What is the most stupid thing you have ever done in or to your collector car?

[Restorer32]

I'll start.  I drove my XK 140 Jag as my daily driver for more than a year back in the day.  It was actually very reliable.  Couldn't resist "seeing what she could do" late one night.  Well, she did 117 mph before I chickened out and backed her down.  That's not the stupid part.  Dad was in the tire biz and the car was wearing recaps all around. That's the stupid part but it does speak well of Dad's recaps.

[alsancle]

Does an antique boat count?   When I was a teenager working for Ted Billings at his restoration shop we had to change the tire on his 1941 Chris Craft trailer.   I put the jack in the middle of the axle and started jacking,  it went up about 12 inches and then just stayed there as I pumped.   I looked underneath and I had turned the axle in to a V.    Amazingly he didn't yell at me very badly.   Straightening it was an adventure.

[Jeff Hansen]

Crawling under a 5000 lb Cadillac with only a bottle jack holding it up....

[arcticbuicks]

Sold it …….after I got it all perfect and thought I would get another one .

And another one …..took it all apart to restore it …..and got sidetracked on yet another one .

[8E45E]

Parting out a very rough 1961 Studebaker Lark Cruiser.  In 1979, when I bought it, I had no idea just how rare they were/are.  Admittedly, most of the parts did live on in other Studebakers, including the engine and transmission.  

 

Craig

[John_S_in_Penna]

Well, in my parents' car before it was a collector car:

 

"Dad, we can save time by taking a shortcut on the

back roads."  Parts of Pennsylvania are very remote.

I thought I knew my way on those remote roads through

deep forest, but at one point there was an intersection,

and we guessed the wrong fork of the road.  For an hour,

as the evening sky grew dark, we ended up driving in a

big circle through those dark woods, WITHOUT SEEING

ANY CIVILIZATION OR A SINGLE OTHER CAR!

 

This is the type of road and the location we were in:

 

 

[TAKerry]

Nothing I have done TO a car comes to mind, some things done IN a car do but I assume this is a PG website.

[SC38dls]

A picture is worth a thousand words— enough said. 
dave s 

[stretch cab]

Taking my 36 Ford Fordor Deluxe apart over 50 years ago to restore it.  Paint man lost interest and it has sat neglected for all these years.  At 65 I am now restoring it and plan to have it done by the time I turn 70.

[Alex D.]

Removed the rev-limiter from a Boss 302. It cost me 7 pistons! I guess it could have been 8.

[1937hd45]

NEVER sell a Vintage Race Car without researching its full history! I sold one, two years later bought it back, then sold it again, all for the same price. It sort of got restored, then I found out its early history. It is now lost, the fellow that I last sold it to also sold it and couldn't remember the name of the buyer. 

[edinmass]

What is the most stupid thing I have ever done in a collector car? The stories are endless........here is one of my favorites.
 

Ask me about the time I was driving the bride to the the church for her big day. We were in my 1931 Cadillac Imperial Limousine, driving along three miles from the church when I turned to her and said.......”you sure you want to do this” where she blurted out NFW! So we turned the car east and spent the week in Cape Cod. I called on my very early cell phone to the church rectory.... it was 1989....... and a VERY angry father answered and spoke in tongues using words I can’t use here..........so I said.......”Hi Chet” we’re on our way to Cape Cod...........not much productive conversation after that. They held the reception anyway.........it was paid for. That was the week I started carrying a firearm 24/7 due to a jilted husband to be........ she was a wonderful lady whom I almost married after seven years together...........but alas ........she didn’t like old cars..........so we parted ways. That was the closest I ever came to getting married. Yup.....it’s all a true story. And there are more details that will be in my book someday. Here’s to you Diane......aka “Precious” to some of the best years of my life. 😎

Edited February 1, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

How about drifting 47 miles down a mountain road in India in a 1960's Plymouth taxi.  Not once did the driver start the car other than to get it rolling at the top. Darjelling to Siliguri in Northern India, maybe 250 miles from Everest.

[alsancle]

Back in the 60s my dad drove an Auburn that was chained to the back of Ted Billing's pickup truck from Bill's junk yard in RI  all the way back to Mass,  about a 50 mile ride.

 

The kicker was there were no brakes,  he had it in first gear and would let the clutch to slow down.   Ted was doing the speed limit most of the way.

[1912Staver]

Going way too fast in my " Road Lizard " , Rat Bag, MGA. It looked like death warmed over on the outside , but was in very good nick under all the " patina ".  Very sticky [ for the day } tires on 1 inch wider wheels. MGB front sway bar, warmed up MGB engine , slightly lowered suspension. I worked very odd shift work so sometimes my commute home took place at 3 AM. My door to door time could be remarkably reduced depending on the time of day { or night }. Quite a few miles of hilly , winding, semi rural roads. Just watch out for the Deer and the ditches. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

Not paying attention on the highway.  54 Buick in second gear(manual transmission).  Traveling at 65 MPH without a care in the world.  Until I see the heat gauge tipping the scales.    

