[94SilverCab]

I fit into the Oil and Gas category...over the last 12 years I have also learned to change a fuse and a relay and a few bulbs. Otherwise I am at the mercy of specialty shops. I admire folks who can do their own wrenching, but if I stripped my engine down all I would get is a huge pile of unusable parts...



Hats off gents,



Jay

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[Lear35A]

You could be assimilated, Jay.

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='Lear35A' timestamp='1363182328' post='139906']

You could be assimilated, Jay.

[/quote]

Yes, it is futile to resist...

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[flash]

building the motor can be fun, if you know what you're doing. it can be a mess if you don't. unfortunately most people don't. many just read the manual, and think that is all there is to it. they'll put it together and not even "degree in" the cams. sure it will run that way, but not as well as it could. even determining proper clearances can be complicated. doing it wrong can mean screwing up a motor. there is a big difference between a motor assembled by an amateur, and one done by a pro. you can tell in the way it runs (at least i can most of the time).



i would build mine now too, if i had a lift and other guys to do the R&R. i hate that part. when i had my shop, that's how i worked. they did the heavy lifting, and i did the detail work. i was fully prepared to buy the things i needed, and build mine this last time around. but, i did not want a lift in my garage. that is a slippery slope i do not want to go down here.



so, it's not as simple as "why not do it yourself?"

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[Cloud9...68]

I agree that the decision to rebuild your one engine is one that shouldn't be taken lightly. I did all the R & R (except the machine shop assembled the bottom end, without my asking them, which in the end I'm grateful for), but had the pro's do the critical stuff, like the valve job, balancing, machine work on the rod journals, setting the ring gaps, etc. I did time my own cams following the procedure in the manual, but after reading Flash's experience (which Pete more-or-less agrees with), I have a feeling more fine-tuning will be needed in that area, as I probably left several horsepower on the table. But in the end, it runs smoothly (haven't taken it on the road yet), there are no leaks, no smoke, no bad noises, etc., so it appears that it was a successful operation. I do want to put it on a dyno, though. Would I recommend doing this? Not to the faint of heart, as it was one of the scariest things I've ever done, and it's a miracle I didn't screw it up, which I can 100% attribute to all the help I got from many people on this forum.



But as far as doing other, less insane things on your own car, I can understand all the reasons for not, but all I can say is that over my lifetime of doing virtually all the maintenance and repairs on all of my family's cars, I'm sure I've saved tens of thousands of dollars in mechanics bills, enough to pay for at least one kid's college education. Or to put it another way, doing my own car work has made the difference for this sole provider of a family of four between being able to meet my monthly obligations on a consistent basis, versus having to go into debt to do so. I definitely have no special skills (far from it!), but nowadays, fixing your own car is just a you tube video away. If I can do it, anybody can.

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[flash]

i used to be very much a do-it-yourself guy when it came to my cars. there pretty much wasn't anything i didn't do myself. automatic transmissions, rear end setups, and air conditioning were pretty much it.



nowadays though, cars are getting a lot more complicated. i couldn't even do a brake job on the SL550. you have to hook up to the computer to do it, and i can't do that.



i don't even change the oil on the denali anymore. the mess and disposal take me more time that having it done by somebody else.



that being said, i do most of the work on the 968. however, it's really only because i can't find anybody who would do it like i want it done. if i ever find them, they get the work. i can better spend my time making the money to pay for it. i made the mistake of adding up the jobs i have turned down over the last 8 years of screwing around with this car, and it was way over a million. i didn't even factor in anything i could have drummed up. that's just plain stupid. needless to say, the wife is not happy.

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[Cloud9...68]

Flash,



I completely agree that somebody in your situation shouldn't be spending their time doing repairs and maintenance on their own car. Fortunately, our cars are still old enough that there's very little I can't do at home, and since I'm not self-employed, I'm still money ahead doing so. MY wife (and family) are very happy that I'm able to save us boatloads of money by fixing the cars myself. I'm even considering taking an auto mechanics class at the community college to help fill in the gaps in my knowledge, and to get extra practice. I'm sure it would be very eye-opening, and point out a lot of things I've been doing wrong all these years.

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[flash]

no worries



now let's put it in terms that most people can understand



how much is the time with your kids worth? how much would you pay to have some of that time back that you spent doing something other than spending it with them?

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[94SilverCab]

Wow, don't get the wrong idea here, this is not about money for me...I would be happy to be able to do the work myself and save millions of dollars. The one thing I learned about myself early on is that I can turn a $20 repair into a $500 repair in no time flat. It's just better for me to find a professional I trust and leave it to them. I could no more rebuild an engine than I could remove a brain tumor.



There are things I can do, and things I can't...if I want to enjoy the things that require skills I don't have then I simply have to pay for them. Luckily for me, there are things I am good at that very few others have the skill or knowledge to do themselves.



Que sera sera...



Jay

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[tamathumper]

Cloud, if flash was that well off, he wouldn't care what his wife thought about his income. If she started harping, he'd just say "NEXT".

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[flash]

lol - i live in california, where she would automatically get half. since she's an attorney, she'd get it all.



but, i knew that going in.



jay hits on a very good point. doing it yourself often leads to a lot more time and expense than if you had gone to a pro to begin with. i know i've had my share of that.

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[Cloud9...68]

All good points. It all depends on your personality and circumstances, and it's all about maintaining a sense of balance. Car issues tend to come in spurts, with long periods between the required work. The fact that I have a family is a big part of why my track car build has taken so long. In fact, I came very close to abandoning it because of all the time it was eating into my family time. If catastrophe had struck when I fired it up, I probably would have pushed it over a cliff. I will definitely be relieved when it's done.



But as far as maintaining and repairing the family fleet as needed, I don't have any trouble with the time involved with that, because it really doesn't add up to all that much in the grand scheme. I'm able to spend plenty of time with the family in between brake jobs and oil changes. The fact that I'm so pathetic as to not have any other real hobbies helps too, I suppose.

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[flash]

lol - somehow i think that is about to change

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[craigawoodman]

Flash,



No a hobby, an addiction. Literally, to adrenaline. It is a slippery slope from that point on (and expensive).

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='craigawoodman' timestamp='1363268136' post='139977']

Flash,



No a hobby, an addiction. Literally, to adrenaline. It is a slippery slope from that point on (and expensive).

[/quote]

So true. When people ask me at what age I plan to retire, I laugh and say that my mom is nearly 81 and still working, and I plan to outdo her, which I will need to do to support this addiction.

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