I have now experienced the "sophomore" effect

You are not the first, you will not be the last

 

And that's why I have a magnet on my bore scope. Last year I forgot to remove the tape that was covering the tailpipes.

 

Socket fishing season just opened.

 

+1 get one of the magnets on the end of an extending rod. Works great. Just stick it in around where the socket fell, rattle it around and pull it out. I found a socket once that wasn't mine! It was like finding a $5 bill on the ground. Couldn't help but smile at my fortune and knowing someone else had uttered dang it,$%8 &&@!

 

u da man!

 

"you are not the lone ranger" I have several magnetic and mechanical long reach devices but I am watching flea-bay for a CCV camera with a small head!! None of which I ever needed before the F-car. Gotta endure if you love it. Lost

 

These cars take a considerable amount of blood. I'm left-handed and the left forearm still has bruised and scrapes from three project ago that haven't quite healed yet due to the current prima donnas fighting with me!

On the left side tank hoses, I find it much easier to remove the coils (as an assembly), as well as the LHS wheel well. As the nipple can be fragile and you don't want to snap one off, the better the access, the happier I am. Although not particularly convenient or easy for you, pulling the deck lid makes life a bit easier...

I don't drink, but can relate to your experiencess. I've got an early carb car that is receiving similar triage care.

 

If I had a nickel for every socket, wrench, screw driver, nut, bolt, screw, clamp, part, etc., etc., etc. that I've dropped into seemingly inaccessible places, I could retire quite comfortably. I think I've spent more time with my extendable magnet probe fishing around in the deep, dark recesses of engine compartments to retrieve things I've dropped than I have actually working on the cars over the years.

I've found that there are a whole bunch of corollaries to Murphy's Law that apply to working on cars. The two, okay three, that I find apply to the current situation are:

1. Any object dropped while working on the car will end up in the absolute center of the floor under the car, just out of reach from any angle.

2. Any object dropped while working in the engine compartment will end up in the absolutely most inaccessible place, unseeable from any angle, or will fall into a part of the engine that will do the absolute most damage if not retrieved.

3. The amount of time wasted retrieving dropped tools and parts will exceed the actual repair time by a factor of 10.

Such is the fate of the shade tree mechanic. LOL

 

I've found that persistence is more useful than humility (the car, nor the dropped part/tool doesn't give a **** about your mental state).

Magnets are great, but they don't pick up everything (thus, put 2-sided tape with your magnet on the end of your bore-scope).

I try to account for each and every loose item, and often do tool inventories and FOD (foreign object debris) checks. It will prevent your engine from becoming a parts bin (very bad).

Should we discuss more about tubes and nipples?

 

Removing the coils is a good idea...be sure to keep track of them.

For fuel work, I still don't think removing the decklid is essential. If you do remove, get a partner to help (especially with reinstallation), and store on something soft and out of the way. BTW, with the decklid removed, a 3x8 looks like a Fiero .

 

I picked up a lightly used pro vision bore scope on ebay for $80 and it has paid for itself already. I use it to inspect everything on the car from the AAV to the suspension brackets and cat. Well worth the $.

http://www.provision100.com/

 

Why, where would they go?

Nah, they look like Mondials. That's were Ferrari got the idea, anyhow.

 

If you have a Harbor Freight nearby you can often pick up a nice new bore scope (w/ all of the attachments including mirrors and magnet) for about $80 when they go on sale. IMHO it works quite well even compared to a $299 Milwaukee scope I've used in the past.

 

I have done this sooo many times. Always an adventure finding the dropped item. Now I tie "leashes" on all wrenches and tape onto sockets. LoL. I've used my bore scope to spot
dropped nuts and bolts countless times. I think a borescope should be part of a "modern" 308 tool kit!

 

Some day I'm sure someone will start a bloody knuckles thread. I've taken a picture of my busted up hand. Mostly sliced on sharp metal when trying to remove the fuel pump.

I won't be the one to start that thread though.

I did use the magnet in the valley of the engine, I forget what I dropped in there but I got several items out, mostly washers that had been there for many years.