Not my first street rod, a 47 ford with a junk Vega steering gear box. Easy right? First the Adapter plate for an 800 series box, then the box. Then realize that the steering column is too long, so get a new trick steering column. After a little grinding on the Fords frame the adapter plate fits. Opps! the old exhaust is in the way. Cut off about two feet of exhaust pipe. Now the old steering column is really in the way so I'll have to pull it next. A Mustang II or Corvette front end is looking like less work. And hoisting that monster Heavy steering box is looking like no fun.... This keeps up and I'll be working on the back bumper before I'm done. Any one else have a story to tell about a small job turning into a monster???
Remember this .. There's never ever just one change - ever. Maybe they are easy changes , maybe they are not. Problem is that you don't know if they are going to be easy or hard until you've finished. Swapping identical parts around is its own challenge sometimes. OK, walked into a bathroom to change a $ 0.98 light switch. Turned into a 5 grand project in 6 mins.
I'm just wrapping up an international travelall that the defrosters didn't work on. I had to tear out the whole dash, radio, ducts, ashtray, fuse panel, glovebox and found out the previous guy that was in here unhooked all the vacuum hoses and couldn't figure it out so he just stuffed them wherever and used a coathanger to tye the vacuum motor for the defrosters. I had to take everything out of the truck and get them on a bench and used 3psi air pressure to figure out the vacuum selector, then figure out taht the original problem was the selector switch taht operated the push-pull cables was broke and i had to machine new stuff for it - hard to believe the local IH dealer didn't have hvac control parts for a '72 travelall! I just now got the dash etc back together (replaced all the instrument bulbs while i was in there) and tested the controls - shop time, about 30 hours! Try to charge a customer for that! I will tell you this, people that drive internationals lend a whole new meaning for the word 'frugal'. I'll be lucky to get $500 for all that work.
Yup. Been there done that. What keeps me going? There's a guy at the end of my street that thinks his stock '96 Buick LeSabre with 24" rims is BAD ASS. If hot rodding was easy, HE'D have one. Knowing he never will makes my efforts and agony worth while.
Hmmm.... Just about everything I've touched in the last 30 years or so? Latest: Replacing the trunk floor in my son's OT 65 Chevelle... no problem, can do it in sections to keep everything lined up. Only to find out that the valence between the trunk lid and bumper is 75% rotted, both drop-offs have almost rusted through, and during the last paint job somebody replaced the sheet metal around the right rear tail light with flashing tin and 1/2" of bondo... and there's rust along the bottom edges of the inner fenders that you couldn't see until the trunk floor was removed. After seeing the flashing tin, it made me wonder what other corners were cut. So the car's been stripped to bare metal so things can be fixed right.
Don't detect anything unusual here, it's just the "fun" part of our hobby I guess. I did drop a 3/8" bolt down the distributor hole once, never heard it hit the oil pan......
Ya, that's about right on track. It's the mountain of parts left over which i pay top dollar for that pisses me off and can't sell them. Not to mention the supplys like paint and misc which adds up dollar wise.
OT '85 Buick Century. Ended up having to take the dash out to change a turn signal flasher. All day job.
Small jobs that become monsters... All of them. No matter what little job I start to do, something happens and it just spider webs out. I either end up chasing parts, looking for that tool I had just a minute ago, breaking something in the process of trying to fix something. You name it, it always f'n happens. I HATE it!!!!!!
I work on my old cars as a hobby for pleasure, and my other newer cars as needed for pain. For the most part, the small jobs that become monsters are on more modern cars. I recently spent an entire day replacing a starter on a Toyota V6 4WD pickup. Half of that was just figuring out how to remove the damn thing.
I bought a 50 Merc that only had some rust in the driver's side outer rocker and floor pan (according to the prior owner). Ended up doing a complete body off restoration that included floors, trunk pan, inner/outer rockers, door bottoms, bottom of front fenders, and lower rear quarter panels. So much for the prior owner's description of a rust-free Merc! Learned alot on this "small" project....
Sounds typical to me. The coupe I am working on now seems to have everything put on it after the part I need to get to. I may end up just taking the body off since I will eventually have to anyway. Thats what happened to my Vette...just started out changing the engine and ended up with a frame off. Oh well, good thing this stuff is fun, huh?
HOW TRUE!!!!! Needed to replace brake booster on OT S-10. Book says it's just held on with 4 bolts, simple right???? Yeah, but you gotta pull 35 screws to get the dash out of the way Two hours to get to a 5 minute fix. Three hours back.
