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What type of automotive work do you enjoy?

BobinVirginia

By BobinVirginia
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Steve_Mack_CT 25,000+ Points

Steve_Mack_CT

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I like doing inremental improvements.  And detailing can be relaxing and rewarding.

 

It took a while with our SL to correct years of deferred maintenance.  Some I did myself, other sections were done professionally, which is still rewarding when you reallize your a step closer...  Drives A1 now and I am going through the A now, same approach.

 

Back to the MB.  It is far from perfect but the single stage factory paint cleaned up well enough that I was at an event a couple years back, guy with a 10,000 original mile example of same car looks mine (124k)  over and says "they don't look all that different, do they" made my day! 😊👍

 

 

 

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Edited by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)
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edinmass 25,000+ Points

edinmass

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What kind of automotive work do I enjoy?

 

Going to work.......it’s kind of a nice place to spend time. 
 

Fixing things that others haven’t been able to........sort of a trademark for our shop.

 

Making a early car drive as run or better than new, most people have never driven a great early car operating at 100 percent.

 

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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Fossil 25,000+ Points

Fossil

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Whatever it takes to keep June Bug running. Electrical, Body work, or mechanical. Upholstery is out of my league though. If it takes more than some 3M 77 and a staple gun than I'll leave it for someone else.  

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PONTIAC1953 10,000+ Points

PONTIAC1953

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i enjoy restoration work, in the 1980s i worked in a classic chevy and corvette restoration shop part time, and i have helped a good friend restore corvette seats before he installed the new seat covers he either sew together or ordered from a corvette restoration company. i have rebuilt several engines, and took automatic transmission rebuilding in college. but mostly i really enjoy upgrading my 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catalina with options and accessories from 1953 to 1959, not with aftermarket items, but with actual GM parts from Pontiac as well as the other four GM divisions. if you visit the "Our cars and Restoration Projects" section and search for 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catalina Restoration, you'll see the work i've done, and continue as work in progress.

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wayne sheldon 25,000+ Points

wayne sheldon

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The thing I really seem to enjoy the most? Is repairing pieces, or "restoring" cars that several other people have declared unfixable! My 1915 model T runabout that I am trying to work on is one such car. The basic original car was in poor enough condition that it bounced from one person to another for twenty years, finally settling in a friends "behind the barn" for another decade or two. Anything that was any good? Someone along the line kept it! I already had collected a big pile of 1915 parts, most of them rejects from other people's restorations. The car is shaping up nicely, certainly NO show car. But for being mostly correct? Not many others can match it. And it is almost ALL original steel! (Except for small patch panels I made, some nuts and bolts, and a few later parts mostly unseen.)

There is one significant piece of the car that is not a reject from someone else's (or several?) restoration. And that is the engine. I got lucky. I bought a crusted in dirt and grease long-block out of the estate of a long time model T driver. It was one of the last things out of the estate to be sold. It looked nasty, and like it had sat under a work bench for years! The price was right, and I had a few dollars to spare, so I took a chance. When I cleaned it up? It was one of the nicest low mileage engines I have ever seen! Someone had updated it (probably about 1950 from the look of it?) with newer timing gears and later lighter rods, bore was tight and standard. No significant rust anywhere. No apparent cracks. I replaced the two-piece valves and freshened it up a bit. I can hardly wait to hear it run! (It has been nearly ready for almost four years now, family needs got in the way.)

Almost everything else, needed some significant repair. But if one piece is going to be the best part of all? The engine is the right piece.

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wayne sheldon 25,000+ Points

wayne sheldon

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2 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Two piece Model T valves, had to stop and think about that.... then remembered the forged heads attached to the stems that predated the common one piece modern valves. 

Actually, they were cast iron heads on steel stems (cast in place!). With age, corrosion, and unknown miles and abuses, the heads have a nasty habit of breaking loose and dropping into the cylinder, usually at speed. Sometimes, an owner gets lucky. No serious damage. Other times, even good blocks can be practically destroyed if the valve head lodges just wrong between the piston and the engine head. Original two-piece valves should never be used in an engine that is going to be driven. 

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Guest

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 The greatest pleasure in life is doing things that others say can not be done.

 

 I enjoy metal work and fiber glass, along with structural work, fixing things that are beyond repair.

 

 I get a little bored with the finish work and the painting, (I've done it all my life) but fortunately , I have good body men and painters working for me.

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Walt G 25,000+ Points

Walt G

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11 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

I really enjoy body work and all the prep work for perfect paint. Electrical stiff I'm totally clueless on and sell my projects before any wire work is started. 

I echo what my friend Bob said. I used to do mechanical work and found if interesting, but now reaching over a motor or laying on the ground under a car for hours has no real appeal. Electrical work I don't go near , I have a pace maker and if that gets short circuited due to some spark I am done forever.

