The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Embarrassing...

I was at a local show last weekend and my wife brought along my 1 month old daughter and my, almost two year old, son rode with me in the 1 ton. We parked, entered the truck, and enjoyed most of the morning before the kids got tired and had to head home for lunch and a nap. My wife departed and I had about an hour before I needed to follow her to help with chores and such around the house.

So, I hopped in the truck, with friends watching and saying goodbye, strangers watching “the guy with the 1 ton”, and I stuck in the key and proceeded to turn it over.

Whirrrr, whirrrr, whirrr....nothing!
What?!
Whirrrr, whirrrr, whirrr...nothing!
C’mon! What the?!

Grind...ugh...the one dead spot on the flywheel. UGH!!!!!

By now everyone is watching me and I’m truly embarrassed.
I put the truck in gear and touched the starter to help lurch the flywheel into a good spot.
Whirr, whirr...nothing...

Arghhh!


“Pop the hood, Fox,” said my friend Barry.

I looked down. I put the key in but failed to turn it on!!

Turned key, kick start...Vrooooom! Like a champ.

So embarrassing! Especially when you’re parked next to a brand new 2019 Dodge Demon muscle car! Funny but not funny!

Ha ha, good one!

Welcome to the old car world. My 37 Buick has a flip switch on the steering column and you step on the accelerator pedal to start it while my 46 Ford has the column flip switch and a button on the left side of the dash. If my head is out in the ozone for some reason or I have the idiot device (cell phone) pressed against my ear I have pushed the button or stomped the foot feed and cussed them for not starting. A flip of the off-on switch always makes a huge difference.

Fox ... (sigh) ... okay, now that you've joined the club ... that is something we all (most everyone -- it's never happened to me as far as you know ...) do but *never* admit to. The trick, which you must learn, is to notice and deftly turn the key without drawing any attention to yourself while doing it. And then get the heck out of there before any of your "helpful" friends want to troubleshoot your ignition or fuel system ...

If you'd like, I can delete this thread before too many of your friends see it ....



Oh, and if you have "friends" like mine, the next time your truck won't start after it's been sitting with the group with the hood opened unattended, check two things:
1. Pull the distributor cap and check that the rotor is still there
2. Check the coil to distributor wire to make sure some one hasn't replaced it with a length of vacuum tubing with the correct ends on it ...

No, no, tell me it ain't so. You have "friends" who love a practical joke?

A friend had a 1940 Chevy 1 ton stake that he was having auctioned off. I did some work on it before the auction to get it running. At the auction the auctioneer announces that it is a running truck and he jumps in to demonstrate. Tried for all he was worth to get the key to turn that engine over. No luck. Another friend of mine wanted that truck so he bid on it and got it much cheaper, since it wasn't a running truck. As the auctioneer stepped to the next item in line to auction, I jumped in the truck, turned the key to the on position, pulled out the choke, and hit the foot stomper. Fired right up!!! Oh, the look I got from that auctioneer. Made my day.

Rick

Vacuum line for a coil wire, now that goes too far. Borderline evil. I do however like it, a LOT!

This is good stuff!!!!

I once parked my '48 inside the glass shop when I had all my flat glass replaced. They knew about the foot start button but turned the key all the way to the right (off #2). They wore down the battery, recharged it and pushed it outside.

I didn't ask them if they knew it was 6-volts for the charger.

I refer to the stomp starter on my '38 as my theft deterrent device.

I did the exact same thing in the Home Depot lot. Fortunately, nobody was nearby to witness my embarrassment.

I did that in my neighborhood once not too long after I'd gotten my truck. It stalled for some reason, I don't remember how/why, but it died a couple of car lengths short of a stop sign. For whatever reason, my instinct was to reach for the key as if I was going to start it. I had switched the key off without realizing it, then remembered that the key doesn't crank it, so I tried stomp-starting it, but it wouldn't fire up. I think I made it as far as opening the hood and removing the air cleaner to see if I had flooded it before I realized my mistake. Fortunately I don't think anyone saw me, unless they were peeking through their blinds from inside the house...

Been there done that, been there done that, been there done that. No it’s not a typo, been there done that

If you haven't done this you don't drive your truck enough.

I did it once in my 1948 Panel (bought in 1969), that had non-working fuel gauge.

I have never done it in my Suburban (bought in 1972), or other A-D/ND trucks.

Because, when I got the Suburban, I got into the habit of enjoying seeing the fuel gauge needle move before foot-cranking to start (it also became my reminder on how much gas I had).

I’ve also done it on snowmobiles. Pull, pull, pull, pull...Is the key on? Ugh.😎

Yup, done it on both the snowmobile and the '53...

OMG! Been there so many times......

I had an old '68 pickup back when I was in High School. One day I pulled into my parking spot at the school, turned off the key and the motor kept running. Turned key on, turned key off, turned key on, turned key off, motor still ran like I was doing nothing. So I ended up putting it in 4th gear, holding the brake and popped the clutch, that killed it.

Later that evening, I investigated the cause of the problem and found it to be the key switch. No matter what position the key was in, the ignition system had power. The only thing that seemed to work on the key was the START position would engage the starter. Having to fix it that night, I identified and cut the wire coming out of the key switch and installed a toggle switch under the dash. So now, to start the truck, I would flip the toggle and then use the key to start it. To kill it, I would reach under the dash and flip the toggle switch.

One several occasions in the years following, I would forget the toggle switch and crank and crank and crank on the engine. Then I would remember the toggle switch. DUH!

If one is able to play it off as though nothing happened, without anyone noticing, it never happened. Just sayin.'
My favorite "out" when someone seems ready to call me out, is to fall back on, "I was cranking the engine without the ignition on in order to increase engine speed without the drag of the incomplete combustion process, so that when I finally do turn the key on, it will start right up."
"It is similar in concept to push starting a truck with the clutch pedal depressed, and then popping the clutch once the correct speed is reached."
That will work for most, excluding that guy who once witnessed me push starting a truck and I popped the clutch without the ignition on...
Carl