OK take this gently......I have built cars and motorcycles as long as I can remember, I raced drag bikes, I now customize and do custom paint on bikes as a hobby. I bought the Vette and love it, and have gained valuable insight here, however.....why are so many people so quick to try to steer people away from doing thier own work? On the bike forums someone will walk you through anything. Is it that Vette owners are typically more financially able to farm out work? It just seems like a different mentality to some guys ( not all). Also when someone asks a question some say PM message sent. Why can't we see the answers? I get into following a thread and WHAM, the dreaded PM sent, gimmee a break I wanna know your fixes!!! I am a sponge, I read everything I can find for months and years and do anything and everything I can myself, self taught to paint and am good at it, DAD taught me about rebuilding engines, now I want all of your collective wisdom to do the Vette.......I love it here!! Now give me all that info!! And don't tell me to take it to a reputable shop!! LOL

PS: All said tongue i cheek....you do seem like a great bunch!

 

I'd say the C3 forum probably has the highest percentage of people who do their own work, as opposed to some forums where the owners need to take the car to the shop to have the floor mats replaced. It's usually pretty obvious by the nature of the post whether the poster knows which end of the screwdriver to hold so those who don't have the ability to do a job are steered toward a good shop.

You should check out some Volvo forums if you really want to see people who rely on the dealer to top off the washer fluid.



Rick B.

 

I understand....but its still a lot more than Motorcycle Forums I go to. Like I said I am getting a lot of great info, I have lived through the search feature lately!

 

81pilot,

I have been a car crafter for 30 plus years I love vettes, kits and customs, I have did a custom VW trike, and built many Honda Davidsons, I also owned two 81's , love them and I built one into this in my backyard car port,



I will get flamed by the guys that this hits the nail on the head with but yes, you are correct where you are thinking,
Of course the biggest bunch that do spin wrenches are the c3 people because the c3 spanned 14 years, so more cars involved, hence more people,

I have noticed in general ( not everyone ) into vettes do not do their own wrench spinning,
Lets face it vettes are not low level "budget" cars, while some can be built more economical than others no vette is "cheap"
Again, "in general" people with vettes many times are at the very least well off financial wise to some degree so they can afford to hire out work, or must hire out the work,

The place where it kicks the ego in the family jewels is the simply fact many owner are not car savvy much less vette savvy, some guys do not like to admit they are green,
I doubt anyone is going to chime into this thread and brag they are clueless.

So what? we all had to start somewhere, I recall a fellow on another forum, he couldn't change a flat but hung around shops just enough to parrot what real techs said many times saying just enough to look a fool,
This guy actually gauged his self worth on what he could buy and in turn boast and brag about, so his bragging about his $$$ was how he over came not beg able to work on cars himself,
Don't get me wrong I like all car crafter's I just also like to keep it honest, if you have a tall stack of toad pelt and want to buy it all and hire it built then the shop not you is the car crafter and getting a bit of modesty about your good fortune would be nice,
And in most cases none of us can do it all, we have to hire out bodywork, interior or whatever it might be,

I dig what you said about people asking to hit them up in PM for details on a repair and that pretty much goes against everything these forums are set up for, which is exchange of ideas and information and then some good old camaraderie,
You will also notice pretty much a bashing of all things custom , but I am the resident black sheep custom lover and keep running it home people have the right to build whatever they want, you don't have to like it but trashing it adds nothing but negativity.

While the pristine numbers matching stock car will always be the collectors item, I see more and more restro mods and the restro mods are getting wilder and wilder,

Bottom line, I love this forum and most of the people here, I learn something new everyday and hope if people don't learn anything from my posts that at the very least they get a laugh...

 

I'm a DIY guy because I really tire of paying some idiot to screw up what I can screw up for free!!

Bought a new set of ring & pinion gears along with the overhaul kit because I plan to rebuild my '81 rear end. I have already replaced the shocks and rear spring. Have done a few other minor things as well.

I also do all my own work on my '01 Z06. Replaced the clutch kit, installed long tube headers, coil overs, brakes, HUD, shifter, yaddah, yaddah.....

I would like to do a frame off one day when I have the space and money to do it all myself.

 

Well Said the13bats

 

Thanks man,
I felt I was babbling a bit tonight, like i am running a quart low,
I see you have an 81 too, looks like it might have the same color the one I went wild on was,
Boy, I love those cars, if it wasn't for being heart set to use a vert this time I would get another 80-82
As irony would have it one conv' donor I have much interest in has the wrong front clip for it's year, you guessed it, it runs an 81 front clip, do you know how hard that will be for me to take off an 81 clip to add my Mako clip....

Goody,
You know I think I would be intimidated to work on the '01
perhaps it just looks worse than it really is from topside.

 

You'll get a lot of opinions in this forum, which is good because you have more information to make decisions. It can be confusing too!!! There are a lot of people here who will encourage and guide you along the way. Most of us are learning with you.

I think people PM because they are tired of justifying their responses . . . it's just easier to PM and let you decide, or some people may not want to be public with their questions and ask someone who they know can help. It's the best community on the internet IMO. Good luck with your vette.

 

PM sent.

 

I really think if you do a search, you will find just about anything on this forum.. detailed instructions regarding C3 stuff only.. bodywork, painting, rear end rebuilds, procedures for allignment, steering column, car authentication, pricing opinions.. pointers to some excellent web pages that will tell you anything you want to know... it is all here if you look...

