Did you have any auto-related near-disasters as teenagers?

[Dosmo]

In early Jan. 1970, driving a 60 Lark wagon full of 16-yr. old guys on old Knoxville Hwy toward Maryville, TN, I was behind a line of maybe 4-5 cars, rounded a curve into a long straight stretch. The Lark had a pretty good passing gear, nothing coming in opposite directon, so I floored it and went around the car in front of me. As I started passing cars, I didn't realize that the car at the head of the line was slowing down to turn left. One of the guys in the car with me noticed that a car we had just passed had it's brake lights on, and he had the foresight to look ahead and saw the head car with its turn signal on, getting ready to turn left. They certainly didn't realize that I was in a position to T-bone them in the left side. I barely managed to lock up the brakes and skid back into the line of cars I was passing, just barely avoiding slamming into the back of the car that was stopped directly behind the car turning left. A month or so later, wheeling Mom's 59 Pontiac HT, I stopped at a traffic light. The guys in the car with me begged me to keep my foot on the brake while mashing the gas pedal, trying to "jack the car up", causing the rear wheels to break loose and start spinning. Well, a 59 Pontiac is a pretty heavy car, and I couldn't get the rear wheels to break loose. But, I apparently did cause a motor mount to break loose. Trying to take off normally from a stop, suddenly the gas pedal went to the floor and the car was accelerating like crazy, nearly running into the car in front of me. The pedal didn't come off the floor till the automatic transmission shifted out of low gear into second. Talk about scary. On top of that, I neglected to mention this to my mother, who had this happen to her as she drove the car to work the next day. She didn't immediately make the connection between what was causing her car to do this and the fact that I had driven it the day before, but the mechanic that fixed the car did, and he told my dad about it. Needless to say, I didn't get to drove the Bonneville for a good while after that. Man, the ignorance of youth.

[Barry Wolk]

I was 14 in 1966. I thought I knew everthing about cars. While my parents were away I decided to do some maintenance on their '64 Tempest. It had a transaxle. I drained the transaxle and overfilled the transmission with 90 weight. It made it 14 miles before the rear end seized up. Luckily I had an uncle in the business and he saved my behind. I wonder, to this day, what happened when I introduced 90 weight into the mix.

Anyone ever do anything as dumb as this?

[Guest windjamer]

My friend you dont know dumb. I was about 12 and my home away from home was Dons salvage yard and gas station. You could find me there siting in one of his junks and pretending to drive any time I wasnt in school or at home. One day a customer pulled in and asked me to fill the raditor with water. He went inside and I grabed the water bucket and poured about five gal in what I thought was the rad.Lucky for me I learned right then where the gas tank is on a model a, and I got the he-- out of there befor he came out. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> Dick

[Shop Rat]

Yep. Just short of eighteen and my first trip out with my mom and dad's new Ford station wagon (1967-68 something in that era). Drove it up to a friend's house so that we could go to the afternoon movie. She lived in a house that was down over the edge of the road. Their driveway sloped down to the house. As I turned in the hood obscured the driveway for a moment. I missed the right side edge of the driveway with the right rear wheel. Luckily it rolled onto the angle cut stump of a tree and then the leaf spring caught on the rock wall that edged the driveway. Otherwise, I might have hit the corner of their house. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

My dad and brother came up and jacked the car up and shoved it back onto the drive way. The only damage to the car was the scratches on the chassis and it turned the tail pipe from round to a nice oval shape. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

[Peter Gariepy]

Yea, i had a 1948 New Yorker... and after an hour at the local lovers line with my favorite girl -- the darn thing wouldnt start (THE CAR!)! I was sure "her" father was gonna kill me! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[MCHinson]

I had a drunk driver come across the center line in a curve on a country road and sideswipe the side of the family 1969 Mercury Montego MX station wagon. About a second or two difference in timing and it would have been a head-on collision at about 60 mph. He ran into the ditch about half a mile later on another curve and the Highway Patrol found him and arrested him there.

