Getting Old -> Dislike Wrenching

[McLovin]

Teen Driving: Gen Y delays earning licenses - Autoweek

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by mossguy

Hugh, I'm guessing that you have a pretty decent income. Why don't you have a lift? Seriously.

Roof height of the garage, and my friend lives a few blocks away. Plus, I just don't have the motivation any more to do serious wrenching.

[grendiers]

I think the biggest geezer moment for me when wrenching, besides the recovery period, is estimating how long a task will take. Replace that turbo? Sure, a few hours in my mind turns into a few days in the machine shed. Even with a car lift! I find though, that once a project or car is done, I look for another one. And then ***** and moan how hard it is! Again.

[asphaltgambler]

Me too.............................I am still a gear head through and through but the 'shine' and the novelty of it all has become...................almost tedious. I was the kid that would rather work on or hot-rod a xxxxxxx (fill in the blank) than do anything else. My hobby turned career served me well until my early 40's. By then i was burnt. Being in the business all day then working , restoring and racing xxxxxxx all became like work 24x7.

I still have hotrods, my Porsche and several bikes and do most all my own work. For me it is still an outlet of personal satifaction. But when sevral of them need to have work done intsead of me wanting to do it...............................is now the biggest factor. Also I swear to God my SS 454 Chevelle is the last minor resto I'm doing. The replacement parts are sooo bad iit is completely discouraging.

[jyl]

Well, turns out I dislike wrenching a lot less when I have great help. Herroberst came over this morning and in 5 minutes he had the engine and trans mated up in the van. We didn't even swear. Thanks, Mike!

[recycled sixtie]

I get vertigo from lying on my back looking up at my car. Not that I was ever a serious wrencher but I do like to make an attempt at fixing a car. Even a lift you still have to look up a lot...fortunately I have found a local indy shop where the owner has a Boxster with double the mileage of mine.

[lin7310948]

im pretty old ...73 years...but still enjoy 4 to 5 hours a day working on my cars or a project! dont care for maintenance kind of stuff but enjoy building, restoring or correcting...only on older vehicles. been working on a 63 austin healey hotrod for the past several weeks redoing and correcting past owners idea of what he thought the car should be like!

[RANDY P]

When you skillz improve it becomes fun. I don't like working on dirty neglected undesirable cars but working on something simple is cool.

Where I draw the line is trans and coolant. If it's just a flush, I send it in- not worth the hassle of messing up the garage. Same when you are under some sort of pressure. I drove to LV to visit mom n dad and engine popped in my truck. Wound up doing a full swap in two days, cuz I needed it to get home. Sucked, but I pulled it off.

[NY65912]

I love to wrench, especially metal work. It has become more difficult due to a bad back for the last 33 years, bad knee and not being able to see up close. It's the day after body aches that piss me off.

I would love to work on a project a few hours a day. At 58 I still have a few years to go till retirement but I'm looking forward to keep wrenching untill I'm dead.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

I get vertigo from lying on my back looking up at my car. Not that I was ever a serious wrencher but I do like to make an attempt at fixing a car. Even a lift you still have to look up a lot...fortunately I have found a local indy shop where the owner has a Boxster with double the mileage of mine.

I would expect that you do not lay your head flat back on the creeper. If you keep your head down and don't try to hold it up it helps a great deal

[Baz]

I will never lose my affection for wrenching. Like Fred, it's in our German heritage.



Of course if I had a lift......it would be a bit more enjoyable.....one day.....

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by jyl

Well, turns out I dislike wrenching a lot less when I have great help. Herroberst came over this morning and in 5 minutes he had the engine and trans mated up in the van. We didn't even swear. Thanks, Mike!

John, you are giving me far, far and away too much credit, but it was a nice morning, and Mary makes very tasty eggs and lattes, so I'm the one who profited.

(as an explanation, jyl had everything set up in situ, I just pushed on the block while he held the transmission! Boom, bam, bing, the tranny and the block are now one. And I swear all the time without even realizing it. I'm "R" rated!)

