What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

RS Wood wrote:

>> My painting left a bit to be desired, and
>> I don't really like rust repair bodywork.
>
> Nobody expects a home job to be as good as the pros, but it still would be
> nice to do.

I'm thinking that can be misconstrued just like the alignment can be
misconstrued.

What I really think about home jobs is that you _care_ more than the guy
doing your work for you for pay.

He has more experience and better equipment.
You care more about the results where your equipment just has to be good
enough.

Recently I brought a car back to the shop because a bolt was missing where
the guy insisted the bolt didn't do anything. That's what I mean about
caring about the job.

When they mount my tires, they don't align the dots to get the least amount
of weight. They say it doesn't matter. Maybe they're right. I don't know,
but it doesn't seem like the right way to do the job to me.

When they do the clutch, they put in whatever they put in but I doubt it's
Redline.

That's what I mean more so than they don't know more than we do.

They know. But they might not care as much as we do about the results.

On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 13:00:16 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood >
wrote:

wrote:
>
>> Done just about all of it.
>
>You may be the only lucky one here!
>
>> My painting left a bit to be desired, and
>> I don't really like rust repair bodywork.
>
>Nobody expects a home job to be as good as the pros, but it still would be
>nice to do.
>
>> I've installed AC, installed
>> oversized brakes, totally rebuilt a few cars - engine, suspension,
>> electrics - the works. I've done some automatic trans work - but never
>> a FULL rebuild.
>
>I was thinking manual. An automatic might be too much for a home job due to
>the potential equipment requirement. For a manual, all you need is a good
>jack, some tools for tight places, clutch alignment tool, snapring pliers,
>and everything else you probably already have.
>
>> What I'd really LIKE to do is build a complete car from scratch - but
>> after taking 16 years on the plane, and it's not done yet - at 65 that
>> likely won't happen
>
>I'm older than you, so I know what you mean that it probably will never
>happen. We lost our chance.
>
>I too would love to have built my "own" car, which, by that, I mean I would
>have taken my very first car or maybe one of the cars from the 60s, or 70s,
>or maybe as late as the 80s, and then rebuilt it "my way", whatever that
>would mean, such that it would be unique.

Done that many times.
>
>My advice to a kid in his twenties or thirties would be to save the car he
>likes best, probably it's a simple one, manual, inline six perhaps, and
>then just learn it, work it, and repair it, and make it what you want it to
>be.


My '63 Valiant (170 slant six, push-button automatic) had lowered
suspension so it cornered like it was on rails, and put 206HP to the
rear wheels. 60 in 1st, 90 in second, and bury the needle in drive.

The 69 Dart wasn't quite as radical but would do 104 all day long
(225 slant six)

the 1953 Coronet Sierra (241 Red Ram Hemi Overdrive) was a complete
rebuild, as was the custom 1957 (Dodge) Fargo Express.
Wish I still had those 2. The Coronet was one of my paint jobs.
"\'69 Chevelle and 72 VW Beetle were 2 others. Both turned out nice
except for one "sag" on each. The Coronet had no sags, but not much
shine either.

On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 13:23:54 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood >
wrote:

>RS Wood wrote:
>
>>> My painting left a bit to be desired, and
>>> I don't really like rust repair bodywork.
>>
>> Nobody expects a home job to be as good as the pros, but it still would be
>> nice to do.
>
>I'm thinking that can be misconstrued just like the alignment can be
>misconstrued.
>
>What I really think about home jobs is that you _care_ more than the guy
>doing your work for you for pay.
>
>He has more experience and better equipment.
>You care more about the results where your equipment just has to be good
>enough.
A GOOD tech cares as much as you do - mabee more - because a poor job
reflects badly on him and can cost him BIG TIME if he gets a bed
reputation.

I cared more about most of my customers' vehicles than they did for
the 25+ years I was actively in the trade.
>
>Recently I brought a car back to the shop because a bolt was missing where
>the guy insisted the bolt didn't do anything. That's what I mean about
>caring about the job.
>
>When they mount my tires, they don't align the dots to get the least amount
>of weight. They say it doesn't matter. Maybe they're right. I don't know,
>but it doesn't seem like the right way to do the job to me.
>
>When they do the clutch, they put in whatever they put in but I doubt it's
>Redline.

And "redline" isn't necessarily the best or any better for your
application/ use than what they put in.
>
>That's what I mean more so than they don't know more than we do.
>
>They know. But they might not care as much as we do about the results.

