Modifications you did when young and stupid...

[2011G6E]

Thought this might give people a few laughs, and bring back a few memories for the older amongst us *cough*...

What modifications have you/did you do many years ago when you were younger, that make you look back and ask yourself "What the hell were you thinking?"

I'll get the ball rolling:

* I fitted a HiClone type thing to a TE Cortina Rally Pack that we owned...took off the single throat Strommy and fitted the thing underneath it. Cost me about $45 at the time I seem to recall, the equivalent of maybe $150 plus now, close to what they charge for the useless things today. I ended up coming to my senses and fitting a damn Holley and manifold like a sensible human being and really picked up power and economy...

*We had a UC Sunbird, and I fitted a "spark enhancer" thing that a guy at the local show was selling. He had a six cylinder Valiant with one of these finned things on top of the dizzy...you unplugged the coil lead, stuck this thing in the coil lead hole in the dizzy cap, then plugged the coil lead into the top of that. It supposedly "enhanced and boosted" your spark...I should have damn well realised that you can't get more energy out of any system than you put in, so there is no way the thing could possibly work without an external power supply.

* Cutting the middle out of thermostats or just plain throwing them away to "increase the cooling flow of water" without knowing how vital it was to let the water stay in the block a while to actually pick up heat rather than let it fly through as quickly as possible...

* When very young and stupid, I remember knocking the guts out of a muffler with a crowbar because "a free flowing system will make heaps more power"...this was with the standard exhaust manifold and standard sized pipe...

* Fuel additives...I must have tried a few when I was young and making not a lot of money. You try anything to increase economy when you're tight...


I must say, I never went as far as welding up diffs (for a road car) or other similar mods...I soon learned better...


So come on, 'fess up, people...