Took me a few minutes to figure out what this could be used for. Old school tech I found in a parts box I got at an auction.
Don
1967 GMC 9500 Fire Ladder Truck "The Flag Pole" In the Stovebolt Gallery 1946 2-Ton grain truck 1946 3/4-ton pickup, 1953 1-ton pickup 1957 1-ton flatbed dually, 1954 Pontiac Straight Eight Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most!
~ Craig 1958 Viking 4400 "The Book of Thor" Read the story in the DITY 1960 Chevrolet C10 "A Family Heirloom" Follow the story in the DITY Gallery '59 Apache 31, 327 V8 (0.030 over), Muncie M20 4 Speed, GM 10 Bolt Rear... long term project (30 years and counting)
If you don't like driving yourTruck, you won't drive yourTruck..| Living life in the SLOW lane
Way better than holding the spark plug base against the block and getting zapped when you don't do it right.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
~Charley 1954 Chevy 3100 with 235 “Bud” Follow along in the DITY 1963 Chevy half ton stepside short box 230 1954 GMC 3 ton 302 And several more Chevy camper and work trucks 1979 1987 1996
Wish I had this common sense tool when I was younger, I don't remember how many times I have been zapped.
Don
1967 GMC 9500 Fire Ladder Truck "The Flag Pole" In the Stovebolt Gallery 1946 2-Ton grain truck 1946 3/4-ton pickup, 1953 1-ton pickup 1957 1-ton flatbed dually, 1954 Pontiac Straight Eight Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most!
Me too, Don. The old Model A with the flat copper spark plug leads were especially bad. I recall getting bruised on the back of my wrist after I reacted to getting zapped and smacked my arm into the radiator support rods.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Here is another story about my Dad. When I was in my early teens, Dad told me that on Saturday nights back around 1940. Him and his friends would be in town (Licking Mo.) and see who could kill a running Model A by shorting out the spark plugs with their hands. He said He learned how to do that and would show off to the girls. I said, Yah Right? But then I watched him reach down on a running lawn mower and kill the engine with his thumb and little finger shorting out the spark plug and didn't even flinch. As far as I am concerned, that is a true story, and I don't have that skill.
Don
1967 GMC 9500 Fire Ladder Truck "The Flag Pole" In the Stovebolt Gallery 1946 2-Ton grain truck 1946 3/4-ton pickup, 1953 1-ton pickup 1957 1-ton flatbed dually, 1954 Pontiac Straight Eight Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most!
Summer of 1962 I was hired by John Elliot, who ran a 1 man auto repair shop on the corner a block from my house. Mostly I cleaned up, chased parts, took cars back to customers, etc.
John had the ability to grab the top of a spark plug on a running car and hold on for a second or two.
About once a week he'd be working under the hood of a car and yell something like "Hey Bill, hand me a 9/16 wrench". I'd get one, walk over to the car and just as I was handing it to him he'd touch the plug with his other hand. Knock me on my butt. John would just laugh.
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12 '52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
My Dad had that ability. He would test to see if a house circuit was hot by touching it with his finger. As a kid He would test to see if our rototiller had spark by holding the spark plug wire and pulling the starter cord. He encouraged me to do the same and that was the last time I ever did that.
I have been zapped by plug wires and 120v AC power though. I shy away from doing that as I didn’t inherit that ability!
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
Well, I'm glad a few of you have similar stories about the Greatest Generation, I figured no one would believe me.
I have been zapped many times on cars and a few times on 120-volt home circuits, but the worst one was in a junky machine shop where the bridge crane and a plugged-in cut off saw. The crane and saw had the 440 3 phase wired different, had a hand on both of them when I got hit. Knocked the wind out of me and I landed on my back gasping. It burnt a small hole in each hand where the bone was closest to the metal. Thinking back, I was real lucky and quit that job the next morning but still ached in my arms and chest for a couple weeks.
Don
1967 GMC 9500 Fire Ladder Truck "The Flag Pole" In the Stovebolt Gallery 1946 2-Ton grain truck 1946 3/4-ton pickup, 1953 1-ton pickup 1957 1-ton flatbed dually, 1954 Pontiac Straight Eight Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most!
