stupid old people yet again

crassius

crassius

Well-Known Member
I tell all my kit customers to be sure to put the spark plug in while building these, but today I pulled the plug & ran the chain thru, then forgot to replace the plug

sure enough, dropped a gas tank nut right thru the plug hole

found that the nut went in, bounced off piston and out into muffler - took muffler off & shook it and got the nut

had I not found it, I could never start the motor just in case it went to bottom end
 
I once had a 3 cylinder motorcycle. Changing spark plugs one day, I noticed a little ring of small road gravel nested against the head of the spark plug in the center cylinder. The cooling fins were too tall for me to reach in there to sweep this crap away.

I wished I had compressed air. I should have, of course. But I didn't. So then I had the bright idea of using engine compression to blow that crap out. I pulled the spark plug, being very careful not to disturb the ring of grit around it.

No doubt you can see where this is going wrong; it hadn't occurred to me at all that that cylinder might be on the down-stroke.

I reached up and hit the starter. And I watched that ring of grit go "Whoosh" right down into the cylinder.

I remember thinking, "How could I have been so stupid???!!! Now, I've got to stop.....and rebuild this engine."

Luckily I did have some space in a garage on-property available. So I pushed the bike in there, muttering and cursing myself the whole way.

Then I went and found a shop manual for that model and learned how to dis-assembe and assemble an engine. So I kinda didn't feel too bad about the whole thing.

Other than commuting to work by bus for a few months.

But the bike ended up serving me, and the guy I sold it to, well for quite some time after that.
 
My first car was a Chevy Monza. My buddies older brother helped me swap a 327 into it. Well right before the motor was going in I dropped a nut down the carburetor. That's 26 years ago and still one of my dumber moves ha ha. Somehow they got the nut out that night after I went home completely disgusted with myself. Anyway I was 17 so you certainly don't have to be old.
 
I also dropped a nut down the spark plug hole when i was building my bike, but it wasn't a metal nut, it was an almond. Why i was eating almonds while i was building my bike i don't know, but i was lucky that the piston was at top dead center and i was able to get it out with a pair of tweezers.
 
Age doesn't really play into it. Anyone can drop something. Usually it was a critical part, and/or it vanished when it hit the floor or found the most inconvenient place to go.

It always amazes me when I drop something, hear it hit, maybe even see it hit, then disappear from view. I wish I had a buck for every hour I've spent looking for a small part or piece that slipped out of my grasp.

How about buffing or grinding a small part on a bench buffer/grinder? It slips and you hear a 'ping' and whatever you were working on is...gone. Hopefully it didn't find an open spark plug hole.

Tom
 
I don't know why, but when I read this thread, a Brittney Spears song pops into my head....."Oops......"
 
The Motel's hit single......Take the C out of cover and it's over? Huh? Brittney Spears? Or Martha?
Stupid old peeps :D
 
My personal favorite carb/nut story comes from my stepbrother.
He saved for three years to buy a mint 1978 Thunderbird with a sweet 390 and the day he brought it home he was changing the air filter (with the engine running!) and managed to drop the nut into the motor.
It instantly broke the head off an intake valve and destroyed the motor.
I got my ass beat for laughing, but it was totally worth it.
 
That happened to my buddy ,when he was messing with the air filter box on his firehawk... he dropped the wing nut and couldn't find it on the ground, was in a hurry to go somewhere so he grabbed another out of his toolbox, put it on, closed the hood and tore down the street, then he turns around baying the car back to his garage, the engine running like cap and making a knocking sound... yup... it swallowed the wing nut and destroyed the head and piston. He got a new set of heads and rebuilt the engine but keeps that piston with a perfect impression of the wing nut on his desk. That car was his pride and joy and he was making some crazy money back then since he had his own business installing computer networks and maintaining all the ones he installed so he had it rebuilt and back on the road with about 200 more horsepower in just a few weeks.
 
maniac57 said:
My personal favorite carb/nut story comes from my stepbrother.
He saved for three years to buy a mint 1978 Thunderbird with a sweet 390 and the day he brought it home he was changing the air filter (with the engine running!) and managed to drop the nut into the motor.
It instantly broke the head off an intake valve and destroyed the motor.
I got my ass beat for laughing, but it was totally worth it.
Click to expand...

Now that is funny, I'm sure it was tragic at the time no doubt :D One very expensive nut for sure.....
 
Brand new intrepid,400 km's on it. Came in running rough. Turned out it was a valve cover bolt caught in intake port. Chrysler coughed up for a new head and all related parts to complete job. It sure beat up the port and valve seat.
 
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