Roger Walling

The first transmission that I had ever repaired was a 55 Chrysler automatic in a supermarket parking lot when I was 18. (I parked it way over in the corner out of view)

Then when I was in the Navy, I started to rebuild the engine. I had the heads placed on it when it was time for the hobby shop to close, so I pushed it outside and finished it in the dark with no flashlight. Drove it home the next day, 800 miles

LouieM

What with the buildings, buses and lot full of ordinary cars, this doesn't really look like a typical drag strip flog. Not sure why the spare(?) tire is on the ground for an engine problem.

elwood13

And why is the bottle jack out?

SJW

Cowl induction. I doubt he had any concerns about engine bay fumes on the dragstrip.

Live well,

SJW

RatDog

I’m glad I don’t have to do that kind of stuff anymore.

Getting old has has its advantages.

Steve

TCracingCA

I bet the Owner was upset, when he found stuff missing from his car!

59BlueSilver

Yes, me too! Working underneath on a dirt floor, freezing in the winter time, repairing cars in apartment parking lots, don’t miss it at all. Good memories though.

RatDog

It’s interesting how when we’re young, we have no money to fix a car but we have bodies limber and strong enough to do what needs to be done and then, as we get older, our bodies give out but our bank accounts are strong enough to take care of what we can’t do anymore.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Steve

Frankie the Fink

The fact that many of us were frugal enough when young to do our own fixes (house, car, lawnmowers, appliances) in harsh conditions allowed us to prosper so we can afford NOT to have to do those things now that we're older..

I worry about the millennials that can't seem to change a light bulb without consulting Google or Alexa...

I also laugh at those that take umbrage with some of us older folks that don't want to do the heavy work anymore after a lifetime of labor and will seek out a competent source to do it for us...

I guess we're missing out on a merit badge or something...

SkyDriver

Probably needed to unbolt the exhaust. However, I don't see the usual companion cinder blocks to go under the tires.

Back in my Navy days I replaced the clutch in my '66 big block roadster using the bottle jack/cinder block combo in the parking lot of my girlfriend's apartment building. Damn near got her evicted when the manager caught me.

27ssalc

👍 🇺🇸

Easy Rhino

I do not miss doing that kind of work.

At all.

426 Hemi

Some rest stop between Abilene and Fort Worth. 3:00 in the morning. Had to report to Carswell AFB for a follow up medical appointment. In uniform under a '68 Caprice supported by the bumper jack. Starter took a crap.

I thought that was the lowest moment in my life. I was soon to find out in a few hours that no-----that wasn't my lowest moment.

LouieM

This thread brings to mind my endless thrashing to keep my 1954 Rambler wagon, my first car, alive. I needed it to get to UCLA every morning and often had to work on it all night in the street beside the family apartment building in Hollywood. No joy, ever, until I sold the POS and got a slightly more reliable 1954 Ford.

Robert61

My guess, he made a few passes and is changing th heads to see what improvement he gets. The round ports did not flow as well as square ports. Crane sold heads that were called Fireball and if I remember correctly they had round exhausts. They could very well be either 492 angle plug or 292 turbo heads. The have accessory bolt holes and I can't imagine even back then buying a new pair of ported heads using any other casting. And fear not on the head gaskets that's a can of K&W block seal in the fore ground. He's got this!

Factoid

My first parking lot repair was changing the clutch in my ‘54 Chevy coupe in the Grand Union (grocery store) parking lot when I was in high school. Bought the clutch, pressure plate and TO bearing from Monkey Wards for $19.95.

My last was when I was working on my masters degree at Penn State Great Valley. The electric fuel pump in my Austin Healy with a Ford 5.0L engine died. Changed it in the parking lot on my back at night in 40 degree weather. Bitch of a job! Fuel ran down my arm and into my arm pit soaking my back, but she started right up and got me home.

corvetteed

100%

elwood13

The last parking lot repair I remember doing was on this car actually. Fuel pump went out at a small town convenience store. Had to get my brother in law to bring me a fuel pump. At least it was an easy job.

A couple of weeks ago at Lowe’s I saw some guys taking up two spots at the covered load and go spot. Not sure what they were doing to the Kia but the radiator along with half the front and top of the engine was laying in third spot. Can’t believe Lowe’s didn’t tow them out.

GUSTO14

Employee benefit perhaps?

Frankie the Fink

I'm surprised this spawned so much commentary. Wasn't that unusual "back in the day"; I lowered the upper control arms on my '66 Mustang fastback 1" (like the Shelbys) in the parking lot of our Alexandria, Va apartment... Had coil springs, spring compressors, tires and tools laying all over the place (on a tarp though)... the next day I ripped out the heater box and rebuilt it in the same spot.

Got a "talking to" from the building manager about it a couple of days later.....