I had a conversation with a fellow RCMC member, we were discussing mustangs (of course) and mods. The topic of turning your own wrenches on a car came up.......

So, Who here actually does the work to their cars.......I'm talking more than oil changes. Engine swaps, Tranny swaps, Body work ( which I can't do......I'll try and trick Mark into teaching me how) Blower installs, headers, etc, etc????

I understand some members who are a little older may not.....heck, I'm only 31 and feel a little stiff in the mornings.

If you don't do the work and would like to do it yourself, I'm more than happy to help with the bolt-on stuff. Of course you may want to reference my IRS swap write-up before any wise guys think I'm a free labor pool.

Other than that, I thought this might be a good thread for discussion.
In Germany, We would do Mod Days, Where all the guys who had parts to bolt on would get together and turn wrenches on each others cars.

 

We had a "mod day" to install Patrick's supercharger. I think my knuckles are only now recovering

 

I like to do all my own work. I figure if someone else can do it so can I. There are a few exceptions like rear gear swap or if its under warranty.

 

Glad you asked. It's hard to believe that it has bee 31 years now. I got my first Mustang when I was 15, 1976 (last century) $500-. It was an 11 year old "65 6cyl with a Daganham 4 speed. You would have to hold it in second gear to keep it from "kicking out". The new Mustangs II's had been out a couple of years, but you didn't see everyone just having to have a 4 cyl powered Mustang. Minimum wage was a $1.65 or $1.85. Gas about 44 cents and shop labor rate was somewhere around $16- to $18-. Fast food and paper route money was no where near enough to pay shops to work on the old 'stang. The car needed a paint job so I had to do it myself. Paint wasn't cheap then, good ole lacquer. Remember using an electric sander to sand it down. Well that Mustang was actually kind of boring. Sounded cool though with a cherry bomb muffler behind the inline 6.
I think it was late 1977 or early 1978, Saw an ad in the Huntsville Times.
"For Sale: 1965 Ford Mustang. Black with black interior. 302, aluminum intake, Holley 4 bbl, 4 speed $750-"
Sounds cool. Gotta check this out. Of course purchased it. Something was wrong with the Hurst shifter. Come to find out the PO installed it himself without the instructions. "Had to lengthen the shift rod and flip a shift ear over to function properly. Installed an AM-FM with a tape deck (8 track of course). Dash was already cut anyway. Terrible RF interference. Seems that the "solid copper core" "Performance" spark plug wires were causing the problem. Oh yeah, ran a little rich too. If a Holley 600 CFM is good, a 650 is even better. NOT ! Oh, and you can't forget them headers. Almost forgot, It had 10 x 15 rims and L-60 15's hanging out 3 " each on each side of the back, they gotta go. The 4 speed was fun. It was like pressing a truck clutch pedal though. And the stock pressure plates just wouldn't hold up. Couldn't tell you how many times I had the 4 speed out and back in. Keep in mind this was the day before AutoShack and all of the other "Supermarket" parts stores. Parts weren't cheap and made in China either. And I don't remember hearing the word warranty. Don't even ask about "Speed" parts. Pricey stuff. I remember driving it to Rods Body Shop, his old place before he built his "Mega" shop. He was the best. I remember leaving there saying to myself, "I guess I'll have to paint it myself". Had done it on the first one anyway. A note: My '65 Black stang turned out to be a 1964.5 Rangoon red 4 bbl car. When I bought it it was black witk a black '66 interior.
Fall 1979. Time for College. Finally had the 'stang reliable enough to drive back and forth to Auburn ("the University of Alabama" not to be confused with the one in Tuscaloosa). My favorite route was HWY 231 south out of Huntsville and take a left on HWY 280 when you get there. Then right on 147. Got to see a lot of the state along the way. The old junk yards were plentiful. Lots of old Mustangs in them.
1985 back home. Ken had a shop on Jordan Lane north of Mastin lake. I think this was his 3rd location since the house. Never a place big enough for the cars. If we weren't at the 8 t0 5 jobs, we were at his shop. The 1/4 acre and 2 car garage was just not big enough. The public didn't have any problem finding us. Work was already backing up. Time to get a bigger place.
2 acres and a 1500 square foot building in Hazel Green. Seemed like a world away from north Huntsville where we grew up. Moved everything north and remeber saying that it still wasn't big enough. The new Mustangs were out, the '86 models with the new fuel injected system on the 5.0. We could have each bought one, but that was the same money as the shop and land cost. I'd rather have Shop to work on the old ones than a new car.
Fast forward, running out of time here. It's Friday January 26th, 2007. Woke up at 4:30 AM. 22 degrees outside and a little cool inside. Might as well go to the Shop early. The workload is grand to extreme. Working around the weather. Been cool all week. Yes you can spray primer in the low 40's. Tends to run a little sometimes at that tempurature. Never thought I would be working on a 30 YO 1977 Mustang II with 56K miles. Should have the rest of it in primer today. Trying to get ahead of the poor weather on the way. The high will be 35 degrees Sunday. Was kinda hoping to get to work on my Mustang, but looks like I will be weathered out. No room at the Shop on Nix road to work on my own car. '68 Cougar nosed up to the building for floor pans. 5 Mustangs in line to be painted. 1995 model with a 5.0 here for a radiator. (Newest model thst I will work on at the moment. Still have to go to school on the new ones). Have to take Sunday off every now and then so you know what day it is. 25 degrees at 7:30 AM. Time to sand on the M II some more. Maybe the DA sander won't freeze up to often. Blower heater 4 feet away, Field jacket, heavy gloves. Ear protection anyway and helps keep the ears warm.
What was the question ? How many of you do your own work ? I do and then some.

 

I've always done most of my own work from my clinkers when I was young to my 07 Stang. Even under warranty, If I can fix something myself for a reasonable cost, I'll take the hit as oppose to having a dealership screwing it up worse or creating additional unrelated problems...

 

I look at it as a source of pride and a learning experience to do my own work. Not to mention its always cheaper and a great excuse to buy tools.

 

I do my own work. It's a hobby and gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also makes me feel self sufficient. I don't have to run for help everytime I need something done.

 

As a note, I'll be working on the 65 vert this weekend, bolting suspension onto the body. If anyone wants to come over and help, give me a call.

 

Stripped the panels down to bare metal, repaired a series of dents all the way across the decklid where it was slammed over the years, etch primed, blocked, 2K primed, let flash and 2K primed again.

 

Hey you forgot the driver's side quarter panel.

 

I do all my own work and alot of others work too.....

tranny swaps, rear end swaps engine swaps, engine builds, supercharger installs, going to do my second nitrous install soon....not on a pushrod this time, suspension builds, stereo systems, electronics, I've planned builds for some people of which they have followed with great success. I'm kind of sick of heavily modding my own vehicles, this is why I bought an 03 cobra....I don't need to do much of anything, it's got the brakes, it's got good suspension, it's got the power, it's got the style....it will only need a few small mods (bushings mostly) and a few other small things...

if you need some help with something, or even just some spare hands, I'd be more then willing to help....

 

A BIG Alabama welcome to you and welcome to the friendliest Big town/small City in the southeast US. It will be good having someone around that has experience working on the late, late models !

 

another welcome from hazel green .. i work on my old junk as i am an old clunker myself.. i would`nt know where to began anything on late model stuff but they sure are pretty... edsel ford mentioned on barrett jackson that no other car company offers such a car as the 07 shelby at a comparable price ( he said 36 grand ) ... i aint found one for that yet or i`d be driving one