toobroketoretire
Banned
When I was in my early 20's I was the most talented "mechanic" in my small group of friends. One day a friend towed his newly acquired 1954 Cadillac with a 4-speed Hydramatic transmission and V8 engine over to my house to see if I could get it running. He parked it next to the front curb and I started in on the troubleshooting process. The engine was frozen solid with rust in all 8 cylinders so I started by removing the spark plugs and spraying WD-40 into all the cylinders. After soaking for about an hour I found I could bump the engine over 1-2 degrees at a time by shorting across the starter solenoid's terminals. After I was finally able to spin the engine over freely by shorting the solenoid I decided to take a compression check to see how well the rings sealed. I opened the throttle of the carburetor all the way and held it wide open by jamming a long screwdriver down the throat of the carburetor (a Rochester 2-barrel I believe). Surprisingly the compression was good so I put the spark plugs back into it and decided to start it IF it would start; the 1/4 tank of gas being several years old with a paint thinner smell.
Now here's where I REALLY screwed up. I assumed the transmission was in PARK (do you see it coming?). I once again shorted the solenoid and the engine IMMEDIATELY fired and went to full throttle (because of the screwdriver still being jammed down the throat of the carburetor). The right rear tire began spinning as the right front tire jammed against the curb but in a blink of an eye the front tire climbed the curb as did the rear tire a split second later. The old Cadillac raced across my front lawn and the neighbor's front lawn with me desperately trying to catch it. As the old Cadillac was spinning it's tire across the slippery grass it didn't have enough traction to get to a very high speed so I was able to catch it and get it stopped...........about a foot short of slamming into the side of the 2nd neighbor's house. WHEW.
So what did I learn from that incident?
1. It's not necessary to hold the throttle wide open for a compression check.
2. NEVER start an engine by shorting the solenoid unless you KNOW it's in PARK.
About 15 years ago I had something similar happen. My '82 Corvette was parked in my garage with the windows down. Rather than getting inside to start it I reached thru the window and turned the key. It immediately fired and immediately took off in REVERSE and headed for the 10 foot deep creek that was about 40 feet from my garage. I managed to catch it JUST before it plunged into the creek. WHEW. When I had driven it the last time I had put it into PARK like usual but it was BARELY in PARK. When the engine started the little vibration was enough to drop it into REVERSE and away it went.
So what did I learn from that incident?
1. NEVER reach thru the window to start a car unless you are absolutely CERTAIN it's all the way into PARK.
What kind of freak accidents have you had concerning your C3?
Now here's where I REALLY screwed up. I assumed the transmission was in PARK (do you see it coming?). I once again shorted the solenoid and the engine IMMEDIATELY fired and went to full throttle (because of the screwdriver still being jammed down the throat of the carburetor). The right rear tire began spinning as the right front tire jammed against the curb but in a blink of an eye the front tire climbed the curb as did the rear tire a split second later. The old Cadillac raced across my front lawn and the neighbor's front lawn with me desperately trying to catch it. As the old Cadillac was spinning it's tire across the slippery grass it didn't have enough traction to get to a very high speed so I was able to catch it and get it stopped...........about a foot short of slamming into the side of the 2nd neighbor's house. WHEW.
So what did I learn from that incident?
1. It's not necessary to hold the throttle wide open for a compression check.
2. NEVER start an engine by shorting the solenoid unless you KNOW it's in PARK.
About 15 years ago I had something similar happen. My '82 Corvette was parked in my garage with the windows down. Rather than getting inside to start it I reached thru the window and turned the key. It immediately fired and immediately took off in REVERSE and headed for the 10 foot deep creek that was about 40 feet from my garage. I managed to catch it JUST before it plunged into the creek. WHEW. When I had driven it the last time I had put it into PARK like usual but it was BARELY in PARK. When the engine started the little vibration was enough to drop it into REVERSE and away it went.
So what did I learn from that incident?
1. NEVER reach thru the window to start a car unless you are absolutely CERTAIN it's all the way into PARK.
What kind of freak accidents have you had concerning your C3?
