This is a Goddamn Greek Tragedy

A 'Greek Tragedy' is more of a slang term in this day because most people don't know anything about the Greeks or their theater. But in this case, I don't care either. When something doesn't go as planned, that's too bad. When that bad thing turns worse, that's a tragedy. And when they start piling up then that is 'a goddman greek tragedy' as my boy Rockhound from Armageddon would say. I had such an event the other day when putting my car back together.

My lady had gleefully accepted to help me strip out the remainder of Thanatos (lighter is faster) and tape up the pieces we couldn't or chose not to remove in order to paint the interior. Sidenote: I had a roll cage welded in the other year and the raw steel was showing signs of rust; plus paint covers up all the dings and dirt and mishaps (this is a race car after all). Anywho, I had put off drilling holes for the seat harness in the bottom of the car. Why? I'm not really sure anymore. Last year when I bought the 5 point harness all the generic instructions on the web did not state anything about drilling or welding. But of course since I had a custom welded in seat bracket the original seat belt locations were now inaccessible. Sidenote: Custom is cool if you do the work yourself, because if you run into problems later then you can modify or change it. Obviously this was not my case. So I got my drill and pulled out my bag o' bits. My harness eye bolts required a 7/16" hole and I didn't have one that size. Damn. No biggie; I like to expand my tool repertoire. That's one of the reasons I got into working on cars anyhow. It goes without saying that one is always behind when it comes to projects. This car also happens to be my daily driver so I can't have it in pieces during the week; it has to be ready to go otherwise my employer may be unhappy with my attendance. So I walk down to the local Ace (literally on the block I live) and pick up a 7/16 bit. Mission accomplished. Relax, work on a few things, and then go to drill the holes. The bit doesn't fit the drill. Ummmmmmmm... Apparently an experienced handyman, carpenter, or what-have-you would know that a standard drill has a 3/8" chuck and therefore will not fit a 7/16" bit (cuz 7/16 is larger than 3/8, doy). Twelve bucks down the drain. Lesson learned. Bad? Yeah. Tragedy? No sir. So I go out to a Home Depot to get the appropriate bit FOR a 3/8" chuck. Now I have a million options and no assistance. I find what I need, and then I make the mistake to actually ask an employee's opinion of what I'm doing. Fail.

 It would have ended well if they would have told the truth, which would have been something along the lines of 'I work in a massive store and have zero knowledge of anything in here' or 'I will feed you some bullshit that will elongate your day and unnecessarily confuse and frustrate you'. Either response would have been acceptable to me. So I second guessed myself and then starting comparing the bit packages which gets you more bang for the buck, but of course costs more bucks. I settled on a package that goes up to 1/2". Half inch is larger than 7/16 and therefore with the package of smaller bits I should be set. Get home ready to go once again, and... No 7/16. Although smaller than 1/2, it is not a standard bit size and therefore is not included. Strike 2, but still no tragedy. As most DIYers and home mechanics I decide that close is close enough and use the 1/2" bit. It's only 1/16 more so what's the worst that could happen? Well it fits about fine, but this is when I realize that I'm drilling through 2 separate pieces of metal. Although the bit is long enough to fit through both, the eye bolt is not. Fuck. I cannot catch a fucking break. This is now a goddamn greek tragedy. It seems like I may have turned the corner, only to find that I have fucked myself once again. Granted, I'm doing this more or less on the fly and problems are sure to crop up, but this is ridiculous. Essentially I give up for the season and just use the belt that came with the car (there was only 1 event left). Which brings us to present day (6 months or so later). I got the car prepped and painted. I'm feeling good. The past is the past. I figure I can cut a hole out of the bottom piece of metal large enough to fit a socket through and attach the bolt that way. Success! Thank you cutting wheel! The metal is not exactly flat inside, but nothing a little hammer massage can't fix. Now I'll do the other side. Where's that 1/2" bit? I just used that bit set so its gotta be here in my cluttered garage. I used it just the other week at my father's place. At my father's place. Fuck. Me. No time to drive over there, I'll just have to buy another 7/16" bit. Not a set. Not a 1/2" bit for a 3/8" chuck. Just a single 7/16" bit for a 3/8" drill. Am I born to fail? Am I that unorganized? Do I just have so little experience? Fuck it. First race of the season is tomorrow. Back to Ace. Have a great weekend.

Ready to Race

Seat and Harness Successfully installed