After reading Paul’s story about the Olds 88, and the gasoline bath he suffered when refueling one, I got to thinking about my own history of ingesting gasoline. When I was growing up in the 1960s, for some strange reason my father felt that I needed to know how to siphon gasoline out of the family car. This was so that I could fill up the 1 gallon gas can we used to keep the lawn mower going. I can still remember his showing me how to suck on the end of a plastic tube that was inserted into the filler neck of the family cars gas tank. (A 1965 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.) My father’s name for a siphon hose was an “Oklahoma Credit Card.”
For those readers who have never had the joy of siphoning gasoline I will just say that if you did it right you got a lung full of gas fumes. If you did it wrong you got the fumes plus a mouth full of gas. What an awful feeling that was.
Gas doesn’t have a taste as such, but it sure has an terrible mouth feel. Oily, flammable, and it used to contain lead just to make things totally disgusting. I still remember spitting and spitting and still having the gas residue in my mouth for another half an hour or so. Way back when I think I only had to engage in this bit of automotive fun a dozen times or so, but the memory sure has stayed with me all these years. And I have not siphoned gas since those bad old days. I should also mention that back in the old days before cars got complicated it was very easy to snake a siphon hose into a auto gas tank. Now I imagine it is a bit harder to do on a modern car; or not?
While I am on the subject of stupid things to do with gasoline I should probably also mention the time back in 1976 when I was in Aircraft Mechanic school. A few of my classmates and I were repairing a Cessna 150 at the local airport, and after we were done we found ourselves with greasy hands, and the nearest place to clean up was quite a ways away. So I just reached down under the belly of the plane and squirted some av-gas onto my hands to clean off the grease. And av-gas has even more lead in it than auto gas did back then. When I think about some of the things I did back then I just shake my head and thank my stars that I did not do anything stupid and fatal. Just stupid was enough.
All of which leads me to ask you, the readers of Curbside Classic if any of you have ever done anything to cause you a maximum about of distress when it comes to gasoline. Have you ever take a gas bath like Paul did when he was working at that gas station? Did you ever end up with a mouth full of gas when you were siphoning out a gallon from the family station wagon? Let us know, and we can all shake our heads at the folly of youth. In this case the youth that was us.
Far too many times to count working on motorcycles. I’ve broken more quick connectors than I care to mention, and got doused with fuel every time (they serve as the cutoff valve in an EFI system, break them and the fuel comes pouring out).
I’ve never drunk fuel (that’s what pump siphons are for) but I have tasted battery acid. I taste test leaks to determine their origin (coolant is sweet, brake/steering/clutch fluid is astringent, motor oil is neutral or burnt, etc). Bad habit I picked up while working as a mechanic. Well one time it looked like coolant but tasted like rancid orange juice tinged with intense regret. Oops.
Back in the day, not only would I inadvertently end up with gas on my hands while working on motorcycles, I purposely utilized it as a handy de-greaser when I finished the task.
Dad taught me to use fresh motor oil for the same purpose.
A few times,my brother and I were dating a brother and sister in the late 70s.My brother had an export Triumph Bonneville with a stylish but tiny tank,my date rode a Harley Sportster with an even smaller tank.Petrol tastes awful,only swallowed once and was violently sick,always spat it out after.
Other than attempting to siphon the unused gas out of my ’63 Fairlane and nearly vomiting for my trouble, I don’t have any interesting stories. I did get a phone call one night from a convenience store while working the night shift for a Comdata-like company a few years ago.
A driver had given his fuel card to the cashier so he could fill up and managed to spill diesel fuel on himself, his truck, and the ground. Somehow, it caught fire and to make a gruesome story a little shorter, the nearby hospital sent a helicopter to take him to the emergency room. I had to call his dispatch to tell them, but I never did find out what happened to him.
Once I siphoned out of a box truck that I was selling. It was going to be cut up, and there was 20 gallons of fuel in there, so why not take it out?
I tried the hose, but ended up reeling back at the fumes in the lungs. I later saw that the tank had a bottom drain plug. It’s safe to say that I went that route!
Never again!
The trick is use a clear plastic hose and only suck untill gravity can take over siphoning is quite easy if you do it right.
Exactly what I was thinking.
I don’t think I ever needed to siphon fuel. However, I would say if the tube was clean to start with, and you seal the end you suck on till you are ready to, then there should be a minimum of gas (petrol) vapors in the tube to get into your lungs.
In theory you are correct. But I would like to point out that a “minimum of vapors” sure seems like a lot when those vapors are inside you.
And it takes a serious amount of sucking to get the liquid up the hose. I am sure those people who might do this a lot are good at it. I never did it a lot, so I never got good at it. Not that I wanted to be good at it.
An alternative theory would be to have a long syphon tube, long enough to push enough in an fill with fuel, then plug the end and pull out till you have liquid fuel outside of the tank, then lower this till it will run out into your fuel can. No sucking required.
The only way I would and have ever done it.
