Next door neighbor from hell - revving the engine of his fixer upper all morning (house, oil)

[DontH8Me]

So, as mentioned, the next door neighbor obtained an old 40s "classic car" aka pile of rust heap of junk and decided today to work on the engine. He has the vehicle parked alongside the property line, behind his front gate. I had to leave my own backyard because it is so full of smelly exhaust that my eyes were watering and my throat was burning.

I had to close all my windows which is actually our form of AC. We have had so many issues with this scourge on our block that we are no longer on speaking terms. I still feel the acrid burn in the back of my throat even though I've retreated into my house for the last 15 minutes.

What are the rules about this behavior? Are there any laws about him releasing this contamination into my backyard and my home at his discretion? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[V8 Vega]

Put a clothespin on your nose. Get a big powerful fan.

[Ttark]

Open a case against him with the city. That's about all you can do. He's deliberately creating a public health nuisance so it's up to you to get the authorities involved.

Being in California you might be able to invoke Prop 65 since he's releasing chemicals into the atmosphere known to the state to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. Doubt it would accomplish anything, but you can try. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.)

[(901)]

Your neighbor sounds awesome to me!

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by (901)

Your neighbor sounds awesome to me!

I have to admit, I would be over there asking if he needed any help. I have escorted a couple of classics myself, but then our homes are far enough apart that no neighbors would notice. They did hear me leave for work every morning when the El Camino oversized dual exhaust with flow masters was done.

[BB_210]

DontH8, do you know if he has the original engine? Did it sound like a V8? I'm very curious to know the car and engine.

Originally Posted by Ttark

Open a case against him with the city. That's about all you can do. He's deliberately creating a public health nuisance so it's up to you to get the authorities involved.)

For engine exhaust? Lol. But a PROP 65 black plate sounds kinda awesome. I remember seeing a Corvair at a show with a plate that read NADER.

[V8 Vega]

Fire a shotgun blast over his head

[Ceece]

Hope he get's it fixed quickly? Honestly, it's only happened today, it's not an ongoing issue. Yet.

[vincenze]

I guess you can't fire up your coal barbecue for a holiday without complaints nowadays.

[CALGUY]

To the op.

If you are not on speaking terms with the neighbor, I have a couple of suggestions.
Talk to one of the other neighbors and see if they can talk to this guy .

If that fails, you can write him a letter explaining the damage he could do to the engine by revving it up , especially an engine that is not tuned properly.

Broken camshaft, broken crankshaft, broken connector rod(s), and perhaps one or more pistons breaking, and winding up in the oil pan.

Obviously this guy is not the brightest light in the circuit, or he wouldn't be revving the engine like you describe, which can cause major issues.


Bob.