I'm weird I guess..

[FoxyRoadster]

I've always been around cars and learn about them from A to Z, thing is for the longest of time I always thought most people worked on their own cars at home if they could or at least attempted to if it was any sort of hot rod or such... My bubble burst on that theory a few months back, I found a lot of people don't do most of their own work and a lot of shops only did some things and sent it off elsewhere for stuff outside their specialty..

 

 

I'm still like are you serious? when someone mentions taking their cool hotrod to the shop...:mellow:

[FujiyamaMama]

My fiance's parents have never opened their own hoods.

[72240z]

Thats why my signature is what it is lol

[liltruckbigpower]

I have never taken a vehicle I owned to a shop.. unless I worked there and wanted to use the lift lol. I recently moved to far away to work on my parents vehicles, my dad sent me the note from the shop he took my little sister's pt cruiser to for brakes.. $3k.. I bought choked..

 

Working at a shop, I used to see everything from people dieseling a gas engine, not knowing they had a wheel lock, let alone where it is. How to pop their own hood, or ever know what kind of car they drive.. LITERALLY.. I asked this lady year and model of a ford explore and shes like uh, I know its a white truck? :eek: My sister didn't realize that you had to change the oil..:blink: .. Good thing theres a "change oil" light now.. I never understood why newer cars have so many lights.. now I know.. ugh:rolleyes:

[Gary]

the worst innocent mistake ive heard was filling an engine with oil at a servo, until it came out the filler :/

 

most people dont care for cars unless theyre an extension of their ego, "IVE got a BMW M3, what do YOU have" :lol: never mind the fact they've never given it WOT, but thats not the point, theyve got one and you dont hah

[Skib]

its sad :(

[72240z]

Well sometimes a shop is in order, there is a huge dif between a A mech and commercial shop and a guy with a garage and tools that knows how to read. Its fair that some never lift their hood too, some people don't want to be bothered and are willing to pay for that. They lease their car and they take it somewhere to have work done, no prob.

 

My qualm is with people in the actual hobby or world of cars describing their car(s) in great detail, I did this and it has that and I plan to do this. Well YOU means yourself, if someone else has been building your car then give me their number, don't sit there talking shit like you got something special.

Edited November 20, 2009 by 72240z

[Edz280zx]

See it allll the time. The only time I take mine to a shop is for something that needs pressed on or welded...something I don't have the tools to do.

[Skib]

parts will see a shop for tools I dont have (bead blasting, setting up rear diff gears, machine work, ect)

but the car never has and never will.

I build my motors and I certainly woulnt have some idiot at a shop trying to work on them.

[ichorid]

I could have done my engine swap. Over 8x the time, and cost most likely, doing things for the 2nd and 3rd time. I could have welded my cage, over 10x the time and had it come out really ugly. I could probably do the turbo build on the new engine, again over a lot more time and at the cost of niceness.

 

I dont see a problem with having some one who can clearly do a better job than you do a job you'd like to have done. I guess I could have hunkered down taken time off work rented a garage, learned to weld. buy and engine stand, hoist, etc. Learn to rebuild an engine, THEN figure out how to swap in the KA, and cleanly tuck the wiring.

 

Its not like Im playing with my parents money, or Im some trustafarian. I just don't have the time or equipment or space to be in the cool mechanics club. I do however happen to be fortunate enough to be able to spend money on my car.

[Jesse C.]

Well, I see no problem with someone taking a car to get it done at a specialty shop or having a serious engine built by a pro when thousands of dollars are involved.

 

My problem is when someone claims they did it themselves or have no clue as to what they are talking about when trying to show off the car.

 

Most folks will be honest and tell you who did what on their car, and take pride in what they did do themselves, becauase not everyone is talented at everything but apparently some are around here! :fu:

 

Would I try to do my own paint when I get to that part? Only if I want to waste a ton of material and time! And same goes for upholstery. And when I do the FI swap, I will most likely farm it out to someone who knows what they are doing since I really do not feel like frying the car. Maybe the next time after I learn from that person, but not the first time.

 

And finally, don't shit on mechanics. Yes, there are some bad ones but I also do know plenty of good ones and thank God I was raised by one of the best!

[ichorid]

Would I try to do my own paint when I get to that part? Only if I want to waste a ton of material and time!

