I grew up in a rural area west of Miami Florida in an era where people let their dogs and cats run free and there were all sorts of other wild critters.
Garbage cans were made out of galvanized steel back then. Our garbage cans were left outside right under my bedroom window on a concrete pad, so I was awakened often in the middle of the night by an animal knocking over the cans for a free meal. I usually chased them away with my BB gun, but my grandfather had a better idea.
He gave me a genuine Model T Ford coil from his collection. The Model T had a 4 cylinder engine with the distributor on the primary side of 4 separate ignition coils. Each coil had it's own self vibrating breaker points built in. Apply 6 volts and you get a 1 inch continuous spark on the secondary. Apply a Lionel train transformer turned up all the way and you get a nuclear fireball. The poor dog that took a whizz on the can was never seen again.
I still had that coil when I left Florida 6 years ago, but haven't seen it since the move. I don't remember if I packed into a mystery box, or gave it away. It was a Ford original, not a modern copy. They were popular fence chargers in the days before CD ignition boxes.
A CD ignition box like the Delta Mark 10 (also marketed by Heathkit), an old car ignition coil, and a 555 timer chip makes for a simple but effective, fence charger, general purpose critter deterrent, or mischief maker.....just don't connect it to the doorknob at school when the principal is coming.
The CD ignition box steps the 12 volt car power up to over 350 volts, stores that in a Capacitor, and Discharges it into the 12 volt coil when the points open. This makes lightning bolts jump out of the secondary side of the coil.
Garbage cans were made out of galvanized steel back then. Our garbage cans were left outside right under my bedroom window on a concrete pad, so I was awakened often in the middle of the night by an animal knocking over the cans for a free meal. I usually chased them away with my BB gun, but my grandfather had a better idea.
He gave me a genuine Model T Ford coil from his collection. The Model T had a 4 cylinder engine with the distributor on the primary side of 4 separate ignition coils. Each coil had it's own self vibrating breaker points built in. Apply 6 volts and you get a 1 inch continuous spark on the secondary. Apply a Lionel train transformer turned up all the way and you get a nuclear fireball. The poor dog that took a whizz on the can was never seen again.
I still had that coil when I left Florida 6 years ago, but haven't seen it since the move. I don't remember if I packed into a mystery box, or gave it away. It was a Ford original, not a modern copy. They were popular fence chargers in the days before CD ignition boxes.
A CD ignition box like the Delta Mark 10 (also marketed by Heathkit), an old car ignition coil, and a 555 timer chip makes for a simple but effective, fence charger, general purpose critter deterrent, or mischief maker.....just don't connect it to the doorknob at school when the principal is coming.
The CD ignition box steps the 12 volt car power up to over 350 volts, stores that in a Capacitor, and Discharges it into the 12 volt coil when the points open. This makes lightning bolts jump out of the secondary side of the coil.
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The stuff you come up with!
My father had a Mark Ten and installed it in his V8 cars; I'm sure tried it on his boat as well. I actually recall that schematic. Little did I realize at the time those two transistors with the transformer held the key to getting MORE POWER out of an audio amplifier, than was possible simply with a straight connection to +12V.
I can actually remember looking, so curiously looking at the transformer part - an encased, circular black thing - as if something was trying to punch through saying "here ya go, kid!".
Unfortunately, I wasnt able to put two 'n two together - and the world flew past!
My father had a Mark Ten and installed it in his V8 cars; I'm sure tried it on his boat as well. I actually recall that schematic. Little did I realize at the time those two transistors with the transformer held the key to getting MORE POWER out of an audio amplifier, than was possible simply with a straight connection to +12V.
I can actually remember looking, so curiously looking at the transformer part - an encased, circular black thing - as if something was trying to punch through saying "here ya go, kid!".
Unfortunately, I wasnt able to put two 'n two together - and the world flew past!
I had one installed on the flathead six in my 1949 Plymouth. My first car, also given to me by my grandfather.
One of my first mods was to swap out that 6 volt battery and generator for a 12 volt battery and an alternator. Why? so I could put in a 12 volt stereo system. The hot rod mods came later after I blew up the flattie twisting it to 5200 RPM. The "redline" was 3600.
A teenage kid will try to hotrod anything. Chainsaw engine and DIY two speed trans on my go cart, yes. A Yamaha 100 CC motorcycle engine on a bicycle, did that too.....didn't end well, nobody was seriously hurt though......
Working in a TV/video/audio repair shop, we had access to plenty of cool things.
That lazy counter guy that I mentioned in post #881 was a focus of our mischief.
Perhaps you all know about the high voltage part of a tv set - the kind with a picture tube?
The flyback transformers can generate 20 to 30,000 or more volts, at low current.
Once he dozed off in his chair, we carefully clipped a wire to the metal chair frame, poured some water on the floor near his feet, and...... ZAP!
Ya never saw a guy wake up so fast!
That lazy counter guy that I mentioned in post #881 was a focus of our mischief.
Perhaps you all know about the high voltage part of a tv set - the kind with a picture tube?
The flyback transformers can generate 20 to 30,000 or more volts, at low current.
Once he dozed off in his chair, we carefully clipped a wire to the metal chair frame, poured some water on the floor near his feet, and...... ZAP!
Ya never saw a guy wake up so fast!
Such a sad story. If her passing not a warning, I don't know what is.
And to answer the OP -- yes, at least in the case of this person. I actually read a good portion of this thread, which certainly qualifies me for being "more stupid".
