Confession

[lloyd3]

Is it a sin to not want to do your own tune-ups? I haven't touched this car for over 10-years now (well... I do still wash and wax it), and I'm simply not all hot & bothered to give it the tune up it so desperately needs.  I have a fellow who is way-competent and reasonable (he keeps all of my other stuff running). I confess that I feel some guilt about not wanting to do it again.  It used to be a badge of honor that I did all of my own work. Now, I don't want to commit to all of the time and trouble needed to do it right.  I'm also rusty, and will have to re-learn a lot of stuff that I've forgotten (like...where the hell is my timing light?). I don't really touch any of my everyday cars anymore and I've simply gotten used to not having to.

I'm sure it's primarily an old, fat, white guy problem. Hell, I don't even want to mow my own grass anymore. I want to outsource everything except the fun stuff.

[Highbanked Hauler]

   I hear ya its just time moving on man, I only do my own stuff now because I have to. I did  collision work for 38 years and the fun of restoration and fooling with cars just isn't there now.

[charge69]

If you trust this person to do it right, why not let them do it?  As we get older (as in old, fat, white guy also),  Just getting my old azz down on the ground to adjust the manual brakes seems like a major task! Doing anything resembling preventative maintenance seems like a major hassle and paying someone else you trust to do it right seems like a definite viable alternative!

I love to drive my Charger and even just look at it. Anymore, the PM just seems like a big hassle but, it has to get done so, getting someone you trust to do it seems like a great idea! Unfortunately for me, it still means I have to do it but ................................

[myk]

I'm getting older, working longer hours per week, and have less and less patience with the world so yeah, I've started farming out more work...

[Baldwinvette77]

I would gladly let someone else struggle with a late model POS, But it seems like i keep getting suckered into fixing them 

[69rtse4spd]

Same here, life gets busy, also working more hours per week. Just feels like  a grind to get any type of motovation going to work on the 70 or any of the other cars. It's not a sin to farm out the stuff if you trust the person or place, I'm sure we all think like that now & then, hell I even think about thinning the herd from time to time. Carlin said, you spend have your life getting stuff, & the other have getting rid of the stuff. Getting older I guess I'm at the other half know. 

[myk]

I miss my youth, not having to work as much, and generally just not giving much of a damn about anything.  I've lost something over the years and it pisses me off...

[1974dodgecharger]

U guys are acting like your old or dead gheeeeez

[Ghoste]

I still find tuning my car properly to be one of my favorite ways to spend a day.  Now finding the time to devote to it may not be so easy but that could also be part of why I love it.

[Charger4404spd]

I get what your saying lloyd. I turn wrenches for a living and when I get home it gets harder and harder to go out to the garage, so I have to take a break from time to time to keep from getting burned out. If you trust your mechanic and dont care to spend the money go for it. Maybe next time you will be in the mood to do it next time.

[Dmichels]

It is sad I think the same way now. When I was 20 I had no money It was all I could do to keep my cars on the road. I did all my own work. Junk yard trans marathon all night installs. Used tires ect ect. I would make lists of all the parts I would buy some day. I LOVED every minute of it. It was all a fantasy then. Now I have some money and still do all my own work, but the magic  is gone. I need to find it again.
Dave

[bakerhillpins]

I still find tuning my car properly to be one of my favorite ways to spend a day.  Now finding the time to devote to it may not be so easy but that could also be part of why I love it.

Amen brother! Dam if I can find time for myself these days. The second spring pokes it's head out it seems I am booked until the snow flies. Already missed the first car show this season.  

I get what your saying lloyd. I turn wrenches for a living and when I get home it gets harder and harder to go out to the garage, so I have to take a break from time to time to keep from getting burned out. If you trust your mechanic and dont care to spend the money go for it. Maybe next time you will be in the mood to do it next time.

As I don't do it for a living (desk job) I find that the tinkering and puttering with this crap is enjoyable but I totally get what your saying.  

[RECHRGD]

Some of you may recall, awhile back I was talking about selling after all the years of working on the car and it taking away time from so much other stuff.  But damn!  Today I got her back on the road after forcing myself to do upgrades and improvements I had previously planned.  The new Firecore ignition is awesome and the never ending vibration after the gear venders install is gone.  What a pleasure to drive.  Maybe my desire to sell is premature, but I still have other stuff to do and the Charger always seems to be in the way.....

[c00nhunterjoe]

I giggle watching my friends tear their cars apart every weekend to "tune" them. I never understood constantly resetting carbs and timing valves all the time. The way i look at it is, if its always getting out of spec, then something is wrong. I have not had to "reset" my timing in years. Once you tighten that distributor bolt, its done. Same with your rockers. If you are constantly having to tighten the lash, then where is all the metal going that is causing the excessive lash? I used to pull plugs and replace annually, but then i decided that was a waste because they were always perfect coloration and  great gaps, so i think im 4 or 5 yrs on this set of autolite copper cores now. I figure the cars are more fun if they are turn key amd go, and thats what ive got.  
   What all does it need other then maybe plugs wires cap and rotor? On a big block with headers we are talking 30 minutes of work, 45 if we throw in a beer or 2.... lol

[lloyd3]

I got bit by the wrong tick about 10-years ago and it has really kicked my arse.  I was finally diagnosed last Fall, but the meds are expensive and they have side effects as well. I'm hoping to get past all these little issues and be able to juggle more stuff like I used to, but right at the moment I'm about as useless as tits on a tomcat.  What is really frustrating are all weird cognitive challenges (memory and concentration).  Everything just seems more complicated than it really is.  

