Why is it when I try to fix something, it turns out worse than how I started? I tried realigning the door on my '86 and now it's much worse. Time to take it somewhere I guess.

I really hate it when I can't do something right..........the first time.........everytime.............yes, I'm impatient. That's probably the problem. I'm just a bit angry right now. I managed to make the door worse and chip paint off the edge of the fender. I'm not dumb like this all the time, but once I get frustrated it's all downhill.

Am I the only impatient one here?

 

I refuse to work on mine now. I am so impatient, its not even funny. I had been removing a header off of an old beater, and I got so frustrated, I just implanted the wrench into the fender. Anyone looking for a mechanic? I work cheap.

 

I think you guys need to get together and advertise your repair services

 

I was pushing my Camaro with my Jeep once just to get it into the driveway... the Camaro didn't run any more and although it would soon be going to my mechanic's to be sold, it needed to get out of the street before it got ticketed.

Trying to push one vehicle with another on a slight inclined driveway all by yourself is less than easy. It requires well orchestrated maneuvering, adjusting the wheel on the Camaro repeatedly to overcome it's self-centering desire, constantly going from stop to a crawl... you get the picture.

Wound up putting a slight mark in the rear bumper corner of the Camarao. I got so angry, I kicked the Camaro repeatedly and turned the small mark into a sizeable dent. Good thing it had a "plastic" bumper & my mechanic was able to pull the dent somewhat easily...

Ah, I remember that Camaro so fondly. My first car. I would spend an entire day detailing, waxing, and making that red car shine brighter than the sun. This ritual happened if not twice, at least once a month, regardless of weather (weekly "regular" washes excluded). I was sad to see it go... that poor car took a lot of abuse from me...

 

I'm only that way when I'm working on my own junk. Anyone else's stuff, and I'm cool as can be. Who knows..

 

i like the whole, try and fail theory...i try till i fail and break what i am working on then i buy another and repeat....

 

Don't be too hard on yourself, adjusting doors can be frusterating. Of course a good bodyman can make it look easy, but one small miscalculation and when you go to open it and it is hitting the fender. Now you have a dilemma since you have to get it open to loosen the hinges and continue adjusting, and it is really bad if you just got it painted, AAARRGG!!!

 

It occurred to me this morning when I had to try three times to get the door closed on my 82 that the nice thing about a truck is:

When the screws fall out of the latch mechanism, the weatherstrip is gone, the bushings and pivots in the door hinges go to crud, the front of the door has a split from the previous owner, there are about fifty holes in the outside from a wide variety of mirrors, the light switch is bent over and there is a rust hole around it...

I CAN GO GET ANOTHER CAB!!!!

 

Changing a cab seems to me to be a very complicated process - With the work I have been doing on the interior of my truck, I am getting a whole new understanding of things. I never realized just how much wire there was in these trucks.

Theo

 

The secret is to take advantage of "Bulkhead Connectors".

Never undo individual wires when you can pull a single complex plug.

 

The key to resolving your problem 88 is to educate yourself first. I mean no disrespect here but a calm voice of reason.
even if a job seems sipmle, ther are always little details left out because those explaining it want you to think it WAS easy.
Take these shows like Hrsepower TV, Trucks, and the like. They take 8 hrs of work, edit the grunting, groaning, wrong parts, broken bolts, etc and show you the highlights. They even show one guy doing the work! I tell you, you aren't going to do a full off frame resto without help.
Take some time, ask some questions and if you get in a bind, STOP, ask more questions.

It gets easier, trust me.

 

Working on vehicles can be very frustrating if doing something for the first time -- as in the case with me. I spent 2 days changing the window motor. Very frustrating. These experiences turn into confrontations with my vehicles. Usually I win, but I often loose, too and then they have to be fixed by someone who knows more, which is not easy to find in my region. (real mechanics vs. part swappers).