What is the worst injury you have suffered while working on antique cars?

[Restorer32]

I'll start.  Broke my right arm in 1990 crank starting a 1928 Autocar and yes I know how to crank a motor safely.

[Gunsmoke]

I'm sure Hernias are the most common! A buddy and I went to pickup a 1930 Dodge DC8 rear-end and some other parts a few years back, he 74, me 71 at the time .When we got there it was still fitted with  wood spoked wheels and tires and parts of the springs still attached (had been cut out of a frame). We had a utility trailer and decided we had no choice but to pick it up and put it in. Within a year we were both having Inguinal Hernia surgery and both doctors asked if we had been lifting anything heavy!!

[arcticbuicks]

i hooked up a live wire by mistake to a sending unit,i heard silzzling ,and it cooked the wax and lead in it so hot,it went off like a shot gun blast and molten metal under my skin on hand ,as it went off the concrete walls in shop,i never ever would have imagines a sending unit could explode

[Lahti35]

I was working on an old Russian car from the 60's scraping off old undercoating with a putty knife.... The brake light switch in the vicinity had two spade connectors pointing in towards the driveshaft, no wires attached. 

 

I was scraping a particularly well stuck chunk of old goo with a lot of force when it popped loose sending my hand shooting forward into the spade connector. My thumb had been pointing forward and the lower spade connector acted like a blunt knife going into the end of my thumb, under my thumbnail and out the back of my thumbnail. Hurt like hell!

[pont35cpe]

Nothing major, always guaranteed skinned knuckles, can`t seem to avoid that.

[Bhigdog]

A few stitches a few times and an MRI because I take Eliquis and got my bell rung. ..........Bob

[Walt G]

No broken anything here but working on the ignition in the distributor cap of my 1931 Franklin I grounded out some wires with a screw driver I was using. Shock blew me off the front fender I was sitting on into the hedge next to the car , this was in my pre heart condition era.

Also working under the same car on my back when I was the only one home, I went to get up and misjudged clearance so hit my head on the edge of the fender. Got dizzy fell back on the floor of the garage. Woke up a few minutes (?) later and my ear felt wet. I put my hand to touch it and it was blood. Went inside to see what I looked like and was glad no one else saw me because they would have passed out. I opened up a 1 inch cut above my eyebrow and the blood ran down my face and to the side as I lay there half conscious. Cleaned it all off, put a band aide on the 1 inch cut ( should have had it stitched ) and stopped work because of the headache. Possibly had a mild concussion- not sure but in describing what I did a while later to a Dr. friend he just shook his head no and looked at me . Yes, I learned my lesson - from then on made sure I had clearance and right of way when getting up. It was a real "DUH" moment.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Nothing major here either, a nice shock from touching a plug wire while my elbow was resting on ground terminal on a battery (age 14, so I can claim youthful ignorance on that one!).  Biggest close call was around same age, 14, 15 helping my pal, 2 years older, remove the body on his 39 Chevy two door sedan.  Two of us kneeling in front of it after using wood, 2 floorjacks and sawhorses to get it up off the frame.  It slipped off and we both jumped back... could have broken a few bones at least... 5 of us walked it back on later that year...

Edited January 3, 2023 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[m-mman]

Pick A Part Wrecking yard. 1962 Ford wagon factory 352 overdrive. Somebody pulled the motor & bellhousing leaving the transmission bolted to the crossmember Then they dropped the motor back in SIDEWAYS to junk the car. It was sitting on the wheel rim "jack stands" the yard uses. 

 

I just had to have that T-85 R-11 trans. It was hanging from the tail end with the heavy part swinging in the breeze.  Unbolt the two trans mounts and WAM! the transmission falls on the index finger of my dominant hand producing a fracture-dislocation at the second joint.  OUCH! 

 

Nobody around to help me (family out of town - wrecking yard didn't want to hear of any injuries) So I drove myself to a local hospital, who sent me to the county hospital (student no insurance) where they reset everything and put a cast on my hand.  Drove myself home and went to bed.

 

Of course 2 days later I was back at the yard (with the cast on my hand/arm) and finished removing and buying the transmission. 

 Car Guy. . . .  

