5 scary scenarios DIYers face
Halloween is right around the corner, and any number of scary ghouls and goblins will soon be at your door asking for sweet treats. The holiday got us thinking about DIY experiences that don’t leave our minds so easily. A few projects still keep us up at night, and the thought of repeating certain procedures can provoke a cold sweat. We aren’t saying cars are cursed or possessed—we’ll leave that to the movies—but we all know at least a few vehicles for which it was hard to prove otherwise.
From losing tools to stripping threads, here are the scariest scenarios we’ve encountered in the garage.
Using a spring compressor
The McPherson-strut front suspension design has a lot going for it, like easy installation and cost-effectiveness. Sadly, changing springs or dampers in McPherson struts can be a terror. A spring this powerful is essentially a pipe bomb, and cheap or home-fabricated spring compressors that underestimate the spring’s stored tension are legitimately dangerous. Just the thought of hearing a creak from the spring compressor and seeing a spring shoot off at full force gives us nightmares that would make most horror flicks look tame.
Discovering rust under a paint bubble
You would never pick at a scab, but sometimes you can’t help but give a light poke at that discolored spot on the quarter panel of your classic. Next thing you know, your finger has promoted inner fender to the prestigious status of outer fender. The damage only gets worse from that moment: Iron oxide takes over, a pestilence that no spooky campfire story could ever conjure. Rust is a threat that hangs over everything in your garage. You’ll start seeing the brown-ish red everywhere, until even your mixed drink seems to include red rum. It can drive a man insane, that rust.
Losing a bolt
We all know what it’s like when the bolt or tool that you just had in your hand is—poof—gone. A portal to the fifth dimension opened, swallowing that one small but critical piece of your project. The thought of where that piece of hardware went will haunt you. I’m not scared of Casper, but I am terrified of where that piston pin circlip might have gone.
Stripping a bolt
At last, final assembly. Your workbench is covered in perfectly clean, ready-to-assemble parts. You painstakingly kept all the threads of all your fasteners clean, but somehow a hard-to-reach bolt that only requires 35 foot-pounds of torque just … won’t … tighten. All of a sudden, “righty-tighty, left-loosey” becomes “righty loosey, lefty also loosey.” The split second your wrench meets no resistance, the horrors of dealing with the consequences come into sharp focus.
Burning through paint
The paint on a vehicle can get really shiny if you remove enough of it to eliminate scratches, scrapes, and other imperfections. However, the mere thought of burning through the paint of their beloved classics has kept thousands of owners from so much as looking at an electric polisher. Thanks to modern compounds, this automotive horror story no longer needs to strike fear in your heart. Random-orbit polishers and diminishing-grit compounds allow you to be gentler with paint than ever before, even if the process requires a certain touch and understanding, and the fear of burn-through lingers in the room like a ghost.
What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.
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The anxiety of rebuilding your motor and finding one bolt left over.
How would you like this problem about “burning” through the paint? In 1977 I ordered my first new car a 1977 Olds Cutlass Salon in Silver with black bucket seat interior, a 403 automatic with the FE2 suspension package, ralleye wheels color coded, AM/FM radio, rear window defroster, everything that I wanted and could afford back in the day, $ 5700.00 CDN plus tax, a HUGE amount back then. On about day 5, I was in my parents driveway visiting when I noticed what I thought was a “mark”/scuff mark on the left rear quarter. I was used to using “polishing” compound, not “rubbing” compound by hand on previously repainted cars to remove scratches and marks in the paint. Little did I know that my new car was painted in acrylic lacquer and what I thought was a “new” mark in the paint was actually a factory paint flaw on “very thin” ( likely less than .001″ thick paint knowing what I know today about metering original paint cars) Anyways after literally less than one minute with polishing compound ( very very fine) being applied by hand, I was seeing primer! on my brand new car!!! I was devastated, and literally panicked and nauseated about what had just happened. Anyways, I was very fortunate that the dealership used a local body shop that were “experts” at blending and matching factory paint. I think it cost me $ 150.00 for a spot blend which was a lot of money back then. I knew exactly where that blend was and I could tell, but no one else could tell including my wife, anyways as the car aged and was carefully waxed over the years, the repair area sort of disappeared, it blended in to the rest of the paint patina of the car over time. I put 81,000 miles on that car, oil sprayed it, maintained the hell out of it, and sold it for more than 1/2 of what I paid for it 8 years previously! The buyer was astounded by the original condition of the car including the paint! That lesson is one of the reasons I switched from restoring cars to buying survivor cars.
Breaking an exhaust manifold bolt off in the engine head.
Locking the trunk that contains your tools and battery on your classic car then not being able to open it!
(I’m experiencing this now)
I still have the impression of a spring that let loose in my cement garage floor. Good thing it went that way and not into my face. Scared the crap out of me.
Snapping the head off of the copper bolt connecting the battery to the starter motor…!?!
I’ve used the old school cheapo spring compressors many times and still have all my limbs and digits. Never again. The new design compressors with one large screw and two C shaped jaws are much safer and make the job so much easier. They’re just over $100 on Amazon, so yes they cost more but buy once, cry once I say.
Trying to loosen a rusted in Brake caliper brake fluid bleeder and feel it shear off inside the caliper. ” F..k!!!!!!!….Need I say more
Continuing finding mistakes that the “restoration expert” I hired several years ago are never ending. On a good note, I know everything about my vehicle.
In addition to missing a bolt, we also have finishing the job and finding an EXTRA bolt! Now where did this thing go?! Or: you finish installing your rebuilt engine only to find a pilot bushing or throw-out bearing still on the work bench. Sigh – go get a beer and cancel the next day’s activities.
Well I will say the homemade spring compressor is a #1 accident waiting to happen Just like the people who work under cars with a floor jack & no jack stands to support the car
“stupid games win you stupid prizes”
the homemade spring compressor is #1
A accident waiting to happen . Right up there with the working under a car with a floor jack holding it up & no jack stands
“STUPID GAMES WIN YOU STUPID PRIZES”
Scariest thing is when someone comes to borrow a tool.
No doubt all of these scenarios are dreaded. There are many more issues that weren’t captured in this article, so based on the question asked, I’d say perforation in any body panel due to rust or a previous repair would be utterly disheartening for me. For those multi-skilled individuals who have the ability to tackle sheet metal repairs on their own, this obviously wouldn’t be insurmountable. Finding people who know the ins and outs to ‘correctly’ manage such repair undertakings is becoming scarce in many regions and the monetary setback on top of it all is concerning for the average enthusiast (me). I for one have a difficult time loving any vehicle with rust issues left unrepaired.
I fixed a lot of truck tires in my youth. I always let the hoist down on them before inflating. My boss got in a hurry one day and didn’t put it under the hoist. The rim blew apart and hurled him nearly to the ceiling. He was lucky to be alive after that event.😳