The "I thought I had heard everything" thread for today

[carbking]

Just got a call from a carburetor shop rebuilding some Carter carburetors.

 

The gentleman asked if he could buy the vacuum piston springs.

 

I answered no, as they come in the rebuilding kits.

 

He then asked if could buy the fuel inlet screens.

 

Same answer.

 

He then informed me that he owned a carburetor rebuilding shop and had most of the parts, but DID I HAVE ANY USED SPRINGS AND SCREENS???

 

Jon

[kgreen]

Reminds me of a story a long ago former employer told me.  We were a carpentry firm so a relative of his asked if he had any 2x4 scraps that he could have.  The answer was, "sure, be glad to let you go through the scrap pile".

 

"got any 8-foot long scraps?"

 

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by kgreen
spelling of course (see edit history)

[TTR]

So I’m not the only one receiving funny requests like that ?

 

For example, I’ve mentioned it here that I reproduce various hard or impossible to find vintage car parts, including NEW curved glass windshields and over the years have received several inquiries of used ones, but in all fairness I guess, most have been asked AFTER I’ve quoted the price of the new ones I carry, although some callers have made it clear, they would prefer a used one because they’re “just trying to sell the car”.

And then there are callers who say that they’re “in the business”(???) and want me to give them a better deal/price on the new one so that “they can make a profit when selling it to their customer”. 🙄

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by TTR (see edit history)

[Trulyvintage]

Tell him you have

” gently used” toilet paper 

for sale …

 

 

Jim

[Walt G]

Sad but all the people asking the ridiculous requests are serious and that is pretty scary. these are the same people behind the wheel of a car who think your lane is theirs because you aren't using all of it.

[Bhigdog]

Guy near me deals in new and used parts. He used to ask me now and then  as a "favor" to turn the commutator of a wiper motor. I would and tell him he could buy me breakfast as a thank you. One morning he said he finds them at flea markets or junk yards and usually just cleans the commutators with sand paper, puts a dab of grease on the bearings, bead blasts the casting and sells them as "rebuilt". Said they're for collector cars and they won't see rain anyway.

Until then I usually just had toast and coffee if I knew he was buying. The next time I turned a commutator for him I ordered steak, eggs, hash browns, toast, coffee and a piece of apple pie.

Near made myself sick but he never asked me to be part of that scam again.......Bob

 

[arcticbuicks]

give some people an inch......and they take a mile

[plymouthcranbrook]

23 hours ago, arcticbuicks said:

give some people an inch......and they take a mile

And as been often observed, they think they are a ruler.

Edited November 21, 2023 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history)

[stretch cab]

I sell parts for a major trailer manufacturer and we get crazy questions daily.  I think the one that leaves me scratching my bald head the most is: "How long is your 8' aluminum ramp?"  I still have to pause before I can answer that one.

[TAKerry]

18 minutes ago, stretch cab said:

I sell parts for a major trailer manufacturer and we get crazy questions daily.  I think the one that leaves me scratching my bald head the most is: "How long is your 8' aluminum ramp?"  I still have to pause before I can answer that one.

Hate to derail, on a similar note, we had a high school kid summer help. I was on one side of the building installing roof sheathing. My brother was on the other side cutting. The apprentice kid was carrying the cut plywood to me around the building. I asked for a 5' piece. He brought one around and said 'its 60" your brother said make it fit'. I told him to take it back and bring what I asked for, 5'. He went back and forth about 4 or 5 times before he caught on. 

[Dandy Dave]

14 minutes ago, stretch cab said:

I sell parts for a major trailer manufacturer and we get crazy questions daily.  I think the one that leaves me scratching my bald head the most is: "How long is your 8' aluminum ramp?"  I still have to pause before I can answer that one.

Ummmm. 96 inches or 96,000.0 thousandths of an inch. Or 243.84 Centimeters or 2.4384 Meters. 🙃

[3makes]

No bucket of steam or pound of flush?

[8E45E]

30 minutes ago, stretch cab said:

I sell parts for a major trailer manufacturer and we get crazy questions daily.  I think the one that leaves me scratching my bald head the most is: "How long is your 8' aluminum ramp?"  I still have to pause before I can answer that one.

If I was in the market for those or was asked to 'make them fit' on someone's trailer, and had to weld up holddown brackets for them on the side, or front end of the trailer before having the ramp(s) in my hands, I would definitely want a cut sheet of it before proceeding.   I would need to know is the 8' the actual nominal length including the attaching hook threshold (max width for an end mount), or just the runway part, which would make it too long/wide for and end mounting, and it would have to stow on the side or under the trailer. 

