Is it just me?

Latest cheap project was needing the horn fixed to be street legal. Discovered that the horn ring had been mangled and had breakage on the plastic parts too.

Called the parts store and found that the part is $10.95 and could be had in the morning if I ordered by 2:00.

I spent the next 2 hours hammering, polishing, fabricating and repairing to rebuild the old part to better than new and had the car inspected and on its first road test by 2:00.

How many of you guys think I'm crazy for rebuilding a basically throwaway part? I love this stuff and it has my total expenses on my 1998 Aurora under $50!

Bruce

I would have just wired the horn to a radio shak cheapo button on the dash and called it a day

You worry about your car being street legal?

EdenPrime wrote: You worry about your car being street legal?

Some localities do, luckily mine doesn't

egnorant wrote: How many of you guys think I'm crazy for rebuilding a basically throwaway part?

Been there, done that. Good job. I'd rather rebuild then buy new if possible. I hate throw away crap. Should have seen what I did to the tumbler hub on my dryer when it failed. It included a grease port...

irish44j wrote: I would have just wired the horn to a radio shak cheapo button on the dash and called it a day

Where is the fun in that? Plus I would need to BUY stuff! I got to use my Dremel, hammers, steering wheel puller, glue, snap ring pliers, my new 1/4 air ratchet and a 5.5mm socket. Moments of fear that I was going to pop the airbags, found 37 cents and I got to build an improvised tool for reinstalling a snap ring!

Total spent so far is $194.61 ...that is where the fun comes in!

Bruce

I have the same problem. Not knowing when to just spend money. The trailing arms in my expedition are a prime example. After five or six hours of preping cleaning welding and painting. Plus another hour orlate two to drive over to my friends welding shop to get the steel. I find that for $150 I could have purchased new ones and installed them in less than hour.

I welded a door handle for my pickup.

It's been decades since I've lived anywhere where the operation of the horn was an inspected item.

Not quite related:

a few years ago when I lived in Memphis I took my 280Z to be inspected. I usually look after my cars pretty well but didn't notice the non-operating high/low beam switch. I had an "oops" moment when the inspector asked my to go from low to high beams...and couldn't.

My wife notified me last night that she had a warning light pop on in her car. I asked what color it was and she said "blue." Sigh... yes dear.

kb58 wrote: My wife notified me last night that she had a warning light pop on in her car. I asked what color it was and she said "blue." Sigh... yes dear.

I suggest a talk regarding safety equipment that may impair oncoming traffic from safely driving. Not only that, but drunks have a tenancy to drive towards bright lights. Thats why police are trained to shut of front lights if a vehicle is coming at them on a devided highway. I know I do.

I think you're crazy for having an Aurora, period, unless you're just pulling the engine and throwing the rest away.

pres589 wrote: I think you're crazy for having an Aurora, period, unless you're just pulling the engine and throwing the rest away.

Hey! I take offense at that! wait....never mind.....long sleeved white jacket and a special room is pretty nice.

egnorant wrote: How many of you guys think I'm crazy for rebuilding a basically throwaway part?

BTDT - I expoxied the heater control knob back together for my Dodge truck. Of course, what makes my repair even sillier is I have the brand new one I ordered sitting on the shelf...

Sometimes you fix stuff just to see if you can.

Ian F wrote: Sometimes you fix stuff just to see if you can.

Truer works have not been spoken...

Heck...almost all of my automotmive-type (inclusive of boats, bikes, etc) purchases can be blamed on this one principle.

I've repaired HF tools.

Crazy? No way.

A cheapo like the rest of us GRMers? Heck yeah.

I have done many similiar repairs myself. Besides saving a few bucks, there is always gratification in fixing something. Cheap or not.

Ian F wrote: Sometimes you fix stuff just to see if you can.

QFT

pres589 wrote: I think you're crazy for having an Aurora, period, unless you're just pulling the engine and throwing the rest away.

Well, I bought a 1995 Escort station wagon and fixed it up for $534.00....

Traded it for a poorly running 98 Mountaineer and this non running Aurora.

$51 and the Mountaineer was running right...plus a day for cleaning.

Traded the Mountaineer back to the original guy (he is 6'3") for a 99 Nissan pickup.

Spent 215 bucks getting the Nissan running right and sold it for $1500.

So I figure I am about $500 up and have a nice running, legal, dirty as hell Aurora!!

I really thought about stuffing the Aurora drivetrain in the back of an Escort, but with just fixing the electrical stuff (THE HORROR!!!!) it is actually a nice driving car.

Might give it to the irresponsible niece who crashed her last 3 cars.

Bruce

I would have fixed it and ordered the 10 dollar part just in case. Did just that when the comfort relay in the E36 decided to de-solder itself last week.

Comfort Relay? Man, beemers is FANCY!

Ian F wrote:

egnorant wrote: How many of you guys think I'm crazy for rebuilding a basically throwaway part?

BTDT - I expoxied the heater control knob back together for my Dodge truck. Of course, what makes my repair even sillier is I have the brand new one I ordered sitting on the shelf... Sometimes you fix stuff just to see if you can.

That is it in a nutshell. We does it cause we CAN!

I'm totally opposite of most of you guys in this situation. My car is relatively new (2002) and nothing is really wrong with it-- i'm just buying performance parts for it. So there is nothing to fix, weld, fabricate. Just gotta buy the suspension pieces and whatnot and there i am. Although, i do plan on getting an '89 Porsche 944 Turbo. Now THAT i may be able to do something more extreme with.

I just spent 2 hours repairing a $20 snow shovel. Beat it back to shape, 10 million pop rivets, and its back to working.

I realized then, that I have officially turned into my old man. The same guy that would spend 2 days fiberglassing the worn-through bottom of a $10 trash can and bead blast, wet sand, clearcoat, etc a $5 mailbox once it started getting rusty.

you do things like that not 'cause you have to but because you can