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In fact I don't let many people other than myself touch my Vette. I only have a couple of trusted mechanics, (1) at a Chevy dealer, (1) private mechanic, and (1) body man. I do most everything except jobs requiring special equipment or a lift.........Chevy gets issues only Chevy can handle properly, the private gets the stuff that Chevy charges too much and doesnt require Chevy's backing, and I am not proficient in body work, and with a Vette, it should be done right.
You're looking in the wrong section. There's plenty in here that do their own work.
I can do plenty of my own work and not just mechanical. I've changed out the upholstery a few times and installed all the leather on my door panels and trim. I've also modded my motorcycle (Stage 2) and tuned it myself.
I have enough tools to get most of the work done but I also do all the work around the house. laying tile, granite counters, plumbing, building decks and porches etc... so there's tools for that work as well and it takes up space.
The problem is time and how I choose to use it. Many times the car takes a back seat to a project on the house.
Ditto except for the motorcycle. Ex took that in the divorce. I responded by buying a Corvette, and then another Corvette. I do any work that does not involve dropping the front or rear cradles.
When I was 14 my dad bought a beat-up (but not rusted) '48 Chrysler for $150 and said if I got it running right and safe and looking presentable it would be mine to drive when I got my license. In those two years I taught myself to rebuild the engine and trans, do the entire brake system, replace exhaust, suspension and steering parts, rewire it from stem to stern (converted from 6V-12V), pull dents and prep it for paint. In college I did on-site auto repair for other students at half the rate a shop would charge, which earned me about 6 times that of a burger flipper. I kept at it over the years, restoed a MB 450SL in the 80s.
My only limitations now are time and equipment or else I'd be unafraid to tackle anything. My garage is too short for a lift, and I'm not about to sink tens of thousands into specialized equipment. Someone told me of a new place nearby that rents out fully-equipped lift bays, so I'm going to check that out. I may not be able to do it as quickly as a shop mechanic, but I can definitely do it as well or better.
Yep, brake pads, rotors, spark plugs, fluids...simple stuff. I have built a couple of engines in the past, but prefer to let someone else do the heavy stuff with the LS7. Getting too old and in bad shape to do a whole lot anymore.
Currently own six vehicles. Doing my own work makes things more affordable. Vette has been fairly easy to work on so far. Hopefully within a year or two I'll have a six bay garage with an apartment built on the side for me to live in. Screw the fancy house. Just insulate the building and put a nice porch out front and back with shrubs to make it look nice.
Grew up watching my dad do oil, filter and plug changes on his '96 Toyota Tercel. In college I (and some classmates) disassembled a small block engine and put it back together.
However, my first car '12 Nissan Sentra, rarely required work beyond oil changes. My dad had friends do brakes whenever, and I don't have the tools to do tires so I never really had to do any work.
Now that I have a vette my goal is to start doing brake jobs myself, with the help of a friend who does his car's brakes all the time. A few weeks ago I helped him install a new chassis brace on his car and it reminded me how good it feels to do your own work.
Now to go out an get me some serious tools, as my tool box is nonexistant
Any recommendations on a good starter tool set...?
For the most part I work on all my cars, I’m a mechanic after all. But for engine builds or if the cost of doing something vs having somebody do it is close I’ll take it somewhere. I just took my car to the dealership for an oil change. At the parts store it was $85.00 for everything. The dealership charges 90.00 for an oil change and my time is worth money. Now my POS daily drivers I do everything on. I just did pads, rotors, hub assemblies, shocks, struts, springs, glow plugs, oil change, timing belt, and water pump. I’m hoping the body rust out before the car stops running.
This is the stuff I work on
Now to go out an get me some serious tools, as my tool box is nonexistant
Any recommendations on a good starter tool set...?
Craftsman 100+ piece socket set is a good place to start. You might add a combination wrench set to that as well, and you'd have a great beginning to your tool collection.
Craftsman 100+ piece socket set is a good place to start. You might add a combination wrench set to that as well, and you'd have a great beginning to your tool collection.
Pretty much started with a 100 and something piece set from Craftsman. After that just added as needed; 95% of my tools were Craftsman. I like their quality and, if you did manage to break a took, you could get it replaced for free
Years ago. pre-vette, stopped doing major maintenance simply because I use 2 very reliable, professional mechanics. They do their job, I do mine. I still do oil changes, fix flats, detailing, battery changes, etc.
Craftsman 100+ piece socket set is a good place to start. You might add a combination wrench set to that as well, and you'd have a great beginning to your tool collection.
And as you do different jobs, you get more tools. After doing many different projects, you will start looking for a bigger garage to house all those tools!!!
Last edited by Vet Interested; 04-26-2018 at 07:49 PM.
04-26-2018, 09:32 AM
Pretty much started with a 100 and something piece set from Craftsman. After that just added as needed; 95% of my tools were Craftsman. I like their quality and, if you did manage to break a took, you could get it replaced for free 
