How many people here became their own Mustang mechanics?

[80FoxCoupe]

I do all my own stuff with a few exceptions. Dont feel like it, pain in the ass stuff, busy etc.

Sponsored

 

[80FoxCoupe]

More engine shit.

 

[Fly2High]

80FoxCoupe,
awesome photos.

What I wouldn't do to be your neighbor! You have so much to teach and I would be eager to learn.

Mechanic, auto and aviation, are professions I can respect. It requires both knowledge gained each year, some degree of physical prowess/strength and good problem solving skills to say the least.

 

[80FoxCoupe]

80FoxCoupe,
awesome photos.

What I wouldn't do to be your neighbor! You have so much to teach and I would be eager to learn.

Mechanic, auto and aviation, are professions I can respect. It requires both knowledge gained each year, some degree of physical prowess/strength and good problem solving skills to say the least.

Just like anything else, jump right in. Do some research or lend a hand with a pals project! Gain some basic knowledge related to the project at hand. Keep moving forward. At some point you will have modded every aspect of your car. Wife pissed and money all gone. Haha.

 

[Sigma6]

Just like anything else, jump right in. Do some research or lend a hand with a pals project! Gain some basic knowledge related to the project at hand. Keep moving forward. At some point you will have modded every aspect of your car. Wife pissed and money all gone. Haha.

 

[mustanghammer]

I have always worked on my stuff. It just seemed like it was part and parcel of being a car guy and a racer. Especially a budget challenged racer. So I learned how to weld, build engines (including rotary engines) and fabricate stuff. I am now at a point where I can pay others to do some of the work but for the most part I still do it myself.

Last Engine I built - Street Ported 13B for my RX7 Race Car

 

[ice445]

I have always worked on my stuff. It just seemed like it was part and parcel of being a car guy and a racer. Especially a budget challenged racer. So I learned how to weld, build engines (including rotary engines) and fabricate stuff. I am now at a point where I can pay others to do some of the work but for the most part I still do it myself.

Last Engine I built - Street Ported 13B for my RX7 Race Car

I thought rotaries required knowledge of the dark arts to assemble correctly?

 

[80FoxCoupe]

I thought rotaries required knowledge of the dark arts to assemble correctly?

No no no. Not dark arts. You just just sign up for Rotary school at the Shaolin monk monestary in the Henan mountains and study for a few decades.

 

[mustanghammer]

Nope just a $29 DVD from Atkins Rotary. They actually easier to build than a piston engine. Most of the work is in cleaning and porting but reassembly takes about 90 minutes.

 

[mustang_puppy]

I wasn't born with a silver spoon shoved where the sun don't shine so I've put in wrench time on my cars. My dad is a DIYer for pretty much everything and through the years I would help. Aside from the Ford Performance tune and intake which I had the dealer do for warranty purposes and a new set of tires and alignment I've done the mods and fixes on my car.

 

[Fly2High]

Just like anything else, jump right in. Do some research or lend a hand with a pals project! Gain some basic knowledge related to the project at hand. Keep moving forward. At some point you will have modded every aspect of your car. Wife pissed and money all gone. Haha.

Don't get me wrong, I have done a few items on the car including axles on a front wheel drive and helped with tranny work on Rx-7 and Celica. I just never dove into an engine. My dad use to own a auto parts store when he was young and did lots of work himself all his life. Growing up I never knew what a mechanic's garage looked like. Isn't it funny. I will tear apart brakes which would kill me because I won't be able to stop if I screwed them up but I won't touch an engine which simply won't go.


True story.
My great uncle wanted to work on his brakes and did the install. He went to check the tires by spinning them and they barely moved. He thought they should spin freely so he greased the drums and rotors on his car.Well, as soon as the car was placed on the ground, it rolled right down the driveway and hit a parked car on the other side!! Of course my father and grandfather witnessed this and figured they would stop him once the car was off the stands. Then, they were too busy laughing their butts off to tell him that this was going to happen.

Another time my dad tuned up his RX-7 before bringing it for inspection. His car always passed. On accident, he left a greasy thumbprint on the mixture screw. Well the mechanic told him that it failed and was running rough and needed a new carb. Of course he thought he was nuts. Well, he asked to see the car and the mechanic obliged. He opened the hood and took a look and saw the thumbprint was no longer in alignment so he asked for a screwdriver, realigned the print and asked for a retest. Of course it passed and it ran super smooth. He also had an Austin Healey 3000 with the triple carbs. He created a mechanism so that he could isolate just one of them in order to tune it perfectly. He said it was otherwise a nightmare.