[jaxops]

I was infatuated with a girl in high school, and just got my used 1969 Buick LeSabre convertible. It had no floor, and a bad transmission but I loved it. I was annoying her from the sidelines by taking pictures of her playing field hockey, so I knew I should zip out of there fast when the game ended. I tried but the car stalled, and then I tried aain and it started so I went....just as she went by with her father's new 1977 Ford Monarch sedan. My bumper was pulled out a little, as she glanced it and caught the end. It ran a gash from her right fender to her rear passenger door. Yes, that ended the relationship for sure. I was however, thoroughly impressed with the older car's construction versus the "lighter constructed" (read cheaper metal) cars. I pushed the bumper against a telephone pole and retightened the bolts, and no more damage. Her father's car was in the shop for 3 weeks. At least that is what I heard from her girlfriends.

[Dosmo]

A buddy of mine had the sickest, slowest 64 Mercury Comet 6-cyl 3-spd ever. The shift linkage was messed up, and every time you started from a complete stop, there was something odd you had to do with the shifter, something like put it in neutral and go to high before you could shift it into low. Also, if the car had been sitting for a little while, it just would not run without warming up for several minutes - it would just choke down or something. One Friday night, we were running around with this guy we knew from school who knew lots of girls and really had a way with them. He was also known as a pretty tough dude, with a reputation of being a fierce fighter who was scared of almost nothing. We were sort of prould to be seen running with this guy, especially me, as I was more than just a little nerdy. There was a rough neighborhood in Knoxville called Vestal. We knew that a couple of girls that lived there had another girl spending the night. So, we were sitting on their front porch about 10PM talking. Two loud cars came screaming down the road, squealed tires and stopped, and all the doors on both cars flew open. I'm not sure how many guys came pouring out, but one was screaming at us, calling us names I won't repeat here, and he was holding a broken beer bottle. He informed us in no uncertain terms that something unpleasant was getting ready to happen to us. Me and my buddy looked at JB, the tough guy on our side, to see what he was going to do. He had a look of absolute terror on his face, and panic started to get a real hold on me. Betty, one of the girls, jumped off the porch, ran out to the guy with the bottle and whispered something to him. There was about 30 seconds of silence while she talked to him. As she headed back to the porch, he screamed that they were going around the block and if we were there when they circled back, it was all over. Both cars took off, tires squealing. Betty warned us to get out as quickly as we could. We hopped into the Comet, and Bill started it, tried to take off and it died. JB and I were screaming at the tops of our lungs for Bill to get the thing going. It would start, take off, go about 20 feet, and die again. He must have had to start that thing half a dozen times before it stayed running. I remember the way that engine sounded as he would rev it up trying to get gone - I'm surprised it didn't blow every rod it had right there. I'm pretty sure those guys must have given us more time to get gone then we figured they would, and I'm thankful they did, because it was sure as H--- no quick getaway!

[Bill Stoneberg]

Lets see, how many of my parents cars did I wreck as a kid ?

There was the 71 Grand Prix I wrecked on Christmas Eve. That made for a fun holiday. I rear ended another car while paying more attention to my girlfriend then my driving. Then I rolled our farm Jeep wile driving through the fields. Then my final one was t-boning my grandmothers car with my moms when messing around with a brother.

After getting my own car, i got caught going over 130 mph on a just built and still closed tollway. We had all snuck on to go drag racing and we were having 1 mile races. The state troppers cam out and cought us all. I lost my car for good over that one. My next car was one that couldn't go as fast a 63 volkswagon.

[Guest ZondaC12]

my daily driver, was dad's too, like the buick: http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/paulcougar50/cougarbig.jpg

it happened this summer. i baby the heck out of that car. i drive responsibly i would say. lets just say im nothing like most of my friends.

in the 2 years of driving this thing ive never really had a close call. i mean ive had to hit the brakes pretty hard before, but nothing drastic. i just sightsee too much and pay attention to old/rare/neat cars i see too much, im rubbernecking all the time.