 

paint and body was what my dad and I made an attempt at doing. I think we did a good job on the body work. I did a bad job on painting though. came out with a lot of grit in the feel, and used to much air. I loved doing it though. She is going to get professionally painted next summer when I have a garage to store her in.

 

I take a lot of time to research the parts and gear I buy for my car. getting advice from people that know more than I do. Id like to try my hand at welding when shortening the 280zx struts for mr2 inserts and putting on my coilovers. I just need to buy/barrow a welder.

[datzenmike]

Trying to diagnose a problem with someone who eventually lets it slip that the mechanic told him this or the mechanic told him that, is aggravating. You make a suggestion or ask a question, they take it in and ask their mechanic, things are lost in translation, answer is garbled and makes no sense. I have a saying: "An honest mechanic will soon go broke." Datsuns are simple. Datsuns are easy to work on. If you can afford it go ahead. Most people like working on them for the fun and satisfaction of it. I can even begin to imagine doing anything on the shit they call cars today and calling it fun. EFI is Voodoo to me. :D Some cars you can't even add oil, you have to take it in.... fuckers. You get what you deserve today.

[HRH]

Damn! Who shit in your cereal Mike? :D I'm an honest mechanic and I'm not broke when I work on stuff. But my saying is "A good mechanic will be able to tell you what's wrong with your car, and explain why it's wrong and what is needed to fix it."

 

If you can't get a good explanation minus the technical talk, don't use that shop. EFI isn't that bad, automatic transmissions are the real devil. I don't understand them, nor do I want to unless I suddenly become crippled and can't move a clutch.

 

And at least some people don't even attempt to work on their rigs. It's better that way. I remember Tom, one of the counter guys down at the main NAPA warehouse once was called an asshole because a dipshit came in, professed to know everything but kept asking questions and Tom told him to solve his problem he needed to shut his hood and walk away.:lol:

[FoxyRoadster]

early EFI is a-ok.. its just that new fangled stuff with the miles and miles of wire that you even unhook the radio and the car is fubared.

[datzenmike]

Damn! Who shit in your cereal Mike? :D:

 

Present company accepted. :o The only time my 620 was in a garage in about 15 years was to have my '33s put on and balanced. I've swapped about 3 sets of tires by hand not even counting my sons cars.

[FujiyamaMama]

Hey man I'm talkin like never touching them aside from driving.

They keep them all cherry stock and never even wash them themselves.

I mean I'm a total newb but daaaaamn!

[72240z]

Hey man I'm talkin like never touching them aside from driving.

They keep them all cherry stock and never even wash them themselves.

I mean I'm a total newb but daaaaamn!

 

..and I say whats wrong with that? If you got the money and don't give a shit then go for it. Thats how I see it anyway.

 

 

Example......

I personally have no care or will at all on how to operate on the human body, so I pay someone to do it. Can honestly say I have never popped my own hood, not even once. I take my shit to the dealer lol.

[FujiyamaMama]

The shame is that they have a 38 ford flatback in storage. All original... what I wouldnt give for that thing...... :drool: and they never touch it. I hasn't been driven for almost 10 years now.

[Cuts metal like mad]

I only do my own work cause I can't afford someone who is better than me to do it... thats real. I enjoy working on somethings, sure, but for the most part, I think working on my car takes time away from driving it and REALLY enjoying it.

[nukeday]

There was another topic on here that sort of hit on this. Cars today have become appliances. I wouldn't try to fix my fridge, or resolder a SMT circuit on my PC. If my electric razor breaks I just go buy a new one. It's a combination of the societal phenomena of consumption and the balance needed to perpetuate said consumption. There is an advantage as a manufacturer to 1.) Not produce a product that is serviceable by the end user, 2.) Build a 'life time' for that product, 3.) Provide the only service available, 4.) Provide reliability that can be translated into repeat sales.

 

We like our stuff to work now and break never. If it breaks, we generally don't want to hassle with it. If it becomes a hassle, we dump it and go buy something else.

 

Look on Craigslist for vehicles under $500. You don't see a bunch of 70's and 80's cars that you might expect in that price range. You see tons on 90's vehicles with 'problems'. Head gaskets rank #1, and who even knows if the seller knows what they are talking about. Stupid items like leaking water pumps, worn front ends, dead coil packs, etc. Fundamentally these are cars, but what we're seeing is that they have met their allotted number of pop-tarts, something broke and it's more hassle for the owner (driver really) to fix than it is to replace the vehicle.