 

I was wondering who would get that one in first
You rock!



redman76,

I agree with you to a point but let me try to shine a different light on it,
First if a person posts a question in private others don't know about it so that is a moot point in this issue,

Next, we have "opinions" and we have "facts" for example it's "opinion" the easiest way to change an alternator on a 69 bb, 10 people might have 10 different ways to tackle it,
But there is one alternator that is NCRS certified numbers correct for that car, that is an example of fact,

I haunt on too many car forums and the biggest issue I see is when opinion is drilled home to a novice or in some cases not a novice that it is fact and it is repeated as fact over and over, when it's just opinion and in the worse cases it is dead wrong information, so people repeat wrong infomation as facts,
Some of the guys deep in the know right now are nodding their heads they know just what I am talking about.

Then you say some people do not want to justify their answer,
Perhaps that's because they don't want to be called out as being mistaken or wrong in what they believe, belief is not fact.
Hey, I learn something new everyday but some guys egos will not allow this,

I just had such a case on another forum, it took me posting copies of the interviews and information from the man who invented the part to prove the fellow was mistaken on what he thought about the part, even then he didn't like the truth,

I feel it's important that if I post something on a public forum and it's wrong people should call me out to prevent the spread of misinformation, I am comfortable with this, many are too ego driven to have it suggested they are wrong or mistaken....

 

Awesome post, I agree, I tend to post my opinions, and they are always stated as such, folks can take em or leave em, but too many times everywhere, folks want to "set you straight"......but you are right, if that opinion may get someone in trouble on a project , I want corrected, sometimes it was just a matter of my not communicating the opinion or work correctly...Good Points.

 

Awesome, thats what I was saying, and great car by the way! I love to customize, for now mine will stay pretty close to original looking, however once the power train is done in a year or so and the new ponies are runnin under the hood, a few more mods will follow...I will need more hood and air for that turbo!! :O)

 

To 81pilot - I believe I understand your points; they're taken well and getting answers here is pretty much like anywhere else.

It's sifting wheat from chaff; in a perfect world, it would be easy but IMHO, boring too.

A bunch of the fun I have in CF is learning who likes what and what they don't like about these cars. Let's face it, we're all characters in our own right and like any segment of society, there's serious, ignorant (dictionary description, not calling anyone a bad name), humorous, and lot's of folks like you: open-minded to all answers. I admit to the occasional "PM sent" offer and try to avoid doing that; more helpful when we all can share and learn.

There are lots of smart people who blog here and once identified, they tend to get asked for their experiences solving problems. Some are currently active, others have done their time and just seem willing to share their knowledge. Most make their offers as a take-it-or-leave-it post and sometimes, this is where the asking party draws a line and either asks for more info or acts on the solution. It's up to the individual on what happens next.

I agree that the C3 section has many members willing to DIY versus taking the car to a shop. It's a tough economy and many of us are in the same boat, enough so that we share what we know to anyone interested. If they're lucky to have finances and resources, can't blame them for being successful. Especially when it's their blood-sweat-tears that earned them the money. Afterall, this is still the good, old USA. I wish anyone, anywhere the same opportunity.

I have learned so much from the good people here and hope to continue picking up tips and valuable information. These (mostly) guys and gals have answered tons of questions I had that were specific to C3 cars and have helped make my project a hoped-for success.

At the very least, I've come to know people like me who are just as nuts as I am about these cool-azz cars and hot rods-muscle cars-customs-performance cars, in general.

Good Luck and keep asking questions!

 

I try to help out whenever I can, but when a thread starts out something like...."I want to replace my breaks(sic), do I need to remove the wheels first? And what's the best way to remove them?"
OK, that's an exaggerationbut those I steer clear of!

For instance, my own son(34 yrs old, where did I go wrong!). I sometimes work on his Acura and he watches in AWE as I tighten a hose clamp or something as simple.
No way I want him actually working on it.

 

Hi 81P,
I do understand your point.
On the issue of 'working on your own car' I believe more times than not one of the first replies to a question asks if the member has the AIM and GM CHASSIS SERVICE MANUAL for his year car. I think this indicates that members think and expect that people ARE working on their own cars.
Regards,
Alan

 

Alan,
I have to say that is more your personal opinion and not necessarily the rule,

I get a complete different impression when I see a person ask an honest question,
( I see no reason a persons poor spelling skills should be used to poke fun or as an excuse not to help the poor soul, of course a sellers ad full of poor spelling and bad grammar is a different story. )

From what I have seen a person comes here and asks an honest question and someone chimes in a snide little "Go get yourself a blah blah manual " they seldom go on to help the person and I don't believe they considered for one second if the person asking the question does their own wrench spinning or not,
I believe what is closer to the truth is people who jump in and spew to go buy a manual are just wanting to poke and jab at the person, belittle them some, make them feel stupid for asking, which is many times is reflected in the reply we get from the fellow asking the question,

My point is there is more than one way to take that comment, and of course in this case how it's stated and then after it's stated if the person suggesting to go buy a manual goes on to help that is a bit different.

The only time I have ever hit up an expert for personal private advice is when I pester Vettebuyer, I don't post the car here public for a couple reasons, one, most guys here are very negative and trash the hell out of almost everything just to bash,
The other reason is I work hard to find cool cars out there I want first chance at it...lol

 

I'll be the first to say it....

I have a AIM and I'm still CLUELESS!!!!!! But I'm trying.