 

On a similar note, being in the retail plumbing industry, NPT thread callout for steel pipe is NOT the actual outside diameter of the pipe.  Someone called one of our newer guys who was not versed about asking the correct questions questions beforehand and got caught. The customer requested us to pre-cut some lengths of pipe for him, and verified his order with a credit card number.  He insisted it was 1" pipe but when he came in to pick it up, it was "too big".  He actually wanted 3/4" NPT pipe which has a nominal outside diameter of 1.050".

 

Therefore, I do not feel its a "crazy question" being asked if the '8 foot ramp' is truly 8'0" in length.   After all, a '2x4' is 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" actual.

 

Craig

[8E45E]

34 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

Hate to derail, on a similar note, we had a high school kid summer help. I was on one side of the building installing roof sheathing. My brother was on the other side cutting. The apprentice kid was carrying the cut plywood to me around the building. I asked for a 5' piece. He brought one around and said 'its 60" your brother said make it fit'. I told him to take it back and bring what I asked for, 5'. He went back and forth about 4 or 5 times before he caught on. 

The metric system in Canada has never really 'caught on'; especially after the lives of many were in danger over a similar incident:  The Incredible Story Of The Gimli Glider (simpleflying.com)

 

I tell people Canada has two official languages and two official ways to measure things!!

 

Craig

[Marty Roth]

46 minutes ago, 3makes said:

No bucket of steam or pound of flush?

Maybe a Left-Handed Monkey Wrench ??

[arcticbuicks]

@8E45E.........you must be in your 50s .........that is quite common with the generation.......i think it was in grade 6 ......the teacher said.....oh by the way today.......firget all the imperial measurements you have been learning.......we are going metric.........and then different cars having kilometer vs miles speedometers......and you could buy sticker kits for your speedometer.......i think a few new cars even came with them .........and gas prices in litres.......seemed so cheap !

Edited November 21, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

6 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

@8E45E.........you must be in your 50s .........that is quite common with the generation.......i think it was in grade 6 ......the teacher said.....oh by the way today.......firget all the imperial measurements you have been learning.......we are going metric.........and then different cars having kilometer vs miles speedometers......and you could buy sticker kits for your speedometer.......i think a few new cars even came with them .........and gas prices in litres.......seemed so cheap !

Im 60. I think it was around 5th grade we started learning metric. We were told in a few years that it would be the standard. Im still waiting! It does make much better sense once you get used to it. I had a friend that had a large commercial cabinet shop. All of his equipment was European along with all of the hardware he used etc. Everything was metric and he only used metric rules. I started to do the same and it was a much simpler way to do woodwork. I have since gone back to fractions though.

[arcticbuicks]

the one thing that amazes me .......that the US never changed to robertson screw drivers.......how many ppl in the US die from doing electrical with flat head screws  slipping off and getting fried ?

Edited November 21, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[8E45E]

6 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

@8E45E.........you must be in your 50s .........that is quite common with the generation.......i think it was in grade 6 ......the teacher said.....oh by the way today.......firget all the imperial measurements you have been learning.......we are going metric.........and then different cars having kilometer vs miles speedometers......and you could buy sticker kits for your speedometer.......i think a few new cars even came with them .........and gas prices in litres.......seemed so cheap !

I'm in my 60's; and therefore, took my driver's test in miles-per-hour.  

 

I do remember the elder Trudeau government mandate was the same as what your 6th grade teacher said:  "Forget all the Imperial measurements you grew up with".  Then a few years later, the 1983 Gimli Glider incident occurred which involved government employees, and the Canadian metric conversion suddenly stopped in its tracks, leaving it up to the merchant and the customer to agree on the format.   And today, most engineering firms use 'dual measurement', although some customers insist on either Metric or Imperial, not both.   A year ago, we had an incident where our shipper who is no longer with us who could not read.  He misread the shipping weight as 4500 pounds, not kilos (9200 lbs roughly) for a package we shipped with nasty results when it got to its destination!!

 

Craig

[arcticbuicks]

i still cant tell you my weight and height in metric.....if i tried........i remember the Gimli glider day........i think companies also profited from the change also......now its a litre of milk or paint etc..... not a quart.............or a meter of carpet not a yard.....everybody was too confused to figure prices.......and old grannies driving a 100 mph instead of 66 mph to equal 100 km.......and places seemed so far away winnipeg now 226km on sign.......not 139

[8E45E]

Just now, arcticbuicks said:

........i think companies also profited from the change also......now its a litre of milk or paint etc..... not a quart............

The oil companies love it!  Raising prices 2 cents a liter doesn't sound as bad as raising it 10 cents a gallon, which works the same.

 

Craig

[arcticbuicks]

yes true.......i miss the pre metric car days too

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, 3makes said:

No bucket of steam or pound of flush?

Very common in API pump seal flush applications:  Mechanical Seal Support Systems | John Crane

 

Therefore, Yes, critical factors being the fluid being transferred, including temperature and design pressures.  Seal Flushes can utilize fresh water or steam, or oil.