 

It's an interesting cultural shift. A lot of us in our 40's (and up) learned about cars when all we could get was a left over Valiant, Rambler or VW. Until about the mid 80's, fuel injection was for race cars. Dual overhead cams were relatively exotic. Front wheel drive was considered a 'fad'. The cars produced in the early 20th century are not what is being produced in the early 21st century. NO 'cars' on showroom floors are equipped with a carb. NO 'cars' on the showroom floors are ODB exempt. We've sued each other so many times, that we now require so much 'safety' equipment in our cars that is dangerous to try to work on them ourselves.

 

The idea of a backyard mechanic in the late 21st century is comical to me. The idea of working on our own cars has been slowly snuck away from us. The hobbies of the late 21st century are probably being invented now. My guess is that some kid will program his iPhone to plug into his car, not as a stereo but as a 'core' to operate the thing. Then 'hotrodders' will be people who can tweak the code...

 

Got all socio-political, sorry. I'm not really a great mechanic, body man, fabricator, etc. but there is a satisfaction in knowing what's been done to my cars. If I can do it, I try to.

Edited November 21, 2009 by nukeday

[HRH]

Just think, one of these days after we all graduate to flying saucer mobiles that run on pig farts, some crazy ratsuner is going to raise hell in a loud ass, 100 year old vehicle that no one can catch, let alone understand. :D

 

Kinda like when grandpa Jetson was working on his "car" and George thought he was nuts.

 

I wonder if people with horse and buggies felt the same way as most of us do towards newer cars? I'm all for technology, but not for making technology overly complicated, which is exactly what new vehicles do. It's as if we're trying to build a person with four wheels to butler us around. Gotta have all that wiring!

[moparvwfreak]

i try to do things myself as much as possible. there are certain things i wont do because i know i am in ove my head. my Passat is one of those things. thats why i have a trusted mechanic. i need to take it back to him but dont have the $$ right now to. need to figure out why its going through an ungodly amount of oil. and i dont have tome to deal with it myself.

 

as for my datsuns, i jus did a teardown adn reaseal of my L20 and swapped it into my 73. not hard to do, just time consuming. the hard part now is, geting it tuned right. and even that isn't all that hard.

[72240z]

parts will see a shop for tools I dont have (bead blasting, setting up rear diff gears, machine work, ect)

but the car never has and never will.

I build my motors and I certainly woulnt have some idiot at a shop trying to work on them.

 

That sounds so snobby man, no offense but building a single, still very low mileage datsun motor doesn't make a mechanic. Datsuns are so overly simple compared to most any modern car it's ridiculous. Some mechanics out there have forgotten more then we know. Like the back of their hand they know procedures and formulas, tolerances and ranges etc... I have a pair of uncles that fit the bill, I was a B tech and I don't know shit compared to them. Not because they have shops packed with tools but because they have my lifetime in experience, schooling and know how. So I don't think it's right for anyone to bash on mass. Ya many are idiots, every trade has them.......

 

Lots of wide ranging opinions, I think it's more a flavor thing. Some like to work on as much as possible, some don't have the money to not. Some don't have the time, some the know how. Some like the journey some like the result yada yada yada. Don't think anyone can say one is all right or wrong. I just know I'll always rag on the guy who purely paid for his performance or classic because anyone who can read can at least become a little bit involved.

Edited November 21, 2009 by 72240z

[KELMO]

Well, I'm in the club of: will do most of it myself, but also know when I'm over my head. This is the first car I have tried to restore, and brother, what a learning process. Two cars had to be cut up to make one good one...way over my pay grade, so some one was paid to do it. Motor had to be rebuilt and the 25+year Nissan Master Tech made me build it myself as he looked over my shoulder, asked me what I thought should be the next step etc etc.

 

Alot of folks like us were raised in "car families" so we think its strange if someone dosen't know what kind of car they have or don't work on them, and in some cases.....I'm glad they don't work on them.

 

There is my 2 cents worth

 

PS When someone asks "did you do all that yourself?"

I always laugh and tell them I aint that talented, and then give credit where credit is due

Edited November 21, 2009 by KELMO
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