That's the reason it didn't take long for me to remove the perfectly working and usable AC system from my first car, a 1973 Chevrolet El Camino. Next, I installed Hooker Headers, Edelbrock manifold, recurved distributor with electronic ignition (no more ignition points) and a Carter AFB carburetor. That car went from a gas guzzler to 22 mpg with 3:08 gears. And, most importantly, it would burn rubber when I floored it.
My 1973 GMC Vandura had an HEI distributor. Common GM literature states the HEI wasn't available until 1974. Over the years I owned the van I always had trouble getting the correct parts for it, especially engine and transmission parts.
I came to know and understand the Turbohydramatic 350 transmission quite well since a built 350 on one end, a 3800 pound conversion van on the other end and my right foot in the middle, caused it to have a short unhappy life. I rebuilt it three times in 120,000 miles.
About the time that I parted out the van in 1979, I came to realize that it was a late production 1973 model year build that contained mostly 1974 parts. The engine went into my 1968 Camaro (I killed the 327), the trans went into a friend's Monza......
The old Shagmobile had no problem dusting my friend's 1982 Trans Am (easy) or another friends 1976 Corvette (he would catch me near the 1/4 mile mark).
I inadvertently got a zap from a CRT. I thought I could just use a screw driver to short the anode to ground. Most of the current arced to ground, but some of that 27kV made it to my arm. Not fun lol
I had a TH350 in my 77 Impala. It also had a 400SB from a Chevelle... When the transmission died, I got it replaced - with one from a VAN. That car was a slow POS after that. I was gonna put in a 700R4, but I seized the engine before that happened.
Doesn’t surprise me..... after ‘73/‘74 hp ratings dropped fast and by 82 that trans am was pathetic at best with like 150hp 305cui
"The old Shagmobile had no problem dusting my friend's 1982 Trans Am (easy) or another friends 1976 Corvette (he would catch me near the 1/4 mile mark)."
Those Shagmobile's could be surprisingly quick!
I reached driving age right at the end of the Mustang, Camaro, Road Runner, Cuda, etc. era. Still love all those cars...
Those Shagmobile's could be surprisingly quick!
I reached driving age right at the end of the Mustang, Camaro, Road Runner, Cuda, etc. era. Still love all those cars...
I believe that all the TH350's were pretty much the same internally. Those installed in slugmobiles had less clutch plates in the packs and thinner bands to reduce friction, weight, and cost, but those differences didn't affect acceleration that much. The real difference was in the torque converter. A van being heavy had a tight torque converter being nearly fully engaged by 2000 RPM or less. On the second rebuild I swapped out that stock converter for one pulled from a Monte Carlo that was equipped with a turbocharged Buick V6. Plant your foot on the throttle of the torque monster inside the built 350 and the RPM flashed to nearly 3000 and the tires were trying their best to cope with the torque overdose. This swap alone took nearly a second off the quarter mile time.....but also took between 1 to 2 MPG off my city driving mileage....a dismal 10 MPG if I let little old ladies pass me up, 8 to 9 if I chose to hunt Mustangs.
I bought it used and cheap with a sick engine. Autopsy revealed a exhaust cam lobe worn nearly flat causing severe backfiring through the carb. The plastic timing chain gear was also shot (common failure mode in those years). So if you need to change the cam, and take the intake manifold off......I got a Crower Baja Torquemaster cam "made for vans, trucks and heavy cars" an Edelbrock Torker manifold, a medium size Holley carb, and some long tube headers. Had the heads reworked too.
I believe that was the exact specs of that turd. It was the first new car my friend had ever bought. Coming from his college car, a hand me down Oldsmobile, it felt nice...until people kept smoking him at stop lights. My van was a toss up in a race between myself and a friends 1974 Road Runner with a stock 360 engine.
A few years back I bought a Harbor Freight electric fence charger, it hurt pretty bad, but not near as much as the old Model T coil.
I had a high school friend/fiend with a Model T coil just like the one you described. He had a scheme to hook it up to the locker bay, but after "sampling" the spark myself, I wouldn't assist, we would not have had any friends left after that prank.
An official, as in "instructor designed and approved" school shop project when I was in 9th grade was a hot dog cooker. The cooker basically consisted of a heat formed plexiglass shroud and a 120v line cord soldered to brass nails. Stick the nails in either end of the dog, plug in, and let "old sparky" do the work.
With educators like that, lucky the school and more homes weren't burned to the ground. That said, the "hot dog electrocuter" was soon taken out of the curriculum.
Art
Climatologists certainly take natural effects such as volcano eruptions into account, see AR5 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2014 — IPCC
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Too bad there isn't video of that! Geez, crazy kids those days!
I have the 4 photos from the newspaper. The photog was there to snap the pretty kites and got more than he expected.
Yawing one way
Yawing the the other
The end of the leading edge pole hitting the girl.
Her laying on the ground with concerned citizens trying to see if she was hurt.
Turns out she was with her aunt who had been dragging her, running with the crowd. The aunt apparently kept running as she wasn’t near the girl when the people were gathered around. That aunt probably was never allowed to supervise the girl again!
I was the high school Science Club president so we were afraid our club sponsor teacher was going to lose his job since he was there.
I found a model T coil with the interruptor in the middle school science lab. Hooked it to a 2 pan balance and then asked another student ( one who couldn’t beat me up) to see “what was wrong with the scale” he jumped pretty high. I was only recently thinking how he could have had a heart attack. It was stupid.
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