Who regularly works on your car?

[Mopars & Missiles]

............Have tools, slow at what i do. I fart around alot, knees hurt, eyes are going and I am a grouche...........

Ah Ha! You're my long lost twin brother aren't you? Why'd you leave anyway? :ufo: ????

 

[b-star69]

the 300 goes to the dealer the pick up and roadrunner... i'm the man :naka:

 

[Funship32]

Well I will say one more thing: To those of you who do your own body work, and I've seen plenty of it on the FBBO posts, I envy you. Many of you do FANTASTIC work. Mind you, I think some of you are CRAZY for working on the rust buckets you get, but then again, I think it is way cool that you save a car that would otherwise be considered junk and make it a work of art when finished. I also say the same for those of you who can do your own machine work: I envy you. I'd love to have access to be able to do some of the things you guys do. I want you to know that as a lay person with regards to these endeavors, I appreciate what you do and salute you! o7

 

[69redrunner]

I do what I can. I enjoy it. I am currently insulating and drywalling my "shed" so I can get out there more in the winter months. Also contemplating a 2 post lift.

 

[fla 66 cuda]

I do all my own work and what I haven't done I will try, I can do metal fab and bodywork/paint but not show car quality. I don't trust most mechanics or can I afford them however i'm beginning to have joint aches and pains and it's getting harder to do things any more so it takes more time.

 

[64BEL]

See my signature for our vehicles. I rarely take a vehicle to a mechanic with a few exceptions. I figure I've saved thousands of dollars over the years by doing as much as possible myself. My truck is easy to work on - just that little 'ole straight six in it. :glasses10: And it sits nice and high so I can get myself under it no sweat. Along with the money savings, I find it very satisfying to do the work myself. I also have a hard time turning a vehicle over to someone else. I often find they didn't do it as well as I would have liked - I'm picky. Doing the work myself also makes me feel very in tune with the vehicle in some kind of Jedi way, I guess. LOL

A few of the exceptions: When my daughter's Taurus (our only non-Mopar) had a rotted brake line, we were all away from home on vacation, so we had no choice but to take it to a mechanic. I took my truck to a body shop this summer to have patch panels welded in for some rust and for paint. I can do body work (did it many years back), but I don't have the tools or place to do it right now. I just have a 2 car garage to work out of and limited time. I also farmed out replacing the evaporator on our Jeep - I didn't want to deal with the dash and everything with limited time since it's a daily driver.

The only thing I've farmed out on the Belvedere was the 727 rebuild. I would have liked to have tackled it myself (would have been my first), but I just didn't have the time. I was just a few months away from going in for a hip replacement and I had to get the car fixed so I could get it into winter storage. Plus I had a ton of other things I had to get done around the house before I was out of commission for awhile. I'll have another chance when the time comes to rebuild my big block 727 for my 426 - but that's a long way off. I'd also like to build the 426 myself, but we'll see when the time comes. It would be my first V-8 rebuild, and I may just have someone else do it so it's done right. I would also like to do the body on the car when the time comes, but I'd have to have a place to do it and get a welder and some other tools I don't presently have. We'll see.

Oh yeah, I also maintain our 27' travel trailer and our house.

 

[67440chrg]

I do everything I can. I am no good at body & paint. I have built a few engines but that was years ago. I would like to do it again now that I would have time to Be more particular. They stayed together but it always seemed I had to get it done fast to drive them to work. I have always done everything except tires, alignments and Machine work on my hobby cars. My newer drivers I have a lot done at dealers.

 

[Ron 73]

Put us all together in the same shop, we could handle it all! Working together always gets the job done...

Engine builders
sand blaster
body men
paint men
specialty pin stripe rs
alignment
dash builders
electrical
Transmission rebuilds
differential expert
Trouble is, who wears the white hat and carry's the clipboard!

 

[99ss]

Put us all together in the same shop, we could handle it all! Working together always gets the job done...

Engine builders
sand blaster
body men
paint men
specialty pin stripe rs
alignment
dash builders
electrical
Transmission rebuilds
differential expert
Trouble is, who wears the white hat and carry's the clipboard!

I can do that Ron... Most of you guys are much better at doing this stuff than me anyway..... I know I can carry a clipboard with the best of them though

 

[NJRR]

Well Ron, whoever is married knows that the WIFE is the stupidvisor and carries the clipboard !!!!!!!! :iamwithstupid:

Put us all together in the same shop, we could handle it all! Working together always gets the job done...

Engine builders
sand blaster
body men
paint men
specialty pin stripe rs
alignment
dash builders
electrical
Transmission rebuilds
differential expert
Trouble is, who wears the white hat and carry's the clipboard!

 

[BBishere2]

So far I've done all of the small stuff myself with just a toolbox worth of tools - have to get the roll around uncovered and inventoried and get it back in the business. Machine shop work goes to one of my former workers - with my encouragement, he quit the NAPA store and went back to school to become a machinist and now has his own place. I sold my engine stand and cherry picker when I closed the store and don't really have room for the heavy jobs - so those will go to a custom shop.

