What's your favorite part of a car to work on?

I'm going through the suspension on my Protege - replacing all the upper strut mounts, front lower control arms, and replacing my Racing Beat springs with Eibachs while I'm at it - and I find it enormously satisfying. I felt the same way when I replaced the struts on my GFs '96 Sentra a couple of summers ago. Most other work I find a bit frustrating, even simple oil changes.

What's your favorite part of a car to work on?

I enjoyed doing the timing belt on my 86 GTi and on my 97 Jetta GT. It was fun putting a clutch in the Jetta also. It makes a difference when you don't have to have the car fixed NOW.... lol

nothing.

the more i think about it all the car work i do is the path to the finished product, and driving is the only real enjoyable part. some of the work is therapeutic but none is all that enjoyable anymore.

i think i'm salty from having to fix work trucks instead of the project toys right now

When I was younger I mostly enjoyed building engines. To me it was a real challenge to put one together that would hold up to "my youthful exuberance". My first one was a 948 Bugeyed Sprite engine that I pulled with a rope block and tackle from a 2X4, (yes, 2X4) rafter. I rebuilt it with J.C. Whitney parts. It ran great, trophied several times in autoX, and burned the mountain roads of NE TN & Western NC up. Note: the driver was somewhat insane at the time . . . but got over it . . . well, nearly.

Heads.

The older i get- Nothing. I enjoyed building engines. Haven't done any in a long time. I used to change the complete suspension on my ZX2SR from summer to winter,then back. I like to tinker wih supension etc.

I like working on a car that doesn't NEED to be worked on. Basically, NOT my daily where it needs to be back together so I can go to work on Monday. Something I can walk away from before I get really pissed off and throw more of my tools across the lawn.

SkinnyG wrote: I like working on a car that doesn't NEED to be worked on. Basically, NOT my daily where it needs to be back together so I can go to work on Monday. Something I can walk away from before I get really pissed off and throw more of my tools across the lawn.

Same situation here. I don't like messing with my Daily.

The most enjoyable stuff so far on my Datsun replica:
1) Fabricating large metal bits with mild curves.
2) Bead rolling.

In both cases, it is not too hard, and you feel like you've accomplished something significant when you are done.

Aside from body fabrication, I like easy stuff. I'll change an external fuel pump. I will take it to someone else if I need to drop the tank to do an internal one.

The fuel pump in the camaro, although a pain, and a two man job, was very rewarding, mostly because I did it with my dad. I do still live with my folks, but a "hey, how was work?" still doesn't qualify as "quality time"

Dad and I worked all day on saturday and got the thing running, and it was awesome to work on something like that with him again, like I did so much as a kid.

Right now...not brakes.
I just finished 4 corners on my V8 RX7 and started a BBK on my Miata. The kit seems poorly put together with wrong or mislabeled parts and incomplete instructions. It is a big-name kit not some eBay knock off too.

I really enjoyed my supercharger install but that was 2 years ago.

Anything that comes apart and goes back together like the book says it should.

I hate the "simple" projects where the second bolt I touch rounds off and I spend a day cursing the damn thing.

I enjoy it all, especially the things people despise, typically automatic transmissions and rearends.

Even the modified from stock and now PITA jobs.

I want to revisit engine building, but the most satisfying thing I did recently was fabricate a transmission crossmember for my M52-swapped E30. So that really has me on that sort of creative-fabrication kick, and I'm looking forward to re-engineering the front suspension on the 2002 from the subframe up (out?).

at this point in time, about the only thing i really enjoy is drving them. but then again, im 40+ hours into an EZ-EFI install on a 68 hemi roadrunner, and the berkeleying thing still wont stay running.

usually, i really enjoy wiring, and probably will again after i take a break for a while. its time to break out my wood lathe and log pile.

Michael

The back seat

Anything when the fix works and I didn't break anything in the process.

The paint. (I'm a detailer)

No bleeding knuckles, no stripped bolts, nothing is fused together with rust, no laying under a car where whatever you're doing is at THE worst angle possible. Very rewarding results, too.

Least favorite thing: interior assembly. Inevitably all but one of those STUPID PLASTIC CLIPS will break, then I'll get pissed off and throw the parts in the trunk and never install them.

patgizz wrote: nothing. the more i think about it all the car work i do is the path to the finished product, and driving is the only real enjoyable part. some of the work is therapeutic but none is all that enjoyable anymore.

this

The steering wheel, pedals and shifter. I can work them all day and it never gets old.

The part of the real work I enjoy is the building. Fabrication, assembly... solving all the little integration issues that come with mixing things together. As far as actually "working on" the car ... repairs and maintenance... nothing at all. I hate it. I do it so I can drive it more. I never wash it unless I don't want to get dirty from touching it.

I've done so much on the ground (dig a hole to pull out the trans 'cause the jackstands aren't high enough) that anything with a lift is OK.

I like it all except rust. I hate rust so I went and got an old Spitfire that has been sitting outside for the better part of 10 years.

I enjoy suspension and brake work. Usually it can be finished in a few hours, and it's something with immediate benefits when you are done. You can FEEL it working when you test drive it after you finish!

I am from a generation that expects instant gratification though...

SkinnyG wrote: I like working on a car that doesn't NEED to be worked on. Basically, NOT my daily where it needs to be back together so I can go to work on Monday. Something I can walk away from before I get really pissed off and throw more of my tools across the lawn.

So did you enjoy building your Locost then?

I like working on cars when things go my way, when I don't run into things that were jerry-rigged by the previous owner etc.

My favorite part is any piece that requires creative solutions. I don't think I would enjoy going back to a car that you can buy maintenance parts and upgrades for from a catalog and simply bolt them on.

The GSX-R calipers, Raptor injection and sport bike fuel pump were a lot of fun. DIYing my own adjustable cam gear, oiling system and crank girdle were interesting challenges. The junkyard turbo setup was so fun I want to do it again right away. modifying distributors from other cars on the lathe for low buck electronic ignition upgrades was instantly rewarding.

As I found out earlier, not axles.

I like working on what I've already done at least twice before. So, oil changes.