[Matt Harwood]

[Pfeil]

Was making brake parts for a 1937 Datsun roadster rumble seat using the Bridgeport lathe when one of my technicians tapped me on the shoulder to ask a question. Not too much finger damage, but he spent the rest of the day looking over machine shop safety procedures. I felt like giving him a dunce cap and standing him in the corner.

[SC38dls]

Like Matt my wallet has been broken many times. It’s broke right now as a matter of fact. 
dave s 

[46 woodie]

I was cutting off a frozen and badly rusted exhaust flange using a 4" grinder with a cut-off wheel. The grinder had a "click on click off" switch and somehow kicked back and landed running, on the top of my right hand. The cut off wheel sliced thru tendons and ligaments and put a 1/8" notch in the bone. Four hours of surgery and 3 months of PT and it's good as new. Oh, by the way, the grinder went into the trash and now have one that stops when you release the trigger.

[Bhigdog]

56 minutes ago, 46 woodie said:

I was cutting off a frozen and badly rusted exhaust flange using a 4" grinder with a cut-off wheel. The grinder had a "click on click off" switch and somehow kicked back and landed running, on the top of my right hand. The cut off wheel sliced thru tendons and ligaments and put a 1/8" notch in the bone. Four hours of surgery and 3 months of PT and it's good as new. Oh, by the way, the grinder went into the trash and now have one that stops when you release the trigger.

So far you are the winner.................Bob

[Marty Roth]

Besides slicing open a right forearm artery and shooting blood from under the '52 Chevy convertible, 9 feet upward to the garage ceiling?

 

The other most notable event was probably retold previously, but here goes:

 

A beautiful Sunday mid-afternoon in late 2002 -

My friend, the late Joey Matranga phoned to let me know that his big 6-cylinder 1929 Buick Model 57 sedan had been running well. He had taken his wife, sons, and parents out for a Sunday Drive. The gorgeous Buick started running poorly, and then completely quit, having to be pushed up the driveway and into the garage. He added that on checking, it was getting spark and gas, and could I help? Of course!

Three miles drive down the road, and then schlep my 100 pound toolbox up his driveway. I double checked,  - and yep, he had gas and spark. The distributor rotor turned and there was spark at the points, as well as at the plugs. I reinstalled the cap and decided to check compression. My compression tester, screwed into the 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd of the 6 cylinders all showed ZERO and I decided the instrument must have gone bad from lack of use - so I decided to just place my right index finger over the #1 cylinder spark plug hole, and my right thumb over #2 plug hole.

I asked Joey to spin over the engine -

or maybe I said "hit the starter"?

 

I didn't think there was any reason to caution him NOT to turn on the Ignition!

There was no need to turn it on as the starter spun without the ignition being on.

 

The engine spun freely.

I  realized there was virtually NO Compression --  BUT  --- 

Immediately the engine was rocking left and right.

The three wires from the removed spark plugs, which had been draped over the engine, flipped over my right wrist.

My left hand was braced against the firewall.

The shortest path to ground from the spark plug wires was from my right wrist to my left hand -

Directly through my pacemaker!

The charge having been boosted by the coil to the distributor and then to the plug wires was estimated as 28,800 volts.

It shorted out the pacemaker circuitry;

It burned the insulation off both the Atrial, and the Ventricular leads from the Pacemaker to the heart;

It cauterized the heart muscle where the leads are attached:

Then it felt like it threw me across the garage !

I didn't feel so good, but assessed that the Buick had stuck valves - to be addressed another time.

I still didn't feel so good.

Joey put my toolbox back in my Suburban and I drove home.
When I told my wife what had happened, she called my cardiologist. He had me head straight to our local hospital to meet him. He confirmed that the pacemaker was absolutely non-functional, and filed for immediate approval to have it replaced. The authorization for the surgery and device was initially approved by my insurance company and was implanted, along with a new additional set of leads to replace the burned ones. The old ones were left in place for fear that attempted removal could invert the heart. Later, after the replacement device was implanted, the insurance company rescinded their approval after the fact.

The cardiologist said "Don't worry - Just let them try to take it back!".

 

PS:

I'm now on my fifth (5th) pacemaker, and doing ok !

But I'm a bit more careful around electricity.

Of course there have been other injuries while working on old cars over my now 80 years, but none quite so serious - or humorous?