I was born in 1989 so gas has never been cheap enough to waste by using it to wash hands and since I was born in 1989 not only were we taught about the environment and how awesome it is in school we also had to sit through classes telling us how bad drugs including huffing are. Think it was because I lived in New York, but Love Canal was mentioned several times during Environmental Science class.
Anyway, on a more serious note, I have only used paint thinner, dish soap (with or without Phosphorous), and/or Pumace infused liquid soap to wash my hands after dirty work. If I get something on me like Black Walnut juice or spray paint I just give up and do not try getting that stuff off since you would need to belt sand your skin. My dad is an EMT Firefighter so he is more serious about safety when it comes to things. Also fumes really really bother me so that is another reason I try to avoid them.
Imagine when we are old farts and we tell the youngins about how we used to do all this “normal” stuff with gas.
“we also had to sit through classes telling us how bad drugs including huffing are
I remember D.A.R.E. growing up in Minnesota in the early 90’s myself. My friends and I joke about how we knew nothing about drugs before those useless classes. I remember at the time thinking “you mean there is more than one!?” lol. Good intentions with unexpected concequences.
The retired Cop who was going to teach the D.A.R.E class at my high school had some type of cancer (they lived) so I went through an improvised drug education class taught by teachers instead. In 6th grade we were shown a poster board with little samples of drugs behind windows. Angel Dust, Meth, Coke, etc. a local cop brought in.
I remember that from 6th grade!
We did that event off-site from school so we needed to bring a lunch that day. I remember them giving us detentions for bringing in caffeinated sodas for lunch that day as they wanted us to be “completely drug free”.
lol
Around 1968 in health and safety class a police officer brought in around a pound of pot and showed it to the class, gave us a big bud to pass around and look at, (it did make it back to the cop), and then he burned a small pile of it in the class room so we would know what it smelled like. We were told it was old and wouldn’t get us high.
I was always pretty cynical, even as a kid, so despite being born in 88 and having the same curriculum I never took things like DARE seriously, in fact I used those inconsequential lectures to screw around in class, which once landed me in detention for not paying attention. The irony of course being I’d pretty much be their model dare success story, I don’t do drugs, I don’t smoke, I barely even drink. Yet the only things I ever asked were “how fast are the police cars” and “what kind of guns do you have” which my friends I still had from that class joked about all the way through high school. Most of the boy scouts of that class though, the ones who asked all the “right questions”, did the DARE homework, got to pet the K9 for getting 100% on the quizes they gave us, yeah, lets just say by high school they weren’t exactly upstanding DARE success stories.
And yes, I never heard of any specific drugs before DARE. I think the ones who were officer friendly’s pets made a list of things to try.
I guess it’s a sign of the brain damage that I can’t really remember the number of times I’ve tasted gasoline or any of the particular reasons. I’ve never had a whole mouthful though….just dozens of ‘tongue touchs’ over the years. I’ve never tasted anti-freeze, but for some forgotten reason I have tasted battery acid. I seem to recall it as tingly, sour, and slippery, but not as nasty as gasoline, except for the fact you are aware that battery acid would enjoy removing your tongue if you gave it the chance. Gasoline on the other hand, has a taste that lingers…
My first motorized vehicle was a Hercules MK 4 with a 50cc 2 stroke Sachs engine. It was a great moped. Actually they called it a Mokick because it had a kick starter and footrests like real motorcycles. It was handed down from my dad who just purchased his very first car.
Anyway, that day I was going to go to my dancing lessons. But the Hercules did not run right. 2 cycle engines deposit a sooty mass on the inner walls of the muffler and at some point that restricts the exhaust flow so bad the engine won’t run. You fix that by burning out the soot with a propane torch which I did not have, or you soak the muffler in gasoline and then you set fire to it. I pulled the muffler off the moped, poured gasoline into the muffler and shook it around. Then I lighted a match. (Pause, to get your imagination going).
Poufff! it went. There was a huge flash flame going across the whole driveway at about knee height. My heart dropped to the same level. It took 3 or 4 seconds and it was over. The fumes burned out and it was over, nothing caught on fire. But I am still shocked just thinking about it.
I got the muffler burnt out and put together in time to go to the dancing lesson.
Wolfgang, I’m glad that story has a happy ending. Wen I got to the part about the flash flame running across the driveway, I figured the ending would be something like, “… and this is why I am called The Man in the Iron Mask,” or “…and this is why I am unable to be a parent.” You scared me for a moment there…
It scared me to death too and it made me much more careful.
A year or two later the Hercules MK 4 tried to keep me from having my family. Have a good look at this picture (found on the web) of that nice moped. See the seat? See the tank? It is not good for the family jewels when the bike stops under you as in an impact.
By the way I am married and we have two sons.
Had a similar experience on my 70 Honda 450. When I got it the gas cap hinge was “fixed” with a rusty nail, pointed upwards. About a month before this incident happened, I found out there was a recall on these cap assemblies and I had mine replaced. I was in heavy traffic going about 30 mph when I saw a coil spring from a car rolling around the street. The MGB in front of me rolled over it with it’s rear tire and it shot out in front of me, the front tire of my bike hit a coil and lifted up the front wheel, then the rear tire did the same and slammed down the front end and pitched up the rear and I landed on the gas cap with my jewels. The bike was undamaged and I stayed upright throughout. Was really glad that rusty nail had been removed!
