What was your favorite DIY project?

[RazorRacer]

Since this is my 100th post, let's see if this thread will survive through the night and go through the week. About 50 responses and a four star rating should do it.

Tell us about your favorite DIY project and post pictures if you have any. Inspire us.

[GSpreeman]

Had no money and a blown transmission on my 1964 Mercury. Figured, how tough can it be to rebuild a transmission? Went to the library, found a book explaining how the transmission worked, went to a shop and the guy told me what to buy and how to install it.

Never quite understood what happened but, pulled it out of the garage, happy that I had reverse. Pulled on to the street in first, shifted into 2nd and I laid down bits and pieces of transmission as the car simultaneously made a sound like a jack hammer inside of a steel drum. The neighbors laughed their a**es off.

[Bill Douglas]

It was remarkably satisfying to have recoverd my 3 spoke steering wheel.

I got one of those kits with a bit of leather, some thread and a needle. It was easy. I took the wheel of and sat down and went through a few cups of coffee while I did it and it looks absolutely perfect.

Nice if I'm cruising and I admire the view over my little piece of handywork.

[mwbaum]

the nastiest DIY was removing an old (leaking and filthy) gas tank on my 1965 Lincoln Continental and installing a replacement (also filthy from a junkyard) on the street using only the tool kit jack and some wood blocks....back in the college days.

[expat]

Remember this was back in the eighties....detailing my street/race 2.0ltr Ford Escort RS2000 engine with lots of chrome and s/s braided lines - ended up winning best coupe and best engine at several shows.

Cheers
Mark

[Bill Douglas]

Mark, I love those cars!. I had an ordinary 1300 Escort that looked like a RS Mexico, or more of a case of, my 16 year old head thought it looked like a RS Mexico car. I bet it was fast. Those things only weighed about 800kg. Bill '79SC

[jyl]

Rebuilding front swivel balls on my '63 Land Rover.

Actually every project on that truck was pretty fun. There was plenty of room under the chassis (you could even roll over), most everything was simple and mechanical, and the pieces were big and sturdy and hard to lose. Most repairs eventually involved a mallet, which was fun too. That truck still has the distinction of being the only vehicle that never stranded me anywhere even once during my entire ownership. Even when the rear halfshaft axle snapped, it was no big deal, I merely drove around for a week in front-wheel drive. And when the battery went out I just got out the crank and hand-started it.

I have done only minor DIY on the Porsche so far. Replacing hood shocks, turn signal switch, etc. At some point, each time, I've wished I had smaller fingers - space seems to be at a premium.

[RazorRacer]

I've wished I had smaller fingers - space seems to be at a premium

That's an excellent point. I have tried using my 11 year old son, but even his fingers aren't small enough.

[davis911s]

I'd say so far it was the first time I dropped the engine myself. Or possibly when I redid my interior and made RS America panels.

Shawn

[JSDSKI]

Rebuilt a 1600 Super engine with a high school buddy - the satisfaction when it started was phenomenal. Built a spare rear wing for a F5000 car from scratch using the factory wing as the prototype - ah yes, those were the days....

[RazorRacer]

Looks like the thread dies out Sunday night. Thought I'd give it a bump.

[cstreit]

Rebuilding my first carb.... on an 82 Chevy Cavalier...

[Porsche_monkey]

Here's one for George: putting a fuel injected Ford 302 into a (previously) diesel Volvo stn wagon. Great fun getting the computer running and all the guages. And seeing the look on some faces off the light.

[dmac]

In 1978, right after college, I was a Jr High Science teacher in Garden City, KS. My salary was $9,500/year! I was living in Gvmt subsidized housing, and was broke! My 1972 Jeep Commando wore out the rear U-joint, so I removed the rear propeller shaft and drove around for a few weeks in 4WD (actually FWD!). I hunted around for the cheapest U-Joint I could find - finally ordering one from Sears for $4.50, installing it in the driveway.

I found a new career after that year!

Moral of story: Spending all that time, effort, and money in college just to be broke and live in the middle-of-nowhere is idiotic! Kids, don't become a teacher! (But you do learn how to fix your own car)

Dan MacDonald
'77 911

[Jadams1]

Rebuilding a V8 at the young age of 16 in my first car. I have a picture of me (with a full head of hair) sitting on the engine as it's being lowered back into the car. It's a poloroid picture, digitial cameras were'nt around in 1977 otherwise I'd post it.