I had a master painter/craftsman teach me how to prep, prime, sand, paint in lacquer exactly 50 years ago and still do that, but not on a complete car. Panels, and mostly on large pressed steel toys and pedal cars ( which are easier to handle/store and work on a bench ) I still take great pleasure in working on. The fellow who taught me ( we were doing the total paint restoration on two of my pre WWII era cars.) told me " I am going to ruin you, you will never be able to look at a car again without being able to pick up on some possible poor body or paint work" What he said was true.

I do not know how to paint in enamel, or two part /hardener etc. that is all "to new" for me to want to even think about.

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Marty Roth 25,000+ Points

Marty Roth

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19 minutes ago, Walt G said:

 I used to do mechanical work and found if interesting, but now reaching over a motor or laying on the ground under a car for hours has no real appeal. Electrical work I don't go near , I have a pace maker and if that gets short circuited due to some spark I am done forever.

I had a master painter/craftsman teach me how to prep, prime, sand, paint in lacquer exactly 50 years ago and still do that, but not on a complete car. Panels, and mostly on large pressed steel toys and pedal cars ( which are easier to handle/store and work on a bench ) I still take great pleasure in working on. The fellow who taught me ( we were doing the total paint restoration on two of my pre WWII era cars.) told me " I am going to ruin you, you will never be able to look at a car again without being able to pick up on some possible poor body or paint work" What he said was true.

I do not know how to paint in enamel, or two part /hardener etc. that is all "to new" for me to want to even think about.

 

I'll echo what my friend Walt has noted.

I've always been good at diagnostics, and used to be really good at mechanical repairs. Now approaching age 80 and dealing with arthritis, cataract surgeries, trigger finger, and a brand new pacemaker (my fifth since 1998), I'm nowhere near as fast, strong, or even as active as I had been. My body, as well as my wife and also the weather, remind me of this.  Still, I enjoy tinkering, puttering, less major repairs. Sure, I have to be more careful with the electrical stuff, especially since I blew out my first pacemaker while helping on a friend's 1929 Buick when the sparkplug leads fell across my wrist and my other hand was on the firewall, leaving my chest and pacemaker as the shortest path to ground. 

 

Most of all, I guess I enjoy diagnosing the cause of an issue, finding the best fix, doing it myself when appropriate, and then driving the great-running car as a reward. A close second wold be reasonable maintenance, but driving is still the reward.

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Ben Bruce aka First Born 25,000+ Points

Ben Bruce aka First Born

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4 hours ago, avgwarhawk said:

Trouble shooting mechanical and electrical.  Then the repair itself.  I'm just a mechanical minded person. Probably got it from my uncle who took apart his father's 39 Dodge because he wanted to see how it worked. Then put it back together.  

I fit in here.  And driving. I like to drive. Like it a lot. 

 

  Ben

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JV Puleo 25,000+ Points

JV Puleo

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I think my answer should be very much like Ed's. I like (or, more accurately, feel driven to) making things and solving otherwise insoluble problems. The little outside work I've taken is generally this sort of thing...jobs no commercial shop would want or take but still have to get done. That said, I do not enjoy working on my every day car...I resent the time it takes and the cheapness of many modern parts. I've given up on electronics...in fact, my everyday truck is an '89 simply to get away from the electronic rubbish that is so prevalent in the past 20 years.

Edited by JV Puleo
comma (see edit history)
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Pilgrim65 5,000+ Points

Pilgrim65

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I enjoy any job that results in solving a problem , like starting , perhaps after long period standng or after I have flooded carbs , eliminating vibration or rattle , and regaining power steering or brakes after cylinder leak or solving an electrical issue 

but probably I would choose clean and polish , like my cars looking pristine as possible 

Edited by Pilgrim65 (see edit history)
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Carroll_1 500+ Points

Carroll_1

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For some reason I can't quite explain to myself, I seem to be drawn to "old iron", and the dirty, frustrating, and sometimes rewarding job of disassembling and identifying usable parts.  My now 80 year old friend and mentor got me involved with REOs a few years ago, but I can't blame it all on him, as I continue to find and rescue more pieces. I'm working on restoring two cars, a 1918 & 1920, and I found a complete 1918 driver for my puzzle guide, but I'm a sucker for returning old yard art into usable pieces. I'm trying to learn how to hold myself back, but sometimes the iron just pulls me in.  Last fall I spent several hours heating and re-shaping six cast iron running board brackets from a mid-teens REO The Fifth crusty frame that spent decades bent by a bulldozer as the chassis was pushed to sit by a lake as a conversation piece.  My hope was they might someday find their way back to a useful life. Unfortunately, they'll probably end up laying on the shelf until some future auctioneer says, "I don't know what they are or what they fit, but it looks like someone spent some time on them". And then they'll sell for $.50 cents. But regardless, I'm going to keep my cutting torch tanks full and my induction heater working. There's always more parts to harvest.