I would have called it a dancing lesson learned after that.
Had a similar experience using lacquer thinner on a hot summer day…….setting it on fire doesn’t help with wasps btw.
I suppose the wasps are better dancing teachers than the flash flame. The only body part that moved was my jaw and it was down.
We used a lot of gasoline killing wasps and yellow jackets as we cleared 12 acres of pasture back when I was in high school.
It took nearly burning down the well pump house to realize we didn’t need to actually set the gasoline on fire to kill the critters (much to my male 15 year old chagrin).
Taste? Ha! Try snorting it. And I don’t mean huffing the fumes, either. I once had a job that involved, among other things, fuel system testing. Often the jobs would specify high vapor pressure fuel. In this case, it was fill performance testing (filling the gas tank). The trouble was, if you pumped the fuel into some kind of tank for the gas pump to draw from, the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) would drop so much it would be out of spec. So I took a large ball valve and screwed it into the drum the fuel was delivered in, with a quick connect on the other side of the valve. Then I could just hook the hose from the pmp to the valve, tip barrel cart horizontal, and run the test. When done, tip the cart back vertical and disconnect. No loss of RVP, and no spills. Genius!
One day I had a partial barrel on the floor (in the vertical position). At the end of the day I was checking to make sure everything was safe and secure. The ball valve was still on the barrel for the next day’s test, and I noticed a litte fuel sitting on top of the closed valve. Oh let me just open the valve a little and let it run back in. Remember that whole high RVP thing? Think shook-up can of root beer. Cracked the valve while looking straight down the barrel. FFSSSSTTTTT! Up my nose into my sinuses, in my eyes, in my mouth, etc. Idiot!
I was smelling and tasting it for days.
Two stories for you, although none really that long or that entertaining I’m sure.
First, I’m sure everyone has used gasoline to aid in starting a yard debris fire. Quick, efficient, and usually gets the job done. Well, I was privileged enough to assist in a similar endeavor where instead of gasoline, diesel fuel was used. Granted, the stuff doesn’t have quite the inflammability that gasoline does. However, once it starts to burn, back up quick. We must have overloaded the pile of leaves with the fuel as once the flame hit what had soaked into the pile, it didn’t ignite so much as explode (with a rather interesting concussion I might add…). Took a few weeks to regrow the hair on my eyebrows…
The second story involved sampling that oh-so-fine concoction known as E-85. I had a habit of putting the stuff into vehicles clearly NOT marked to support it, including a motorcycle. Normally I don’t have too much trouble doing so, but the motorcycle (a Honda Shadow 750) wouldn’t have any part of it. Barely got it home. Anyway, I had to siphon the stuff out and refill it with regular gasoline to drive it again. Needless to say, I managed to get more E-85 on my clothes and in my mouth than back into the spare can I was using. Never again… Gasoline is no picnic, but I honestly think that E-85 burns far worse when inadvertently ingested, never mind the intense gastric distress that followed.
As always, thanks to everyone for sharing these great stories.
You’re not the only one who uses diesel fuel as kindling.
A friend has a log cabin in West Virginia. He spent several days chopping brush and piling it in the middle of a small field so that he could burn it later. He eventually had a pile over 6′ tall and at least 25′ across. He wanted to make sure it would burn, so he soaked it in diesel fuel. For some reason, he thought he needed a lot, so he poured 5 gallons of diesel fuel on the pile o’ brush.
It didn’t ignite explosively, but once it started burning, it burned so hot we couldn’t stand anywhere near it. Flames leapt above the treetops. I’m convinced that fire was visible from the space station.
It wasn’t until then that we thought through how much energy is stored in 5 gallons of diesel. Enough to haul a tractor trailer for what, 50 miles or so? Lesson learned: A little fuel oil goes a long way.
I finally learned (the hard, singed eyebrows way) that mineral spirits makes the best accelerant – fumes don’t explode, and it lights easy and burns hot.
Never done that, but I like the smell of gasoline.
Years ago, gasoline had a wondefrul smell. This stuff we have today, however, has an acrid chemical smell, AND stings the skin upon contact…..or maybe its just the golden glow of memory rthat’s causing me to think this! 🙂
I was thinking the same thing. There was nothing I loved more as a kid in the early 60s than smelling the gasoline fumes when the pump jockey filled my mother’s Oldsmobile. I don’t think the smell is the same today. Lead must have smelled better than we knew. 🙂
For your outdoor power equipment (and for any vehicles that sit for a long time), go buy alcohol-free gas. Check http://www.pure-gas.org for a station near you.
It still smells like gasoline used to. Ahhhh, good times, good memories!
The stuff at the pump now smells like paint thinner to me.
And the alcohol-free stuff will last for months/years, unlike pump gas.
