Well, I've been out of the office for the past week because my engine
stand decided to take a short cut and drop my TR6 engine onto my foot.
I'm posting this story because there are alot of us backyard mechanics
on this list, and I'm hoping that this may help someone out there
avoid a pair of crutches that I didn't. Here's the story...
About a week ago, I was having a great day of engine work. I had
finished most of the assembly of the engine, so I rolled the engine
out onto the blacktop driveway and began to paint it. Time for lunch,
and I let the engine sit a bit to let it dry. After lunch, I went
back out and moved the engine to touch it up. Well, the front wheel
decided to stop rolling and the engine began to fall away from me.
Well, I (stupidly) wasn't going to let my baby hit the ground, so I
grabbed the 400 lbs (a guess) of cast iron and tried to pull it back
up. My hand slipped and, *WHAM*, one crushed foot. Luckily, I was
wearing some heavy leather work boots. If I hadn't had those on, I
may have had a lot more damage than a swollen foot. The condition of
my foot is surprisingly good. One bone may be cracked, but not
broken, with alot of soft tissue regeneration in progress. I am a
very *lucky* person.
What happened? Well, the weight of the engine, and a 70 degree day
let the small 3 inch diameter wheels of the stand sink into the
blacktop. So when I moved the engine, a wheel caught one of the
freshly made sink-holes and over the engine went. The next engine
stand I buy, (this one was borrowed) will be one with BIG wheels. If
I had been thinking and a little more careful, I might have avoided
all this, but maybe not. I did learn to jump back rather than try and
save the engine! :-)
The engine was undamaged. Amazing eh? Well, I had just put the
alternator bracket onto the block, (which is a very heavy piece of
iron) and that is what the engine landed on. (Well it landed on my
foot...) So the head did not get touched, nor did any parts with
seals or gaskets. What a break! (Uh, don't use that word...) I mean
what luck! Let's hear it for that british cast iron! yay! The most
painful part of this accident is that my car would be on the road
today if this hadn't happened. As of now, I'm where I was 10 days
ago. *sigh*. Of course, I can't wait to start working on the car
again. We learn from our mistakes and move on.
These things we work on, can be very dangerous indeed. I for one,
will always have my work boots on, even for an oil change. That oil
drain plug just might fall on my foot! Anyway, I just hope that my
misfortune can prevent an accident for one of you out there.
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This is a *weird* place - which is probably why I fit in.
Scott Paisley paisley@cme.nist.gov ..!uunet!cme-durer!paisley
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