I was sanding down a spot on the driver's side door (you know, trying to make it look less like a rust bucket) and a chip of paint fell off to reveal bright blue underneath. Turns out the previous owner just repainted it red over the original factory blue, and I only noticed because of a little dent near the handle. Has anyone else found a crazy paint surprise like that hiding under layers of rust and bondo?
Went to Pull-A-Part last Saturday to grab a brake line off a 95 F-150. Some guy before me just yanked the line out of the clips and bent it at the fittings. Now the whole section from the master cylinder to the rear axle is twisted up like a pretzel. I get that you want it off fast, but now I gotta replace like 3 extra feet of line and re-bend everything. Anyone else run into this or just me?
I figured swapping the rear drum brakes on my old farm truck would take a Saturday afternoon. Turned out the previous owner had used bolts from three different hardware stores and one of them was frozen solid. I spent almost 4 hours just trying to get the drum off with a torch and a sledgehammer. Then the wheel cylinder was seized and I had to wait another day for the replacement part to come in. Who else has had a simple job turn into a multi-day slog because of someone else's hack work?
I needed to pull a 350 small block out of a '78 C10 in my driveway in Phoenix last month. Rented a hoist from AutoZone for $45 a day, but by day three I was already at $135 and still fighting with a seized flywheel. Finally just bought a 2-ton folding hoist from Harbor Freight for $180 on sale, and I can take my sweet time now. Has anyone else hit that rental breaking point where buying the cheap tool just makes more sense?
My '94 F-150 had a hairline crack in the block near the water pump, so I figured I'd slap some JB Weld on it and see how far I got. It actually held pressure for about 15 minutes of driving, then started weeping coolant all over the I-70 on-ramp. Anyone else ever had that stuff fail in a weird spot on their beater?
I was heading home from work last Thursday in my old '84 Caprice and the dash lights started flickering like a candle. About 3 miles outside of Millbrook the whole car just died, no power at all. Turns out the alternator I grabbed from Pick-N-Pull six months ago finally cratered, the rear bearing was pouring out dust and metal flakes. I had to call my buddy to come jump me with a portable pack just to get it rolling again. Anybody else get burned by a junk yard part that seemed fine at first?
I was at Pick-N-Pull in Akron last Saturday looking for a fender for my 91 Civic. What got me was this guy in his 60s showing his grandson how to patch a rust hole with JB Weld and a soda can. The kid looked bored but the old man was giving him a real lesson, right there in the mud. Has anyone else learned more from a random stranger in a junkyard than from any YouTube video?
Figured it would just be a toy but I've already done both rocker panels and the driver floorboard with no blowthroughs, has anyone else had surprisingly good luck with those little buzz boxes?
I was at Pull-a-Part over on Highway 99 last weekend looking for a door handle for my 97 Explorer. This older dude walks up with an alternator that looked practically new. Said he just checked the date code on it, it was only 2 years old. Someone probably swapped it and then junked the whole car for something stupid. Made me realize I should start checking date stamps on parts before I yank them off wrecked cars. How do you guys figure out if a junk yard part is actually worth the time to pull?
I thought I was just swapping pads and rotors on my old farm truck last Saturday, but one of the caliper bolts was seized so bad I had to use a torch and a 4-foot breaker bar to get it off. Has anyone else had to fight rusted hardware that made a simple job feel like a full restoration?
He said stop chasing factory fresh and just get the dang thing running safe, and now it's my daily driver for under $600 total. Has anyone else had a stranger snap them out of the perfectionist trap on a beater project?
I ordered a set of stamped floor pans off a big online seller for my 78 F150, saved maybe 40 bucks compared to a known brand. They showed up and the metal was paper thin, like maybe 18 gauge when my originals were 16. I tacked one in anyway and the first time I stepped on it after welding, my boot went right through the rust that was already forming under the primer. Stick with LMC or a local shop that lets you feel the metal before you buy, has anyone else gotten burned by mystery metal parts?
Was driving home on I-35 near Austin when the pedal went straight to the floor. Turns out a rusted spot on the rear line finally let go. Anyone else run into hidden rust on lines that looked fine from the top?
I was watching my neighbor Mike work on a '78 Bronco out in his driveway for like 6 months. He barely touched it, just had the hood up and parts scattered everywhere. Then one day I walked by and saw a photo on his workbench from 3 months ago, the thing looked like a rusted hunk with the fender caved in. Today he fired it up and drove it down the street, all new sheet metal and a fresh coat of blue paint. What did he use to seal the gaps between the patches, because mine always seem to bubble up with rust again?
He watched me slather it on and just said 'you're just making more work for yourself, man.' I was trying to fill a dent that was way too deep, and now I sanded down half of what I put on. You guys ever get called out by someone watching you work and it actually made you stop and think?
I was poking around under my '91 Ford Ranger last weekend trying to figure out where the rust holes were coming from, and I measured the frame rail in a few spots. Front section near the bumper was like 3/16 inch thick, but back by the leaf spring mounts it was barely 1/8 inch. Looked it up on a Ranger forum and turns out Ford used different gauge steel on different parts of the same frame to save weight. Anyone else run into weird factory shortcuts like that on their project?
I spent like three days beating on this one rusted bolt on the bell housing, then my uncle said to hit it with a heat gun for 10 minutes and it came loose with a regular wrench. Has anyone else had luck with heat on those old Ford powertrain bolts?
That repair held for a test drive around the lot, so I ditched my fancy epoxy plan and tried the same trick on my rusted Nova, but has anyone else gotten a pop can patch to last more than a month?