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Bhigdog]

And Marty pulls into the lead by a length and a half........bob

[avgwarhawk]

Got my feelings hurt when a repair did not work correctly.  

[avgwarhawk]

1 hour ago, Marty Roth said:

Besides slicing open a right forearm artery and shooting blood from under the '52 Chevy convertible, 9 feet upward to the garage ceiling?

 

The other most notable event was probably retold previously, but here goes:

 

A beautiful Sunday mid-afternoon in late 2002 -

My friend, the late Joey Matranga phoned to let me know that his big 6-cylinder 1929 Buick Model 57 sedan had been running well. He had taken his wife, sons, and parents out for a Sunday Drive. The gorgeous Buick started running poorly, and then completely quit, having to be pushed up the driveway and into the garage. He added that on checking, it was getting spark and gas, and could I help? Of course!

Three miles drive down the road, and then schlep my 100 pound toolbox up his driveway. I double checked,  - and yep, he had gas and spark. The distributor rotor turned and there was spark at the points, as well as at the plugs. I reinstalled the cap and decided to check compression. My compression tester, screwed into the 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd of the 6 cylinders all showed ZERO and I decided the instrument must have gone bad from lack of use - so I decided to just place my right index finger over the #1 cylinder spark plug hole, and my right thumb over #2 plug hole.

I asked Joey to spin over the engine -

or maybe I said "hit the starter"?

 

I didn't think there was any reason to caution him NOT to turn on the Ignition!

There was no need to turn it on as the starter spun without the ignition being on.

 

The engine spun freely.

I  realized there was virtually NO Compression --  BUT  --- 

Immediately the engine was rocking left and right.

The three wires from the removed spark plugs, which had been draped over the engine, flipped over my right wrist.

My left hand was braced against the firewall.

The shortest path to ground from the spark plug wires was from my right wrist to my left hand -

Directly through my pacemaker!

The charge having been boosted by the coil to the distributor and then to the plug wires was estimated as 28,800 volts.

It shorted out the pacemaker circuitry;

It burned the insulation off both the Atrial, and the Ventricular leads from the Pacemaker to the heart;

It cauterized the heart muscle where the leads are attached:

Then it felt like it threw me across the garage !

I didn't feel so good, but assessed that the Buick had stuck valves - to be addressed another time.

I still didn't feel so good.

Joey put my toolbox back in my Suburban and I drove home.
When I told my wife what had happened, she called my cardiologist. He had me head straight to our local hospital to meet him. He confirmed that the pacemaker was absolutely non-functional, and filed for immediate approval to have it replaced. The authorization for the surgery and device was initially approved by my insurance company and was implanted, along with a new additional set of leads to replace the burned ones. The old ones were left in place for fear that attempted removal could invert the heart. Later, after the replacement device was implanted, the insurance company rescinded their approval after the fact.

The cardiologist said "Don't worry - Just let them try to take it back!".

 

PS:

I'm now on my fifth (5th) pacemaker, and doing ok !

But I'm a bit more careful around electricity.

Of course there have been other injuries while working on old cars over my now 80 years, but none quite so serious - or humorous?

 

Good God man.  Maybe take up model railroading instead.  Glad you survived all of that!  Holy mackerel! 

 

[Carroll_1]

Not paying attention once while testing an armature with a growler, when my fingers carelessly slipped down past the insulation on the test leads. Luckily, the leads were short, so when I went down to the floor the leads were pulled from my clenched hands. No real harm was done. It did improve my chewing ability as my clenched teeth were lapped-in nicely. And I had a new hairstyle for a day. After that, I convinced my shop manager that selling rebuilt generators made far more sense for our shop.

[Nailbitten]

2 hours ago, Marty Roth said:

Besides slicing open a right forearm artery and shooting blood from under the '52 Chevy convertible, 9 feet upward to the garage ceiling?

 

The other most notable event was probably retold previously, but here goes:

 

A beautiful Sunday mid-afternoon in late 2002 -

My friend, the late Joey Matranga phoned to let me know that his big 6-cylinder 1929 Buick Model 57 sedan had been running well. He had taken his wife, sons, and parents out for a Sunday Drive. The gorgeous Buick started running poorly, and then completely quit, having to be pushed up the driveway and into the garage. He added that on checking, it was getting spark and gas, and could I help? Of course!

