old school mechanic-are you??

how many of you guys rebuild your parts insted or replacing them??
carbs,generators,wheel cylinders,ect. growing up in my grandfathers auto repair shop,i was taught to rebuild parts-not replace them,we also did our own body/fender paint and fabracation work,those skills have served me well when working on my old hot rod,or a customers old car,to many guys i know in the car hobby are to quick to just replace a worn or broken part,buy a new fender or what have you

 

I try to rebuild what I can. All my old shop manuals show how to rebuild the various components, but finding the materials to do so is sometimes difficult.

I've always thought how stupid and wasteful modern cars are with the inability to rebuild anything on them. I read an article about how hard it will be to restore any modern car in the future, since the hobbyist can't rebuild the circuit boards, and the manufacturers won't make them. As an example they were following the restoration of an early 80's BMW 635, and showing how many electronic parts can't be found anymore.

 

I rebuilt and repair what i can. The truth be known, there are some parts that are cheaper to but rebuilt/remanufactured and there is also the issuse of finding the parts to rebuild some parts like starters and alternators. I was trying to find alternator brushes for my 86 Dodge a couple of weeks ago and all the parts store I talked to said they would have to order them, so I ended up going rebuilt. Repairing body panels on the newer vehicles can turn into an exercise in futility, the metal is so thin that is difficult at best to repair anything other than the smallest of dents.

 

i rebuild most of the time, but some times my time is worth more than money so if it is only a few dollar diffrence i buy the reman.

A few weeks ago i my starter needed rebuilt, no one had it locally, it was going to cost $125 or more to get, but napa had the rebuild parts and it cost me $25 to rebuild it.

We have become to much of a throw away society, so i try to rebuild as much as possible,i guess it is the old school ethic of "fix it if you can" and the hippy that keeps me fixing stuff.

 

ive run into the same things on a mid 90 zr1 corvette,no electrical
componets available for it

 

I rebuild my starters and alternators. Can't get parts for fuel pumps anymore, but thats OK.
I've replaced drive belts in an old AM/FM/c***ette deck of mine, still works good. Haven't rebuilt a water pump in years.
I take back what I said about fuel pumps..... when I replace a module in a late model, I keep the sender, etc... and save it in case the next truck needs it. Saves a couple hundred $
Our throw-away society is what will kill us.........

 

I get a guilty feeling if I don't rebuild a hot rod part myself. It's like I'm wimping out and not trying hard enough. Besides, most of the stuff I play with is not available anymore or if it is, it's so overpriced I can't afford it.

That's part of the joy I get from these old hot rods and part of the reason I don't like checkbook hot rodding. Hot rod "***emblers" miss a lot of the joy that can be had with this hobby. IMHO

On my late model **** I'm a parts swappin' *****.

 

I rebuild what I can. Wayno

 

Depends on the part, and the application of it. I like to take apart, and carefully paint/polish components of the car anyway, so I rebuild them along the way. It's also a good habit to do this to muscle car resto's, to keep the original parts on the car. Stuff like carbs are also better to build yourself, as the off-t******lf rebuilds tend to mismatch pieces and often cause problems along the way.

 

Interesting question-in a day where "disposable" is the norm!I run a 8 bay service shop here,am of similar mind(repair/rebuild what you have),and struggle with younger techs' mind set of why try to fix it,order a new one!-even if it could mean getting client on road a day earlier.Sometimes practicality wins out,but the at***ude drives me!

 

I live out in the sticks, so if I can rebuild / repair a part it is often much quicker then driving to the city or waiting for UPS to get a reman part. I try to keep rebuild parts in stock for the cars I have so when they break I can fix them right away. But I grew up in the 50's & 60's when you could get the parts to rebuild anything. And all the parts came from the factory made to be rebuilt, with screws and bolts, not crimped or welded together like they are today. Brian

 

I've been a mechanic all my life and rebuild when I can. Also I take everything apart to see how it works, everything.

 

If I can make it or rebuild I will. The school I go to is older than I am, thanks Dad.

 

I had a little Chevy Cavalier a few years ago as a beater. Alternator went, I called around to ask about a kit for it. Lowest price I got for the kit-$29. Rebuilt alternator-$27. Easy math.
I'd love to rebuild instead of replacing. For older cars it's usually worth it. For some newer stuff, 80s or later, the rebuild kit is either not available or it's more expensive.