The one that comes to mind was when I was rebuilding a Holley 4bbl. I had just taken the carb off the vehicle and set it on the bench. For what ever reason I needed to turn the carb upside down and when I did the fuel in the bowls came pouring out into my crotch. I could not get inside, get may pants and underwear off quick enough to get into the shower.
I have had a couple mouthfuls siphoning, as most guys my age have, and have used gas as a great degreaser/hand cleaner.
Never had a gas bath, but once 40 years ago I had a job installing lubricating equipment, and had a bath of 85W-90 gear oil. Worse than gas, because slimy and stinky!
Only thing I can think of is worse, is getting covered in burnt, used gear oil. Had it happen to me many times repairing stern drives on boats. The units are sealed and when gear oil is burned, tremendous pressure is built up inside. It will shoot like a geyser when you pull the drain plug.
I’ve never tasted it. Like Bryce said above, I just get it started and let gravity take over. A little pull or two is all I do.
However, I have been doused with it a few times, but nothing major. My ongoing concern is getting it in my eyes especially when wearing my contact lenses.
A tangential story about kerosene: My great-grandmother swore by using kerosene as a home remedy. Cut yourself? Douse it in kerosene. Have a cough? Mix some sugar with some kerosene and swallow it. My mother said she didn’t dare cough around her grandmother as she said the sugar and kerosene mixture is wretched.
Growing up on a farm, I have gotten my hands into a lot of oil, grease, gasoline and diesel fuel.
My 71 Riviera had the fuel filler behind the rear license plate as I recall. I do not think that I ever had a problem with fuel coming out of the tank or the hose not staying in. That was a long time ago though.
I also remember what gasoline tastes like, for exactly the same reason – siphoning it from the family car for the lawnmower or the garden tractor.
Same here. My father felt this was a skill that young boys should learn. He had a siphon hose with a squeeze bulb on it so that you didn’t have to suck to prime it, but I do remember sucking on a hose at least once.
Siphoning worked on our ’69 Cutlass, but we had no success on our ’79 Cutlass. By then GM was putting some sort of obstruction in the neck of the gas tank to prevent it. During the gas crises of the 70s, stories circulated about ne’er-do-wells stealing gasoline by siphoning fuel. Maybe those were just urban legends, but we assumed that’s why newer cars were designed to block siphoners.
I remember my Dad doing this in the 70’s or 80’s (When I was a child and later a teen) and it always struck me as mad. I think I tried it once and never again. Nowadays I wouldn’t do it for any reason.
BOTH! And anyone that has worked on old cars for long has had at least one or the other.
I bought an OK credit card several years ago that had a valve and an inline squeeze pump on one end. It worked great until the second time I used it and the pump sprung a leak.
For some reason, when I think of gas bath, I think of this. ^^;
For me, siphoning gas reminds me of the death of the most famous rock n roll musician possibly killed by mobsters, Bobby Fuller. The official cause of death was ingestion of gasoline.
Ditto, too many times to count. The gadget with the bellows and check-valve works VASTLY better than sucking. I don’t know why it wasn’t commonly available earlier. It’s not digital hi-tech!
I used to love the smell of gasoline as a kid, driving by a gas station was as good as driving by bakery. Who’d have thought it would taste so bad though! Yes, working on cars, naturally I’ve siphoned it, and once had a bath in it when I disconnected a “full” filler tube from a gas tank. not pleasant. Still love the smell though, not to the extent of huffing, but enough to not mind filling up at gas stations(other than the cost).
Accidentally taking a gulp of gasoline happened to me once when I was little. I wanted to take a bit out of the lawnmower to start a bonfire so me and the girls could have some fun. That all ended when I was rushed to the local ER with a bad case of the barfsies.
Growing up in the 50’s & 60s when gas gauges were not that accurate and usually ran out before empty I have tasted, swallowed and generally have had a few cocktails of gas, plus other carbon based liquids. Working on motorcycles for 30 yrs later I finally started using a boat hose with hand pump, but when that wouldn’t syphon gas out of some tanks, I learned to use my air hose with a flexible nozzle and rags stiffed around a hose in the tank, pressurizing the tank and gas comes out the hose under pressure.
Now…on the stupid things done with gas; how about trying to start a coal furnace fire with gas? When I was 17 we had a coal furnace (like the one in Christmas story) and it was notorious for being hard to start; if you didn’t have dry wood kilning or lots of cardboard, a fire starting liquid was the best way. Dad had kerosene he would use but not always available; so I would use gas, not the best as far as safety; and if one dose wasn’t enough throw another one in before the fire dies down with a little glass jar and be sure you take the 2 gallon gas can to the corner of the basement, just to be safe ya know. Well gas can burn almost invisible inside a glass jar. How do I know? “The last thing I remember Doc” is pouring gas out of the can into the jar; then everything was fire, screaming and running up stairs (probably saved my life, flames went backward) and going to the hospital with third degree burns over 30% of my body and 2nd over 50% two months in hospital, skin graffs, bandage replaced twice a day, not fun.