but this summer im crusing at 40 mph, posted limit on the main road right near my house. i get a little OCD with my rearview mirror sometimes. the view is EXACTLY as big as the rear window. i get so aggravated if its off. so im adjusting it and i spend a little too much time between the last glance at the road and looking at the rear view and suddenly im about 5-6 cars behind a guy stopped waiting to turn left, and somehow i was able to produce the following thought process in a split second "crap im not gonna be able to do this, i gotta go the right, no other options. theres this sort of gravel-pit thing off to the side of the road by this T-intersection. both feet on the brake, this car DOESNT HAVE ABS so theyre lockin up a little, and just as i go to the right of this guy my rear end's comin around to my left, i SWEAR IT i must have missed that small sedan by a couple inches, somehow i just know it. something else i know, He was watchin over me. i slide into this gravel and spin all the way around so im facing almost straight backwards. i seriously thought my heart was trying to rip through my chest.

this woman in a highlander who was turning right out of the side road when it happened pulled over, the guy made his turn when all was clear, and this woman jumps out and says "are you alright!!!?? should i call the police/ems/whatever?" i shouted NOO!!!! please dont im fine, its all my fault, i wasnt paying attention its all my fault....ill be fine"

so she leaves, i get back in my car, and sat there for like 5 minutes before i could continue. i could have skyrocketed my insurance, irrtated and disappointed my mom, destroyed a car so very dear to me, and in my eyes, betrayed my dad. all i could think about was what he would say to me if he suddenly appeared in the passenger seat. i felt terrible.

i havent told my mom. only a close friend, because he shared with me a similar story, except he took his 88 beretta gt into a ditch on a windy road becuase he was going 60 around a turn, and uhhh it should have been about 30 less. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

i take care of the mirror business BEFORE i drive, and i know every button on my radio by feel PERFECTLY. same with my mp3 player hooked to the radio with a cassette tape with the wire attached to it. i dont need to look at the mp3 player's screen much, and i hold it right up at the top of the steering wheel. though i try to change songs when im stopped. that near-DISASTER changed me, i think. it hit me very hard emotionally.

made the '38 rolling backward off the jack-up ramps and pushing the middle of the garage door out 4 inches seem like spilled milk. (that happened earlier in the year <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />)

[GMPARTSMAN]

I can't take the blame for this one, I stopped it from happening. Back to 1969.

I was seventeen, working part time at a gas station. Two owners,two separate crews. I worked the afternoon crew for the second owner. On a Saturday night, one of the day crew guys was working. He really couldn't handle anything more than gas and oil, and maybe change s light bulb. I stopped in to get gas on my way to pick up my date. He came out to the island to ask me to help him bleed brakes on a car. Not wanting to get dirty, I said that I would work the pedal. I thought it was his car as it was in one of the bays. NOPE, it was a customer's car, a '65 Thunderbird. Well, his boss decided he could replace a muffler on the 'bird, BIG MISTAKE! He somehow whacked the rear steel brake line with a hammer and decided to "repair" it by cutting the section out and replacing it with rubber fuel line, but for safety's sake using TWO hose clamps on each side! He showed me his "repair", and I told him to raise me up in the car. I started it up, got a good load of vacuum in the booster, and told him to stand back. I proceeded to slam the brake pedal down with both feet. As to be expected, the line popped! After spraying brake fluid, he yelled at me "Why did you do that?"

He let the car down, I got out and said "bye". The next morning, Sunday, when I got in to work the 'bird was still there.

At least #1, I kept a accident from happening, and #2, it gave us some entertainment on a Sunday morning as I told the tale of the brake system repair to my co-workers.

[bferg]

Oh Yes. I was a cool dude in high school back in the 50?s. One afternoon I was in my Dad?s ?57 four-hole Buick cruising down the main drag when the CUTEST little darling in a pair of red short-shorts caught my eye. Being ?slightly? distracted, I rear-ended the car in front of me. When the dust settled I was petrified to see that I had rear-ended the high sheriff of the county. Fortunately, he was up for re-election and he and my Dad ?worked it out?. To make matters worse the cute thing was in junior high ? way beneath my high school years! That lady is now well into her sixties and will weigh in above 235!