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Edited by Carroll_1 (see edit history)
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Pfeil 10,000+ Points

Pfeil

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12 hours ago, pontiac1953 said:

i enjoy restoration work, in the 1980s i worked in a classic chevy and corvette restoration shop part time, and i have helped a good friend restore corvette seats before he installed the new seat covers he either sew together or ordered from a corvette restoration company. i have rebuilt several engines, and took automatic transmission rebuilding in college. but mostly i really enjoy upgrading my 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catalina with options and accessories from 1953 to 1959, not with aftermarket items, but with actual GM parts from Pontiac as well as the other four GM divisions. if you visit the "Our cars and Restoration Projects" section and search for 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catalina Restoration, you'll see the work i've done, and continue as work in progress.

This invitation to look at Charles 53 Pontiac is worth a look. Charles is doing something that Pontiac division was going to do but was stopped by the corporate 14th floor of GM. GM blocked so many of Pontiac's projects it's a wonder Pontiac lasted as long as it did.

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TAKerry 25,000+ Points

TAKerry

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I enjoy doing body work and painting. Taking a rusty, bent piece of metal, refurbishing and making it look new again. I have never been mechanically inclined and barely know what makes an engine run, but that is something I am up to the challenge of doing one of these days. Most of the stuff I have worked on would probably be scrap to a lot of guys but the buy in price is within my budget. I find a lot of inspiration is seeing work a lot of you have done that started with not much more than a frame resulting in a beautifully restored car.

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caddyshack 2,500+ Points

caddyshack

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After college I was able to purchase two early ('04 Cad and '12 Brush) vehicles. Not knowing exactly what I had, I found the research side of the hobby to be the most rewarding. Back in the early '70's I also had to purchase 3 year bonds in relation to the title search, before a title and plates could be issued. This 3 year period meant no work on the vehicles. During this period, restoration methods, parts searches, and verification of build sheets were all valuable experiences. Later purchases (Ford T's and A's) let me do more hands on tasks like body work, electrical, welding, etc.. It was all fun. Now in my mid 70's it's time to let others do the work for me. I find that today, I enjoy helping others or bringing a vehicle to local car gatherings and letting the younger generation ask some of the darnedest questions.    

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BobinVirginia 5,000+ Points

BobinVirginia

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9 hours ago, DonMicheletti said:

I enjoy replicating parts that are "unobtanium", either for rarity or being missing. A real fun challenge is working with just old photographs or sales information.

That’s what attracted me to machine work as a teenager. Machining and fabricating needed obsolete parts. Very rewarding work creating parts from scratch.  

Edited by BobinVirginia (see edit history)
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32buick67 5,000+ Points

32buick67

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Tinkering, mechanical, thermodynamic, time handling devices, carb and electrical is fun, especially troubleshooting complex gremlin and ghost issues.

Italian inventors are mi amici.

Upholstery and paint, not so much, kudos to those who have a Juki machine and a DuPont account, wow, you are most impressive! 

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1935Packard 10,000+ Points

1935Packard

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I enjoy the work of inserting the key, turning it, and pressing the starter button.  I then enjoy the work of shifting gears as I drive.  Those of us without much mechanical knowledge don't have much other work to choose from. :)

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Ozstatman 10,000+ Points

Ozstatman

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4 minutes ago, 1935Packard said:

I enjoy the work of inserting the key, turning it, and pressing the starter button.  I then enjoy the work of shifting gears as I drive.  Those of us without much mechanical knowledge don't have much other work to choose from. :)

Agreed, but it turned out I was a pretty good parts cleaner/washer! 😉

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hidden_hunter 10,000+ Points

hidden_hunter

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Mechanical and the problem solving that comes with it, I generally find that if I try and do things how they were done "back in the day" it works out ok and most attempts to be smarter than the designer....

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chistech 10,000+ Points

chistech

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I read all the comments to the end and unless I missed it, no one mentioned wood working in our old cars. Like most here, I enjoy making something out of what little you might have back to what it once was.  I find wood work extremely gratifying and I am really amazed at how good quality wood work can yield a rock solid body. I don’t find any real pressure when making up new wood because if you screw up, you just start again. Many times I also enjoy the planning and process one has to go through when adding wood to an already assembled body.   Many times a repair can be much more involved and the pieces themselves more intricate than originally designed so they can work or fit into an area that is not accessible with the body metal on. I’ve literally made rear roof bows that had pivots in the center like a pair of scissors so I could get both ends into place, then pivot the the arms of the piece to force the bow out and up into its location. The addition of screws, glue, dowels, etc., made that piece as strong as it originally was.

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