You would think after all that I would have nothing to do with gas ever again, but have been tinkering with cars, motorcycles, boats and anything else that ran on the stuff, but never again tried to start furnaces with it!
Managed to get a mouthful of ‘dead’ gas out of an old Ford truck once…man that stuff burns bad!
I have not read all the responses. This topic may have been covered. I am 69. Grew up in the 50’s and 60’s (still trying to grow up). We used to siphon gasoline for numerous reasons. Sometimes it went well others it ended up in the mouth. A number of years ago I read an article that stated you could contract chemical pneumonia from gasoline.
This is from the internet: Chemical Pneumonia Overview
Chemical pneumonia is an unusual type of lung irritation. Pneumonia usually is caused by a bacteria or virus. In chemical pneumonia, inflammation of lung tissue is from poisons or toxins. Only a small percentage of pneumonias are caused by chemicals.
Many substances can cause chemical pneumonia, including liquids, gases, and small particles, such as dust or fumes, also called particulate matter. Some chemicals only harm the lungs; however, some toxic materials affect other organs in addition to the lungs and can result in serious organ damage or death.
Here is the web site:http://www.webmd.com/lung/chemical-pneumonia?print=true#0
I never siphoned gas or any chemicals since.
We also used DDT, chased mercury around on the floor when a thermometer broke, handled asbestos in brake shoes, chewed lead paint, put lead tinsel on the Christmas Tree, had our shoe fit checked with a Fluoroscope (xrays), floated around inside cars with no seat belts. Life has changed. We are now so protected. (And many of us were sprayed by Agent Orange).
Gas is also bad for your gums; that’s what the periodontist said before he started to cut into my gums; do not syphon gas, not good for you.:-)
I’ve accidentally gotten a mouthful of gasoline siphoning it before. Also saved old gas from the tank of a parts car and use it as parts cleaner solvent. My Chryslers have the fuel filler neck behind the license plate, so I always have to watch and listen when the tank is close to full, so I don’t dump any on the ground.
All gas stations in Ontario have removed the tabs from the nozzles that lock them on, so you can’t leave them unattended (unless you stuff the gas cap into the trigger).
My old van had a drain petcock on the radiator that was hidden behind part of the vehicle frame so it was inaccessible. If you needed to drain the coolant you had to undo the clamp on the lower rad hose and wiggle it loose so it drained into the catch pan from there. I wiggled it too far one time, the hose popped right off, and I got a face full of coolant. Yuck!
There’s a couple locally that still have the tabs, I think the Husky by McMaster University is one.
Luckily my father had a siphon hose with it’s own suction pump, so my teen siphoning days did not involve gasoline ingestion.
However I have been to China, and have had Moutai which smells like gas and I imagine tastes like it too…
Closest I ever came was giving the pump handle a full squeeze when filling a 1-gallon gas can. The gas hit the bottom and splashed out the hole and I got a face full of gas (and yeah, some in my mouth but not a full mouthful). Glad I was wearing glasses, too. Never made that mistake again.
LOL ~ you can’t be an older Mechanic and not have suffered a few gas baths .
Some vehicles have designs that make it a near certainty to get one on some jobs , I used to tie a CLEAN RAG AROUND MY WRIST ON THOSE JOBS BECAUSE THE GASOLINE RUNS DOWN YOUR ARM (damn caps lock) and into your armpit quickly .
This new ” motor fuel ” crap we have is poisonous so I’m *very* careful when setting up a siphon hose these days .
-Nate
It sure doesn`t taste like chicken
Lol… totally. And the gas burps the rest of the afternoon. Yuck.
In the mid 70,s I was 15 and some of us neighborhood boys would poole our meager funds to go cruising around town on Saturday night in my buddy,s 64 Fairlane. One guy said his mom just sold her Rambler wagon but the lady won’t be coming for it till Sunday and it has over a half a tank of gas in it. Well hallaloula! Let’s just suck that gas out and put it in the Failane. Like AMOZONRAY here my dad had shown me how so there’d be no excuses for not mowing the lawn! So I volunteered to do it. I ended up sucking a mouth full ramming some into my lungs. I choked coughed puked and spat for 15 minutes. They laughed their asses off while burped gas fumes the rest of the night! Never again. As an aside I did learn to put a rag around the hose and blow into the tank and let the back pressure push the gas out. However Now I have a good job and a real credit card.
I’ve had two really unpleasant experiences with gas.
1. I was working on my ’77 Power Wagon, and it was running badly, and I couldn’t figure out why. I got desperate and put it up on the lift where I worked and found the fuel line had been hit by a rock and partially crushed. I went to the dealer to get a new line, and when I came back, I was removing the old one, and it just broke in two, giving me a shower in gas. The tank was full, so it had a pretty heavy spray, and I got soaked. My armpits and groin felt like they were on fire. After I got the spray stopped with a pair of vice grips, I got the new line put on, and then put a couple of garbage bags on the seats, and drove home to take a shower, and wash my uniform. I had some kind of ointment that I had bought but never used before, so I put it on, thinking it would help take the burn out of my pits and groin. I can’t remember the name of it, but it turned out I was allergic to it, and it was way worse than the gas was. I had to take a freezing cold shower to wash it off. A horrible day.
