How many of you do your own work?
 

Curious how many of you guys have shops work on your car vs do it all yourself?

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I do everything I can do myself - which covers everything mechanically. I don't do upholstery or difficult metal work.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

Delete...

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

Bored&Stroked X2


When I got my, new to me, house and shop, 5 + years ago, I told my wife I was going to outfit my shop SO I can do everything I can possibly do, myself. I currently "can" do everything except paint and I am working on that and having my own paint booth. After paying BIG money for a "supposed" professional restoration at a shop in North Georgia and getting a moisture filled paint job....I will be mad with myself and have more money in my pocket than paying someone with NO moral compass or ethics to "screw me"!!!! I have a two post lift, machine shop capabilities - lathe, 2 mills, 2 ammco brake lathes, 20 ton shop press, a 1 ton gantry crane with a 1 ton electric hoist and 1 ton chain hoist. I have shrinker, stretcher, sheet metal brake, sheet metal shear, bead roller, 8” buffing machine, MiG, TiG and Oxy Acetylene, Sun 504, bead blast cabinet, parts washer, 16.9CFM 80gal compressor, engine run stand and a complete outfitted wood shop SO painting is the last order of business for my shop!!!! AND by and large I don't have to rely on anyone's help to accomplish what I need to accomplish or wait on someone else's scheduled. NOT to be braggadocios by any means

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I do all of my own work.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I do almost everything myself.

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I had an early 911 when I was a much younger man and took it to a specialty shop to have a bit of work done. That experience taught me a very valuable lesson. I'd rather buy the tools and trip over them for the next 35 years than pay anyone to do anything on any of my cars, motorcycles, boats, washer & dryer or anything else that was assembled by a human ever again. YouTube has made being a self-repairer easier than ever. It may take me longer and I might not get it right the first time but in the end I know it was done right and I can repeat if and when necessary. New cars are not user friendly for repairing, the two we have go to a local independent when anything creeps. Biggest hurdle I see is getting old, the physical stuff catches up to most of us.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I used to do all the work except painting. Now it's mostly mechanical and wiring. I also used to do upholstery kits for my own cars and also did it for others. Once the upholstery kits were no longer available it put a stop to that activity.

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I used to do almost everything myself. I would farm out engine machine work and upholstery. After my health "troubles" last spring, I can't do much any more. I still have my '51 and my Corvette. Neither of them need anything at the moment, so I'll keep driving and see what develops.

Oh yeah. I do have my oil changed commercially. I have everything I need to do it myself, but I just hate drain oil for some reason.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I do everything that I can do myself. I recently paid to have a radiator recored, but not before trying to repair it myself. I found a local place recently that will fit and balance tyres reasonably so will use them in future. I can remove and fit them but cannot balance them.

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I farmed out my radiator repair, axle housing bearing surfaces, pinion bearing removal, torque tube center bearing, generator rebuild, tire install & wheel balance. Everything else was my busted knuckles except upholstery and engine internals which were good from the git go. It is my firm opinion that anyone who doesn’t do hands-on is merely an observer, not a hobbyist. Sadly, by my own definition, I’m no longer a hobbyist because I sold my pride and joy.

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My car has never been to a shop, and it came to me on a flatbed because it wouldn't run. But I send components to experienced pros for rebuild.

I think you will only see responses from those of us who want to brag. Other readers are not going to post that they have no mechanical abilities and pay others to do the work.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I also do most everything on my old vehicles, including paint and 'upohlstery.' I'm pretty good with a 3" brush and have fairly low expectations. Last thing I farmed out was the machine work on my 8ba rebuild. I try very hard not to cut corners on the mechanical side of things, but have been known to choose a slightly worn original ford part rather a new overseas aftermarket 'reproduction' part. The need to do hands on wrenching is very strong in me. I hope my body holds out for a while, because I still have a lot of stuff I want to build and repair.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I have found that the cheap bubble balancers like those sold at HF and NH work quite well. (The hardest part is keeping the carrier mounted correctly on the balancer frame.) I have also found that "pre-balancing" the tires by moving the tire in relation to the rim can make a big difference, as well as giving some thought on placing the weights.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I do everything, engine , trans , electrical, paint , body , interior( except headliner ), suspension, etc . Its getting harder and not as much fun as it used to be to be . I’ve got 14 old cars , trucks . Some original, some drivers ( original trans etc ) modern sbc , some street rods and some old race cars . Non are trailer queens . I drive them all the time, even grocery shopping and to walmart . More people see the old cars and smile than if I just took them to shows . As if any shows exist anymore around here.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

Ggmac what is your ins bill on all those cars, i got a 40 ford coupe thats a driver and it's over 2 hundred?
I do most of my own work.

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I do everything except painting. I can do the painting and have all the equipment and have done so in the past, but no good place to do it other than small parts. I also should do more paint panel buffing, but kind of dread it do to lack of experience.

