As this thread unfolds you will find what many will consider to be so VERY disturbing pics. It has long been said that things happen for a reason and after I've finished posting all the pics, click on the link and you'll see what I'm talking about. February 1988 Buicks have been in my family as far back as I can remember. As an infant, my mother carted me around in her burnt orange 71 GS 350 bench seat 4-speed, so it's only natural that my 1st car, featured below, was a 72 GS 350, with no options other than buckets and a console. I worked my behind off saving to do this thing over as best as I could. At the time, NOS sheetmetal was still available, so I bought a pair of fenders and quarters and had the car painted. After a while there was a need for some serious tourqe, so I gathered up some funds and built a warmed over 70 455, the same motor that would eventually end up in the car you'll see should you chose to click on the link at the end of this posting.
Now, here's where it gets ugly...the throttle cable stuck on my poor father, who, might I add, escaped without any injury...
contemplating life...and all the hard work both my father and I put into this thing....the link is what replaced it... http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17985
Scott, Tell me about it! I felt pretty bad for him considering he put in just as much, if not more time and effort on that car...
and the sad part is that in those situations if you could just think to turn the ingnition back one click it may have saved anything from ever happening
Did you ever work out why the throttle got stuck? Perhaps there is something we can all learn from this.
Funny you should ask.... I had built a motor (which eventually went in this, click below) http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17985 and we had a HELL of a time getting the motor to line up with the frame mounts. FINALLY, we got it in and my friend, who was nice enough to let us do ALL the work at his house, was getting itchy to get the car out of his driveway... So, I drove it home with no power steering or brakes, and on the verge of overheating due to the old radiator not being able to keep up and it was going to sit until later on in the week, when I was going to pick up a brand new Modine 4-core.... The next night, my father calls my friends, where we were hanging out, bench racing if you will, and tells me he found a radiator, brand new with a dent in the side (no biggie) and he wanted me to come home and help him put it in so I could drive the car... The mid summer Massachusetts mosquitoes will HORRIBLE, so I told him I'd do it the next day, when the bugs weren't so bad...2 hours later I get a call from him saying there's been an accident and I'd better get home... This time, his persistance DIDN'T pay off. He put the radiator in and set out to bring me the car, only he never made it...I rigged up the carb to get the car home and there was NO return spring on it. That, plus there were NO power brakes or steering...ou: ou: ou:
Mmmm. No return spring! That'd do it every time. Oh well, live and learn I suppose. It's a shame that bad things happen to good people though.
Bill, It's been over 10 years and my poor father is STILL reluctant to drive my car...hopefully when I get my current car roadworthy, I'll be able to get him behind the wheel again...you know, "get back on the horse" so to speak..o No:
Poor guy. I bet that was a moment he'll never forget. Perhaps you could physically point to the actual return spring and show him how the fan belts have been hooked up and all is working correctly.