2. But not as bad as the second time. I had a ’79 Trans Am that had some sort of fuel starvation issue. It ran ok when it was cold, but when it got hot out, it would surge and buck like crazy. I had done just about everything to it that I or anyone else could think of, and it still had this issue for over a year. I had a Holley electric pump as a crutch, making the problem tolerable, but I wasn’t happy. Camaros and Firebirds have a couple of rubber “joints” in the fuel lines. One is near the tank, and another is along the side of the car. These rubber hoses deteriorate and so they need to be replaced ever so often, so in July of 1984, I’m replacing them. The one on the side was no problem, and so I moved to the back of the car to replace the ones going to and from the electric pump. I did the one from the pump outlet without an issue, but when I pulled off the hose from the tank to the pump inlet, I got a huge surprise! Instead of the weak stream I had seen the last time I changed those hoses, I got a huge spray, right into my nose, eyes, and mouth. After flailing around for a few minutes, I was able to get the flow stopped. My driveway had a river of gas going down it onto the street and my next door neighbor called 911 to have the fire dept come out and wash it away, and to make sure I was ok too, as I was puking up what I had eaten a half hour before. So they firemen arrived and they helped me out and then washed the gas away. I went into the house and took about a half hour shower and then came out, ran the new rubber hose back to the original way, bypassing the electric pump, and took it for a test drive, thinking the surging issue had been solved, probably due to the injector cleaner that had been added to fuel about that time. At 90 degrees outside, it finally ran like it had after I had some major mods done a couple of years previously. I went to a nearby store and parked up against the wall and let it cook to get it really hot, and then took it up to well over 120 MPH to see if there were any problems. It was cured! Almost worth the pain and nausea I went through. I stupidly sold it in 1986, but recently, it’s back on the road. It needs paint, but it sounds great, and I’m hoping I can talk the guy I sold it to into letting me drive it, just for old time’s sake.
Did that many a time for the lawnmower. Tried siphoning my moms Toyota and got a mouthful of regular, but siphoning my dad’s 69 GTO Judge with Premium, I have developed a palate for 98 octane premium! Never had a gas bath though! Just wanted to make sure the gas was all the way at the end of the hose, and got a mouthful everytime! I also remember my dad sending me to the gas station with a quarter and a gallon gas can, and it was filled, and I still got 4 cents back in change (which I promptly spent on firecrackers!) Thanks for the memories!
Hey Dave thanks for the fond memory. My dad gave me 2 quarters and a two gallon can to walk a mile into town and back for gas on a two lane hwy. I was 8 and remember switching hands when my arm got tired. You’re right things were different then.
When I was young and foolish we would burn brush in the ditch behind the house. A task we learned from Dad. The ditch was about 4ft. deep and wide and we would fill it level with brush and leaves etc. then splash some gas on it to get it started. Well one time it burned for a few minutes and went out so I grabbed the 2 gallon gas can and walked out onto the pile and liberally splashed the entire contents around on the pile. I tossed the empty can across the yard and walked off the pile turning to strike a match when WOOMPH. It went up in a huge fireball leaving the book of matches in my hand lit. I lost my eye lashes, eye brows and bangs. My face was also bright red for several days. Only a reflex blink saved my eyes.
Another time on a cold winter day I passed by the neighbour’s house and he was under his car with a propane torch. I offered to help with whatever he was doing and it sounded reasonable at the time. Remember young and foolish. The fuel line on his car was frozen and he was warming it with the torch. After a while without success we disconnected the line at the front and back and tried blowing through it. Nothing, definitely frozen somewhere. I was under the front of the car and he was at the back so we would heat the line as far as we could reach and pass the torch back and forth. I had the torch in hand when I suddenly felt the back of my neck get wet. If there was a distance record for tossing a propane torch while laying on your back under a car I broke it that day. We got the car running though.
That was my brush with a Darwin Award. On hot summer days as kids we would break the tar bubbles on the road with our toes and often came home with black feet. Get the gas the kids were at it again.
We always used gas to clean parts, tools and hands. Laquer thinner and varsol later became the go to cleaners before we smartened up.
But ya know, we all lived through it. We found out the hard way how much energy gasoline has stored in it. I lost my eyebrows many a time! I know it was foolish to do things like that, but it sparked my interest in rockets, and I have gone on to build some beauties that reach 30,000+ feet.
When my kids were growing up in the 1990’s, they were all extremely interested in science. I thought I would buy them their own microscopes and chemistry sets.
What a disappointment! No chemistry sets at any store (only a few with basic household chemicals), but nothing that would pique a childs interest in science.
