Who regularly works on your car?

[snakeoil24]

I do everything except machining.

1 Welding, sheet metal, electrical body work, paint, lead work, polishing transmission assembly. Have tools, slow at what i do. I fart around alot, knees hurt, eyes are going and I am a grouche according to wife. I also am going to out scourse the Headliner to the local mexican who works at the local upholstery shop. He moon lights so i pay him with Tequila, Moon light and cash.

 

[NJRR]

When I was 8 or 9, i was driving with my dad in his Dodge van in a massive rainstorm. He went through a huge puddle and the engine died. I remember him taking off the engine cover and start checking things out to see what was wrong. He was explaining all along how to troubleshoot a problem. Took him maybe 20-30 minutes to figure out it wasn't getting any spark and the coil went bad when we went thru the puddle (prob woulda gone soon anyhow). We got out, walked a bit to an auto parts shop, got a new coil and wire and a half hour later we were on our way in the van. I was hooked. So, I get my hands dirty all the time now and started having my son help me when he was 9-10 too. I'm thinking of doing a 4 speed swap for my 727 in the spring and a disc brake conversion in my 70 RR. My son is totally gung-ho. Only thing i stay away from is body work, no patience for the perfection it requires. My only reservation on the 4 speed swap is welding in the hump in the tunnel for the shifter and the bracket for the ball stud for the z-rod. :edgy:

 

[Budnicks]

I do everything except machining.

1 Welding, sheet metal, electrical body work, paint, lead work, polishing transmission assembly. Have tools, slow at what i do. I fart around alot, knees hurt, eyes are going and I am a grouche according to wife. I also am going to out scourse the Headliner to the local mexican who works at the local upholstery shop. He moon lights so i pay him with Tequila, Moon light and cash.

:iamwithstupid: I've done some interior work... I really like to have a pro do it now, I can do simple seat covers, new pad/hog rings attached & old style headliners, carpet, seat swaps & mounts, door panels, other easy stuff etc., but the really custom stuff, where it needs to be stitched, stretched, steamed & glued a bunch, especially if it's leather... I leave to the professionals now, it's just too frustrating...

 

[440+6]

I do most everything, my GTX has not seen another mechanic other than me in over 20 years since restored, luckily nothing big has happened that I could not handle. I never rebuilt an engine or trans but I would love to try some day (remove and replace heads is as deep as I have gone), I have done body and paint repairs on a few cars but would never attempt it on something nice.
The service manual has all the info you need and that's what I go by, I have asked for advice but I think it's more to set my mind at ease.
I have had allot of other old cars (non mopar) and pretty much the same goes for them.

 

[cdr]

from cyl head porting to paint & body work,i am just very slow to get things done, when i am done with my charger i hope its not as slow as me lol.

 

[Redhorse719]

I do all my own mechanical work, don't do machine work or bodywork and paint. There is a machine shop that I have worked the parts counter (last 20 yrs) since retiring from the Army that does my machine work. Although I'm a graduate of Penn State College of Technology auto body collision course, I still don't do bodywork. I am my toughest critic.

 

[Moparsmitty]

I do just about everything on my own cars except machine work. I don't even mind doing bodywork and paint except for the big mess it makes in my shop. I did have a friend that owns a trans shop rebuild my TF a couple of years ago mainly because he has lifts and trans jacks. I guess I'm getting a little too old to be laying under cars for hours on end.

 

[themechanic]

It seems that all I do is work on my car. Not fixing it up; just fixing it. That's why I picked my user name. Oh well, it keeps me off the couch.

Someone here once posted they had a tag on the front bumper that read, "Never Done".

Now if I can just figure out how to make a creeper out of that couch. Hmmmmm.

 

[43tutor]

I do all my own repair work including the big stuff like engine and transmission rebuilds. If machine work is needed I will use a local shop since I do not have the machine tools. I learned body work from a family member who has made a career out of body work. His cars have won "best paint" at several shows so he a great resource for advice. Turning wrenches runs in our family and now I'm teaching my 16 year son. I'm not a professional mechanic (my real job is an engineer) but I can't see paying someone else to do something that I can do. Plus I don't really trust other people to do it the same as I will. If I get bind I will seek some help from a good friend of mine who is professional mechanic. We use the barter system to help each other out.

 

[Jonnyuma]

I haven't been to a mechanic in years but my car ialso sn't nice or valuable like a lot of the cars here. I try to talk myself into enjoying it, and sometimes I actually do...kinda depends on the project at hand. My main reason for doing all my own work is the same now as it was 30 yrs ago: I can't afford to pay a professional to do it. If I had big dough to spend? I'd buy a car already finished or drop one off at a big-name shop, write the check, and get right to the fun part...showing off.