[f.f.jones]

I had a '55 Ford 2-door wagon (ex-Telephone Co. car) in high school. A buddy of mine & I thought a weekend trip to Yosemite Park would be fun. We traveled up highway 120 to Tioga Pass (9,943 ft. elevation, a narrow, 2-lane WPA road) and stalled out due to the elevation change from the valley where we lived. The drop off the side made the mature pine trees at the bottom of the canyon look like bushes. The other side went straight up. Couldn't get it restarted, so we carefully rolled backwards around the switchback to a short straight section, popped the clutch in reverse, got it running, fiddled with the idle screws on the carb, and made it up and over to Mono Lake, Bodie Ghost Town and north to the 108, and west to home. As I recall, it took us more than the weekend to get home and probably a change in under ware.  

Those phone company cars were equipped with governors between the carburetor and the intake manifold to limit employee speeding. Luckily, we had dismantled it long before the trip or we may have had to walk home.

[carbking]

Thinking I could get decent performance from a Pontiac 307 in a Trans-Am by adding the factory turbo!!!!!!!!!

 

Before the change (normally aspirated), my 4 cylinder 1969 Toyota could spot the Trans-Am 1st AND 2nd gear, and still beat it in the 1/4 mile.

 

After the change (now modified with a factory turbo), the 1969 Toyota would still beat it in the 1/4 spotting it 1st gear only.

 

We finally decided the engine was not the problem; it made excellent torque and power from 2800 to 2850 RPM. What was needed was a 28 speed transmission!

 

Jon.

[nick8086]

Let them sit on jack stands. for 10 years..

 

 

[caddyshack]

I put 10 gallons of ethanol gas in my '62 Corvette, by mistake, just before storing it for the winter. A couple of months later we smelled gas in the basement and could not figure out the cause. Looked around in the garage and saw a pool of gas on the floor of the attached garage. Could have blown the house up. After cleaning up the mess I found that the fuel pump diaphragm was eaten away as well as all the rubber hoses. That next spring all items from the gas tank to the carb were replaced. Dumb mistake cost hundreds of dollars and many hours of aggravation.

[31nash880]

Sold a 455 4 speed superduty trans am for 3000.00 . New red paint. Ticket just waiting to happen.

[jpage]

I sold my first restoration, a 1928 Ford Model A p/u and I kick myself everyday for doing it. I had hoped to use the money to restore a family friendly car, which didn't happen. Just stupid on my part, but hindsight is 20-20! I started this at age 17 and took 10 years to complete. We enjoyed it for 16 more years. The picture were taken at time of sale, still looking good! Boy, was I stupid! I snuck in the bright headlamps and shell from a coupe that I had before the truck, just to save money!

Edited February 3, 2022 by jpage (see edit history)

[mrspeedyt]

stupid thing?

buying a 56 corvette project car with title for $200 and then selling it for $650 after i got it running and registered. 

[pkhammer]

I did a lot of street racing back in my late teens, early twenties. One night after a few too many I lined up my '71 Torino GT 351C 4V against a guy in a '73 Cougar. We both did burnouts and backed slowly up to the starting line. When the flagger dropped his arms it didn't take me long to realize I left the car in reverse. 🤪

[John Byrd]

I guess one....and only one.... of the stupidest things I ever did to a "collector" car was to get mad at my special order'd 1969 Fairlane Cobra when the transmission rear main shaft broke as a result of 70,000 miles of racing and bang-shifting, sometimes without the clutch, thinking it must be "a lemon" and selling it to a used car lot for 700 bucks.  Still not over it, still haven't located it...sigh.

[John_Mereness]

Spent a day tracking down electrical gremlins to find that under a magnifying glass that every light bulb seemingly looked fine but had a broken filliment.

[John_Mereness]

Seconded by: Left the 1931 Cadillac running unattended - FIRE !!!

[John_Mereness]

A best friend story:  Did a corner too fast and lost control of the VW beetle and flipped it onto roof - then in uprighting it flipped it back upright - across the undamaged side.

Edited February 3, 2022 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[Angelfish]

Bought another one.

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, Angelfish said:

Bought another one.

 

You win.  Close the thread.

[Steve Moskowitz]

So you had to bring this topic up??!!  I could advise you to make some popcorn, get in an easy chair and prepare for a litany of stories that would rival War and Peace.  However, I will tell only two stories.  In the smallest of small garages (condo) I went through the trouble of changing pistons on my first antique car, 36 Oldsmobile, making my own gaskets etc. to solve a smoking problem.  It still smoked.  I was at a dealership and an old time salesman was listening to my story and asked me if I had tried to put a new fuel pump on.  First major lesson learned!!!  Naturally he was right.

 

My MAJOR mistake was selling my 1908 Model X Olds (one of 2 known) to GM as I wanted it to be protected forever.  I sold it for a bargain price and then of course Olds ceased operations.  They still have the car and it hurts to not own it anymore.  It's future may not be so bright and if GM started to sell some cars again I could never afford what it would bring today.