Then they opened their microscopes. As a young’un back in the 60’s, my dear dad bought me the CHEAPEST microscope in the store for $12.99. Steel construction. Real glass lenses, and a real, steel-geared focusing mechanism. Proudly made in The USA. Paid about $40 for each of the Xmas ones for my kids. Nothing but plastic, from the base, to the focusing mechanism (used some plastic tooth belt that broke after 5 minutes), to the lenses, which are the most important part. All of em from Taiwan.
We tried to look at the cells in an onion skin (as I did as a kid).
Couldn’t see a thing. Even on 10x magnification, the cheapest scope on the market I had as a kid would let you see every detail. The plasic ones-nothing.
Kind of got off the subject, but what I am trying to say that we here in North America have some brilliant children. We have been sinking lower in the world education standards. How is a young person supposed to get “really” into science/technology unless they actually experience the real deal. You could sit there for 100 days and read me a textbook on how to operate heavy equipment, and you would still be a greenhorn when you get in the cab the first time. Spend a day or two in one in real life, and you will learn more than any textbook could ever teach.
Sure, I had many a close call as a kid (don’t even ask about the time I put a live 30-06 bullet in a jar of burning gas (the shrapnel is still embedded in the side of the house almost 40 years later), or the numerous spray cans I threw into the fire-barrel, or the gunpowder I made from saltpeter from the drugstore, I survived, and I learnt a lot!
To end, swallowing gasoline (or seeing it blow up!) got me interested in mechanics and science. I am now a ham radio operator, can fix anything that goes wrong with my home or car, do volunteer work for NASA, and build everything I need. I have never had to call any “expert” in to fix anything in my home, from the hot-water tank failing, to clogged drains, broken stove/oven, to A/C problems.
Sorry to go off subject like this, but the original poster got me to thinkin’ about the differences since I was a kid and today. Ahhh, The Good ol days!
I think you make some good points about education these days. Hands-on is under rated or schools are way to scared about having an accident.
On the other hand I think it was good fortune you were not interested in soft tissue surgery!
I work in petrol station equipment repairs. The worst is rotten fuel. If petrol sits in a decommissioned pump for several months it goes off and God it stinks, and burns if you get it on your skin.
Have gotten a few mouthfuls of petrol and diesel over the years when finding leaks on pressurised systems. Remember kids, wear those safety glasses- better a bit in the mouth than the eyes!
Yes, a couple of times I got a mouthful of gas, but never a gas-bath or swallowed gas.
However, my buddy and I got into a transmission fluid fight on evening while replacing a front fender on a friend’s car. Trying to reinstall the rusty screws and bolts on a 1959 Impala, my buddy would add a drop or two of ATF on the threads as I wrenched. In short order, this got out of control and both of us were covered, plus a bush next to his dad’s garage. Of course we were laughing so hard the whole time, and after we got cleaned up we delivered the car to the friend who was at work at the time.
The bush next to the garage didn’t make it – it turned red and died in a week. His dad never figured out what killed it so quickly!
Kids…
I am ever so pleased to learn that I wasn’t the only kid / young man who made foolish mistakes with various fuels and lived to tell about them .
In Rural New England , a fun part of every Summer was burning the brush cleared from the hay fields ~ typically there would be some Farmer standing there with a rake and some shovels scattered about , as soon as any kid within a 5 miles saw the smoke , they’d rush over and ask if they could ” help ” and be given a shovel or rake (occasionally a push broom , whatever was handy) to hopefully contain the fire from spreading across the field’s dry stubble and jumping the ditch…..
Good times .
One idiot in The Mayor’s Garage lit the same ’74 Chevy on fire THREE TIMES in one night ~ they carefully documented it and got him fired .
BTW : in the fake ‘ gas shortage ‘ of the 1970’s gas siphoning went off the charts , we used to sell these coiled spring things you’d jamb in the filler neck then have a hard time fueling the car as the gas would belch back in your face… (not such good times , those)
=8-) .
-Nate
We almost burned down our 100 y.o. wooden hay barn a few years back burning ditches and fencelines. Let the fire get a little too close to the wall, and lit off the hay chaff inside. We hauled numerous 5-gallon buckets of water about 400 yards until we finally got it out – was a close one!
Not gasoline, but coolant. I was driving home my new (to me) car and stopped at a gas station, I let it idle and it started to run really bad. I saw steam/smoke/vapor pouring off of it and the heatshrink tubing going to some wires on the carb was soft and pliable so off it went. As it turns out the aftermarket cooling fan for it was terrible. we waited a while (but not long enough) and got a towel to attempt to open the radiator cap…. Let’s just say there was an emergency vertical coolant flush that left me with second degree burns on my arm and ear. What was in there was ethylene glycol (I was soaked in it) but lots of rust/mud came out too. I re-filled with most of the gas station’s 50/50 mix and we soldiered on. The next day a cheap pid controller was installed and ran off of the battery and a thermal sensor hose-clamped to the block.
This was the first instance of “do dangerous things with your non-dominant hand” that I ever actually got hurt in.
