as in the past at race season beginning or end relate your contribution,
. please follow with DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

when you change the position of your seat be sure to check
if you fit with your helmet on and not wait until you are at the track

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

When filling the cool can with ice don't forget to put the lid on.
DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

When building your own headers, don't forget to allow for spark plug access.

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

It IS possible for a 4" carb stud to pass through the intake and the valves to enjoy a home in the top of a piston.......

Don't ask me how I know........grrrrrrrrrr

always go to the bathroom before getting strapped in the car and pulling into the staging lanes.Believe me I know.

When priming a new engine make sure it has an oil filter - if not it takes about 15 seconds to put 5 quarts of oil on the floor while you wonder what you did wrong!

Don't ask me how I know........

Install the oil pressure gauge line before testing the oil accumulator. Don't ask how I know.
Doug

If you keep shearing off ring gear teeth, you may want to check and make sure that your timing chain hasn't jumped, rather than repeatedly dropping the transmission and replacing the ring gear on the converter.

Don't ask me how I know.

Touching the positive battery post and the engine block with a dipstick makes for a very hot thin piece of metal. Don't ask me how I know, or about the scar

When removing a mechanical fuel pump make sure the outlet fitting isn't facing up and the arm isn't on an up swing. Don't ask me how I know...

GREAT STUFF KEEP IT COMING

many looks but only a few posts ? could they be too embarrassed or are they perfect?

if you go to start your car and the engine locks up ,dont start taking the motor apart.check to see if you forgot to put the power valve plugs in the carb.

Make sure you check your helpers work, especially when it comes to lug nuts,

Ask me how I know.

Make a checklist before you leave home. You don't want to get to the track and find out you forgot something...
Like your helmet

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

I know that feeling as well.

Make sure the brake parts cleaner has dried before you start using the angle grinder nearby!

DAMHIK!

When you release the trans brake button at starting line make sure you dont bump your Shifter (Turbo Action) into nuetral. Ask me how I know.

Fuse it!

DAMHIK

Make sure you bring the key to open up the
trailer... DAMHIK

Back out the adjustable oil pressure adjuster, prior starting your engine.give it only a few turns to you see were the oil pressure is. pop that oil filter like a soda can.

I have done half of what has been mentioned so far..lol

Never move your trailer with the car inside and not strapped down...ask me what happens then and how I know.

If and when you are using a socket and breaker bar to turn the engine over to set your valves in the car, remove socket and breaker bar from harmonic balancer bolt BEFORE starting car after the job is finished. Don't ask me how I know.

When using an air hose and chuck to blow dust off of your car, make sure that the hose cannot get caught on anything in the garage that will rip the chuck out of your hand and allow it to bounce off of the roof of your car a few times. Don't ask me how I know.

After making a jet change, remember to hook the fuel lines back up before trying to start the car. DAMHIK

after you let the clutch fly, try and get the finger off the line lock before the front wheels touch down


a version of a chevelle park next to me years ago...don't forget to remove the rag from intake manifold when installing carb,engine runs rough and ruins the rag when it flys out the exhaust

Before going to the staging lanes be sure to disconnect the battery charger

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

I know how to install a sky light in my shop from that same experience---The noise alone will be something I never forget

When you have a new motor on the engine stand and have an oil filter on so you can prime the oil to see how the rockers are oiling, BE SURE you have an oil pressure sending unit or have blocked the plug at the back of the block. Oil is really hard to get off a 14 foot garage ceiling and the walls. OH and it would help to look up once in a while when you are priming with a drill to see if anything else is happening, like all of the oil going up on the ceiling.
ASK ME HOW I KNOW.. stupid happens.

IF you have your car loaded on the trailer, always strap it down even if you are only going 1 block back to the shop. It is not enough just to have it in park with the emergency brake on. AND don't pop the clutch on the toter like you are cutting a light. You will not like the ticket you get for blocking traffic with your race car sitting in the middle of a very busy intersection.
Oh yeah, I did that too... JUST ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

IF you have a nice garage with a parts cleaner installed. Make sure the parts cleaner is not located beside the vice that you will use to grind metal parts. A Parts cleaner fire does not start immediately, It has to burn slowly thru the filter first and THEN it will burn your garage down after you walk back outside to install the part you just ground down. Don't ask me how I know that one either.
WOW I have done some dumb stuff.

Dang it Fred
Apparently I like starting fires.
IF you are welding muffler hangers to the bottom of the car, be sure the back seat is out and you can remove the black tar stuff that MOPAR used for seam sealer on 72 models before you start welding. It will catch fire and then the seat and then the rest of the interior all before you can get the water hose back on and pulled to the garage.
DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

Evidently, they used the same stuff in 70. I was using a torch to notch the frame rails for inboard spring hangers. I wonder if your back seat looked like mine.

