Dumb, no stupid things PO's have done to you

[bluex]

Ummm,.. sometimes dad took shortcuts, but they were usually just practical decisions. OTOH, some of my gems came from inexperience or bad advice. I usually know what I was thinking, but now I wonder why I thought it.

That's a much better way of explaining it really. Most of mine are gone now, seems like most everything I've done has been done 3 times now

 

[Snoots]

hat's a much better way of explaining it really. Most of mine are gone now, seems like most everything I've done has been done 3 times now

I'm with ya on that. But lookin' back, ain't it been a blast?

 

[MikeB]

Some PO had installed a late 1970s 10-bolt differential under my 55 Chevy sedan. Not only did the diff nose point up around 5-10 degrees totally messing up the driveline angle, but also the spring perches were welded on the axle tubes so poorly that one fell off when I loosened the u-bolts! And I was able to knock the other one off with a hammer. Seriously! Good thing the u-bolts held things in place.

He also ran the rear brake line down the drivers side, and under the TH350 trans crossmember. So I ended up re-routing the line when I replaced the trans. That crossmember was home-made using 3 sections of small square tubing, so it made for a bouncy-bouncy support. Probably only a matter of time until it would have bent or broken.

Finally, dropped spindles had been installed, but instead of replacing the ball joints, the PO primered and painted them right over all the dirt and grease.

 

[MikeB]

I'm looking at buying an '81 short box 4x4.
PO says the interior is good...
Well look at the pics and see what he did to the dash... stupid ***...

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1371415247&requestSource=b

Yeah, great interior there!

 

[MikeB]

Now previous MECHANICS have given me way more headaches than previous owners.

Sadly, that's very true. Had a guy bring me a 64 GTO that had been "professionally" rewired. Worst mess I've ever seen. New wires were spliced into old ones, insulation was melting off at least two wires, terminal crimps were abysmal. The guy charged him around $1200, didn't complete the job, and skipped town with one of the harness sections.

I was able to address the worst issues, but frankly, it would have been easier to start over with a new harness kit, but the owner couldn't spend the money having already spent a ton.

 

[WolverineStepside]

PO cut off the end of the truck, removed the trailing arms and installed a leaf spring set up forward of the original location and shortened the stepside bed, the main problem is they welded on the shock hangars where the shocks were almost horizontal so they wouldn't move and as such it was like having the axle bolted directly to the frame. I started with a clean slate and basically did a longbed to shortbed conversion and installed an entire new rear section of frame all the way back.

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[bluex]

PO cut off the end of the truck, removed the trailing arms and installed a leaf spring set up forward of the original location and shortened the stepside bed, the main problem is they welded on the shock hangars where the shocks were almost horizontal so they wouldn't move and as such it was like having the axle bolted directly to the frame. I started with a clean slate and basically did a longbed to shortbed conversion and installed an entire new rear section of frame all the way back.

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Wow that's awful.

 

[trukman1]

Little things like drilling a hole in the roof to mount a cb antenna, and if that wasnt bad enough, without even sealing it so it leaked ruining the headliner, drilling holes in the console to mount the cb mic, cutting holes all over for additional speakers, putting broken side emblems on with two sided tape, taking out the drivers side ac ductwork, putting chip guard (paint on type) then painting over it with a brush, cutting the boots between the cab and doors to install speaker wires, drilling through both layers of the top to install roof rack instead of using well nuts (same for rear air deflector) and the list keeps growing!
ETA: cut complete wiring harness for factory radio to install DIN radio (chopped up dash.) Enough to make me want to go mad!

 

[bucket]

PO cut off the end of the truck, removed the trailing arms and installed a leaf spring set up forward of the original location and shortened the stepside bed, the main problem is they welded on the shock hangars where the shocks were almost horizontal so they wouldn't move and as such it was like having the axle bolted directly to the frame. I started with a clean slate and basically did a longbed to shortbed conversion and installed an entire new rear section of frame all the way back.

You must be registered for see images attach

You win.

