Working on cars is a PAIN (really)!

[Geezer]

As much as I love working on amps, I HATE  >:( working on cars!!!

They have always just been a "tool" to me....something I use to get where I'm going. I've only learned to work on/repair them out of necessity, hating even more to part with my $ for something I can do myself.

Anyway, I took an old "beater" car in for a state inspection this week & was told it needed lower ball joints replaced in order to pass. I sez, "just slap the rejection on it & I'll replace them myself".....bad move!

This car (1989 Chevy Celebrity) has the ball joints riveted in place & the only way to get them out is to drill out the rivets from the bottom. The problem was that I only had a floor jack to get the car ~ 1' off the ground, & there wasn't enough room to get my drill under the rivets, so I had to drill as best I could from the sides of the rivets. Then, I used a chisel to whack away at the remnants, then had to drive the  rivets out (also from the bottom) with a punch. Being so close to the ground, I couldn't get a full swing at the punch, & had to turn the hammer sideways in order to get any swing at all.

All this while lying on my back, right & left shoulders on the asphalt in 30 degree weather!
I worked from sun-up to sunset yesterday....just got the last wheel back on this morning!

I'm getting too old for stuff like that, as I am so sore today I can barely walk. I was so chilled to the bone last night, it took me several hours in bed with a heating pad to stop shivering!

Maybe it's time to let somebody else do this crap & just shell out the $$.....nah, I can't afford that!  ::)

Thanks for letting me vent......Da (really old & cranky) Geezer

[tubesornothing]

See if you can find a guitar player who is a FT mechanic who needs his amp tweaked.  Maybe swap labour. I know what you mean about cars - they make me wanna puke.

[Dynaflow]

 Many of the GM products used riveted on Ball joints. They're a PITA even if you have a hoist and the proper stuff to do it. But doing in the driveway is REALLY no fun at all. Other NOT FUN jobs include pressing out A arm bushings and doing clutch jobs in the driveway. I once dropped a iron case 4sp out of a satelite sport (basically a road runner 1968) and we were nearly crushed by it. We rented a trans jack to put it back up, that was pretty stupid for sure. I have since learned I am DEFINITELY to old for that crap, which is misfortune cause its so damn expensive to have others do it. My current health being what it is, I nearly croaked changing a damn tire in the arizona heat. I feel your pain, trust me and hope you recoup from your scrapes and aches.

Regards,

Dyna

[tubenit]

Man, I've been there ...........  I used to do all the work on my cars cause I couldn't afford getting them worked on.

I had a '64 GMC pick em up truck that I worked on a bunch. Worse was the engine threw a crankshaft bearing at
183,000 and I had to pull the motor myself and get a valve job and the block with new pistons, etc...... PLUS
replace the clutch.  It was done during a signficant ice/snow storm in Dallas Tx (how ironic is that!).  My hands were so cold I couldn't feel the cuts and bruises when a wrench would slip and I'd bust my knuckles.

I hate working on cars!!  >:(                  Only thing I find worse is plumbling problems.  Can you imagine a lemon of a car with a sink, disposal and toilet in the back to boot!??  Aghh!!
 ;D

Best regards, Tubenit

[billcreller]

 Contrary to you folks, I enjoy working on cars...my own that is.  I have two Caddys and two Chevy pickups, plus my "jewel", a 1974 Chevelle Mailbu.  The Malibu has a 408 CI small block I built up, and I restored the car a few years ago.
  This past fall and this winter seemed to be brake repair season, like rusted lines, worn linings etc.  I've done a lot of the ball-joint replacement stuff.  I have all the tooling and special tools for most work on cars.
  Front wheel drive cars aren't much fun to fix though.
Also working on a 1977 El Camino that I bought new.  It needs a bunch of body work, and I have a 500 Caddy engine built up for it, along with a 9-inch Ford rear to handle the torque.
  All kinds of fun ;D

[Geezer]

I have all the tooling and special tools for most work on cars.

THAT"S the difference....I don't have squat!

IF I had the right tools, I could've done the job in an hour or two....... :-[

[bigsbybender]

I quit my job as a mechanic after a short time....but I still work on and restore cars...like Bill said, having the right tools makes all the difference. I use an Oxy-Acetylene setup to torch out Ball Joints.....I just have to remember to let the area cool before putting in the new ones....(don't ask my why I know this  :-[ )


Here Are some Restorations.


1970 Beetle after it's first restoration  in ~1996.....It's in a million pieces again, having no garage for over a decade and absorbing tons of Road Salt have taken their toll....it's going to be new again....I've replaced nearly 30% of the sheet Metal, It should be ready for paint when temps rise above 70 degrees again.