Three miles drive down the road, and then schlep my 100 pound toolbox up his driveway. I double checked,  - and yep, he had gas and spark. The distributor rotor turned and there was spark at the points, as well as at the plugs. I reinstalled the cap and decided to check compression. My compression tester, screwed into the 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd of the 6 cylinders all showed ZERO and I decided the instrument must have gone bad from lack of use - so I decided to just place my right index finger over the #1 cylinder spark plug hole, and my right thumb over #2 plug hole.

I asked Joey to spin over the engine -

or maybe I said "hit the starter"?

 

I didn't think there was any reason to caution him NOT to turn on the Ignition!

There was no need to turn it on as the starter spun without the ignition being on.

 

The engine spun freely.

I  realized there was virtually NO Compression --  BUT  --- 

Immediately the engine was rocking left and right.

The three wires from the removed spark plugs, which had been draped over the engine, flipped over my right wrist.

My left hand was braced against the firewall.

The shortest path to ground from the spark plug wires was from my right wrist to my left hand -

Directly through my pacemaker!

The charge having been boosted by the coil to the distributor and then to the plug wires was estimated as 28,800 volts.

It shorted out the pacemaker circuitry;

It burned the insulation off both the Atrial, and the Ventricular leads from the Pacemaker to the heart;

It cauterized the heart muscle where the leads are attached:

Then it felt like it threw me across the garage !

I didn't feel so good, but assessed that the Buick had stuck valves - to be addressed another time.

I still didn't feel so good.

Joey put my toolbox back in my Suburban and I drove home.
When I told my wife what had happened, she called my cardiologist. He had me head straight to our local hospital to meet him. He confirmed that the pacemaker was absolutely non-functional, and filed for immediate approval to have it replaced. The authorization for the surgery and device was initially approved by my insurance company and was implanted, along with a new additional set of leads to replace the burned ones. The old ones were left in place for fear that attempted removal could invert the heart. Later, after the replacement device was implanted, the insurance company rescinded their approval after the fact.

The cardiologist said "Don't worry - Just let them try to take it back!".

 

PS:

I'm now on my fifth (5th) pacemaker, and doing ok !

But I'm a bit more careful around electricity.

Of course there have been other injuries while working on old cars over my now 80 years, but none quite so serious - or humorous?

 

Dam buddy,this is my very first post but i have to be honest,I cracked up some reading this one but i am sooo glad you are ok now and careful.That would have had me shook up wanting to help you at the time.

[Nailbitten]

Doing a complete front disc brake job on an old Pontiac.Had my ole shop sweepr  80yo neighbor came in to help me bleed the brakes.He's a big-o fella with paws the size of a grizzly bear and can barely hear. Ok,so here i am setting on my roller seat at the FR and asking  Dean-O to pump'em up,then hold.Got thru bleeding air out and i hand spun the disc to see if it stopped when Dean hit the pedal. Ok one more time...I gave'er a good spin,except i hung on a little too long and got a couple fingers stuck up under the disc pads.Then i hear Dean holler..."Did you say pump-em"????  NO....NOOOOOOOO hell NO get OUT! So here he comes and see my fingers smashed in the caliper.He bends down and goes to grab the rotor and says,here i will help you.I had to fight him off one handed to keep his big paws off that rotor because i just KNEW he was going to give it a big YANK the wrong direction and drive two or three more up in there.To sum it up,I  had a long flat screwdriver i jammed into the rotor fins and backed it off.THANK  GOD he didn't smash that brake pedal.The fingers looked like they had been in a hamburger press,split open,but they healed up.

[Bhigdog]

You're in third place but a full length behind 46 Woodie..............Bob

[Pfeil]

3 hours ago, Marty Roth said:

Besides slicing open a right forearm artery and shooting blood from under the '52 Chevy convertible, 9 feet upward to the garage ceiling?

 

The other most notable event was probably retold previously, but here goes:

 

A beautiful Sunday mid-afternoon in late 2002 -

My friend, the late Joey Matranga phoned to let me know that his big 6-cylinder 1929 Buick Model 57 sedan had been running well. He had taken his wife, sons, and parents out for a Sunday Drive. The gorgeous Buick started running poorly, and then completely quit, having to be pushed up the driveway and into the garage. He added that on checking, it was getting spark and gas, and could I help? Of course!

