How do you guys do it??!?

I get buoyed up by the completion of simple tasks, and then get in over my head.

I successfully changed the Clutch cable and adjusted it on my Cinq, brake pads on the Soarer, pads, headlights, discs, on the Delica, but when the headgasket went on the Cinq I got out the trusty book of lies and failed miserably.

Took off most of the head bolts, one didn't want to shift. Snapped a couple of Halfords Professional sockets before rounding off the head. Bought a HSS drill bit, and went to town. Only to slip and drill the head.

Cost me a lot more than it would have done if I'd just given it to someone else to do.

It's knocked my confidence somewhat and I've gone back to simple tasks like stereo installs and brake pads.

Problem is, I've got so much to do on the Soarer, and no skills to do it

I think this all the time. I feel like a total imposter on this forum, having absolutely no skill whatsoever in tinkering with engines and suchlike. I'm in constant fear of being found out.

It's always a massive downer whenever that happens - but it happens to EVERYONE! Some people just happen to have more expensive tools to get around the same problem a bit easier..




But +1 for research! Doing a relatively easy engine swap next month, but i have EVERY step planned, down to almost every bolt I'll have to twiddle.

Pictures are your friends, get lots of them. I have pictures of my cars engine bay, the engine bay of the car I'm taking the engine from, of the engine itself, the gearbox, mounts, manifolds, etc, etc

So far I have: 516 Files, 19 Folders

and that's just for a simple swap.. nothing particularly extravagent!






oh yeah, and you WILL break things, before fixing/improving them. If you never do, then you're either not doing anything, or you're working on a brand-new car (and even then, they have "kamikazee" plastic clips )

theres always someone who knows more than you, I'm 44 and have been messing about mainly with old fords for nearly 30 years, people still tell me stuff i didnt know on a regular basis.


engine swops and mods are not difficult if planned right, people get to amitious sometimes, but to be honest, fitting a large chunk of metal into a hole isnt that hard, ending up with a pleasant to drive and useable car is.

things like seized bolts become less of an issue as you gain experiance and get more tools. Often you can look at a job and just KNOW its gonna be a pain.

It took longer to change the thermostat on our frontera than it did to swop the engine in my transit.

I like to do something slightly out of my comfort zone and know that it'll take some head scratching, some silly mistakes and messages to guys on here (Thanks KFW, Jrevillug, ColonelK, Swollen, BiAS...There are plenty more. It's quite a list )

That's probably why I've ended up with a Volvo 240 sat in the garage with an Iveco engine plonked in it's hole waiting to be fitted.. I've never done even a 'normal' swap before, but there's only so far I'll get by reading the theory.

I know the feeling. I lack any confidence with working on my Cars, what has really helped me is having someone to work along with, or even just check that I'm going the right direction and help me with any problems.

Fortunately I live very near to a member on here who is that person!

As far as I am concerned - I learned it all by doing it. Both my parents are teachers and know as much about cars as I know about math. ;D

I spent lots of unneccesary money when breaking stuff I actually trid to repair - but I don't regret a single penny. As in the end I grew with the challenges I set myself.

For examle, the first engine change on the Mini took me 4 days. The last one took only 2 hours ;D

That said - I've never done anything as outstandig as a lot of projetcs on RR are!!

Be brave, go on - everything - and I mean everything - can be repaired. Success doesn't come without failure

Cheers,
Jan

I find that mechanical stuff is a slow learning process, but I'm getting there. My biggest problem lately is a recurrent wrist injury which means I can't get my hands dirty with tools and stuff and have to watch and learn, which is very frustrating. Just owning a car and keeping on top of all the jobs as required, asking on here of course and using the magical internet gets your feet under you, then it's just a case of having the confidence to get stuck in and a back up plan for if things do go tits up on a big job.

Before I started work on my car I looked at what skills I already had that could be transferred over. Paint and upholstery were my starting points since I've done painting and sewing for years. With mechanical stuff it's a case of being logical and methodical, keeping records (digital cameras are an excellent invention for this) and notes so everything goes back smoothly and if it does all go wrong, there's always someone willing to help and/or take your hard earned cash off you to fix the problem.

I'm the same, i do a few things on cars, Brakes, Servicing, various easy jobs, i think the most complicated i ever did was a injection pump on my diesel sierra, and that was because i had no option! I did an engine swap on a Fiesta with some help, although the DI pump was still most likely more complicated lol.

The more i do that goes well the more confident i get, but i also know when stuff is beyond me and aint scared to book it in at the local garage. I aint got the patience, tools or work space for most things so it's the best option.