When I was younger..am 69 now...and owned mostly Chrysler products I would always be working on them whether they needed it or not....I enjoyed it...but as I got older while I keep my Hondas running and looking great I am not as motivated to work on them as I was when I was younger...I still do all the fluid changes and rotate tires and brakes but that is about it...In the old days I would change a camshaft on my 1968 Dodge Charger in the parking lot on base and install a six pack setup...no big deal then...I would not do it now..
Any of you ever lose the "love" for your hobby?
- Thread starter R18Civic
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I think the pandemic shifted my priorities. There were times about 5-6 years ago when I would wake up in the middle of the night to put my car on jackstands to make an adjustment on something because I had the energy. Now not so much. The prices of parts have doubled in some cases, so I just do the bare minimum and take it to a nearby independent Toyota mechanic when I'm not inclined.
I once considered investing in those portable floor lifts to save my back, but I can't ever keep my garage clean enough to make room for it.
I once considered investing in those portable floor lifts to save my back, but I can't ever keep my garage clean enough to make room for it.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
My hobbies changed a bit. I still enjoy working on my vehicles, although age slowed me down a little bit. Having said that the projects get done, although I now wait sometimes for the planets to align. Especially when it comes to projects on my house.
The Buick sat for 3 years and crapped the bed. Had the transmission rebuilt and then the Lim gasket went out and wiped out the bearings. I was heart broken. The car sat for a couple months before I had it towed for junk because I couldn't make my mind up if I was going up fix it or not.or maybe the buick needed more wrenching than the civic...
I honestly love working on all kinds of things. I mainly love wood working, working on bikes, and working on the house/property. But somehow I no longer enjoy working on cars and cheap appliances, especially the part of digging behind plastic and thin sheet metal.
What can be exciting about working on a Civic?
No offense, you are Wrong.
My asthma has gotten worst the older I get so lots of projects that I used to do, I can no longer due. Any type of dust around the breathing zone brings the ugly cough. I still like to learn about doing stuff but if too dusty I'll just some else to do it.
It would be great if that were even close to being true but it isn't. What do you do after throwing the parts at it and it still has codes and issues?
Yeah, it's right sometimes for easy stuff, but 4 codes together, etc and parts chucking..........often times WRONGO.
Can’t do what I once could due to age and arthritis in my lower back. So yes it’s no longer the fun of being challenged. After I replace the calipers on my boat trailer, service the boat for the winter, and replace the brake pads on my GMC it will probably be close to the last projects I tackle. Can’t afford the loss of sleep and mobility it creates with chronic back pain.
Yep. Also try some upgrades and tuning on a modern car and get back to us how easy that was.
Some of that may be related to whether it is worth doing. Certainly, a specialty car can be a lot of fun to play with. Guys build AC Cobra replicas because it is fun.
Compared to the old days, its a lot simpler. You guys must be young whippersnappers.
I get your point that instead of an engine just running rough you now get a cylinder 3 misfire code. The difference is diagnosing something like that from either generation is simple compared to module communication issues on modern vehicles.
When it comes to my vehicle maintenance, I find myself taking them to my mechanics more than I used to. For things like plugs, fluid and filter changes, the occasional brake job, etc., I'm still on top of that myself, but anything more involved than that, I usually let my mechanics handle them...probably the most complicated tasks I've done over the last decade or so has been replacing the cam chain tensioners on my bike, and replacing the air filter on my other bike (that took me 14 hours)...
I've lost a lot of the interest I once had in tackling anything requiring a lot of effort. I used to get a lot of pleasure out of replacing a timing belt or a clutch or rebuilding a carburetor, but would not these days. Of course, we now have nothing with timing belts, clutches or carbs. Well, the OPE stuff does have carbs, but they're really simple to strip down and are also really cheap to replace with new.
I do the simple stuff, like fluid changes, brakes and other routine maintenance tasks but anything major will get farmed out.
I also now have zero interest in project cars, which I once really enjoyed working on and daily driving.
Funny how my attitude has changed as I've grown older and better off financially.
I do the simple stuff, like fluid changes, brakes and other routine maintenance tasks but anything major will get farmed out.
I also now have zero interest in project cars, which I once really enjoyed working on and daily driving.
Funny how my attitude has changed as I've grown older and better off financially.
We gave our 64 wagon to one of our sons. I got tired of working on it and it just sitting. The engine builder screwed me over big time and I struggled for years to get it running right. When we finally sorted out what they had done I was so tired of working on it that it was no longer enjoyable. It now has a 5.3LS engine in it and our son drives it regularly so it is in a better place.