Three miles drive down the road, and then schlep my 100 pound toolbox up his driveway. I double checked,  - and yep, he had gas and spark. The distributor rotor turned and there was spark at the points, as well as at the plugs. I reinstalled the cap and decided to check compression. My compression tester, screwed into the 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd of the 6 cylinders all showed ZERO and I decided the instrument must have gone bad from lack of use - so I decided to just place my right index finger over the #1 cylinder spark plug hole, and my right thumb over #2 plug hole.

I asked Joey to spin over the engine -

or maybe I said "hit the starter"?

 

I didn't think there was any reason to caution him NOT to turn on the Ignition!

There was no need to turn it on as the starter spun without the ignition being on.

 

The engine spun freely.

I  realized there was virtually NO Compression --  BUT  --- 

Immediately the engine was rocking left and right.

The three wires from the removed spark plugs, which had been draped over the engine, flipped over my right wrist.

My left hand was braced against the firewall.

The shortest path to ground from the spark plug wires was from my right wrist to my left hand -

Directly through my pacemaker!

The charge having been boosted by the coil to the distributor and then to the plug wires was estimated as 28,800 volts.

It shorted out the pacemaker circuitry;

It burned the insulation off both the Atrial, and the Ventricular leads from the Pacemaker to the heart;

It cauterized the heart muscle where the leads are attached:

Then it felt like it threw me across the garage !

I didn't feel so good, but assessed that the Buick had stuck valves - to be addressed another time.

I still didn't feel so good.

Joey put my toolbox back in my Suburban and I drove home.
When I told my wife what had happened, she called my cardiologist. He had me head straight to our local hospital to meet him. He confirmed that the pacemaker was absolutely non-functional, and filed for immediate approval to have it replaced. The authorization for the surgery and device was initially approved by my insurance company and was implanted, along with a new additional set of leads to replace the burned ones. The old ones were left in place for fear that attempted removal could invert the heart. Later, after the replacement device was implanted, the insurance company rescinded their approval after the fact.

The cardiologist said "Don't worry - Just let them try to take it back!".

 

PS:

I'm now on my fifth (5th) pacemaker, and doing ok !

But I'm a bit more careful around electricity.

Of course there have been other injuries while working on old cars over my now 80 years, but none quite so serious - or humorous?

 

That's some story Marty, I'm glad you're still with us! 

 

Be careful guys. You just never know.

[JustDave]

I was working on a total loss that I had just bought,I had a brand new Morgan knocker that I hadn’t even used yet

im sure some of you know what a Morgan knocker is,it’s a slide hammer with a 10 lb weight,Ithis was 40 years ago when they had a big washer for a stop,I put the knocker on the wheelhouse and without thinking I put the washer behind my leg I said to myself something is wrong looked around for a second before pulling the weight back,instantly caught my leg between the washer and the weight,I dropped the knocker and dropped my pants right there,my leg was already purple,

[Paul Dobbin]

1996 I was doing brake job on our 34 Ford Tudor.  Car was on jack stands with the front wheels off.   Mechanical brakes activated by metal rods.

I was adjusting them both to the same length as a starting point.   I left the floor jack under the car, with the long handel sticking straight forward.

The darn jack shoe string tackled me.   As I fell, I thought my head would hit the compressor , so I stiff armed it, and fell to the floor.

I knew when I hit the floor that my forearm was broken.   I turned out the lights, locked the door to the shop and went in the house.  I told my wife "I was going to take a shower and that she could drive me to the hospital when I was cleaned up."

Got the broken arm set amd continued with life and a very sore wrist.  12 years later when finising my 2000 S.F. Barn/Shop in NC,  they finally xrayed my wrist and found a shattered scaphoid bone at the base of my thumb had grown together like a broken cookie.   One artificial wrist later they explained the the pain at the base of my thumb sent the pain to the forearm.    I still have to favor it and can't push cars by hand anymore.  (Which is fine with me because my two new knees don't like to push cars either.)    I can't do ladders anymore either with these knees, but that's another embarassing story)   My wife says "Hire sombody to do those things", but that's no fun.   Like the sign says, no great story begins with two guys eating salads.

