What work have you done on cars??????

[Amaroo Park]

What repairs or modifications have you carried out on your car's past or present????? Would you ever consider carring out mjor work like engine rebuilds etc..........

[hoonboyz]

2*engine changes, 3*engine rebulds,swapped a 9 ' diff into my Hardtop, changed brakes suspension etc about the only thing i wont do is try a rebuld on an Auto G'box

[Aysedasi]

None. Whenever I used to do anything on a car, I always made it 10 times worse than it was to start with. Like dropping screws in the carburettor, making a complete pigs ear of vhanging pads and bleeding brakes..... When it comes to DIY, whether in the home or on the car, I'm completely hopeless.....

[Bluebottle]

Originally posted by Aysedasi
None. Whenever I used to do anything on a car, I always made it 10 times worse than it was to start with. Like dropping screws in the carburettor, making a complete pigs ear of vhanging pads and bleeding brakes..... When it comes to DIY, whether in the home or on the car, I'm completely hopeless.....

Wow, that could be me talking!!
The most daring thing I've done myself is a rear shock change on my old Dutton, including replacing the bolts with ones that actually fitted properly unlike those used by the bloke who built it!
I'm quite happy to dive into the electrics of our cars (not sure about my wife's new Quantum though, it's got an ECU and an alarm and stuff like that... )

[Neil C]

I used to work for a small repair shop in Minneapolis, "Jaguar Works". As such I became very familiar with the innards of XK's, e-types, XJ's and a couple of Mark Roman Numerals. Hence my love/hate relationship w/ British Leyland, and especially the Prince of Darkness, Lucas Electrics.

In the mid eighties, I bought a '72 XJ6-C with a blown engine, and rebuilt it w/ high compression pistons, special cut valves, yada, yada, yada. Ironically I never got to drive it. I divorced it. Or rather, my wife divorced me. She got the car, but I got the shaft.

Also assisted my partner in rebuilding various FF's we owned together, although he was the mechanic and I was his gopher.

Now days, changing oil is pretty much all I do on my own. Which reminds me, my car is overdue.

[Alpina]

Re-engined, rebuilt, re-engineered. Only things I don't do is transmission internals. OOOhh scary!

[Hammerwerfer]

I've done just about everything with varied success. As long as I am under cover with decent tools available I'm pretty comfortable tackling anything mechanical. Whether I get it right is another story.

I will not attempt to paint though...

[ss_collins]

Everything from work for Williams on the 1997 Grand Prix car down to a humble (and tired) Mk 2 Golf. Engine builds, gear boxes suspension - I've built 10 cars in the past four or so years

[Bluebottle]

So you're the real McCoy then?











......I'll get my coat.

[gttouring]

Um let's see- engine rebuild and swap-new brake system, pulled out the interior put in a roll cage- put the interior back in...I think i have done it all really- its fun...

[hoonboyz]

Originally posted by Alpina
Re-engined, rebuilt, re-engineered. Only things I don't do is transmission internals. OOOhh scary!

lmao yes electronic Auto boxes are little beyond me lol manual boxes no drama's but most mechanics i know shudder when elec auto's are mentioned

[rocket]

everything except a gearbox rebuild, done a swap supra box into a ford, but never rebuilt one. done engine rebuilds suspension, brakes etc. as long as you take care it reasonably straight forward

[Alpina]

Today, I have been mostly putting fuel tank back in!

Suits me sir!

[Hugh Jarce]

My only real attempt was years ago, as a poor student, when I tried to replace the little switch thingy that made the indicators flash on and off my groovy mustard coloured Triumph Toledo. They were just stuck 'on' and the 'dream machine' was about to fail its MOT.

I bought the Haynes manual and it looked so easy - 7 simple steps with helpful black and white photographs.

Stage 1: I unscrewed the dash and the whole flippin thing came off releasing looms of wires and bits.

As soon as I had completed Stage 1, (which looked so tidy and controlled in the pics) I sensed I was in trouble.

However, I eventually found the little widget and changed it and with all the guts hanging out around the steering wheel and heater etc I switched the indicator on - click-click-click-click - I'd done it.

BUT, could I get all the wires and stuff back behind the dash and heater unit in order to replace the screws? NOPE.

I considered driving it around with the dash resting on top of the steering column (student days are great!) but sensed the MOT guys may spot the issue.

Had to plead with a local mechanic to come and help for the price of few beers to get the thing driveable.

So, now I concentrate on trying to earn enough money to let qualified people do such things.

[Maisie]

I've stripped out the interior gubbins on the camper before that went for the respray, and refitted it myself. I've helped (a little!) with engine rebuilds, and would probably be confident enough to have a go myself, and I've done welding work on my own car's bodywork, and also to make a custom oil breather system for Chris's race car.