Before getting the call to go to the burn out box make sure the hood pins are in.
Don't ask me how I know

Oh I dragged mine down the driveway more than once when I had an open trailer that fit in my old garage. It was just so easy to pull the whole trailer in car and all and hook up the charger...

Welcome back Fred! Now......Don't give Fred your cell#!! DAMHIK!!!!

Never set a fresh engine on a concrete floor, even with the oil pan on. The cylinder walls will rust up much faster than you think, causing your new bullet to immediately tie up on start-up in front of all your friends.

Don't ask me how I know.

X2 on the pins. Also never trust a fart, I think everyone knows.

Related:
It's 1966. Hood is up, adding a quart of oil to a 1962 Polara 500 convertible (stock engine: 361" 4 bbl. = 305 hp) using a pointed plunger with the curved spout piercing the top of the metal can.
As the pour spout reaches the valve cover breather hole, the base of the can touches the battery positive terminal.
The spark ignites the oil vapor inside the can, which propels the can first at the underside of the hood, it bounces off, then shoots away across the parking lot, leaving 3 people (me, the owner, and the station attendant) and the car sprayed with hot oil.



Generic photo, not the actual car.

A '79 Power Wagon will roll over the top of your spare tire and winch on your open trailer and smash the tailgate on you truck. It will not easily move back either.

DAMHIK.

when leaving the track with an open trailer,make sure the ramps are in place.

If you are drilling holes in a fibergalss hood for a couple extra Dzus fasteners on a windy day at ATCO and have long hair........do not raise the drill near your head while it's still spooling down.

Unless a custom curl is the look you're after.

When welding the seat back adjustment stop on a 64 dodge, the wet towel on the carpet will protect the carpet, the horse hair padding under the seat not so much.
In the time it takes to turn around and grab the hose on the ground, your seat will be totally engulfed. Your wife will not be impressed. DAMHIK

bahahahahahahha Made me laugh out loud. Now that was funny. I am Glad I didn't do that .

hah so you are a part of the burned seat club too. LOL
There are some really good DAMHIK on here.
Hey FRED welcome back.. It has not been the same without you and your pet sheep the last year.

When you need to reposition the golf cart on the small 5x8 trailer in order to get more tongue weight, DO NOT stand between the trailer and the back of the Motor Home as your father attempts to back the golf cart up the ramps and onto the trailer.

He will overshoot the trailer and it will pin you between the golf cart and the rear of the MH.

A golf cart is not easy to move when the rear tires are hanging over the end and you're trapped between it and the MH.

Don't forget to unfold the ramp extensions on your enclosed trailer when unloading racecar by yourself.
DAMHIK!

When you tow 300 miles to a race, make positively sure you have enough gas in the tank to be able to run the full quarter mile, its hard to win a bracket race when you run out of gas about 1000 ft, don't ask me how I know

When you have your car sand blasted before paint make sure you blow out all of the frame rails before you take it to the track for its first launch !!! It looked like a dump truck with spreader chains on it, coated the track with sand from starting line to the eighth mile. Hence the user name...

I was there to witness, one hour track clean-up at Norwalk, they weren't happy. We blew it all out, or so we thought. They were even more pissed when it dumped again the 2nd pass. Duct tape on the rails is your friend.
Doug

If your fuel cell is mounted on the front of your car make sure you install the fill cap before stagging and launching the car. Those 14 inch slicks lose traction real fast when they run over race fuel.

When underneath the car welding in a new trunk pan, be sure to remove those precious and highly flammable interior items being stored inside the trunk. Don't ask me how I know.

Oops, my bad!

Sorry it was a typo. I was glad I did not do that too along with all of the other dumb stuff I did as a kid working at a gas station.

Always remove the window glass when welding in a rust repair patch, or at least roll the window up. DAMHIK

Just assume the neutral safety switch on your new beater truck works and go ahead and turn the key. But it's ok my wifes new car was there to stop it,

DAMHIK

Or when you remove the door glass to replace the plexiglass with Lexan make sure you don't leave the window at home

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

Don't let your son or anybody else near your new 10K clear coat paint job on your Hot Rod with a can of Acetone in their hand.

Damn I'm not the only one, back seat, rear quarter interior panel, paint on dog leg of the quarter panel. That was an expensive repair.

When testing an MSD for spark w/a jumper wire don't have your other hand on a ground.

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW, and that one hurt. lol

I could write a (small) book on DAMHIK, but here's one of my greatest hits:

DO NOT spray out a trans pan with parts cleaner too close to the gas water heater in the garage.