[Kurt B]

Wow, some of my most recent DIYs have been the best.
My most recent, entitled "Getting the goddamned clutch to work right" has finally paid off.

1) Unless your car is really old, rebuilding the cluster with bushings isn't necessary.
2) If your clutch is going, then that's a whole other matter not to be solved with cluster work--my clutch is new, so I knew that couldn't be it.

3) Lessons learned: do not use the bronze bushing for the cable arm supplied by 'other folks'. Bronze was available in the 60s and 70s. Porsche knew about bronze back then. They chose to use plastic for very good reason. If there is any out-of-roundness in the clutch arm at the cluster, the bronze bushing will contour to it and bind the cable. The plastic bushing doesn't do this. Your clutch won't bind until you work through the plastic.

So unhook the clutch at the cluster, get a flashlight, and have a good long look at the hole and the bushing. Get a new bushing, grease it. If the hole is out-of-round, get a dremel and round it out.
Lube everything down there. I also changed the tranny horseshoe spring and the cluster spring, and I rebuilt the cluster with bronze bushings a year ago. Bronze bushings are fine for use in the cluster, just not for the clutch cable bushing IF it's not round.
Also, the accelerator pedal can be worked on a bit as well and greased to ensure it's light. There is a lot of slop in that. I realize now why: to remove any potential of accidental binding. Make sure the arm is tapped onto the shaft. Mine had worked loose over time.
There is also a screw coming through the floor down there, but I'm not sure why. I took a plastic cap of a JB weld tube and put that over it. That screw, in my case, sort of got stuck between the accelerator arm and the joint that goes to the pedal. It no longer does that.


My clutch is now, and has been for more than a week, smooth as silk. Better than it has been since I have owned the car.

[avendlerdp]

I had a '63 Buick Wildcat postless 4 door with a perfect interior save for the fallen in headliner. In a mad moment of creative genius I made a new one using bamboo floor mats I bought at Pier One Imports. I know it sounds nuts but the result came out so well people thought it was stock! I told them the car had the ultra rare "Tiki" option package. Simple pleasures. Alex

[KTL]

Most satisfying DIY was the timing belt and water pump on my 92 Laser/Talon/Eclipse. That was some tight work in that engine bay. Most satisfying because it's my daily driver. The Porsche is a piece of cake to work on since it can sit until I get around to it (and because Pelican has all the answers)!

[beamonk]

I have had a bunch of DYI's , but the best must be the summer I spent starting my frame off on my 68 Datsun 2000 roadster. I was going to night law school and working two jobs. My father had been sick and died in april. After all that was going on, I decided to take the summer off, sold my mint 83 944 and got this old garage in downtown Tuscaloosa behind a friends law office and started to work. Moved my tools there, did some wiring to hook up the compressor and went there about every night in the Alabama heat. Took the whole freaking car apart, sandblasted the frame, rebuilt suspension, engine, trans, brakes in one summer. Would work generally till 2:00 or 3:00. A whole lot of sweat and cussin. It could be rather spooky with the doors open and street urchins coming by looking in from time to time, I kept a huge machiti, baseball bat and shotgun handy, but had no problems. It went well and I didn't even bust one knuckle the whole summer. Of course it took another two years to get the paint done, now that is another story. Best mental health I have ever had!

John Brasfield
76 3.0 stuck at the paint shop!

[sammyg2]

My favorite DYI project was a few years ago when I bought a basketcase 914 with a tired 2 liter engine. The car came with a junk yard turbocharger, a weber side draft carb, and several bits and pieces of header piping, all in boxes.
A few months later I was driving the car in a San Diego autocross, with between 7 and 9 psi of boost :-)
Started off knowing nothing about what I was doing, ended up being lucky. By the time the project was done I had learned enough about it to realize all the things I did wrong, but it still ran good.

2nd favorite was when I was about 22 years old, I bought a flatbottom boat with a siezed Chrysler hemi engine.
A year later I finally got it fired up, with a roots supercharger (rebuilt in my garage), dual 660 center-squirter carbs, vertex magneto, etc.
Ended up overpowering the boat. Talk about a money pit.