I was lying under my convertible yesterday installing
the new headers it needs. It is down hill to spring and it is
this time every year that I go through both of our "TOYS" to get
them ready for summer cruising. The convertible needed new headers,
the gas gauge repaired and a new steering box. The Mustang needs
the tachometer repaired and a new tranny mount. Naturally they
both get complete services too. I had only just begun removing
collector bolts when my Wife came out to the garage and suggested
I stop for awhile because she had to go into town.
Are you wondering what her going to town has to do with me
working on the car? Well let me answer that question. It is
called SAFETY. For years, I have made it a practice NOT to work
under a vehicle when there is nobody around. And yes, the car
was properly supported with QUALITY stands and still had a jack
under one side as a safety precaution but SHIT HAPPENS. Even
the best of equipment can fail and I prefer not to take unnecessary
chances. I will tell you a story about something that happened
many years ago. A fellow I knew was doing some work on his car
on a nice sunny afternoon, so he decided to work on it in his
driveway. He had to remove the differential and it wasn't going
to be that big a job. I drove past his house on the way to a
store and I beeped my horn at him, I could see his feet under
the car and he waved at me. I was at the store for awhile and
when I drove by his house I again beeped the horn and again
he waved one hand. I got home, unloaded the groceries and something
occurred to me. My friend had both rear wheels off his car and
I seemed to remember the one brake drum assembly that I saw
as I drove by was very close to the ground. It was not high
enough to be on a stand and I knew that the guy's feet were
sticking out the back of the car and he had waved at me. But
something just didn't seem right so I rushed over to his house.
What I found was a very scary situation. The fellow was pinned
between the rear axle housing and the ground. The cross pin
in one axle stand had sheared off and let the whole assemble
fall down across his chest. This had happened just as he had
reached for a wrench so it had pinned his arms at his side and
he couldn't even push up on the unit. I ran next door to get
a neighbor to help and call for an ambulance. The weight of
the unit had crushed his chest enough that he could barely breathe
and it took awhile to get him out. He was taken to hospital
and had suffered a number of broken ribs. He had been stuck
there for nearly three hours and he told us that lots of people
had gone by but he couldn't yell for help. All he could do was
move one hand and everyone thought he was waving, just like
I did. Since that happened, I NEVER work under a vehicle if
there is no one else around or if I don't have a choice, I arrange
to phone somebody every so often. In that way if something happens
and I cannot phone, they would come over to check things out.
I even had a need for that exact thing a few years later.
I was putting an engine into a truck and was inside the compartment
trying to line up everything. When I reached to release the
hoist, the engine slipped down and pinned my leg and at the
same time I dropped the handle for the engine hoist. There I
was, STUCK. I couldn't reach the handle to raise the engine
and I was in a closed garage. In an hour, a friend arrived because
I hadn't called him as I had arranged and he jacked the engine
up off my leg. I was just bruised bad and the leg was stiff
for a few days. THINK ABOUT IT.