 

[The Beep]

Put us all together in the same shop, we could handle it all! Working together always gets the job done...

Engine builders
sand blaster
body men
paint men
specialty pin stripe rs
alignment
dash builders
electrical
Transmission rebuilds
differential expert
Trouble is, who wears the white hat and carry's the clipboard!

No white hat for me, I worked construction. White hat was the one they "accidentally" dropped the tools on!!

 

[Havasu Dave]

Removing and replacing the engine is hardly "regular" maintenance. I'm no master mechanic, not even a minor one. But I do eventually get it done. I am not above paying or asking someone to do something who is better at it than I am however. Just hasn't happened yet.

 

[The Beep]

Removing and replacing the engine is hardly "regular" maintenance. I'm no master mechanic, not even a minor one. But I do eventually get it done. I am not above paying or asking someone to do something who is better at it than I am however. Just hasn't happened yet.

Havasu Dave, I guess since I've had 4 different engine/tranny combos in my Roadrunner I now think of replacing the engine as regular maintenance!

 

[Herr_Poopschitz]

I blame my Dad for this disease. He was trained by GM while in high school before getting drafted to go to Vietnam. Loved gassers/super stocks/Ed Roth/overall car culture of the late 50's to mid/late-60's...trained as a graphic designer on the GI Bill after getting out bc of the influence of 'car' guys in his youth. When I was young we had a '30 Chevrolet that he was restoring that I learned to drive on and help him w/ (in my limited 9 year old capacity). I was on the lookout at 15 for a 62-64 Impala, but there weren't any good examples around when we came across the Belvedere I currently have...thus starting my love of Chrysler products.

While working on my M.E. degree, I worked at different auto parts suppliers and spent a lot of time working on friends/customers cars just for the experience. I have mostly concentrated on how to make stuff go faster/more efficient...engine, trans, rearend, and chassis fab, but have jumped into bodywork the last year w/ the help of a buddy prodding me along. I've honestly done everything except for upholstery and engine machining at this point...and that may be where I stop and concentrate on refining my skills. Guess I haven't done carbon fiber layup at this point either, but that doesn't really apply in this forum...

I have to say the idea of a do it yourselfer learning all the things I've learned in a pre-internet world blows my mind...I think it would be near impossible. The 'net really is the absolute best resource available. On the other hand, it does bring a lot of people into this hobby that maybe shouldn't be here as well...eh, thinking out loud.

I also HATE working on daily drivers...working on cars is supposed to be fun, not WORK bc you HAVE to get something fixed. I keep hoping my Tacoma will just be an appliance, gas and oil, A to B...

Only I work on my cars...I 'may' let my Dad do some things I know he's good at. I know a few guys that have some pretty quick/nice cars that had substantial work done by someone else, yet they tell people they've done all the work...that pisses me off. I can see through it, but people who don't know any better are really impressed and shouldn't be.

 

[The Beep]

I know a few guys that have some pretty quick/nice cars that had substantial work done by someone else, yet they tell people they've done all the work...that pisses me off. I can see through it, but people who don't know any better are really impressed and shouldn't be.

Yea I hear ya. I always found that frustrating, it reminds me of a guy I knew who cheated on exams in college and always got better marks than me. Always wanted to turn him in... never did though!

 

[barelad69]

its all me, i dont let anyone touch my baby only because i cant afford to pay them. so ive learned over the years you have to screw up alot to learn alot.

 

[NJRR]

Hate to burst your Tacoma bubble. My dd is a 2005 Tacoma double cab. At 110k miles, I just had to change the front hubs and wheel bearings. They are "sealed" with no grease fittings and are a serious design flaw in the 2005 and up Tacos. Only a 2-3 hour job, but a hassle, especially if you don't have a press for the new bearings. When you need to do yours, shoot me a pm and I'll give you the info on where I sourced the parts. I saved over $300.

I also HATE working on daily drivers...working on cars is supposed to be fun, not WORK bc you HAVE to get something fixed. I keep hoping my Tacoma will just be an appliance, gas and oil, A to B...

 

[747mopar]

I do mostly everything myself with the exception of machine work, upohlstry and alignments. On my current project (69 Charger) so far I've done all of the metal work (basically replaced the whole rear of the car and roof), built the motor, tranny, rearend, power steering box, power steering pump, rewired it all, did all of the body work, built my own dash, console, custom fitted a chrysler 300 rear seat in it and 2004 Stratus fronts, all of the suspension, brakes and will paint it this weekend. Now keep in mind I'm no expert nor am I what you would call wealthy by any means "just love building things and am stubborn *** hell".

 

[The Beep]

I do mostly everything myself with the exception of machine work, upohlstry and alignments. On my current project (69 Charger) so far I've done all of the metal work (basically replaced the whole rear of the car and roof), built the motor, tranny, rearend, power steering box, power steering pump, rewired it all, did all of the body work, built my own dash, console, custom fitted a chrysler 300 rear seat in it and 2004 Stratus fronts, all of the suspension, brakes and will paint it this weekend.

Wow!