1970-W30

Not having turned any wrenches for a decade or so before I bought my 70 Cutlass convert, i'd forgotten how a trouble light has the canny ability to
always manage to turn by itself, so the light always hits me right in the eyes instead of shining the light where I want it to go......
Then there's the dropping tools or parts, I'd forgotten how they always end up perfectly centered under the car when they get away from me. When your 65, avoiding crawling under the car needlessly is a priority, but the wrench is always just out of reach from the front or either side.......grrrr.
I didn't want to get a major project car, and I didn't,but it seems I'm getting I'm parts deliveries about once a week. The wife wants to know when I'll be done fixing it, as she says,
little does she know this is an ongoing project.... When can I drive it, I hear regularly from her, soon I say, as soon as the new header weatherstrip is put on, it's on the way and it won't take long. Of course I neglected to tell her a 3.42 posi differential assembly is coming soon also, probably will need control arm bushings etc. etc.......
Got to say though, I haven't had this much fun in a long while....

501Paratrooper

Have all the fun you can!

Allan R

Love that story. Just an observation - you don't need to be 65 to have all that stuff happen...been there many a time too.

Enjoy your project. BTW, technology has advanced and you can get safety glasses with lights now. Wherever you look, the light is focused there. Next thing you know, they'll have magnetic gloves......

citcapp

Great story and I can totally relate. That's why a 2-post lift is high on my priority list and almost done with my projects except for..................and oh yeah then there's.................Damn forget that................

2blu442

As long as your still having fun that's all that matters


John

RetroRanger

I hear ya about the drop light. I still use one but I found the energizer head lamp works great and aims thelight right where you look. that plus the batteries last a long time and its nice and bright they only cost about $15 at wal mart



just in case its not obvious thats not me in the pic...Im much taller

RandyS

I can relate too!! I hadn't wrenched on a car for over 30 years, but once I started again, it was kind of like riding a bicycle (with training wheels - LOL). As I read more and more on this great forum, I was really surprised at how much started to come back from 'back in the day'.............

1970cs

I use a stubby trouble light, fully enclosed florescent light so you will not get burned or have the bulb blow up when any liquids get on it! It also has a spring style hook so just squeeze the hooks together and twist the light in the direction you want!

I also have a telescoping magnet that I usually have handy for tool or parts dropses you can get in 1lb or 2lb pull.

Pat

oldcutlass

Welcome back to the world of wrenching, yes Murphy's law is still in effect:

Murphy's Laws of Auto Mechanics

• If there is a choice between several parts going bad, the one that goes bad will be the most expensive and hardest to get to.
• When you need a shade tree for your mechaniching, none will be found. They will only be found when you are trying to avoid raking up the leaves.
• If by chance you have to replace an inexpensive part, it will require the replacement of an expensive part: either to go with it, or because that expensive part will be broken in the process of trying to remove the inexpensive one.
• Every project will require the purchase of a specialty tool. It doesn’t matter how many you specialty tools you already have; that won’t protect you from having to buy one.
• Any auto parts store you go into will be out of stock for the specialty tool you need.
• There is always one bolt that is impossible to see, or reach from any angle.
• If it appears that there is a possibility that a part can be removed from the top of the engine, or the bottom of the engine, the only way that you will be able to remove it is from the bottom.
• The harder the repair, the more uncooperative the weather will be.
• You will never get all the parts you need on the first trip to the auto parts store; there will always be something that you miss.
• In your “complete” kit of parts, the one part that is not included will be the most critical one.
• You will always have something left over that you can’t identify, or identify where it came from.
• If you pay someone else to work on your car, you will have to do the work over again.
• Universal parts don’t fit any make or model of vehicle.
• If there is a choice between an easy way and a hard way to install a part in a car, the engineer will always choose the hard way.
• If you need three inches of clearance to remove a part, the car will be designed with two and a half inches of clearance.
• You will always drop at least one nut or bolt in a place where it can never be retrieved.
• If you drop something in a place it cannot be retrieved, and expect to retrieve it later, it will fall out the first time you move the car, and be lost forever.
• Every mechanic will have several of one size socket. This comes from losing the same socket on every project, and having to buy another to finish the project. Eventually, they all show up at once.
• If you are going to break a part, forget to install something, or hurt yourself, it will happen when a friend stops by to see how you are doing. Otherwise, all that extra effort would be wasted on not having anyone make fun of you.
• All unbreakable tools will break.
• If a bolt is so tight that you risk breaking it, or the tool while removing it; the one that will break will be the one that can cause you the most trouble.
• Any buddy that stops by to check on your work will move something to a place you can never find it.
• The catch basin you put under the car for the oil will always be in the wrong place.
• The place you need to lie on the floor will be the place where the oil spilled (instead of going in the catch basin).
• Whatever belt you buy for your car will be the wrong size.
• If there is a choice between a cheap replacement part and an expensive replacement part for your problem, you will need the expensive replacement part.
• If there is a choice between a cheap replacement part and an expensive replacement part for your car, the cheap part will be out of stock.
• Someone will have an emergency and need to be taken somewhere, right in the middle of your project.
• Every friend who knows about your problem will have a horror story to tell you about when they had a similar problem. None of these stories will be any help in getting your vehicle repaired.

