old school mechanic-are you??

I rebuild my own stuff but I usually just replace the part when it comes to someone elses car.

Why charge them my shop time plus the rebuild kit when they can have a new or reman part for less money than it costs for me to do it.

Shawn

 

i love q-jets, the only thing i buy when rebuilding one is a needle and seat, float and pump, then i loosen up the secondary flaps a little and give-er.

 

HOT RODDERS ...the first recyclers...ironic dont ya think?

 

I always try and rebuild stuff when I can,learned it from my dad. This society we live in is becoming a disposable one,consumer goods,pop culture,etc.

 

My at***ude is that if it's broke, I can't 'broke' it any more.
That said, I've rebuilt a '53 DeSoto fuel sender that was stuck and in pieces...a plastic turn signal stalk, with a bit of allen key inserted in both ends, still working...numerous electrical switches and gizmos, save the odd light bulb, haven't figured out how to rebuild those, yet.
I've rebuilt or reconfigured many light fixtures, welded seat springs, door checks, etc.
I've swapped speedo heads onto different faces, swapped speedo cable ends to use different speedos.
I keep everything that I replace unless it's so totally wornout that I cannot see any renovation possibilities nor any other uses for it.
I build my own driveshafts, motor mounts, etc.
In short, I feel that I am 'old school' by your definition.
Cosmo

 

I have been restoring cars tractors boats you name it for years and you dont go to the store and get parts for some of this stuff you have to make it ,buddy just droped a 2 banger mag .yesterday. alleyoop aka alley

 

Depends on availability. I rebuilt my carb and master cylinder due to the cost difference. Restored a few steering wheels (big cost difference). Reman wheel cylinders are usually cheap, so I just replace them. I also make my own flex hoses, tubing fittings and do my own wiring when I can.

 

i have a armature lathe if anyone is interested, i think its missing some parts, the motor works, come and pick it up, its too heavy to ship. pm me

 

i realize i'm not that old and i certainly do lack experience, but i'll try to rebuild anything. i just like taking it apart, learning how it works, and fixing it to make it work again. definitely a gives a sense of personal satisfaction.

having worked in a shop with guys who have been here for over 20 years, i've been told plenty of stories about how things have really changed, and how everything used to be rebuilt and now the guys feel like "parts monkeys." it's as if all they do is hang new parts and hope it fixes it. european car warranties just don't pay for actual diagnosis of concerns. they would pay us to take parts out, actually figure out what's wrong and fix the issue. they want the parts removed, returned and then they outsource the research as to why the part failed....the germans have to have their own independent research as to why it failed. really makes us feel like pee-ons.

just my 2 cents

mike

 

IMOP that's the difference between a mechanic and a parts changer. Now days there are a lot of parts changers and few good mechanics.

 

welcome to the world of CAN-DATA-BUS electronics,you have to be a circuit board repairman to fix todays autos.Heavily overengineered and lightly reliable

 

CAN HI, CAN LO, everything is done on that stupid CANBUS and optical waveguides. most things that we "fix" are software levels. we don't actually get to fix anything....

mike

 

Just for BS bench racing fun one time, I mined the ore,
smelted it with a torch in a small crucible, hammer forged
it by hand, and made a small throttle bell crank.
I could point to that and say, "I made it from scratch".

BTW, copying a circuit board is not all that hard if you have a good example to reverse engineer.
Pete

 

I have a rebuild kit for a watepump. with instructions, was gonna try to do it. It maybe too old. lets face it they had to do it in 'the day' but why take a chance? I tried to rebuild a fuel pump, but it didnt work out , so I,m just gonna get one built by at least someone who does a lot of them.