Alan B
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 01:46 PM |
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Is it just me? Love building cars - Hate fixing them
Is it just me?
I can spend hours on a car building project loving every minute of it, yet if my tin top needs some maintenence I hate doing it with a real
passion.
My reason for asking is that I'm loving my current project, which is being fitted in while my main project is on hold for a while. However, I
may have to fix a leaky clutch slave cylinder on my Focus and dreading it..grrrrrrr......
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mookaloid
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 01:52 PM |
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Not just you - I'm just the same.
I think it's mainly that you can build your when you want but when the daily driver needs fixing it has to be done there and then and it's
never a convenient time
Good luck with the Focus
Cheers
Mark
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RazMan
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 01:58 PM |
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I know exactly what you mean! My tintop used to be spoiled rotten - washed constantly and maintained to within an inch of its life.
Since I've been building my Aeon it just sits on the drive, filthy dirty and making 'love me' noises when I go near it ...........
which are totally ignored 
This kit building lark makes you fickle!
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:03 PM |
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My x-flow engined locost is a hell of a lot simpler to fix than my Toyota tin-top! I also know where everything is located, having stripped and
rebuilt the engine entirely.
David
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Guinness
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:04 PM |
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I totally agree! I think it has something to do with the way tin tops are designed. For example on my old VW Passat replacing bulbs was a main
dealer only item. No good for me when I was stuck in Halfords car park 100 miles from home at 5pm on a winters night. To replace the headlight bulb
you had to remove part of the air intake system! Twas the same story with the brake lights, remove inner boot panels, use special key to open the
back of the lights, replace the bulb. You or I would never design our own cars to be that difficult to work on!
Mike
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nick205
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:07 PM |
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you're certainly not alone Alan, our driveway has a steadily growing oil patch where the wife parks her car, but can I be arsed to look into it?
It will probably wait until it's due a service and then I'll HAVE to look at it 
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iank
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nick205
you're certainly not alone Alan, our driveway has a steadily growing oil patch where the wife parks her car, but can I be arsed to look into it?
It will probably wait until it's due a service and then I'll HAVE to look at it
Just make sure she knows what to do if the red light comes on
Friend of mine's (ex)missus drove 50 miles home with it on, came in the door complaining the car was losing power and what did that silly light
mean 
The previous model golf had headlights that were a dealer only replacement, complete crap! But I'm sure the other manufacturers will follow
suit soon.
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Fred W B
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:39 PM |
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My 10 year old street car goes to a non franchised workshop (run by a mate) for everything.
The time I would spend on it is worth much more to me on other things.
Plus if anything goes wrong with it I call him up and make it his problem
Cheers
Fred W B
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mackei23b
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:41 PM |
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Yip, just the same.
I had to replace the thermostat on my road car (K series engine), what a pain as it's hiden round the back under the inlet manifold.
It's just no fun working on a tin top.
Cheers
Ian
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 02:47 PM |
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Although, in all fairness to the modern tin-top, my x-flow would never pass today's emission test, nor do anything like the same mpg, nor would
it last 100,000 miles with minimal servicing!
You don't get that sort of long-term performance without all sorts of add-on kit that makes life really complicated for the amateur car
fixer.
David
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NS Dev
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 04:12 PM |
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just the same here too, love clean builds and racing stuff, hate dirty daily drivers!!
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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Alan B
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 05:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
Nope - not with you at all here.
Money saved on normal car repairs is money free to do something else.
Water pump (timing belt driven) onto SWMBOs car at the weekend and an alternator as well.
Cost me about 50 quid for all the parts. I reckon a garage bill would have been nearer 300 once they add profit onto the parts - which they all do -
then labour.
Do it yourself ya shower of nancy boys.
(Unless it's a company car, in which case enjoy the warm glow in the dealers). 
I don't think any of us are saying we don't do it ourselves (at least sometimes).....rather that we prefer doing other things.......for me
at least....I will only let someone else do it if a) it's under warrantee, b) it's reasonably priced for them to do it, or c) I just
don't have the equipment/knowledge etc to do it....
As Fred says the time you spend on it could be better spent elsewhere.....
I guess it often comes down to what you value most...money or time.....
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athoirs
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 05:52 PM |
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I'm with John on this one.. although I hate working on the tin tops in the family is great to be able to say to the wife.. "Look how much
I've saved doing it myself...errr so you wont mind me buying that new XXXX part for the kit car then?"
Then again it might be me just being Scottish
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mark chandler
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 06:52 PM |
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My road cars the one that gets least attention, change oil and filters then leave it well alone..... boring !
Devote many hours to any other projects running, unfortunately once my BEC is built it will probally get the same treatment if I start on something
else.
Already planning rear engined one off in my mind... doh
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GlynC
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 07:15 PM |
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Maybe I am sad but I love my daily driver too! 476hp and a noise to die for makes it a fair bit of fun.
The Westy is totally raw with no electrics to interfere and the rush of driving something so close to the ground can't be beaten
I just love cars and driving!
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graememk
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 08:24 PM |
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my cars been telling i have a light bulb blown for the last 2 or 3 weeks, i might get around to having a look at the weekend lol
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big_wasa
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 08:42 PM |
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The clutch fell out of my 406 last week end the same day as the mot ran out and the same day My dads exhaust fell of and the same day as the Wifes
exhaust fell of. What a crap week end
Was meant to be getting the steel for the floor in the 7.
Have now gone down the ladder from a 2001 406 to a 1992 sierra
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owelly
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 10:32 PM |
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Your wife has an exhaust??
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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owelly
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| posted on 11/10/06 at 10:36 PM |
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I find that all my boring jobs get left until SWMBO gets on my case but I seem happy to make time for other peoples boring jobs!! In the last month or
so, I've pastered a mates house, welded up another mates car, fixed a workmates brakes and all when I have my own house to finish and a pile of
cars on the drive/in the garage to fix. Whats all that about???
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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hillbillyracer
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| posted on 4/11/06 at 11:39 PM |
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Thats excatly it owelly, I fix other peoples stuff when I could'nt find time for my own. I have my new van to sort out & put on the road,
the old van & car to sort out so I can sell em & the single seater I got recently to put back together.
So this weekends job? Sorting a mates car for the test.
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