[zelrik911]

Originally Posted by Baz

I will never lose my affection for wrenching. Like Fred, it's in our German heritage.



Of course if I had a lift......it would be a bit more enjoyable.....one day.....

Hey Baz
Reading your previous posts regarding you & your pack of cute kelpies - I assumed you had Australian (Oz) heritage ???

Hang on!!! I just spotted your workshop footware & they look very much like Oz safety boots. Is this a co-incidence?
Peter in Melbourne (Australia)

[zelrik911]

I find that wrenching IS definitely harder on modern cars than it used to be.

I am 66yo this year and retired. I still work on cars and maintain car and bike interests because I need the company of like minded people; now that my social group is shrinking.

I dont do as much or work as fast as I used to, but I rent some factory space and have a kind of man-cave clan with a few friends who have their classic cars there.

My last big unexpected job was 3 years ago when the V6 engine in the wife's SAAB (same as Cadillac Catera) threw a cam belt and bent all the valves. Tightening those head bolts back up nearly defeated me. The modern metallurgy in those bolts is so good they can take 90 (?)PSI, and the whole engine was a delicate but modern masterpiece - apart from the POS cam belt arrangement. Its no wonder that modern cars go so well & fast. (Wife has a Toyota Corolla now.)

But everything on those heads had to be done up so tight that my back suffered for weeks. Hardly anything on old school cars was that tight (VW axle nuts excepted).

It was a relief to get back to more simple and strait-forward mechanicals such as my 911 SC & TR6.

I give thanks that I can still do most things, although slowly, and I still have a bit of energy.

My son has taken absolutely no interest in my car passion, but I suppose that is a generational thing as my father was obsessed with sharp shooting and horsemanship (and drinking!! ) and I wasnt interested in any of that stuff.
Peter in Melbourne

[GH85Carrera]

My daily driver is a 320,000 mile El Camio & my toy is a 85 Carrera. There is always some sort of project or something to tinker with. I am getting to the point of not loving the big jobs. I find I do enjoy the simple projects that make me think and learn. The recent cooling fan project on my Elky has been fun. I am real proud of the fan mount and integrating it into the car system. It made a real improvement while sitting in traffic. Fortunately I don't sit in traffic much.

I cleaned the paint and waxed my Carrera this weekend. It is crazy how much time it took. But time in the garage is way better than sitting in front of a TV or playing golf or fishing.

I could sell both cars and go get a new brand Cayman if I wanted. I don't want to. I would not have anything to tinker with.

[Chris22]

Originally Posted by jyl

I've grown up believing that a man should do at least the basic maintenance on his cars.

I believe a man SHOULD BE ABLE to do at least the basic maintenance on his cars, but sometimes that man might decide to farm it out because who wants to change the oil in the middle of a Chicago winter, or spend 5 hours on a Tuesday night diagnosing and fixing a problem so he can make it to work the next day

[vash]

sucks that when you are young and full of energy, you dont have squat in disposable income.

older and more financially flexible..you cant touch your toes. hahhaa...

[RWebb]

when you are young and full of energy, you substitute your own labor for the lack of disposable income

when older and more financially flexible it is still good to do some car "yoga" but you can still trade in that old 911 for a nice new Mustang if ya want

[CMDR Perry]

I used to do all my own work on street and race cars until I bought an old hi mileage 911 at the same time I hit the mid-fifties. I was cured after only six years of long weekends in the garage wrenching on my 911SC.

I still do the repairs and maintenance on my low mileage Mustang GT. However for labor intensive under car work like welding in sub-frame connectors I just write checks. It is so much easier on the back and joints to pay a professional that has the right equipment. DP

[strupgolf]

Its nice to have the money now to tell somebody else what to do to your car. Ive restored many a car over the years and now I just dont much care to do any work except change oil. Its nice to write a check, and then play golf.