 

x2
I'm guilty of just buying the reman or replacement. By the time I've spent 2 hours hunting down the parts and running around town. Its just easier to snag the new part. I never throw the used ones away, and try to get the reman kits or parts if I can aquire them along with some other errand. Then when I have some free time, I rebuild and put it on the shelf for next time.

 

im the same way,im the oldest 37 yr old i know,i was 8 when i started out working in the shop-ill try to make something or fixit befor ill buy it

 

When I went to the hardware store to get brushes for my drill motor the (young) guy gave me a wire wheel brush thing that goes in where the drill bit goes.

I usually rebuild what I can, but it's just as cheap to buy a rebuilt wheel cylinder as to buy the kit anymore, so is it cheating to buy the cylinder? What if you're worried your's is pitted or something?

 

I'm the only guy I know with about 600 various size wheel cylinder rebuild cups laying around- I worked at a shop that wanted me to throw them away...so I did. away into the back of my car. those silly things have made me soooo much money. I figure 10 bucks to rebuild a wheel cylinder- and all I have in it cash wise is...well the 3 cents worth of brake fluid inside of it.

 

ha ha ha,ive been cleaning out my grandfathers garage since he died,
ive found dozens of carb rebuiild kits,& wheel cylinder kits,each box is
maked with its application

 

over the years i have rebuilt many master cylinders just by replacing the rubbers, used to be you could pick up rubbers for about 2 bucks each now i cant find them anywhere, anyone know who sells them?

 

I take chevy starters and most alternators to get rebuilt, there's a shop in my home town that does it cheaper than reman, and you know the thing will fit properly when you put it back on!

 

it's all a function of labor cost and lawyers now. There is more liability in something that you rebuild and install than in something you replace, so most shops replace and move some of the liability on down to the manufacturer. Not only is it almost impossible to find rebuild parts for water pumps, alternators, and carbs any more, but at $75-100/hr around here for shop labor, it's cheaper overall to replace.

 

I'm too broke to buy new parts all the time. I just rebuilt the headlight switch in the '57 buick. Not that headlight switches are that expensive , but the replacement would have required me to cut up the original wiring harness. I was going to post a tech on it and how to fix the dimmers that go bad and stuff, but then I figured most people would go buy a $24 head light switch. I'm also in the process of rebuilding a '50 ford deluxe radio. It's a challenge to see if I can get the original part working again and save a few bucks... and if I can't I can always buy another one later.

 

I love to rebuild but the fact is most stores don't have the parts and I don't have the equipment, especially when is comes to generator, starters, etc. When was the last time you saw the lathe that's used to turn down an armature? We used to sand blast and clean spark plugs too, but I figure if I'm going to all that trouble, I'm putting in new stuff. I believe in fixing something just once and do a good job that will last a lifetime. Remember, this is a disposable society and the auto manufacturers used to make stuff to last forever. Sometime in the seventies "plan obsolesence" was dreaming up. They don't want you to fix anything, they want you to buy a new car every five years. Anyway, rebuild if you can, it builds character.

 

for me its not a matter of part cost,its a matter of personal satisfaction of fixing it my self

 

I just rebuilt the leaf springs for a '66 F100. Cost was $9.72 for new clamps and "hockey pucks" (bought at superior spring in North Little Rock, Arkansas), a few dollars worth of POR15 and some new bushings.

But it took several hours and blocked the kitchen table for a day and a half.

Definitely cheaper than replacement and they work really smooth now.

Time vs Money.

A lot of rebuild parts aren't available at any parts store. You find some parts at "industrial" type businesses.

 

old school?...I still haven't gotten used to air tools, being in the salvage yard business for some time its cheater pipes,doubled up wrenches and torches. five gallon bucket of water and watch out for rattlesnakes..Ditto on rebuilding stuff if you can find the parts, or take it off another car, test it, and put it on..good sandblaster and black ch***is paint....

 

I learned rebuilding of Quadrajets from my dad. He was trained directly by GM techs. in Rochester, NY. What an awesome carb if you really know how it works and how to make it sing.

 

I like to rebuild when possible, more for the personal satisfaction and the fact that I can't blame anybody else if it doesn't work.

 

I rebuild whatever I can...if its mangle or missing I go to the old junk yard and get what I need.
Only buy new gas, plugs, wires and tires...as needed.