I feel Great
 

Literrally. Tuesday night i did my shocks. All by myself. My dad didn't even come outside but to make sure i hadn't died every so often. The only real problem was the bolts on the driver's side front shock were seized, but some WD40 and a tweaked wrist later, it came off. And luck would have it, it was the first one i did. And boy what a diference it made. The rear shocks were both blown out. The front barely working. I just feel good about myself for doing it myself. Like my dad and my cousin always tell me; just go screw around and learn something.
I didn't get a chance to post in the "What did you get done?" thread for this weekend either, and i boy did i get r done! It was my birthday weekend, so i had a little gingle. I loaded up on goodies. Bought a timing set, new radiator hoses, and some antifreeze. I'm gonna do that stuff Thanksgiving week or weekend when my cousin can bring his timing light. Gotta pull the radiator and all that mess to get down there, so i figure that's a weekend affair. This past Saturday i changed my air filter, crank case breather filter, and PCV valve. then i changed my oil and oil filter. Then i added some ATF, cause i was fairly low. Later i changed my headlights. All by myself i did these things. While these are obviously not "difficult" jobs, i never did any of them before on my own. Some guy at school was like "oh thats nothing you pansy i do blah blah blah", and i just ignored him. *I* never did these things before, much less alone. There is definately this feeling of utter, goodness, after actually working on my truck. It no longer feels like im driving my dad's truck, it feels like it's now mine.
Keep on rollin
cliff :bowtie:

Good Job Cliff!!!
I understand the sense of accomplihment working on your "very own vehicle". I wish that I would have kept my first vehicle and also the first one that I ever worked on. It was a 1970 blazer and I really miss it. Keep up the work and soon you will have a very nice vehicle.

Nice going Cliff. :metal: We all made those first steps. It feels great. Heck, it feels great even after the millionth step. Good luck woith the rest of your stuff. Just take a little at a time.! and always remember we are just a scream away if you need as little assistance (virtually anyways).

good stuff man, before long you'll be rebuildin that 454 to 900hp! :D

I believe I read that you bought a timing set. If so, you had better make sure you have a harmonic dampener puller to get into the timing chain cover. Also you may have some fun getting the cover back on after you do the timing chain change out. You may have to trim the flange edge on the seal lip (on the inside of the timing chain cover. Make sure that you have the gears aligned on the cam and crankshaft before bolting it together. Most Chevys have a dot on each gear that should be aligned for proper timing. Just a hint to make that weekend easier. OH Clean the heck out of the front of the motor before tearing into it. It simpllifies the work if you can see everything.

Good job Cliff....you can now say "my truck is built not bought" :p

Way to go Cliff. Definitely gives you a good feeling of accomplishment working on your own vehicle. And beats the heck out of paying someone else to do it!

My dad started me off changing his oil and spark plugs before I could drive. And when I started driving, my first couple of cars were the old family car that turned in to his old work car that then became mine (Chrysler products), so they were good to learn on. I bought a carb kit and tore the old Carter carb apart on one of them, something he'd never done, and he doubted that I'd get it back together. Later, after helping my brother-in-law rebuild an engine, I pulled the old worn out 383 out of my '68 Plymouth and tore into that in the garage. Had to borrow money from my dad to finish it. He bet me what I owed him that it would still be torn up and wouldn't be running a month from then. I cranked it up two weeks later while he watched in disbelief.

Didn't always go that way though. Can think of a few times where my own repairs ended up costing more from screwing something up in the repair process, but that's all part of learning.

There will always be people out there that know how to do more than you, some that learned it and just want to brag about it, and others that remember what it's like to be in those learning shoes and are willing to share the knowledge, like the folks on this board. :D

Keep up the good work. Before long all your friends will want you to help them with their vehicles and projects. That is a good AND a bad thing! :D
I know how you feel, about 15 years ago I bought a used 85 Mustang GT that I was forced to work on alot. I had minimum experience but always felt great after getting her back on the road myself. To this day I still feel good after every repair and mod I do to my cars and trucks. Especially when you know your saving alot of money as well.
Good luck! :flag:

:metal: :burnout:

EXACTLY! That's how I did it. Sure, I helped Dad rebuild a couple of carbs and do routine maintenance as a kid, but all the major stuff I learned myself, often the hard way (i.e. breakage :banghead: ) The advantage you have is that these forums exist. Shoot, even I continue to learn new stuff with the help I get here. I could've saved some dough and aggravation if we'd have had online forums when I was your age, though. ;)

Rock On and Keep Rollin', man!
Kevin
:bowtie:

Thats how I learned, I was brave enough last summer to tackle an automatic tranny rebuild, and after a few drops of blood, some sweat, and some tears ( :p ) I had it working, and its been working for 10K miles now.

I'll echo everyone else's comments...CONGRATS....

My dad was a mechanic for International Paper Company, so he taught me stuff as I grew up like how to change the oil, etc. and I helped him when he took on other "maintenance" jobs regardless of whether it was on a car, lawnmower, house, or whatever.... All of that knowledge and experience has served me well. There's no telling how many thousands of dollars I've saved over the years by "doing it myself". It's all about confidence in your abilities. Once you've tackled the things like you mentioned, it makes it easier to take on the bigger stuff. Of course, having the right tools, equipment, and facilities helps (which I don't have for the big stuff).

I was just thinking this past week that I'd had my 76 for a year now, and I tried to think back through all of the "little stuff" I have done to it. It's still got a long way to go before it's "finished", but it is VERY gratifying to know that I did most of the work on the truck by myself. And for some of it, I can thank the other members of this board for their input....

Hang in there, and don't let those morons out there who think they are better than you get you down. You gotta walk before you can run....

Mike
:gmc:

I've always been mecahnically inclined and my father could do the work he just didn't like it so most of the time he doesn't. I had to learn everything by myself or in the last couple of years my grandpa (He can make, fix, or destroy ANYTHING and is seriously old school.) I've always been the one to assemble and teach how to use my whole families Christmas presents. I've repaired electrical switches and put in plumbing when I was 10. All learned by myself. Don't feel bad. You did it yourself!