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I do all my own work.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I try to do all my own mechanical work, but i did just have someone rebuild my 21 stud engine plus machine work, short block. I will probably be outsourcing the component repairs to the trusted experts on the Barn. I am attempting the metal repair on the sheet metal right now, watching a lot of YouTube videos on the topic.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

Very few shops left that know our cars, and prices per hr are killers. Hobby mags will NOT report on the $ involved, Priced many out of our cars. Newc

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I also do most of my own work. Exceptions made for machining and carb/disty rebuilding.

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Overall I do everything mechanical that includes complete ground up builds. Only things I wont do is body work, paint and upholstery.
This picture is what's on the line bore table at the moment. Ford 8BA block that's getting a five main bearing crankshaft. The next engine for our very fast vintage engine powered land speed race car. Hoping to get near 250 MPH with our 292 cubic inch combination.
What your looking at is a lot of hand made one off pieces using the Bridgeport mill, Southbend lath and Drill press. Oh and a whole lot of hours also.

Ronnieroadster

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

WOW, that is pretty awesome!

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My 52 Merc has not been in a repair shop since the 1960s. I do what little work it has had done but I have a secret weapon. My younger brother has decades of experience working as a heavy duty mechanic and when I run into something too complicated or need to borrow a tool I don't have, you know who I'm going to call. I've done all the brake work, shocks, rad replacement, hood and fenders with a little help lifting the heavy stuff. Tire changing. Right now I am stuck on removing an inner door panel hoping to get a new driver window glass.

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Wow! Good for you, Robert!

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

I was a professional mechanic for 30-years. Since I was around 18, I have "never" paid somebody to do work on a car except for engine machine work and warranty repair. Nobody touches my cars but me. I worked for the phone company; we had smog licenses for doing smogs in house. We did 100% of everything in house, from fixing the really big trucks that set the poles, down to the small service vehicles. Around one-hundred vehicles were assigned to "each" mechanic to repair and maintain. I did that for 30-years. Every tool we had at my job I have at home. I built a garage that's around 90' long and 30' deep. I have a heavy commercially built hoist and just about every tool I will ever need. I have a paint booth. Big sand blast cabinet, I have little unit for outside sandblasting frames and parts that won't fit in the cabinet. Tire machine and computerized wheel balancer. Brake rotor and drum lathe, hydraulic press... All good quality tools I bought from shops that went out of business over the years.

I collected about a dozen good cars over the years, '32 Fords, 66 GT-350, even a couple early chain-drive Mack trucks. All really neat cars to restore when I retired. Then I retired and I had a failed back surgery, both shoulder surgeries, and then I had a small stroke. Being a professional mechanic really beats the crap out of your body. Now I have everything I need to restore those cars except for a functioning body. I keep thinking I'll go out to the garage tomorrow to work on something but then the pain is too bad. I'm just worn out and I'm only 64.

My dad belonged to the Model A Club since the late 1950s. Before that he had a full race '32 roadster. He bought another real flathead powered highboy '32 roadster that I eventually ended up with. It's up in the air on the hoist waiting for me to go work on it. It ran well until it sat for years at dad's house. I pulled the tank, and sand blasted it inside and out to get the crap out of it. It kept plugging the lines with rust. I just need to get out there and paint the tank and stick it back on the car. I also inherited his '33 disassembled pickup. I already have a '34 pickup project. I have a stock '29 roadster, a couple '64 Falcon projects, a famous magazine Model A Hot Rod pickup from the early 1950s. I think it was the second hot rod to ever have an overhead engine in it when it appeared in Hot Rod Magazine. Another '32 Brookville roadster on an original chassis that's almost finished. There more but can't remember what's all out there until I see it. There's a 200 mph Boss 302 powered El Mirage, Bonneville '29 Roadster out there. And I was going to restore them all, yeah right!

That was me back around 1984. That truck was new then. Years later I put an engine in it, a rear end and a few 5-speeds and clutches over the years. Whatever broke I fixed it and that was just one of many, many phone company vehicles.

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I’m fairly new to antique cars , since 2019. This is my first and probably my only. 1952 F1. So this will be a different take.

I really try not to do anything if I can help it. �� But somehow I’m always busy or have been busy picking parts up out of state, going to the chrome shop, powder coating, radiator shop, drive shaft shop, dropping parts off-picking them up, shipping them out, reading/researching about them, to say nothing of working at my business in order to pay the high prices for them, sourcing and getting supplies etc. The truck is way too nice for me to be stumbling around with it. Plus I’m really picky about it being in top original mechanical condition. It’s has been through some very unusual problems that even seasoned 50+ years professionals who work exclusively on old vehicles especially old fords have scratched their heads over. So I know this isn’t easy stuff even though I hear everyone at the car show say; “look how simple that engine compartment is to work in!”

Oh sure, I’ve done small projects like restoring the original firewall pad, varnishing the bed boards, and changing out a starter, an oil change etc. But what I do Is assemble all the original parts, a lot of rare accessories, and research the correct parts/ hardware, and shops to use for the given project. I’m extremely involved with the various shops, (i.e. they flip over the open sign when they see me pull up) I’ve used and it’s always been a good collaboration between my mechanics and myself. I always learn a lot from them and they also unbelievably learn from me.

But frankly I don’t have the space, the tools or the talent to be legitimately working on this truck. And I’m happy with that cause it’s turned out beautifully and I’m thrilled driving it. And drive it I do!