Or they might. You just need the right shop, and the right
technician.

On Fri, 3 Nov 2017 21:04:42 -0600, rbowman wrote:

> The best paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in
> the zone between sober but shaky and falling down drunk.

I know who you mean. My Dad took care of his dog while he did a few months
in the slammer for DUI.

On 11/3/2017 10:42 PM, RS Wood wrote:
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?
>
> Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order
> 1. painting
> 2. alignment
> 3. replace/rebuild engine
> 4. clutch replacement
> 5. tire mounting and balancing
> 6. timing belt
> 7. head gasket and vcg
>

I've done or assisted in most of those and a bunch of others except #6.
These days I buy new cars and don't even do oil changes.

If you really want to tackle #3, it is easy enough to do. Buy a new
Corvette and for an extra $5000 you can go to the plant and assemble
your own engine. Of course, they have a pro with you.

On 11/04/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote:
> I know what you mean. All mine have been chains, where some have plastic
> chain guides or tensioners which need replacing - but I've never needed to
> replace a belt - but belts are pretty common on cars nowadays, aren't they?

Serpentine belts are common, as are interference engines. I replaced the
belt on my Geo when it got up around 100,000 miles. I didn't know the
maintenance history on the car and assumed it had never been replaced.
iirc, the belt was around $40 and the job took a couple of hours. The
biggest problem was the limited space.

On 11/04/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote:
> Long ago, in the 80's, at Sears, I bought the compressor, the sprayer, and
> the sandblaster, and the welder (but I bought gas welding equipment which
> turned out to be a mistake because the skill set needed is great compared
> to arc welding on thin metal with wires below them).

I've been going to get a gas setup with the portable tanks. I used to be
okay but it's been a long time. Gas is more versatile and works anywhere
you can drag the tanks but the inexpensive point and shoot wire machines
do make life easy over stick welding.

On 11/04/2017 08:02 AM, Mike_Duffy wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Nov 2017 21:04:42 -0600, rbowman wrote:
>
>> The best paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in
>> the zone between sober but shaky and falling down drunk.
>
> I know who you mean. My Dad took care of his dog while he did a few months
> in the slammer for DUI.
>

I don't know if the new paints and HVLP guns are any better but the guys
shooting lacquer had half a buzz on to start with. The shooting isn't
bad but the prep, prep, and more prep followed by sand, sand, and more
sand and then buff and buff gets to me. I can only massage the same car
so many times before I'm utterly bored.

RS Wood wrote on 11/4/2017 9:00 AM:
> rickman wrote:
>
>> None, I've done a bunch of work on cars in my day, but I'm fed up with it
>> now. I wish I could find someone who has half a brain who would do a decent
>> job fixing my truck. It's old and has issues, but the repair people I seem
>> to find these days fix one thing and break something else.
>
> My observation with repair people is that it's hard to find one who cares
> to do what he was trained to do.
>
> Recently a bolt was missing from a repair job and when I came back to ask
> why, the guy told me it didn't do anything.
>
> I reflected that the car still works fine without the bolt, but there is no
> way they put that bolt there in the first place if it didn't do anything.
>
> He didn't believe me.

I guess that's why he is repairing cars instead of designing them. He
should be introduced to the bean counters in Detroit. They'll explain why
that bolt is there because if the designers couldn't explain it to the bean
counters, it wouldn't be there.

--

Rick C

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998

RS Wood wrote on 11/4/2017 9:00 AM:
> Bob F wrote:
>
>>> 3. replace/rebuild engine
>> Did it.
>
> The closest I came to for the engine was an Infiniti Q45 I had where my
> wife holed the oil pan somehow (she said it wasn't her fault).
>
> To replace the oil pan, I had to buy an engine "holder" where I unbolted
> the engine mounts and jacked it up from underneath and then hung it on a
> hook over this crossbar which bolted into the shock bolts.
>
> But I've never replaced an engine mostly because I never drove an engine
> into the ground that needed to be replaced. I envy people who have done it
> because it must feel great to put a new engine in yourself.

Same here. Any car of mine that needed an engine wasn't worth putting an
engine in. Older cars were not made to last and that was true for every
part of that car. Even things like seats and headliners were shot by the
time the engine was shot. My current truck has 240,000 miles on it and the
engine is one of a number of parts that shows nearly no sign of going
anytime soon. The parts that have been repaired often were not repaired
right so some have needed repairing more than once, but otherwise the truck
is very sound.

--

Rick C

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998