Currently in the process of reskinning a door - got the new skin on - it just needs aligning and fitting tightly.

[KC]

Complete rebuild on a Chevy 502 V8 twice now and will be rebuilding it as a 540 this week. Going from 8.7 to 1 compression to 13.1 to 1 compression and adding .030 to the bore and 0.250 to the stroke. Gotta get the compression up when running alcohol. Also bumping intake valves from 2.19 diamter to 2.250 diamter. Should add around 100 horsepower to a 600 horsepower motor.

[Neil C]

Damn KC. What kind of sled is that firebreather going into?

[KC]

Hopefully, it will be a Stock Eliminator Jet Boat. Should run around 10.90 in the liquid quarter mile for the 11.00 second bracket. Its a heavy boat and a vee bottom so its hard keep it on plane beyond the 1/8th mile. It needs tons of power and torque to keep it up out of the water.

We get the block back today from the machine shop. The heads are being opened up to increase the displacement under the piston slightly to keep from blowing off the heads off.

The sound of a high compression engine on alcohol that nearly 8.8 liters with a 3.5 inch set of headers is pretty awesome. It literally bends the 1" fiberglass bow deck on the boat up about three inches when you rev it up.

The boat is a 1979 Mantra Jet Vee with 540 Cu In. (8.85 liter) V8 injected on methanol.

4.250" stroke
4.5" bore
2.25" diameter stainless spiral ground intake valves
2.19" diameter stainless spiral ground exhaust valves
Comp Cams Super High Torque Roller Cam shaft
Comp Cams solid roller guides
Jesel 1.7 Billet Roller lifters
Comp Cams Heavy Duty Stud Girdle
SCAT 4340 Billet Crank
Eagle 6.385 Forged Steel H-Beam Con Rods
J&E 13.1 to 1 Forged Aluminum Pistons
Childs & Albert Racing Bearings
ARP Super Duty studs and bolts throughout
Heavy Duty Bowtie Oil Pump custom ported and polished
Milodon Cam Gear Drive
Milodon 10 qt Marine Oil Pan
MSD Pro Billet Distributor
MSD 6AL Ignition Module w/Optional Timing Adjuster on dash
Enderle Birdcatcher Fuel Injector on Victor Pro II intake (rated at 2200 cfm)
Hilborn 7.0 gpm fuel pump
Berkeley Jet Drive with Custom Cut Dominator Bowl and B Impeller

I am crew chief, not driver. That honor goes to the owner. I have driven the boat at Lake Fort Gibson and its was amazing at around 600 horsepower. It goes so hard from a dead stop that if you did not hold on to the steering wheel you would not stay in the boat. That is not an exageration. It feels like you've been hit from behind until you let off the throttle. Our next race is at Ft. Worth June 14th and 15th so we got a lot of work to do to get it ready.

[Neil C]

Silly question: Does something like that have a flywheel or is it freewheeling?

[Bluebottle]

KC, you're a loony!!

[Bluebottle]

Originally posted by Bluebottle
KC, you're a loony!!

Sorry, I meant Your driver is a loony!!

[KC]

We race a slower class! Our boat only goes around 90 mph before it runs out of steam. The fastest open cockpit boats, no seatbelts and a parachute on your life vest, run up to 135 mph! Beyond that safety capsules are used. The fastets boats are the Top Fuel Hydros and they produce around 6000 horsepower from the blown 500 cu in V8s on nitromethane. The record is 4.8 seconds at 255 mph from a standing stop in 1/4 mile. Now that is looney! The TFH boats pull more G's than the space shuttle on launch and are louder than a 747 jet taking off.

Since the engine components are all balanced and matched internally to within 1/2 gram, the flywheel has very small weights on it and the harmonic balancer is empty. The throttle response is like a light switch.

As far as workingon cars go, I have rebuilt most of the suspension and carbs on a 1965 Austin Healey Sprite as well as fixed a bunch of rust holes in the interior.

I am going to change the cylinder head temperature sensor on my Focus tonight. My radiator fans have ceased to come on and I've traced it back to the sensor.

[Neil C]

Originally posted by KC
As far as workingon cars go, I have rebuilt most of the suspension and carbs on a 1965 Austin Healey Sprite as well as fixed a bunch of rust holes in the interior.

What are you trying to do, hijack this thread?

[KC]

Sorry.

[davemorganfan]

I can wash and wax a car as well as the next man (as long as the next man isn't my neighbour. He never cleans his car, but just buys a new one). Attempts at anything beyond this are hopeless and lead to short temper, bad language, etc. I just don't have the knack. Or perhaps I have the wrong kind of car. Even changing the offside front indicator bulb on my Rover 200 would best be done by a person with 3 hands, each of which has 7 fingers that are 10 inches long.