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I do about 95% or my own work, I don't have a milling machine or machines for extensive sheet metal work. If I can't do it with a hammer and dolly it has to go out. I just bought a sewing machine to do upholstery, will give it a try with the help of You Tube. Lots of good stuff out there if you are selective.

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I know this is mainly a purist site, but I am retiring at the end of the month. I've started working with a friend on designing a new performance intake and we've also been discussing designing our own performance cam.

I'm in the process of doing a Lincoln Zephyr distributor V8 conversion using Dean Moon's '53 Car Craft three part series on how to do it at home.

I'm hoping to learn some new skills this year like upholstery and getting better at metal work. I'll even give painting a go.

What is helpful with old Fords is they are not overly complicated and almost every part can be rebuilt or refurbished in some capacity.

I think, like many, the best thing about this hobby is it can help you to keep learning, acquiring new skills and keep your mental acuity sharp.

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Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

Congratulations Tim. I love metal working, I can’t say I am super good at it BUT I got my English Wheel cheap as well as my bead roller and each time I use them I learn more and more, not only about the tool but how metal reacts and moves. Between YouTube and watching guys on Bitchin Rides and watching guys like Jessie James, I learn and pick things up from watching them!!! My next metal forming tool on my list is a plenishing hammer since I can’t afford a Pullmax…..and work on more metal bumping tools.

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Kudos Tim, that's exciting to hear about intake/cam combo! Be sure to keep us posted on the progress. Thanks to these fantastic sites, I have been able to rebuild my 3 speed top loader, manual steering boxes, generators, starters, and latest venture refurbishing a Borg & Beck pp. just need to have it balanced. That again, poses yet another challenge... no one in my community has a balancer for such items. So looking at vintage bubble tire balancing tools. Great thread!

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I have always liked working on cars, started as a kid helping my dad, learned the hard way. Worked on everybody else's cars thru high school and most of college. Got drafted into the Army worked in the motor pool. worked on a lot of VWs in Germany. Got back and never stopped working on and fixing VW and Fords. Always did my own work, paint, body and mechanical. Just glad I'm not too fussy. VW parts on the Fords and ford parts on the VWs

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I’ve done it all minus boring and decking a block. Engines, transmissions, rear axles and columbias. Body work, Paint, upholstery, electrical, strobing distributors, installing glass. Have enjoyed the hobby over the last 40 years.

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I do ALL my work short of engine machine work and the sewing of upholstery. If I can't get a part or I don't like the price, I fix or fabricate it. Same for tooling. I'm not buying what I can make. I have an old manual lathe and mill and watch youtube a lot. I have MIG and TIG welders, Plasma cutter, tubing bender, etc. Same goes for home projects. Contractors want too much.

Often I really don't feel like doing certain jobs. Once I get a few quote quotes to farm it out, I'm usually shocked at the price and just do it myself.

I worked as a mechanic/welder in the Navy, mining and construction and my last mechanic job was 15 years at a Caterpillar dealership. Learned a LOT working there.

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I do my own work. Just moved to a new acreage and need to build a shop in the spring so right now I'm limited, but once setup again I have a tire machine and balancer, just bought an alignment system (about 25 years old). Have money saved up to buy a couple of hoists. Right now working in a poorly heated small garage.

Worked for a mechanic in high school and my Dad worked on all kinds of stuff so I've had a lot of influence over the years. Lost my job a few years ago so for two months I worked as a mechanic at my friends automotive shop. I was almost as capable as their 30 year experienced mechanic so that really gave me confidence to keep doing what I do at home.

I hate bodywork but have painted a few vehicles with relatively good success. With the price of paint and supplies going up along with labor rates, I may have to start painting my own cars when I get to restoring my cars in the new shop.

The only work I recall sending out has been radiator/heater core repair, engine machining and that kind of thing. I've done the old break the glaze/re-ring an engine from time to time and had great luck. Right now rebuilding a snowmobile engine, new crank and pistons. Got a bunch of snow this week, looking forward to exploring our new neighborhood.

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I can take things apart and put them together, dabble in welding, paint, bodywork, machine shop work has to be outsourced.

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I try to do it all myself, but have relied on other for the following:
Body metal work and paint prep
Body painting
Internal Engine work
Radiator repair
Generator and coil rebuilding
Upholstery

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Dave,
Pretty much the same for me. I could put a carb kit in, but I can't do what Charlie does. As long as he and Skip are there my stuff will go to them.

Re: How many of you do your own work?
 

Being a cheap ass, I've always done things myself. From building cars and trucks to buildings and sheds. Plus...thats how we learn! It seems the few times I've hired the "professionals" its been a disappointment. With the exception of Uncle Max, Charle, and Skip Haney of course.

Paint, welding, motors etc, wish I was better at making sheet metal patches, thats an art.

Currently insulating and doing interior walls and ceiling in my new to me 42x48 pole barn to have a good shop again. It goes slow as this old man does not like ladders and scaffolding any more. I have a forklift with a home made man basket as my main helper.

Lots of talented folks here on the barn!