  

Edited January 4, 2023 by Paul Dobbin
spill check (see edit history)

[M1842]

When I first started working on cars as a young man of 23, I was changing a leaf spring in a 1969 Chevy Nova.  I was cranking away on the four bolts that hold the spring to the rear housing.  I was following the Chilton's manual to the letter.   When I got to the last bolt, it got really hard to turn but I persevered.  Finally, the bolt came out and the spring smacked into one of my thumbs with all of its force.  It hurt for about a month. 

 

I went back and looked at the Chilton again and confirmed I had completed each step.  I decided that I needed to control the spring release with a hydraulic jack.  I did this on the other side, the bolts came out easy.  I released the spring pressure with the jack.  No fuss, no muss.

 

I marked this up to the writers of the procedure assuming all people reading the manual would understand the need to control the spring force.  I have always been extra careful with springs since then.

[Fordy]

My pride in the work I do took a severe battering when the front wheel came off on a first drive on a fresh car. Moral is do a preflight to find what you forgot in assembly. I reckon that was a phone call or mate dropping in for a yarn and just didn't quite finish it off!

[Dandy Dave]

I always try to work safely, little cuts and bruises are common in this business. To many to count.

Dumbest thing I ever did as a young farm boy.

My Dad would tell this story about a fellow called Moose from his high school. He said he bought some scrap from moose that included Model A Ford parts. A few weeks later Moose was looking for a motor and my Dad sold a motor that he had bought from him back to him for a profit. He said it was good business. He said Moose paid and then gave that motor a bear hug, picked it up, and carried it to the vehicle he was taking it home in. And set it down. This was in the late 1940's, early 1950's.

After hearing that story and having a Model A Ford that needed a motor I tried the same thing. If Moose could do it, why couldn't I? Something popped in my back before I could even get it off of the ground and my back has never been right since. 😵 Oh the joys of being young and dumb. 🤪 

[alsancle]

Besides my ego, pride and self esteem?  I'm been very lucky.

[ron hausmann]

Got severe Carpel Tunnel Syndrome carving all the wood for two cars over seven years. Between vibratory sanders, cuttoff saws, hammers, and other wrist- centered tools, both my hands were shot. Shots every few months worked for a few years, but at the end, had to have Carpel Tunnel surgery. It works although I can’t grip as good anymore.

Ron Hausmann P.E.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

@Dandy Dave, I once carried a sbc shortblock & heads from the trunk of a car to the back of the garage to set it on an old wooden wagon.  Big, greasy, heavy.  Nothing happenned but I reallize how stupid that was today, shorts, sneakers, perfect concrete floor.  What could go wrong?   I am guessing an A motor is heavier.  Not sure I could have lifted that thing off the ground, but raised surface to raised surface wasn't too bad, 40 years ago! 😁

[Bill Clark]

I've sad stories about blowing up gas tanks and batteries and people smashing both knees between a car and a bench and people falling out of cars, but this is the funniest.  I bought a pair of old horns at the now defunct York, PA Studebaker show and brought them back to my buddies flea market spot.  I asked him to cut the nasty wires off of the horns and as he did, he buried his pen knife into my forearm. Blood shot everywhere.  We stopped it with some brown paper towels and electrical tape and was in and out of the York hospital with stitches in less than a half hour.

Bill

[stretch cab]

While lowering the engine into my Model A at about 15 years of age I let loose of the hoist ratchet handle and it kept ratcheting up and down lowering the engine.  I was up on a ladder and the up stroke of the handle was stopping in the upswing as it came into contact with my chin.  A little blood and a 50 year old scar was all I got from it.  Still have the Model A.

 

Most recently I had the complete rearend from my 36 Ford up on jack stands while I was painting it.  Somehow, I tripped and fell on top of the rear end and as I landed I thought, that wasn't so bad, it didn't hurt much.  At about that moment I felt the jack stands start to tilt and down I went again, this time to the floor.  That one hurt!  But it was funny feeling it all happen in slow motion.