Took 2 weeks for my eyebrows to grow back...

cudatom - cudadoug are you two guys related

You are painting your car in a garage at night to avoid the heat of the day, just after you have laid down 4 coats of really slick clear coat, do not let your brother open the garage door to let out the paint fumes, because bugs as big as birds will be attracted to the light reflection in your new shiny clear coat and be there forever.
Don't ask me how I know.
Jerry

Nope but it was funny how we responded back to back. Your entry made me laugh. My wife asked what was so funny. I told he and got the old wife eye roll. I guess guys have a different sense of humor than women.

I know this one for sure.. I'm thinking of repainting
my Rampage if this trans works right... and will be
shooting it in the day light.... so I can see.. the best
paint job I did was JUST before a storm...out doors..
the bugs go away... then push it in the shop.. DAHIK

I am as safety unconscious as the next guy , so when I went to move the leaf springs in and mini tub , I took the gas tank out before hand..............clean forgot about the 1/2" line filled with 110 octane hanging there until I was under the car grinding and saw the strangest orange flickering light from behind me.
The blaze was being drip fed as I stumbled around wondering where I left the extinguisher.
Finally beat the fire out with a moving blanket , at the expense of most of my arm hair.
These days , if you ask me where the extinguisher is , I'll ask which one and know where the all are. lol

We might be...I have lotsa family in Ohio...lol

I was helping a buddy of mine troubleshoot his MSD. He was holding the coil wire to the frame while I tapped the white wire. It sparked and startled him causing him to jerk the coil wire as I tapped the white wire a couple more times. For some reason he won't let me help with electrical stuff anymore.

If you tow your car on a goose neck trailer make sure the hitch is secured on the ball before attempting to load the car.

Don't ask me how I know!

When unloading the race car at the track from your open car trailer make sure that the ramps are down. If you pull the car out of gear and then get distracted it will roll back off of the trailer and come to a sliding stop the on the ladder bars. A slight incline will make this happen without any effort. Also try to do it in front of as many people as possible so when you are done laughing they can help you lift the car back on to the trailer because a jack will not have enough reach to do anything. The best part of this method is that if you do it exactly like I did you will at least go to the final round that day. DAMHIKT

When under the car, with your head under the trans and you have just dropped the valve body, do not let curiosity get the best of you and push on the accumulator piston.
DAMHIK

there are quite a few informative lessons here. I have learned a lot

Also...after driving up on your trailer (that is slightly uphill at the track) DO NOT get distracted by talking about the .002 loss and MAKE SURE you put in park before getting out.

I use to work with a guy that took the drive shaft out of his mustang and it rolled off the ramps and split his head open when it ran over him. He got several stitches in his head. He thought it would not roll since it was in park.

If you use a carb bell to seal your carb to your hood scoop, make sure you remove the hood scoop plug before you attempt your burnout.

5000 rpm Will make enough of a vacuum to make your scoop collapse like a large blueberry souffle falling in the oven.

If you start your car that's been sitting for awhile, do not put it in reverse and set the parking brake while you get out to do something else. DAMHIK

Take the hood off the roof of the car before testing the stall of the new torque converter, or moving the car in the trailer. I guess I didn't learn the first time?

don't stand in front of the car when setting the idle in gear make sure it's in park or neutral before
winging the throttle for response
when it lurches forward you can get run over DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW

Don't use by-pass oil filters,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

My Dad was on the rescue squad for many years in the little town I am from. one of his favorites was:

Local racer put 2X6's on cement blocks and drove the front end of his big block Challenger up on them and put it in Park. He then proceeded to pull the trans pan and pull the valve body out. Car rolled down and the driver's side header went down on his chest. Only thing that saved his life was he had the torsion bars cranked up 4wd high.

You've removed all the glass to prevent damage from welding and grinding...stored it up in the ceiling rafters where it is safe.

Don't grind on the frame with the sparks flying up in the air...

Windshield...spare windshield and back glass...all ruined...


DAMHIK...

Make sure your trunk lid is firmly closed before making a pass.

You guys got me laughing so loud I woke up the wife,,,,,,,,,good night

After my 1st post I that there's much much more
Don't drive 3 hours to the track and forget the car keys, Unless you bring Dizuster with you. He's very good at picking trunk and ignition locks.

Don't do a really good job of sealing up the trunk area so no smoke gets in during burnouts and then leave the cap off the fuel cell, can you say fish tank?

Don't forget to tighten the reaction shaft support bolts on your trans pump before you go in to eat when your wife say's its dinner time. Then go on to complete the build.

Do not put the line lock button where your hand rests when you leave. Then realize at the 1/8 mile mark the car is pulling to the right pretty hard and decide to move that hand so you have both hands on the wheel.

Doug