And finally…
anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Allan R

Holy sox Eric! I think you named darn near everything; you sound suspiciously like me....

RandyS

Have you been reading my biography...........

citcapp

I'm Murphy's unlucky cousin

oldcutlass

Hey Allan, do any of these apply to your recent foray?

Allan R

Eric! Very astute of you to have thought of that. I edited and highlighted those that applied.... I'm sure you recognize them from the thread

69350rocket

They do have magnetic gloves.... A guy at my school had a pair the other day. Just little magnets in the fingertips, just strong enough to pick up a nut or bolt or something. I couldn't believe it.

oldcutlass

It's funny now but, these have happened to all of us.

Allan R

I just googled that stuff, not expecting to find anything. SHOCKER!

BIGJERR

Dang thats sweet!

citcapp

With my luck I would forget to take the gloves off when I am grinding a weld. Just think about it for a minute

Allan R

shucks, I thought you were gonna say brushing your teeth. Ooops, lookit them fillings!

Better yet, wear them to the airport......

Lady72nRob71

Except the part of getting all my lost sockets (and other tools) back. I seem to have tool-eating gremlins in the garage...

oldcutlass

There's one in particular missing from the list:

Anything dropped from above and hits the floor, will roll to the centermost underside of the vehice.

Rocket Richard

I remember one time working on the car I had a big piece of cardboard under the engine. When I dropped something all I had to do was pull the cardboard out for a minute to grab whatever it was that fell.

Allan R

Like this?

Intragration

Ha ha this is all great, I've had it all happen to me. I can usually find the tool at the store though. One thing that isn't listed is, when it's really hard to maneuver your arm into place, and you snake it through the exhaust and over the control arm and right to the spot it needs to be, that's when your arm goes numb and you have to pull it out to rest it for a minute.

I have one of those yellow fluorescent shop lights. Even though it has those hooks, it still rolls away from where I need it and directly into my face. When the hooks work, it still swings away from where it needs to be. Someone needs to invent a shop light that levitates in exactly the position you need and stays there. Until that time, maybe a light up disco garage floor with bright white lights.

Allan R

Yup! Another one for ya. I have a magnetic LED shop lamp. The kind that has rechargeable batteries so you don't have to drag a cord. Has 2 magnets that let you attach it to metal beside what you're working on.
It's always 1 of 2 things. When you attach to the surface the light points the wrong way. or 2? there's nothing metal nearby that will let you attach it.

Nunyadam Biz

the one that gets me most of the time relates to money.
If I have just enough extra cash to buy the part i want/need for my car, something on my Wife's car will break, and wipe out my extra cash.

kitfoxdave

I have a bum leg, and I purchased one of those magnets on a stick (I think at lowes or northern tool.... it will generally reach and pick up those pesky things that roll to the middle under the car!

Allan R

Magnetic nut/bolt trays are worth every penny. You can also just take an old baking tin and glue a strong magnet to it. Sticks to the car and keeps stuff from getting lost.