[c00nhunterjoe]

Well thats a whole different scenario, but the basics still apply. You need a buddy to give you a hand with the car. Get her reliable, then go out and enjoy driving it. Everything else in the world melts away when you are cruising in a charger with no worries!

[69wannabe]

I can see your point, when I was younger I would work all night to get an engine in and running or get a transmission swapped out and get the car or truck back on the road the next day!!! I still do most of my own work but I don't get in any kind of hurry anymore. I have a few people I do work for but they understand that I am slow since I work full time on fork lift's and just piddle at home. Just recently got talked into rebuilding the engine on a toyota pickup with a 22RE engine and that was an experience for me since I really do not do much on import stuff but after a couple of months of on and off working on it I got it back up and running and it done really good considering it had been sitting since 2011 and the engine was shot!! I try to keep it simple and do quick job's but occasionally I get into an engine or transmission swap or rebuild. I sure don't do as much as I used to but I still work on my old charger since there is no other mopar guy's in my area and no one else I would trust to do any work on it.

[Ghoste]

Some of you may recall, awhile back I was talking about selling after all the years of working on the car and it taking away time from so much other stuff.  But damn!  Today I got her back on the road after forcing myself to do upgrades and improvements I had previously planned.  The new Firecore ignition is awesome and the never ending vibration after the gear venders install is gone.  What a pleasure to drive.  Maybe my desire to sell is premature, but I still have other stuff to do and the Charger always seems to be in the way.....

That is so great to hear!!!!

[RallyeMike]

I think everyone gets to that point sooner or later if you are lucky to be here long enough. If yer not enjoying it, why do it?

[redmist]

I don't mind busting out the laptop and doing some tune work here and there.   

Fun to experiment!

[Challenger340]

Mine still has it's original Points & Condenser.

I leave it that way because I can see no benefit converting to electronic, and because it's original.
Fires right up, Idles great, runs great, and plenty of GO with no issues..... EVER !

Tune-up time is kinda fun ?
On go the "champion" spark plugs fender covers...
and
out comes the vintage 1970's "scope" with dials/buttons/gauges/wires that I found in the rafters of an old shop, it still works great as well.
Took me awhile to remember all that stuff ? Snap KV, Firing patterns, dwell angle, Alternator/VR test, etc., etc.... but I can even go in and "adjust" the Voltage Regulator Points to keep the system up to snuff.

it's FUN !

[myk]

U guys are acting like your old or dead gheeeeez

Eh.  The Charger and I have been cooped up for the past two months because every time I have a day off it's been pouring rain out here in "sunny" San Diego.  As soon as I get to blast down the freeway and burn more dino-oil and scare small children riding in their hippie parent's Priuses all will be right with the world...

[Dino]

I get it; I have a love-hate relationship with wrenching.  I restored cars and did collision for a living for 15-ish years.  When I quit that line of work I thought I'd enjoy wrenching on my own cars more, and usually I do, but it's getting old.  When properly planned I still enjoy the work, especially custom work.  I'm looking forward to installing 3 point seatbelts this summer, that should be a nice challenge.  I swapped the pumpkin a few weeks ago which was fun up until the last half hour when I got tired of crawling under the car.   Yes I could've had the car a bit higher still and bought a creeper, but I don't want to go there anymore.  The day after the swap I noticed a tiny leak at the pumpkin seal and I didn't think for a second to go through the hassle of raising the car up again and starting over so I took it to the shop.    
I've known the guy for years and he knows molars through and through.  Great prices as well.
I want to have fun with the car so let someone else do the stuff I no longer enjoy.  While it was on the lift at the shop yesterday I looked over everything else and will be buying a new gas tank as mine is done for, and new xhd leafs and bushings.  That's right' I'm not installing those either.  Call me when it's done,I just want to drive now, that's all.

[lloyd3]

I can't remember is this is the Prestolite or not, but it is the factory dual-point (and I have a pair in the glove box). So...17 thousands gap, lube the cam, throw the covers over the fenders and pull (& gap and replace) the plugs and you're ready to go.  The carb needs a kit (which I now have) and the pivots may or may not need bushed (those kits are still available, 3/8s I believe).  It's just backing it out of the garage, tearing it apart (all the while watching kids and dogs), and hoping it doesn't rain while you're working on it.  Lots of distractions, so I can't focus and enjoy it like I used to. My old timing light was having a ground problem last time I used it, so if you touched the car, it would "light" you up as well. Sadly, it feels like I've forgotten so much.

[rob1684]

being an old white fat guy as well, its harder to crawl under my charger using a floor jack to change the oil and filter. I have a buddy that wrenches at a used car lot, they have a lift which makes oil change a breeze so I had him change the oil and filter last week, I bought the oil and filter and zinc additive and he reached thru the headers and changed the oil and filter which is a bitch on ur back under the car. And the best part was he only charged me $10!  Can't beat that. He also found my small coolant leak I have not been able to locate for a year. The Middle freeze plug on the drivers side was seeping. He fixed that the next week for $50, and I 'm happy as hell! Thanks again Doug! Next is the leaking shifting linkage seal.