[zdillinger]

Nothing major with cars (I've cut tendons, etc. in the woodshop though). Managed to touch/grab onto a 12V coil once, which tensed my muscles up so much that I couldn't let go until dad shut the car off. Also, I got very lucky once pushing a 1973 Plymouth off a trailer. I wore a Masonic ring at the time and it got stuck in the bumper as the car was rolling down the ramps. Darn near lost a finger that day.

Edited January 4, 2023 by zdillinger (see edit history)

[kgreen]

Dad told me the story of his friend  Bill(?) working underneath his car in Arizona and outside of the garage.  The car was up on jackstands and well secured.  As Bill reaches over to grab a wrench while under the car, a rattlesnake that had also crawled under the car warned him that any further movement could be a fateful move.  Bills injuries were limited to the top and bottom of his head as he jerked so fast that his head hit the bottom of the car, then the ground and repeated until he could control his escape impulse.

[avgwarhawk]

2 hours ago, Bill Clark said:

I've sad stories about blowing up gas tanks and batteries and people smashing both knees between a car and a bench and people falling out of cars, but this is the funniest.  I bought a pair of old horns at the now defunct York, PA Studebaker show and brought them back to my buddies flea market spot.  I asked him to cut the nasty wires off of the horns and as he did, he buried his pen knife into my forearm. Blood shot everywhere.  We stopped it with some brown paper towels and electrical tape and was in and out of the York hospital with stitches in less than a half hour.

Bill

With friends like that who needs enemies?  Ouch! 

[Pfeil]

Forgot one. Somewhere in the mid 70's I was pulling an automatic to overhaul. Bellhousing bolts were extremely tight and my 1/2" impact (CP) was set at max, I had a 20", 1/2" impact extension and a 1/2 " 17mm impact S/O swivel socket. The swivel socket exploded and a piece of it hit me in the forehead and knocked me out. I woke up 10 feet away up against the shop wall with a knot on my forehead. S/O did give me a new impact swivel socket. And I still have it! It's a new and improved and does not look like the rest of that set. They wouldn't give me a complete new set.

Edited January 4, 2023 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[edinmass]

 

Coin toss.......degloving my index finger...........or being run over and dragged by a PII Rolls............ I prefer to not repeat either episode. Both not my fault. Such is life. The recreational injuries have been ten times worse. 

[Restorer32]

Friend of mine was working in a small shop. He was laying over the engine of a '65 T bird working on a mechanical fault of some kind. He had unhooked the neutral safety switch. He started the engine from his position laying across the engine and yes you guessed it. The car was in gear. He rode the Bird thru a fiberglas garage door and across the parking lot into the rear corner of the boss's roll back, badly breaking his hip.

[Billy Kingsley]

9 hours ago, Dandy Dave said:

I always try to work safely, little cuts and bruises are common in this business. To many to count.

Dumbest thing I ever did as a young farm boy.

My Dad would tell this story about a fellow called Moose from his high school. He said he bought some scrap from moose that included Model A Ford parts. A few weeks later Moose was looking for a motor and my Dad sold a motor that he had bought from him back to him for a profit. He said it was good business. He said Moose paid and then gave that motor a bear hug, picked it up, and carried it to the vehicle he was taking it home in. And set it down. This was in the late 1940's, early 1950's.

After hearing that story and having a Model A Ford that needed a motor I tried the same thing. If Moose could do it, why couldn't I? Something popped in my back before I could even get it off of the ground and my back has never been right since. 😵 Oh the joys of being young and dumb. 🤪 

My dad could do that with engines. He was strong enough that he could have completed in the world's strongest man competition. My mom has seen him deadlift engines, and tow a larger boat on a trailer by hand. When he was younger he was known to put the transmission on his stomach and just use his stomach muscles to put it in place. My mom knew that there was something seriously wrong with him when we went to the Orange County Fair and he couldn't ring the bell. She made him go to the doctor and he was indeed sick with cancer. 

 

After he passed away he left a lot of stuff that he had been collecting for scrap metal. One of them was a bus engine, it took three people to get it out of the back yard...he got it in to the trunk of his Volkswagen Quantum and up the hill in my yard all by himself. I have often wondered if the bus company he worked at knew he had taken that engine. Knowing my dad, probably not. 😂

 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I wish smart phones and YouTube had been around when my parents were younger. I have no doubt my mom would have been filming my dad's feats of strength if that was the case.