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I've seen the most superb, mind-bending restorations and also gawped at some of the most wonderful racing victories in my lifetime but I was over the moon with a very simple mechanical task I completed over the weekend... I've always been shy with the spanners but this weekend was MY weekend, the weekend where I shone & where my confidence was boosted no end!!! I (on my own this is!) changed the brake pads on my Triumph Toledo...  Now I know this isn't the most ground breaking task ever performed but for me it was truly wonderful (although a bit difficult at times!!!) and I shall continue to do as many bits & bobs as I can now... So this leads me to ask what automotive 'little victories' have made you smile over the years...?! I felt like a champion this weekend (have some random imagery for your troubles)...       |
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***GARAGE CURRENTLY EMPTY***
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col
Part of things
wut
Posts: 190
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well done on your victory, before long, you'll be a regular grease monkey. my first real victory was building my first motorbike at 16. wrestling that engine in with a trolley jack, getting it all plumbed it and started was some of the most fun ive ever had. for anyone starting out, it thoroughly recommend working on simple motorbikes first.  |
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bigrod
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,654
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I love that picture of James Hunt. Oh, and well done with the spannering. I'm fairly handy at weilding a spanner and am very satisfied when a nut and bolt job goes to plan, but I'm especially pleased when I manage to fuse some pieces of mild steel together in a recognisable and functional form!!  Shame it's getting scrapped after all huh? |
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Last Edit: Jul 2, 2012 11:57:18 GMT by bigrod
If I have to explain, you won't understand.
Maximum signature image height = 80 pixels
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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When I found out why the generator wasn't charging the battery, it was one of these moments.
It had not worked since I had bought the car, which was more than a year ago, and suddenly I've had a revelation, ran to the car, bent a bit of copper within the regulator and bam! it worked. In just a few minutes, I went from a car that can't run for long at night or when it rains, that you're afraid to take for long trips, when the hassle of plugging the battery somewhere afterwards, to an almost fully-functioning lovely old piece of cr*p.
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,922
Club RR Member Number: 108
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Congratulations! I had the polar opposite happen to me this weekend when after fitting new discs, pads, calipers, rear cylinders and braided hoses all round I bled the brakes and couldn't get the right pressure in the pedal. Bled them again using a compressor, peeing all of my lovely (expensive) Motul RBF600 into a bucket but nope, still the same. This morning I drove the car (very gingerly) to an actual real life proper mechanic - who will no doubt proceed to charge me silly money to work on it and more than likely tell me I need a new master cylinder. So look after that confidence, it's funny how quickly it can disappear!  |
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fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,594
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The best way to learn is to get stuck in and do it.
My first success was at the age of about fifteen when I took all the spokes out of the back wheel of my bike so that I could fit the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub a friend gave me! Yes, it would have been easier to simply fit a wheel that already had a geared hub but, even then, that wasn't the point!
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Last Edit: Jul 2, 2012 14:21:57 GMT by fogey
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Removal of a wheel that wouldn't come of as it had daft turner nuts on it and had forged solid with rust and turning them just crack the nut. Enter phase 1 of FIRE    Voila one wheel removed.  |
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Some days you just need to take a grinder to an inanimate object, just to make your day a tiny bit better!!
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fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,594
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Excellent - just a few marks on the wheel - nobody'll probably notice. ;D
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Last Edit: Jul 2, 2012 16:41:37 GMT by fogey
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crazymonkey
Posted a lot
ummm....what was I doing again???
Posts: 1,981
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getting started with working on my own mopeds was probably the best moment I had. especially managing to swap an engine in a yamaha aerox (which lasted me a whole 4 days haha)
looking back now I regret getting rid of a lot of my bikes. some of the things I got rid of them for I could fix in an hour now, get stuck in and its amazing how quickly you can progress.
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whoever said dogs were man's best friend....obviously never heard of cable ties
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i recently replaced the radiator on my B5 passat, first 'modern' ive done any work on and it was easy!!
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tragic
Part of things
Posts: 125
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Fair play to you, best way to learn is to give it a go. My 'big' moment was when I changed the engine in my first car, a '66 Morris Minor. Fired first time ;D 25 years later, I've run my own restoration business, raced competitively for 13 years, had a lot of fun and have owned over 230 cars from Skylines to '50s Humbers. Currently I'm senior ATA Panel technician (and structural aluminium repair specialist) at a state of the art BMW approved crash repair centre, and have worked on everything from 2CVs to Astons, '36 Buicks to McLaren MP4-12Cs. Still never worked on a Lambo though.......  |
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