[George K]

6 hours ago, John_Mereness said:

A best friend story:  Did a corner too fast and lost control of the VW beetle and flipped it onto roof - then in uprighting it flipped it back upright - across the undamaged side.

In what year would that have been? Guessing 1970-1980.

[John_Mereness]

4 hours ago, George K said:

In what year would that have been? Guessing 1970-1980.

mid-1960's

[George K]

8 hours ago, John_Mereness said:

mid-1960's

Thanks. The story brought back some experiences during my “high times” period. Lucky to have survived but still makes me grin.

[Pilgrim65]

Not taking enough care driving through plastic traffic cones in my 53 Buick , hit one , didn’t really care thought only plastic , till I inspected car and found dent in headlight rim 

[old-tank]

My first boss in 1971 offered to give me his 1955 Mercedes gullwing.  It had a burned valve and he did not want to pay the Mercedes dealer $500 to fix it.  I looked at that goofy overhead cam fuel injected metric(?) engine and decided that was too much for me to fix and I sure could not afford $500 (my monthly salary).  He gave it to his ranch hand who took the passenger seat out to carry hay and feed for horses.

[Andy J]

In 1979,I sold my straight,rust free 1955 Chevy Bel Air two door hard top,Muncie 4 speed,4.56 posi,283 engine for $500.This also included a fresh built 327 that was very hot,that I was planning to install later.I bought my future wife's engagement ring with the money.I knew I'd regret it,but I didn't want to borrow the money and be in debt.Stupid move,I should have borrowed the money and kept the car.

 

The good part of the story is I still have that same wife and we are happy.I was without a project car for 40 years.I'm now restoring a '51 Pontiac Chieftain I picked up a few years ago.

[chistech]

My family had a federally inspected slaughter house and meat packing business that I grew up in and would eventually own and run until the nineties. We had lots of trucks for that business, they were all GM, either Chevy or GMC, and all were bought to do heavy work. One of the trucks was a 67’ C30, 9’ step side, 292, 4spd, 4:56 rear. One day that 292 blew and dad started looking for a new engine. It also had no power steering or brakes and we started towing 5th wheel gooseneck cattle trailers with it so dad wanted to “beef” it up! (Pun intended)
    My 4.5 year older brother was already becoming a motor head, building and drag racing a 71’ nova some and he told my dad of a friend who had a “good motor” for sale. My dad bought that cammed out 327 for a good price and had his mechanic at the time, (before he trusted my brother to do all the mechanical work), install a power brake booster from a Divco milk truck. We’ll it turned out that “good” motor was good, good for a solid 7500 rpm’s (at least that’s as far as I would push it when I started driving it as I wasn’t a racer.) It had many more years on it towing goosenecks but my dad didn’t know at night, that truck would sneak out of the parking lot and head to New Bedford industrial park for some drag racing. That truck Pi$$ed off many car owners as my brother ate most of them up with it. The best part was often the police would come in and break it all up, charging those they caught going down the straight away. If you we’re lucky and spotted them driving in before you hit a cross road, you could get off the straight away and get out of the park. Most were always going to fast to catch that cross road and had to go to the end where the police were waiting. As heavy and fast as that 67’ chevy pickup was, that Divco brake system was a monster and would lock up all 4 drums if you even thought of pushing the pedal with any weight. Anytime my brother and I were racing down the straight and we got the warning on the CB (yes, we had lookouts on the CB), even if we were way out in front, he’d hit the brakes, slamming us up against the lap belts, ( I just realized while writing this is my dad must have ordered belts as I don’t think they were mandated by law in 67’ but maybe they were?), and he was able to cut hard left and grab the side road out of the park. What’s really funny is later on in the trucks life, when the body had gotten pretty beat and the tailgate was missing, my dad traded it for bunch of good market hogs to the local pig farmer. A couple weeks after that, my brother and I went to industrial park to drag his newly powered Nova and this Forest green, 67’, 9ft step side bed drives in! Yup, that pig farmers son was a drag racer too and as beat up as it was, that old pickup could really go. Today they talk about the “farm truck” on that drag racing reality series. We’ll we were way ahead of them with drag racing the farm truck!😁

[chistech]

28 minutes ago, old-tank said:

My first boss in 1971 offered to give me his 1955 Mercedes gullwing.  It had a burned valve and he did not want to pay the Mercedes dealer $500 to fix it.  I looked at that goofy overhead cam fuel injected metric(?) engine and decided that was too much for me to fix and I sure could not afford $500 (my monthly salary).  He gave it to his ranch hand who took the passenger seat out to carry hay and feed for horses.

Wow, that story is a kick in the old “hay bag” isn’t it!😂

[oldcarfudd]

My late, much older (he died 4 years ago at 98) brother-in-law claimed to have had a gullwing.  He had replaced the engine with a Chrysler hemi.