Unfortunately my parents divorced and all the tools and knowledge left with dad. I, for the most part, had to learn for myself. I always purchased shop manuals for the cars I owned and figured if they can do it so can I. Of course, it is always good to have someone with knowledge there by your side which is why I would love to be your neighbor. There are things you can read and learn and there are others you need to experience. Cars are a little of both at times. My Uncle had a 69/70 Cougar convertible (it was a 69/70 b/c the front grill and bumper was the curvy one from one year and the rest of the car was from the other) with a 351. That engine when tuned right held a perfect beat - thum, thum, thum, thum. It was so rhythmic and even - dead even. I think he used a watch to set it - rather he used it to set his watch!. I truly believe it had a heartbeat and kept it throughout its rpm range. He too had skills with cars.

Hanging with people like this made you really appreciate the car you drove and take nothing for granted.

 

[gamecoc430]

I have always tried to maintain my vehicles since I was in high school. I have dropped trans and replaced flywheels and clutches, brakes, water pumps, and other similar repairs. I don't have the skills or tools to do interior engine work.

But now I'm in my 70's, overweight, both knees replaced, and live in a condo. So with no space, no tools, no sense, I'm now forced to pay to play. Now what I prefer, just reality. Some of you younger guys have it made!

Bob

 

[Shifting_Gears]

Started turning wrenches around age 14 on the family junk truck. When I got my first vehicle at 15 it was game on.

What I have done: Intakes/intake manifold swaps, exhaust (no headers though - yet), ALL routine maintenance, brake work (master cyl, booster, calipers, wear and tear parts), suspension (springs, shocks/struts, sway bars, control arms), steering (boxes, pumps, misc steering components - some of my least favorite stuff ever), wheel bearings, cooling system (radiators, water pumps, hoses, t stats), transmission servicing (pan drop, drain, filters, speed sensors), light electrical work (aux lighting, amp/sub installs), window work (regulator), multiple sensor changes, fuel filter/pump, nitrous install (old GT), shifter installs, lift kit, clutch, flywheel (so, pulling a trans driveway style), clutch components (cable, TOB, fork etc), tail shaft seal, “roll resister” aka lower engine mount swap, tow receiver, some interior removal/assembly, HVAC components (blower motor, resistor, charging, nothing major), alternators, rebuilt an 8.8 axle.

Things I’ve had done: Before I got proficient some normal repairs were done by shops.. PCM replacement, certain sensors, some brake work, rear main seal, had a set of gears installed by a friend that had a shop.. same axle I later rebuild.

Best thing about all of this is not really being intimidated by troubleshooting or attempting repairs. I know what I’m comfortable doing at this point and with the right tools and resources I pretty much feel like I could tackle nearly anything. Some stuff I truly loathed doing but did it out of the challenge or because I felt like it would be silly to pay someone else when I had the ability to DIY.

My goal one day would be to do my own drivetrain build for a project vehicle. I’ve partially torn down an engine once, but haven’t put one together yet.

 

[kluke15]

my dad is a mechanic but i got into wrenching after i moved away from home. I got into wrenching when i wanted to mod my cars without the funds to pay someone to do it. started off with super small stuff and gaining experience with each new opportunity. i love it and i wouldnt change it. cant wait for my son to get old enough so he can wrench with me. so far ive used lots of youtube and facetime with pops but ive still done all my own mods and will continue to do so as much as i can. havent built a motor yet but at this point im not really scared to do it anymore.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Having owned (20) to date, including my 94 Cobra and 2018, I’ve owned at least 1 Mustang since 1990 and have torn them down to a shell, modified, rebuilt or restored them.

Working on any year Mustang (or any vehicle for that matter) is nothing more than like working on a gigantic 1:18 scale model... or better yet, if you ever bought a real 1/10 scale R/C car, the ones you have to build from a box of parts, it’s just like working on a real car... just a smaller scale with much smaller tools and equipment... LOL!!

For those that do their own work in their driveway, their garage, a friends garage, under a carport or unexpectedly on the side of the road or a parking lot - I say KUDOS! They not only learn how to diagnose by trial/error/process of elimination, but they can apply that working knowledge towards other future problems OR when wanting to modify something. They also gain a respect for personal accomplishment, safety aspects and get to understand the actual “profession” by seeing exactly how simple or complex a repair can be and the time involved from start to finish. It also takes away some of the intimidation, because once you’ve worked on one vehicle, you can pretty much conquer any other.

People who work on their own vehicles also have a greater respect when they may have to work on a vehicle that is NOT their own - they treat that vehicle as if it is theirs and take pride in what they do... Can’t say that for everyone, but some Techs at the Big Box Dealers do treat Customers cars as if they were their own...

People who work on their own vehicles see how they’re also able to save quite a bit of money for the repair (or upgrade), instead of relying on a Shop, the exhorbitant cost of marked up shop parts and the added labor costs.

Working on your own stuff can also be rewarding, a stress reliever or therapeutic for some folks - because not everyone has an “easy” life, so that’s their way of decompressing and having some sense of self accomplishment.

Sponsored