RobFenn, Im not going to rise to the bait. This time.
Thought of loads more, but most of them relate to other people.
1. Seat Height Adjustment in a Lada. Mate of mine had an old sh*tbucket of a Lada Estate (basically an Eatern-bloc Fiat 126). He tried to kill it for 2 years and it wouldnt die. It was, however, full of rust.
One day he needs to jack the right-front corner up (the reason for this escapes me). I loan him a jack and he sets to it on my drive. When the corner is well up in the air I turn my back for a second. There is a loud CRUNCH. I turn around and the Lada is back on four wheels again. The jack is still fully extended - it has gone through the rusty floor (dont ask), ripped the seat off its moountings and has jammed it against the roof of the car.
After about half an hour we disentangle the jack, car and seat, but there isnt enough rust-free metal to bolt the seat to. Instead he drives around for the next couple of weeks with the seat not attached to anything. Picture the scene: ratty old 1.5 Lada at the traffic lights; lights go red-amber, the engine is doing at least 7,000rpm, bouncing the valves; lights go green; driver dumps the clutch; car lurches forward three feet and stalls because drivers seat has tipped over, depositing driver on the back seat.
This could turn into a Serial. Next, Episode 2 - Revenge of the Steering Lock