What was the first automobile repair you ever did?

[remember5]

1061175

Bluebell's story about the transmission got me remembering my first auto repair, I put a water pump on a '67 Mustang. Got everything back together and coolant poured out. I had neglected to scrape the old pieces of gasket off. Never forgotten to do that since.
Anyone else got a good story?[addsig]

 

[dingus]

1061180

i guess we should specify BESIDES AN OIL CHANGE unless you really screwed that up! lol

my first repair was a valve cover gasket on my old honda civic... it all went well until i decided i wanted to paint the thing! i spilled kerosene all over my grandfathers' garage (kerosene was being used to clean it off)... then, i got fingerprints all over the paint kuz i didn't wait long enough to let it dry... what a mess! at least the gasket didn't leak... lol!

-nate[addsig]

 

[bluebelle]

1061206

ok, cool - scar time

check this one out:

standing in front of my beautiful triumph GT-6+ pouring oil into her after the oil change.

that's right, soon afterwards, very soon i see what looks like oil running up onto my flip-flops. as it was only a slight incline, i managed to get all five quarts into the motor before realizing the plug was sitting on the top of the tire.

did i mention that i slipped?

:lol:

moron.[addsig]

 

[Slick]

1061223

:-( My first ever repair job (by myself) was a head gasket....put everything back together with the greatest of care...and forgot to put the new head gasket on! Boy was I pissed off, but I got it right in the end, luckily, before I drove the car :roll: [addsig]

 

[Tug-n-pull]

1061226

1963 Ford Falcon was my pride in 1976. Back then a tiny steering wheel was a cool thing, not smart but very cool. I bought at K-Mart a cheap 8" Chrome wheel with thick black padded grip surface. No power steering and very little driving experence made for a really dumb comination. Like to have wrecked a dozen times over it. Tug[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1061228

Me and my brother inherited an unroadworthy, Dodge Lancer station wagon (one of the ugliest cars ever produced). We got to use it, on the farm. It was faster than the tractor, more fun than the horse. We decided, we had to lift it, for more ground clearance, put a set of extended shackles (home made) in, decided it wasn´t high enough and decided to put a set on the other end of the spring. The whole axle flopped over about four inches, then it dawned on us, you couldn´t put shackles on both ends of the spring.
After years of fiddleing around, finally ended up with a Hemi motor, loadflight transmission, Chevy 3/4 ton rear axle (and springs), 16" inch rims, 9.50 snow treads and about a foot of ground clearance. Made a heck of a tractor.
As a side note, the rear driveshaft was from a lamp post, L.A. County is probably still looking for. The front bumper was a piece of oak (with the bark still on):-D [addsig]

 

[jeepmaster]

1061306

my first repair was replacin the starter in my chevy truck. i discovered it needed replacement after it left me stranded at the gf's house watching curfew pass as i tried to get it to catch. took me close to 4 hours to do. not bad for a kid who couldnt even locate the starter before (im gonna blame it on the large amounts of mud caked on the underbody) it was a most un enjoyable experience however. many showers of sparks came raining down on me and many chunks of mud fell in my eyes. however when i was through and turned that baby over, the feeeling of victory was worth every second of it. [addsig]

 

[bluebelle]

1061311

betcha torqued all those head bolts jussst right, didn't you slick. don't you just hate when that happens?

would'of loved to see the look on your face when you realized the gasket was missing.

:-x [addsig]

 

[bluebelle]

1061312

you guys ever armor all your motorcycle seat?

then hit the brakes?

duhh :-O [addsig]

 

[mingez]

1061373

Wheel bearing on my 73 Bronco. Nightmare gettin' to it. :-x [addsig]

 

[Bullet3600]

1061491

Plugs, rotor, points on a 1972 plymouth furyII[addsig]

 

[jeepster]

1061544

had a1970 chevy monte carlo. was 16 yrs old and decided to do the rear brakes. took both sides apart and had no way of remembering how it went together. i swear i must have put that together and took it apart 5 or 6 times before i finally went to parts store and bought a fix it manual. put everything on and test drove car. pedal was to floor and spongy. drove back into yard and stopped . got out and walked over to where i left drums on ground. had to do wheel cylinders after that. what a day! s**t happens![addsig]

 

[Sully]

1061740

My first repair was with my father and his beater 72' opel GT.The car was beaten to death.We put a sporty little 4 banger in it and a 5 speed trans.Repainted it to hot yellow and called it a sport compact. :lol: :lol: Just kidding. We still have it today but, the stearing colum alway begins to smoke once you try to start it.We put a new battery in it and it just smokes like crazy.Were probly gonna sell it though. Later :wink: Sully[addsig]