I’m an active ‘siphoner’ – the trick, as mentioned before, is to use clear hose. I’ll siphon the gas left in the snowmobiles in the spring instead of letting it sit there all summer. Usually pretty good at it, but once in awhile get a little “taste”
My dumbest gas story though is a little different. I resealed our driveway – back in the days of the good old coal tar sealers. Of course I worse shorts because it was hot out, and of course I splashed sealer all over my legs. The only way I found to get that sealer off was to use gas. Not a big deal, except that right after I cleaned myself up I went fishing. Sitting in the boat in the middle of the lake in the bright sunshine and I began to feel some discomfort on my shins. Then some warmth. Then some burning. The combo of hot sunshine and gasoline/coal tar residue was not a good mix. I managed to get off the lake and back home again before any real damage, but I did learn a valuable lesson.
Ethylene glycol coolant is initially sweet with a slimy, rusty afterburn. 90-weight gear lube is quite heavy…. with hints of Red Snapper and sewage. Gasoline is quite zesty…a hot initial bite, horseradishy nasal presence, followed by a nasty volotile petro-burn more persistent than an angry mother in law that no amount of spitting can make disappear.
I’ve tasted pretty much every fluid you can put in a car or tractor… I do have a siphoning pump now…
I plead the Fifth…
Yeah, I swallowed a mouth full of gasoline while syphoning . Vomited for 5 minutes, burped gasoline fumes for 8 hours. I made sure to stay away from open flames .
First time I tried to siphon gas was around 1965 so it was the alcohol free and lead loaded stuff. I had no idea what I was doing being 9 years old, and was trying to fill the family lawn mower from the car. Of course I managed to swallow a mouth full, and as soon as Mom found out she wanted to take me to the hospital, but the next door neighbor was a nurse told her it would soon take care of it self. I felt a lot better after puking out the toxic mixture, and that awful taste took a couple of days to go away. I did siphon a few times after that, but learned from the experience and managed to keep the gas out of my mouth after that. When I was selling parts, whenever a battery was sold I would have to fill it from a big acid tank, the rotten eggs smell was really nasty. If the slightest amount was spilled on my pants from the drippy filler hose, when the Levi’s came out of the washer they would be full of big holes. And then there were the mechanics that would use compressed air when doing brake and clutch jobs filling the shop with a huge asbestos cloud. Luckily that only went on for a couple of years before that was banned and brake cleaner solvent was used instead. One time I was about 50 feet away from a Porsche 914 that had its air cleaner removed and was having a AC leak traced down. The leaking freon got sucked into the engine as it was revved up, and I inhaled some of the fumes and it felt like someone was crushing my lungs from within, and I almost passed out. And I was outside! When the diesel VW’s became popular, until exhaust hoses were installed (and the mechanic would actually use it), the Diesel smoke drifting through the shop and parts department was really gagging. Another brilliant move was washing parts in the solvent tank without gloves, and having my hands smell like solvent for a couple of days no matter how many times they were washed.
My gas bath story would be the time I had the clutch tube welded in my 66 VW Fastback at work. The torch burnt the gas line making it brittle but still functioning. Until it finally broke apart as I was sitting in a traffic jam with a couple of friends on PCH when we smelled gas and I saw the gauge moving towards empty. I pulled out of traffic slid under the car and got rained on by the gas pouring out of the line, and cut off the burnt end and reattached the line. From the waist up I was soaked in gas and the tank was almost empty. Pulled into a gas station, this was back in the attendant days, and the idiot starts to tug on my rear license plate looking for the filler. I got out of the car, lifted the hood and pointed to the gas cap. I got back into the car. The pump was running and I switched on the key but the gauge was still resting on empty. I got out and saw that he had the nozzle in the hood latch hole in the body, and gas was pouring onto the ground. The gas cap was still on. After I stopped him and took the cap off and made sure the nozzle was filling the tank, he tried to charge me for 18 gallons. The tank only held 10 gallons. Was a bad day.
Heres what I learned after taking a shot of gas down the throat. Never try to barf it up. We had siphoned some gas for a friend to get home from a party (the early 70’s, when pot was cheap and gas was scarce) I thought I had just splashed some gas on my face. It wasn’t until I went pack inside and sat down and burped that I realized something was amiss. Started feeling bad and someone said drink some milk, so I did. Felt worse, kept burping gas fumes. Then I had the bright idea to just stick my finger down my throat and get rid of it. Now, I’m huddled over the toilet, starting to stick my finger in to get going and I swear to god I heard my mothers voice from 1000 miles away saying “don’t do that!!!” while I was leaning over the commode. Stood up, turned around, sat down and a firehose of shit, digestive juices milk and gasoline shot out my ass. I was squeaky clean from one set of lips to the other.
I also learned, use two hoses. Stuff both of them down the filler, cover the opening as best you can with your hand and BLOW into one hose, to pressurize the tank. and the gas will flow out the other hose, presto!
I was somewhat good at it but one time I got a mouthful of gas. Felt crappy for a bit but the worst part was that, for the next several hours, every time I burped, fresh gas in my mouth all over again. Burned in my memory right up there with the smell of gear oil. Mmmm, gear oil.
Don’t try it on this, either. Trust me.