Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Do you do all your own work on your classic(s), or do you entrust some/all to local specialists or garages?

RJ
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[peppiB]

Increasing disability means i have no choice but to let others do work if it involves getting under the car. A young mechanic has a garage a couple of hundred yards away so he does most of my work (I always give him a workshop manual for reference) but occasionally I take it to MOT station a couple of miles away as the owner, rapidly approaching retirement, was an apprentice in a BMC garage. No complaints (so far) about their work unlike a body shop who made a real mess of my paintwork. It has taken me 4 months with a heat gun and sander to get back to bare metal. On Tuesday I had the spray shop at the garage 200 yards away hired, so car now looks respectable again. Just need to flatten and MOP her now

[kevin2306]

I do all my own work (apart from the moderns that get serviced at a trusted garage locally)
I dare say that things will change as they become harder?

Kev

[Rootes75]

I do all the restoration and service work myself, but my father who is now retired and has a wealth of knowledge of cars and commercials likes to help me out now and then, I learn a lot of the old tricks too.

[JohnDale]

I don't know about trust but speaking to other owners it seems that it's more & more difficult to find someone who will tackle classics. I'm in the fortunate position of having a pit in my workshop so I'm still able to get underneath without having to crawl on the floor. I do all types of work on my cars. As I was apprenticed in 1956 & further trained by the RAF after that I have no worries about tackling anything. I have facilities for spraying(& a good friend who is a professional painter for the big jobs) & oxy/acetylene + welders(& another professional welder friend if I get stuck) so I am fairly well covered.
Apart from that I know I'm the best,ROFLOL. Cheers,JD
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1958 Ford Zephyr Mk2 Convertible
1976 Ford Granada Ghia.

[Riley Blue]

Sadly I never had any technical training when younger (anyone want an arts degree....?) but I used to service my cars myself, ancient and modern, after going to car maintenance evening classes at my local college.
These days, arthritis, cancer treatment (the side effects of which are worse than the disease itself) and a heart condition (ditto the side effects) mean I can't do anything more than regular fluid/pressure checks. I'm lucky in that I have a really good engine guru in Steve McKie in Chesterfield and plenty of friends with all sorts of restoration and other skills who are only to ready to help me out.

The downside to this is that restoration of my second 1.5 has been put on hold, a pity as it's going to be a very good car - eventually....
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David

1963 Riley 1.5
1965 Riley 1.5

[Roger-hatchy]

Not having a machine shop, worked in one many moons ago,
Not knowing how to weld,
Those are two things I have to pass on to others more knowledgeable. and capable

I have a friend who works at a coachbuilder and is a qualified welder, and a classic car enthusiast, so that side is covered.

Everything else is done at home, mostly solo.

My modified sump will be delivered back to me this evening so will be swinging an engine on a rope, lol, by the weekend.

[Ashley]

I do all the mechanical and electrical stuff and some of the trim. My son does the complicated trim and a friend does bodywork restoration and painting.

[colwyn500]

NO!

[Jason]

the garage that does our mot's is run by a father and son partnership and I trust them both 100 percent but.....

they refuse to work on any of our cars as they know I'm capable of sorting them out myself
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"people with money buy a Rolls Royce, people with taste buy an Alvis".

[P3steve]

There's a chap in our town who dose auto electrics (always a mystery to me) hes done lots of jobs for me in the past but even though hes not that old hes very old school in his training and approach to working on old cars. Also since my operation last year I have a friend in Lowestoft who has his own garage with ramps and as I cant get under the car as much as I used to do he dose jobs for me on his ramps but as he restores his own cars he knows his way round a classic. I think I would be wary at going to someone I didn't know though. Steve
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If the world didn't suck we'd all fall off

[Minxy]

I do all work on my old car but then I come from a motor trade background. I can weld and am fairly proficient at bodywork. I now teach science at a secondary school and have full access to the machine shop there so I want for nothing. My daily cars I never touch though these are entrusted to a mate who runs a small repair shop who was apprentice under me many years ago so I know he's good

[Penguin45]

I like to try and do it all myself, but we all need some help. Fortunately, there's quite a number of petrol heads round here, so we all help each other out. We run a highly informal car club called Station Cars and Motorbikes (A pub based operation), known as SCAM for short.

As above, my work vehicle is attended to by a local garage; mainly because the accountant told me to.

Chris.
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'67 Wolseley MkI 18/85, '70 Austin MkII 1800 The Landcrab Forum.

[baconsdozen]

I do all my own repairs,always have done. A complete respray is beyond me though as I don't (and never have had) a garage.
Crawling underneath is getting harder as the years go by,I made some large ramps and these help a bit.
Only once,years ago did I let a garage loose on a car,the wifes Fiesta failed the MOT on a brake pipe. I asked the garage to fix it to save time and it arrived back with a fresh MOT,a bill for two MOTs plus £70 in labour and a brake pipe that had been cross threaded in the rear wheel cylinder so that all the fluid was on the floor in the morning. The garage refused to even look at their cock up, saying they'd changed the other side! I contacted the transport ministry and the garage was eventually closed (other complaints as well I guess).
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[roverdriver]

Perhaps the term 'self taught' is not quite correct, I learned by watching other people- some mechanics, some just amateurs- working on cars, by reading a lot, and then by experimenting with my own machines. On odd occasions I have asked a mechanic to do a job for me, usually when my time would not allow me to do it, and in many of those cases, the mechanic returned the car with various problems. Do it myself became my creed for many years.

I am now very fortunate in that I have found a mechanic who is very sympathetic with older cars. His hobby is historic motor racing, so cars of the '50's and '60's are within his scope. He earns his living from the modern stuff, but enjoys working on older vehicles. When I decided that an engine transplant was required for our 1959 Rover 90, I engaged him to do it, and even though Rovers were outside his experience, he made a very good job of it at what I consider a reasonable cost.

I rather think that if one has a reasonable knowledge, and can be lucky enough to find a mechanic who enjoys his work, that is extremely positive. My mechanic is not afraid to ask me my opinion about a job, and likewise, I will ask questions of him. An all-round good friendship has developed and I am so pleased as I am getting a bit old for some of the heavier jobs on my cars.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.