 

Craig

[8E45E]

9 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

yes true.......i miss the pre metric car days too

Me too!  GM and Ford have required both SAE AND Metric sets of tools to work on them for years now.

 

Craig

[arcticbuicks]

yes and with metric......then struts and rack and pinion steering came in and more front wheel drive and fuel injection.......all that was quite lousy in the first few years

[rocketraider]

17 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

Me too!  GM and Ford have required both SAE AND Metric sets of tools to work on them for years now.

 

Craig

I knew a GM dealer mechanic who retired early because of GM's "partial" metric changeover in 1977. He said that at 61 years old he couldn't see investing $$$$ in another complete set of metric tools to work only a couple more years.

 

So, he retired, went full-time repairing pre-1977 cars at his home shop, and took some of the Pontiac dealer's service clientele with him. 

[28 Chrysler]

The first GM cars with metric only the metric hardware was a light blue.

[arcticbuicks]

what ?

[pkhammer]

  As a 40 year project manager working in the metal fabrication business (mostly architectural), I have heard and seen a lot. I sit in meetings with architects and the one I remember the most was a discussion about something that had been designed in such a way that long seams would need to be welded in thin (.063") sheet metal. When asked if I had any concerns I said "yes, that much welding will cause the panels to warp badly", to which he replied, "why?". When I explained that the heat from the welding would cause the distortion he asked "can you weld it without using heat?". 

[8E45E]

23 minutes ago, 28 Chrysler said:

The first GM cars with metric only the metric hardware was a light blue.

On these shores, it would have been Opel.

 

Craig

[zipdang]

Can I let the air out of the tire before carrying it so that it’s 32 lbs. lighter?

[arcticbuicks]

and vauxhall...gm metric...omg......remember the firenza .......we called them the influenza.........and epic.......epidemic

Edited November 21, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[8E45E]

They were from England and mostly used SAE wrenches, though the first imported Vauxhalls may have used Whitworth (BSW) wrenches.

 

Craig

[rocketraider]

We in the power generation business had a saying "no task is impossible to the man who doesn't have to do it".

 

I worked with people who proved it over and over again.

 

Sometimes, by the third or fourth attempt, the light bulb would come on. Other times we'd try unsuccessfully for months to make something work before the instigator of the task finally realized he was going against every law of physics/electricity/metallurgy there was. Even then, that individual was often still convinced his idea should work.

[arcticbuicks]

i am familiar with whitworth ......but saw few cars that used it.......vauxhall firenza and epic of the mid 70s i think were metric as per australia was metric long before canada..........but the 1960s vauxhall i agree probably imperial

[pkhammer]

43 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

Sometimes, by the third or fourth attempt, the light bulb would come on.

Being in the power generation business, that was a good pun, intended or not. 😁

[Frank DuVal]

3 hours ago, arcticbuicks said:

the one thing that amazes me .......that the US never changed to robertson screw drivers.......how many ppl in the US die from doing electrical with flat head screws  slipping off and getting fried ?

Um, none? Oh, you said people, not electricians following the rule. 😉  First, turn off the power. If that is not an option, then suit up for the arc flash. Lots of tools and hands slip, not just slotted ones. 

 

BTW, combination head screws have been the norm for electrical goods here for many years. Some slotted/phillips but most now are slotted/square (Robertson, Scrulox) combinations. I can tell relative age of equipment by the screws involved. 🦃 🦃🍲🍲

 

In the wood construction industry they like square/phillips or Torx head screws. 🦃 🦃 🍲 🍠

[rocketraider]

1 hour ago, pkhammer said:

Being in the power generation business, that was a good pun, intended or not. 😁

😁

[Joe Cocuzza]

5 hours ago, pkhammer said:

  As a 40 year project manager working in the metal fabrication business (mostly architectural), I have heard and seen a lot. I sit in meetings with architects and the one I remember the most was a discussion about something that had been designed in such a way that long seams would need to be welded in thin (.063") sheet metal. When asked if I had any concerns I said "yes, that much welding will cause the panels to warp badly", to which he replied, "why?". When I explained that the heat from the welding would cause the distortion he asked "can you weld it without using heat?". 

Thanks for trying to get this post/topic back on track

[hidden_hunter]

6 hours ago, arcticbuicks said:

i still cant tell you my weight and height in metric.....if i tried........i remember the Gimli glider day........i think companies also profited from the change also......now its a litre of milk or paint etc..... not a quart.............or a meter of carpet not a yard.....everybody was too confused to figure prices.......and old grannies driving a 100 mph instead of 66 mph to equal 100 km.......and places seemed so far away winnipeg now 226km on sign.......not 139

Proximity to the US obviously is a factor as well, Australia converted to metric in the 60's and doesn't have any issues. The only time imperial is used these days is mostly for nostalgic or traditional reasons like talking about height or a babies weight