start it up only to hear a rachet working over time. Luckily it was going the way of the rachet and not loosen, otherwise big dissaster.

Come back after changing wheels only to remember I forgot to tighten the wheel nuts. They were only hand tight. Nothing happend luckily as they must of just been tight enough to take up the slack.

Left bonnet on first latch only after going over 100kph. Again nothing happend but i shat myself when realising what could of. Pro-18t for example.

Wondered why it wouldnt start. Jump out and see the rotor still sitting on the strut top.

Theres a start. Tell us everything. We wont judge you. Mine are very mild compared to some I read on OZDAT. Im wiser for all of them now though except the rachet on the crank. Do that one nearly every time.

I caught my wife's ute on fire three days ago by leaving the fuel hose disco'd while trying to start it (backfired through the carbs which lit the gas) I was next to a hose though and although it looked real bad I put it out quick and nothing was harmed.

I was trying to Undo one of the tight rear wheel nuts on my car (was in a rush) the sochet slipped and smashed my head on the tray was out for a few seconds and small gash..

Have driven off with the weber fuel jet caps off rrolling around in the engine bay...

Have had a huge amount of smoke coming out of engine bay after dodgey thermo wiring..

A non-mechanical thing was i filled my dads 120Lfuel tank landcruiser with un-leaded petrol when it was a diesiel motor!!...so i had fun pushing it to parking area and dropping all the fuel out the next morning and having to dump it all!!....I just wasnt thinking that nite, so used to filling with pertol for so many years!!

Will update when i can tihnk of other stupid things lol...trust me there is plenty

When i was putting my engine back together where it says that the cam plate 'lower' engraving says it must be pointing towards the bottom of the block i put it in upside down as i had the engine up the other way on the stand......

When i was trying to take the pin out of the ring gear on my old dizzy i was using some sharp tool on my pocket knife thing, and yes you guessed it i slipped stabbed my thumb and hit the bone... OWW it bloody hurt and got infected later as i didnt clean it properally!!

driving without putting the air filter back on properally, wondering 'what the hell is that clunk clunk noise' and sure enough the tops down the side getting hit by the engine fan!

got bad mechanical advice alot?? trusted people i shouldnt have, does that suffice??

Oh trust me theres plenty more! just gota remember them...

Dave

Props on the wheel nut job Freak! I did the same thing but mine did come loose. I wondered why the car wouldn't steer straight, and when I found out I had to piddle the car home at 20kph. Lucky it was just a shake down run around the local streets.

I spent a week wondering why I kept having to buy new batteries after I wired the alternator in upside down.

My old Fairlane caught fire when I drove to work with the handbrake on. I broke the cable and it clamped ever so slightly on. By the time I noticed there were flames bellowing out the wheel arch.

Pulling something out from undeneath the dash with a pair of pliers and they slipped, and the top of the pliers hit me in the bridge of my nose. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced and I still have the scar after 15 years.

It's been a while since i did something really stupid.

I have a habit of braking 10 and 12 mm bolts by over-tightening them. by hand...

I've nearly killed several engines with upgraded electric fans because I'm lazy and don't put a relay in, so after a while of starting this 30A fan the thing gets bad and the fan doesn't come on and i wonder why the thermo is up at 230!

I keep buying the wrong size cone airfilter and silicone elbows... D'oh

Onetime I had just installed my first oil cooler and ran the line in between the air cleaner and the firewall, after some driving the hose had rubbed through and was spraying oil everywhere!

lets see what other dumb stuff have i done...

I fried a mini video camera the other day because i wired it up in the car and it used to run off a 9v battery, the reciever is rated 9 - 12v so I thought it would be ok, well no. It worked fine for long enough to come inside and see a very nice picture from the car, then it wen out, so i go back out to the car and smell hot electronics, just as it gets so hot the wires fall out.
ooops dead $5 video camera...

Dropping an oil filter that was full of hot oil (heavy AND hot) right on my nose, getting oil in my eyes, nostrils, and everywhere.

Breaking a bolt off in a distributor.

Slipping with a flathead screwdriver and slicing my hand open.

Getting *right* underneath the brakes on my (now deceased) 1991 Maxima SE5 to break a bolt loose and getting hit in the eye with flying rust.

Been zapped a few times too.

most notable thing I ever did was back when I was 17 or 18, swapping the blown 2TG twin cam engine in my 76 Celica with a boring ohv 2T from the importers. I decided to leave the imported clutch on the new engine because it was like new. fitting the new engine into the car, I was surprised at how easy it went together - normally have a little bit of a hassle getting the clutch over the input shaft, but thought nothing more of of it... Anyway, when I had it all completed, bolted in, oil and coolant, the whole box and dice. got it fired it up and set the timing and everything. hopped in to take it for a test drive around the block, popped it in reverse and let the clutch out to back out of the garage - nothing happened... "hmm, that's strange..." then it dawned on me why it had gone together so easily... the imported clutch plate had a larger diametre spline... there was a few choice words at the prospect of having to do all that work all over again... but I've always checked clutch plates on the input shaft before fitting new clutches ever since!

I have also been known to leave my breaker bar on the crank pulley after tinkering with the engine - more than once, too... Don't worry Freak, nothing disastorous happens - it just undoes the bolt.

im probably the worst out of all you guys here, im so god damn accident prone!

recently when i was putting the rocker cover back on the l20b, i had left a small screwdriver in there, went to go start the motor and was wondering wtf is that sound, got really worried and looked over the whole motor looking for what it might be, then i clicked on leaving the screwdriver in there lol.

angle grinders, i have almost successfuly cut my fingers off!

i thought it would be cool if i sprayed the interior with silicon to make it look shiny, some of the silicon went on some wires in the dash. took it for a drive, turned on the headunit, worked fine for a few secs untill smoke poured out of the dash! immediatly pulled over and disconnected the battery.


with my old b310 sedan when i was doing the a15 conversion, me and my mate brendon had just finished it *so we thought* hopd in and went to go take it for a drive....started it....released clutch....didnt move, that was so disapointing and worrying..turned out to be the vannette flywheel is a different diameter to a std a12 one.

haha anyone ever slipped and smacked themselves in the face before from trying to undo a nut/bolt by pulling the tool towards you? done that a couple of times as well.


ahhh fun times.