RossD wrote: I think writting a little list of things to do before starting a small job can keep things in order. Just remember to do the list before starting the project and look at it again just before picking up tools. Add/cross stuff off as necessary. I think that helps keep a shade tree mechanic humble in their attempts. I had a '53 CJ-3A that had a pontiac 3.8L in it. I hit a bump mudding and the axle hit the oil filter and all the oil drained out. It froze shortly after. I'm not quite sure how the next part happened but I do remember the whole jeep being disassembled and a junkyard set of heavy duty 3/4 ton axle housing being shorted to fit the track width. Then it was sold as a pile of parts. sigh.
I'm a big list person in my profesional life. Never was in wrenching. I changed that ~6 months ago. It helped. Rather than a big, impossible, overwhelming project (finish the car) it became a number of 2-4 hour projects (run oil lines, run water lines, finish intercooler bracket, etc.). That helped immensely.
