Dumb things you have come across on other cars and wonder why ??

[70 sublime]

So I am working on a car for the wife to drive
Her boss at work ( worked for him 27 years accounting office) wanted to just give us his old car
I had to give him something so I paid $500
We got a 2006 Chev Cobalt with only 96000 km

It had a couple issues that needed help
Rockers were gone so I replaced them
Just got finished putting a new set of fuel lines from the tank to the motor
They were very rusty and you all know if the wife took the car the first thing she got to work it would start leaking in parking lot
So all done

When we got the car the key would not open the trunk but it had a remote on the key chain so that worked fine
I did not want to depend on the remote as the battery would die some day or just quit working all together
( the car battery is in the trunk on these cars but there is a place to boost from under the hood)

So I took the inside cover off trunk lid and got the lock right out of the car
Thought well if it is not the right key I will just take it apart and pull out a few tumblers to make it work
Took it back to the house and sat down at my desk with a magnifying glass/light to see what I was doing
Got looking at it when I could see what was going on and it looked like all the tumblers were retracted properly when the key was in all the way
Added some oil but still would not turn
Oh well it has to come all apart
Had to pry the stainless cover off that goes around the key to get barrel out
Got it out and everything looks good on both sides
So I wonder what happens if I put it in half a turn out
Works fine

Duh Duh Duh

Factory had assembled it back wards right from the start and no one before me ever did anything about it
Not the dealership on first delivery
Was a rental car in its early life
2 other owners after that then me




Anybody else have a similar story ??

[RallyeMike]

I bought a used 77 Powerwagon shorty in 87 that was nothing but constant trouble. The water pumps went right away, followed by a complete electrical system melt down of epic proportions, and then a broken sprag  in the 727. I finally parked it for about two years, then then replaced the trans and sold it fast and cheap.

They poor guy I sold it too lost all oil pressure on the freeway. He found that someone had previously left a tin foil sheet in the galley and it had shredded and filled up the oil pick up. Likely it was left in there when the intake was changed with the tin foil in place to catch gasket scrapings. Who the hell would not be observant enough to take it the foil out?! If there is a hell for Dodge trucks, it is there.

[BDF]

Someone painted my F6 fender tag black. 

[John_Kunkel]

Factory had assembled it back wards right from the start and no one before me ever did anything about it
Not the dealership on first delivery





Anybody else have a similar story ??

When I bought my '70 Charger R/T in '88, the driver's door stuck out 3/4" at the bottom, came from the factory that way. The original owner griped to the dealer and they replaced the lower hinge which, of course, did nothing. Second owner just lived with it.

Right after I bought it I'm parked in front of a buddy's shop which had a body shop next door; body shop owner passes by, notices the door and asks me how it got that way. After I explained he turned around, went into his shop and grabbed a 2 X 4 board and a red rag. Wrapped the board with the rag, stuck it in the door jam, closed the door on it and proceeded to push in on the bottom of the door with his shin...a couple of tries and 90% of the misalignment is gone but now the door latch is misaligned but will still close.

He advises me to readjust the latch and try again when I get home, which I did, and the door fit perfectly. Eighteen years after purchase new the errant door is fixed and it only took a couple of minutes. Original dealer coulda done that but..........

[Kern Dog]

I have found some dumb ass stuff on the junkers I brought here to part out or restore.
One car had a block of wood taped to the gas pedal. Maybe the driver was short?
Another had wood shaped to the style of an armrest and painted to match. From 20 feet away, it almost looked stock!
A 73 Camaro I bought had wide rear tires sticking out past the body. To keep from bottoming out and rubbing the tires, the suspension rubber bumpstops were replaced with home made extensions that rested about an inch over the axle.
I have seen poorly patched floorpans on several cars.
Exhaust pipes held up with bailing wire.
Vice grips in place of window cranks.
Welded spider gears to make a "Poor man's Posi".
A Trail Duster I bought had household romex wiring for a taillight harness.