 

[BumperMan]

I'm doing what I can I'm 36 years old so I do not have the experience that a lot of guys have on this forum. My passion is bringing things back to life so between this forum, YouTube, and magazines I'm leaning a lot.

 

[99ss]

There are a bunch of little car restoration elves I had heard of...... I was hoping they would handle things but they don't seem to have come my way yet ?

 

[MoparMitch]

I also do all of my own work, with the exception of body work and machine work. I can do both , but why would anyone want to invest all that money in machine shop equipment unless it was your main business? I'm **** about keeping my shop clean , so no body work happens here. Maybe a minor job outside of the building. Started learning around 8 yrs old building model cars, planes,and boats. When I was 14 my dads MG engine gave up. I told him I thought I could rebuild it. To my surprise he got me a service manual and told me to read it first and he'd let me do it. Had the machine work done at the shop and the rest is history. It actually ran (after I figured out the timing). Still hard for me to believe he had that much confidence in me at that age. God rest his soul. I think I have a complex , that if I don't do it, it aint right. I even built my own house 27 yrs ago , learning as I went. I don't know whats wrong with me...just cant spend much time on the couch . Type A? I dunno??

 

[Ron 73]

Ive always done my own work, i sometimes ask for advice on some how to"s with mechanical but i like to build my own, engine rebuilds i would hire out though...

 

[67Satty]

I try to do most of it myself, I like to learn new things and new skills and I like the excuse to buy new tools for a job. When I get stuck, I come on here or Moparts and people are nice enough to walk me through things. Here's a partial list of things I've done or learned to do on my Satellite:

Replace all steering parts: pitman arm, idler arm, steering box
RnR steering column
Redo seats with new foam and Legendary covers
RnR back window, replace seal
Weld on quarter panel patch panels
Fabricate and weld in new bottom rear window corners and channels
Rebuild door hinges
Swap out center section
Wiring and plumbing new motor after install
RnR shocks
Drum brake job
RnR Master Cylinder
Bleed Brakes
Set pinion angle
Shift R Gate mod

Things I've had a friend or my wife help with:
Engine tear down
Pulling an old motor, putting new motor in
Hood RnR
Front end alignment

Things I've taken it to a shop or paid someone to do:
Tire mount and balance
Headliner
Ball joints
Front disc conversion
Exhaust work
Trans rebuild
Machine work and engine assembly
Gas tank RnR (didn't have an easy way to deal with all the old nasty gas)

 

[Meep-Meep]

I have done body and paint, interior, electrical, chassis work, brakes, differential, transmission both auto and manual, fuel system, engine tear down and assembly including designing the build. I have not done engine machine work aside from some head work and not every car I have or had I did 100%.

For example I had a guy do the finish body work and paint on my 69 RR to hopefully get a leg up on the project (still not done) but my old 68 Mustang and 72 Porsche I did myself. I plan to do my 68 RR paint myself and we'll see about my other cars. I don't particularly like body work so most likely will hand off the GTS to someone and I'll see about the others. At my pace I hope I live long enough to see them to completion!

 

[krowbar]

I do just about everything on my own cars except machine work. I don't even mind doing bodywork and paint except for the big mess it makes in my shop. I did have a friend that owns a trans shop rebuild my TF a couple of years ago mainly because he has lifts and trans jacks. I guess I'm getting a little too old to be laying under cars for hours on end.

Why??? At least you can take a nap under there and nobody can bother you...lol

 

[Cranky]

Out of necessity, I pretty much became a one man band and do some of my own machine work too. When I was working, it was usually shift work and when help was needed, no one was around (seems like I was always around when someone else needed help lol) so to get things done, had to figure out a way to do it by myself. I have a small machine shop but it's not really geared towards automotive machine work but with a lathe and a mill, you can still do a lot. Also built a lot of engines and rear ends but not so much anymore since it's time to focus on my own junk for a change...

 

[eric383]

I pretty much do everything myself except for engine machining. I guess this comes from me being to stubborn to say I can't do it and needing the money saved for other things around the house. I think I can thank my Pops for my mechanical aptitude as I remember him rebuilding a lot of old cars when I was a whipper snapper. Through the years I have collected the tools needed for a particular job and find I always use them again on another project or when working on a friends car. I have been painting for about 10 years now and find I would rather do that than turn a wrench. The internet is an amazing resource and sure has helped me to get to this point. Never be afraid to try something and if you screw up learn from your mistakes.

 

[Tempest 455]

Ditto on the above comments. A man has to know his limitations (Clint) and mine is bodywork. I will do all my mechanical, including machining parts if I can. But I'm not a body guy. I've stripped paint on plenty of cars but always take it to a body guy for the paint and body work.