Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

On removing the back tub of my 1962 Series 2a Land Rover last week a friend and I saw a patch of nasty dry rust invisible with the tub in place. I winced but my friend who is a Lloyds certified welder said "no great problem" and two hours of deft work had the rust cut out , replaced with new metal and the repair completed and skillfully done.

I watched him with admiration and envious of his skill.

How skilled are all of you?

I avoid car electrical tasks bar the simple ones but my self taught body and paintwork abilities are okay. I will tackle interior, suspension and brake work and some mechanical tasks but often say "I wish I knew more" when I seek assistance.

Where are your restoration skills or weaknesses?
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Dipster]

My principal weakness is never having enough money to do everything I would like to.

[Ray White]

I wouldn't like to have to work on today's "computer" cars for a living but I suppose it all depends on what you are used to. I am basically ignorant of electronics but I can only blame myself for simply not even trying to learn.

When it comes to old cars, I will tackle most jobs. If it comes apart I will try and find a repair. Some things, however, seem to never quite turn out as well as they should. Things like turning threads on the lathe. It's probably lack of practise but I always seem to resort to a die stock when my lathe work fails.

It makes me quite unhappy that I sometimes lack the skills that lifts the quality of work from the level of an amateur.

[Keith D]

I have always done the electrical and mechanical work on my cars myself, having been trained in engineering, but bodywork and upholstery skills are things I have to admire in others!

In my working days I spent many years working in the North West of our great State, only flying home for occasional weekends. Consequently I had to get most bodywork and upholstery done by professionals around Perth, although I made sure that I fitted everything together.

The people I truly admire however, are competent spray painters. They make it look so dammed easy!

Keith

[Dipster]

[quote="Ray White"]I wouldn't like to have to work on today's "computer" cars for a living but I suppose it all depends on what you are used to.

How right you are.

My son in law is a Mercedes and BMW trained "Vehicle Technician". He is only in his 30s and is looking to change his path in life simply because he finds the "plug it in, read the screen and change the part" that makes up most of his days so boring. He tells me he rarely has to think at all.

[Riley Blue]

Multi skilled....? A single skill would be useful!!
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David

1963 Riley 1.5
1965 Riley 1.5

[roverdriver]

I really enjoy watching a skilled operator at work, but fear that the word 'skilled' cannot be applied to any of my activities.

Having said that, I managed to restore a Model A Ford completely, with the exception of the actual machine work on the engine. I hand polished oversize pistons to size, hand scraped the babbit bearings to a good fit. I ironed out the body and painted it, although my wife did the upholstery with a little help from me. We subsequently drove that car for over 150,000 miles before selling it on.

I will tackle most jobs and usually get a reasonable result, but never perfect. I rather like a challenge too, so like Ray, if it comes apart, there is a fair chance that I can disassemble, repair and reassemble with success.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[peter scott]

I'm happy with mechanicals and electricals (including modern diagnostics although getting propriatory info is a real problem).

I get by with interior restoration but I'm a very poor welder and an even worse spray painter.

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Rootes75]

I find mechanical work no problem and over time have become quite skilled with the welder too. Electrical wise I can get by, fault find and repair.

The skill I really want to learn is spraying and how to properly prepare for spraying.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Ashley]

[clan chieftain]

I would imagine that the majority would like to be able to paint.......properly.
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The Clan Chieftain

[ajlelectronics]

[ukdave2002]

I think if you replaced "skill" with "technique" it's slightly different:

There's are folk who have a natural talent; most people who are good at a particular sport tend to be quite good at all other sports.

Likewise there are folk that we term as being "handy" who can turn a hand to many things.

I'm probably in the latter, (Jack of all trades master of none) at school my woodwork teacher was convinced my dad must be a joiner as I could shape wood, our metalwork teacher had a similar view! I worked as a labourer during the summer for a builder whilst at Uni, there are houses in Bristol where I laid the facing bricks and plasterd the interior, it's a technique not a skill... Ironically I was studiying electrical and electronic stuff, but my employer wouldn't let me near anything electrical for insurance reasons !!!

Same with painting cars...robots do it in modern car factories so it must be a technique rather than a skill.

Electrical work is the most straight forward as it is mostly binary..

The counter side is a mate of mine who is a plumber, he can bend and solder copper and its looks like a work of art, he was taught to do it by his dad who is also a plumber, And they both have every plumbing qualification under the sun, yet he is absolutely useless at doing any other practical job !

Dave

[Ray White]

Dave, your school experiences remind me of my own frustrating school days. The difference was that my Grandfather was a Master cabinet maker and my Father was a prominent engineer so it was not that surprising that I did well at practical subjects. I should have gone into engineering - I was particularly keen to join Bruce McLaren's F1 team where I lived in Woking - but my parents were against the idea.

I was a pretty decent pianist but I wasn't good enough (despite getting all my grades to Diploma level) to take it up professionally, so it was expected I would go into teaching.
I went to Trent Park to study music and took a teacher training course but it didn't suit me and I dropped out.

I don't regret not making the most of my talents but I do sometimes wonder how differently my life could have turned out had I taken a different course...

[baconsdozen]

I have all sorts of problems with paintwork,no matter how long I spend rubbing down and filling I can still see where I've 'been'. I can't match colours either and am far too impatient with the whole operation.
Having now bought a very complicated modern,I am learning all about ECUs,and self levelling all singing and all dancing suspension and a dashboard that looks more like an arcade game. This after decades of swearing blind that electronics had no place in a car and a mind that thinks in inches and thou!.
I'm not sure if I'm moving with the times or have just gone gaga. I'm selling up my business so at least I'll have plenty of time to try and get to grips with relays and sensors rather than simple nuts and bolts,will that make me multi skilled?.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).