1963 Ford Thunderbird not long after I bought it.


Stripped down in Fall of 2008...I've got most of the paint removed, new floor pans put in it and new rear Quarter Panels. It's coming along, but a money pit.


I kind of specialize in Air-cooled VW's.  I've restored or built several. 5 Bugs, 1Bus and 1 Karmann-Ghia....Then I have a passion for old Fords.....Although I got an eye on a rust-Free 61' Chevrolet Bel-Air body/Frame that's begging me to buy it.

j.

[Dynaflow]

 My brother had a 63 bird just like that he totally restored. My brother is a perfectionist and the car was perfect in and out. Interestingly enough and you probably know this, the aero or rocket bird (that body style from if memory serves 61-63 or there abouts) is not as desirable a bird as the model before or the model after. He took a bath on his when he had to sell it but thats cars in general. 7 years ago I took a 72 240z and put a 350 chevy motor with 6sp camaro transmission in it, fabricated exhaust, did all the suspension, had a rollbar I welded in from a kit, centerlines etc. Cost a fortune, lost my ass on it. But the car was needless to say VERY quick, and replacing the long inline six with the short v8 made its weight distribution about 50/50. Getting on the freeway was so much fun, from rolling at 25 to 70 in a few seconds. 6 speed was rather overkill, had double overdrives in 5th and 6th and I saw an honest 135 mph before I lifted in fear of literally flying. Cars are great fun, amps are cheaper... :D

Regards,

Dyna

[Geezer]

I think the '64's were the "jet birds" (?).........

[billcreller]

 My most recent fixer-upper is a 1986 S10 4X4 pickup. It needed everything!  New doors , new front fenders and inner fenders, new core support, new cab mounts, new floors, rocker panels, radiator, and......... well, you know what I mean. Anyway, it turned out quite good, and I drive it every day here in the snowy weather. It has a little 2.8 V6, which runs nice.
   My next project is the engine in my '92 Chevy pickup :)

[DummyLoad]

It has a little 2.8 V6, which runs nice.



not disrespect, but isn't that little 60^o V-6 prone to having crankshaft failures...  :-\

[billcreller]

 I believe you  are correct about the crank ISO.  This one has only about 5500 miles on it (crate engine) so hopefully it will last a while ;D  A friend had a crank break in one of those a few years ago.
   Kind of rare, but a mechanic friend had a broke crank in a Chev 350 V8 (pick-up) last Saturday. I hadn't heard of that before.

[bigsbybender]

Bill, I did an 88' S10 in 2001.  It was a fun project...it was near impossible to find rust free parts a here in the upper midwest, but the parts that I did find were reasonable. I had a lot of welding to do. Luckily there are so many S10's, GMC Sonoma's and S10 Blazers to glean parts from. Once I collected all the parts that I needed, I did a blitz build over the course of 2 weekends.  Mine had a 4 cylinder with Borg-Warner 5 speed, I got over 30MPG on the highway with it. I'd still have it if a trophy deer didn't decide to leap in front of me on the interstate one night.

I'm aware of the reputation of the 2.8L but I have a friend that has over 180,000 miles on his 92' S10 with that engine.  A few years back he got a newer model (03' I think) intending to sell the 92'. The newer one had an OHC 4 Cylinder but it actually got worse fuel economy with less torque than the V-6, So he traded the new one to get his wife a car and still tools around in the old one. 

j.

[supro66]

I always used an air chisel gun
But I am to long in the tooth to do this work any more
I got all the tools
I just got to big


MY TUBE AMP SITE
http://www.geocities.com/insp/SUPRO6420.html

[billcreller]

I use a 4 inch grinder with cutting wheels for the sheet metal work. I gas weld the new parts in, like floors, cab mounts etc.  I don't have a mig welder, and I've gas welded on airplanes for so many years I'm OK with it.
   I bought the S10 body parts from two sources, Sherman Parts, and LMC truck.  Trouble is, the cost adds up fast!! :(

[PapaMidnite]

I had an 87 S-10 pulled the four banger dropped in an LT1 vette motor ,4 speed munci M21 rockcrusher and robbed a rear end out of an old mail truck [the're Posi] just added heavy duty rear axles ,to take the Torque .Custom headers and exxaust  that took forever to make .Man that thing ripped ,Drove it for a year sold it for down payment on a house .I guess it was a good thing .But boy was it fun to drive . i'm looking into a Monster Miata project . I have a killer 383 chevy stroker just itchin to go into something

[billcreller]

 A friend has two S10s with small block Chevies in them. It's hard to get them moving without wearing down the rear tires, but they are sure fun to drive.  The easy ones to convert are the late models made for the 4.6 V6, because of the fire wall tunnel.  Otherwise the firewall has to have a bit of work to clear the bell housing.