Lol

 

[DoubleDingo]

Some PO had installed a late 1970s 10-bolt differential under my 55 Chevy sedan. Not only did the diff nose point up around 5-10 degrees totally messing up the driveline angle, but also the spring perches were welded on the axle tubes so poorly that one fell off when I loosened the u-bolts! And I was able to knock the other one off with a hammer. Seriously! Good thing the u-bolts held things in place.

He also ran the rear brake line down the drivers side, and under the TH350 trans crossmember. So I ended up re-routing the line when I replaced the trans. That crossmember was home-made using 3 sections of small square tubing, so it made for a bouncy-bouncy support. Probably only a matter of time until it would have bent or broken.

Finally, dropped spindles had been installed, but instead of replacing the ball joints, the PO primered and painted them right over all the dirt and grease.

When I finally got my engine rebuilt when I was a kid, we made a cross member out of three sections of angle iron to mount a TH400 in my '56 Chevy Sedan. Two welded to the frame, the third to bolt it up. And I found a late 1970's rear end that I swapped in. Back then I was more about saving money because I wasn't making much. And the 1970's rear end afforded me better mileage with lower rpm's than the 4.10 1956 rear end. So much work was already done prior to me getting the car that it wasn't technically stock anymore. But that rear end with the taller gears sure made that car fun to drive. The scariest part was the loose steering, the gear box had at least two inches of play in it.

 

[78C10BigTen]

The scariest part was the loose steering, the gear box had at least two inches of play in it.

Sounds just like my 94 burban lol

 

[DoubleDingo]

@trukman1 I guess I can gripe about that too. Crusty Biscuit came with a dashboard that looks like swiss cheese in some spots. I have no idea what all they mounted to it, but it has long been removed before I bought the truck. There were speakers mounted where the heater controls would be in the dash, so I have two giant holes to fill there. The bed is full of holes too because they had something like 6 rope hooks mounted to each side of the bed at different angles. The truck must have been a carpenter's truck, or some kind of contractor, because they modified the original bumpers to accept a rack of sorts that could be removed.

 

[Wilburn Martin]

Wood screws to mount air dams on front and rear. Sheet metal screws to mount expanded aluminum accent pieces. Silver marker pen to add "matching" interior accents on a Civic del-sol. Current 87 4x GMC include standard wire butchery, installation of a q-jet where I think a tbi had been with the in line electric fuel pump. Radiator is held in by hoses, battery held down by cables (POS & neg). Power windows harness cut at the door to facilitate installation from donor 2wd(was kind enough to put remainder of the harness behind the seat though). I know there is a lot more to find as time goes on, and this is just two of the crap I have bought.

 

[smoothandlow84]

Let's see...the p.o. used wire nuts and solid copper wiring under the dash. He also thought it was a great idea to cut multiple holes in the lid, yes I said lid of the air filter housing...WTF ???


The transmission, I was told shifted fine. I literally drove the truck about 50 miles, then lost all forward and then the reverse gearing. The transmission shop that I have used for 15 years called me. The owner was amazed that the truck was even able to move onto the ramp under its own power, especially when he opened up the transmission and parts ( what was left of the bearings) literally fell out on the floor. There was nothing left of the needle bearing or races. The only part left that was salvageable was the housing. Everything has been replaced with some corvette goodies that he was going to use on his personal project transmission.
The same p.o. ******* didnt use antifreeze mix either. He used 100 percent water in an iron block...which led to me flushing all of the rust and crap out of the block, as well as replacing all of the casting plugs with brass. The original plugs rotted away and wept water when the block was refilled.

Lastly, instead of fuses, he ran jumper wires across the terminals in a few places, mainly the radio circuit and horn. GEEZ!

 

[78C10BigTen]

Lastly, instead of fuses, he ran jumper wires across the terminals in a few places, mainly the radio circuit and horn. GEEZ!

I cant say much here, i used a wire with a blade connector stuck in the fuse contact and run to my choke for power as i didnt know how to do it. Same with the power for the light in my tach... i dont plan on selling this truck so noone will have to put my stupid po **** in this thread.