Don't they all...........figure out what its gonna cost and how long it will take, double them both and you might get close!
I think we bought a car from the same guy! Mine was supposed to be all original never been touched. Then when I went to shave the door handles and trim I found bondo covering dents and rust. Oh well...down the bare metal. Small Job turned monster, but well worth it in the end!
Sounds like a stock box and column would solve some problems. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Here's my latest adventure after a wheel bearing seized on the front wheel 2 1/2 mos ago: 1. Look for a replacement spindle ... none to be had, had to order a new one from the UK. 2. Spend about a week online and on the phone searching for new wheel bearings that weren't made in Krapistan. 3. Notice front brake caliper pistons are rusty and need to be replaced. Read a cheap upgrade is to use thicker discs and get rebuilt calipers for from an early Mercury Capri for about $40 per loaded from any auto supply store. 4. Placed a couple of orders on online places that listed them, then they email to tell me they don't have them (why did you take the order, then?) 5. All the rebuilder have is left side Capri calipers, no right side ones (WTF?) Can't find any in the junkyards. 6. Find an aftermarket aluminum caliper company making a four piston replacement that will work. Order those as well as slotted discs and pads to match. 7. Install the new stub axle, bearings and discs while waiting for new calipers to arrive. 8. After waiting a couple of weeks start checking on where the hell are the calipers. Over a two month period get excuses like, "They were done, but they leaked on testing, had to make a new set.", "Going out this week", "They're out for anodizing" 9. Finally find a pair of used Capri calipers in a junkyard 3/4 across the country. Cancel the aluminum ones and return the brake pads for them (20% restocking fee) 10. Get the calipers and take them to a local rebuilder (Brought them in at 10 am and had them back by 4 pm all cleaned, blasted and rebuilt for $30 a side (something had to go right) 11. Figure out the new caliper mounting holes are metric while the lugs are standard thread. Need to buy a special bolt with standard thread and metric shoulder and head (funny, local hardware store didn't have it) Another online order 12. Order new brake pads. While tracking them on UPS find they are delayed by Hurricane Sandy even though they don't look like they are supposed to travel anywhere near where the hurricane hit. 13. Figured I might as well go all in and order new stainless brake hoses and since the new calipers have larger fluid capacity, need a new brake m/c as well. So here I sit, almost 3 mos later, still waiting for parts to be delivered and the front end up on jackstands. Should have it all done just in time for the snow to hit. And to top it off, my wife says, "Maybe you should find a more rewarding hobby." Are you kidding? "I've been doing this for over 45 years and I love it.!
Replacing a power steering gear in my '53 Lincoln Capri Convertible. Found a good tight, clean (and most importantly, dry) p.s. box from a fellow HAMBer guy. Up on a lift then disconnect all the lines (they all SNAPPED off, clumsy me), put the top down, remove the power front seat, (snap off 3 more bolts),disconnect all the bolts mounting it to the frame (3 hours just to reach those pesky things) and finally pull the steering wheel from the column ( breaking the horn and directional circuit in the process. Now to pull the gear you have to pull the attatched steering column as an assembly up thru the open roof. This mechanical basterd weighs almost 100 pounds and I'm a little runt. Good thing it's a convertible, you need 2 stories to clear the monster from it's cave under the hood and up under the dashboard. Now you must reverse the order to drop it back into the car. 2 more stinkin' days of sweat 'n' toil. The steering gear's size is close to the size of my snow blower and waay heavier and cumbersome. Fortunatly it funtioned fine after this chore although numerous attemps were made to keep the repaired lines from leaking like a tanker going down in choppy seas.
At my age everything is a hassle, I usually plan on making everything at least 3 times until it works and I will be done when and if its right or close to it.
Small job. Small job? What does "a small job" mean? I don't ever remembering that I've ever had such a thing when cars were involved. Gene
Old buddy of mine said to me 40 years ago ....." whatever money you think it'll cost , double it .....and whatever time you think it will take , triple it ....YOU MIGHT BE CLOSE ! . He was soooo right . T
My Model a truck was suppose to just have the motor and box out to repaint them that escalated very quickly into have the floor out the body and tray off now it's turned into a very nut and bolt rebuild
Classic 'job creep' My slipping autobox turned into an all new handbuilt body and major suspension changes. Two years later I still don't know if the box is ok....
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