According To You: Least Favorite Automotive Projects
There are some tasks that we just need to get done, without joy or relish in any moment of the activity. Last week we asked what automotive projects meet this criteria, and the good people in the Hagerty Community rose to the occasion. Perhaps while making a grunt, sigh, or groan with the thought of each dreaded task. These restorative efforts are not for everyone, and those who tackle them earn a well-deserved break after their completion.
So let’s see what made the cut—you will likely be surprised by some of the winners!
Anything on Anyone Else’s Car
Jeepcj5: Anything on another person’s vehicle.
ParaboTech: Definitely! Anything regarding working on another person’s vehicle. I try to be nice and helpful, but sometimes I really dread this.
Disdain for Electronics
hyperv6: I agree with Sajeev’s comment from last week, because electrical is the bane of the auto repair or restoration process.
With mechanical bits you can often look and find a worn or broken part. It is clear when you find the problem as you hold the part or pieces of the problem.
With electrical, you may have things like a broken wire if lucky but often it is a bad ground that looks good or is one ground of 10 in the car in various spots that can make things work or not work randomly.
Worse yet are the sealed units that you can not see or find damage. The Service book will say replace with known good unit as the test to see if it was bad. In other words, throw parts at it.
Don: My brother and I have 5 VW Beetles and we have fought more with the carburetors than anything else except for figuring out the wiring that previous owners worked on.
TG: Black boxes… the worst part of electrical. A bunch of stuff goes in, a bunch of stuff goes out, but only a handful of people know what goes on inside.
Roberto: Yeah, under-dash wiring is the worst! Except maybe for trying to get the windows to work smoothly and seal properly on my ’65 Impala.
Mark: Check engine lights. Not the idiot lights, but ones on cars with a low-speed canbus, a high-speed canbus and a diagnostic bus. You get the code, then the description, and then have to “figure out what the code means.” Then replace what you think caused the ‘puter to be unhappy and then wait for the light to come back!
Trekker: Yes, anything electrical can be a challenge. Plus, trying to find good replacement parts for a 47-year-old Datsun can be next to impossible!
Steve: Working behind the dashboard, and inscrutable computerized “black boxes” have been a personal Hell for me. I think the bane of many projects is parts support, with faulty replacement parts a close second.
DBDixon: As long as I had access to electrical schematics diagnosing electrical issues were not an issue. Sealing electrical fixtures like headlights on a truck and finding out OEM replacements were $1000+ versus replacing a bulb did give me a pain in the back pocket. Integration of electronics and electrics are also a challenge now.
Or Electrical Is Okay?
ParaboTech: Actually, I kinda like the challenge of electrical. Admittedly, OEM schematics make the project much, much easier. The real anxiety comes into play when you decide that an expensive component needs to be replaced and you really hope that your diagnosis is correct before spending money on a non-refundable purchase.
Of Dashboards And Sandpaper
DUB6: Oh man, Sajeev, under-dash wiring is indeed a nightmare to me, too. I’m a fairly large person, and in most cases, I need to remove front seats to just get in there to begin with. That gets me there, but then there is a) little maneuvering room, b) difficulty seeing, and c) the need to climb back out to get the one thing I forgot to place within reach.
But as much as I hate the above, post-body-work-and-pre-paint-prep is worse for me. Specifically: SANDING. GAWD how I hate sanding. And it seems to be a never-ending process. Work the metal, apply some filler, sand, sand, and sand some more. Put on a little primer and feel the surface. Then sand, sand, sand some more. I’m not really a big fan of the “applied patina” look, but I’m tempted every time I need to sand some bodywork to prep it for painting!
ParaboTech: Yes, this! I never knew I could experience claustrophobia until once time working under a dash in my twenties. I absolutely had to get outta there!
TG: I’m with DUB on dashes and post-metal bodywork. I’ll add doors and brake hydraulics
Anything Needing A Lift
Kevin: I don’t own a lift, I never have, so for me it is exhaust, drive shaft, clutch. . .anything that can involve significant time lying on the floor under the car on jack stands. Brakes, suspension, steering, etc typically can be done NEXT to the car on jack stands rather than UNDER it.
DUB6: Amen, Kevin. I’ve told this story before, but when I was about 16, a ’55 Chevy dropped on me and the lower A-arm—thock!—put a dent/cut in the area of my right eyebrow. Had it not been for the 14″ steelie rim I’d placed under the K-frame crossmember—well, Gallagher and his melon-smashing act comes to mind. Since then, I’ve never been totally comfortable lying under a vehicle—so I tend to over-support it with all sorts of “anti-dropping devices”!
TG: My neighbor has a lift which I use frequently. Even with the lift available, I find there are certain jobs (anything that involves transmission removal) on the ground. Lifts are extremely dangerous if there is anything in contact with the car and ground other than the lift itself. Also, you generally cannot get the car doors all the way open with cars on lifts, and any job that requires getting in and out of the car frequently are lift no-gos for me.
The Need To Improvise
Lewis: My least faves have changed as I’ve gotten older. Working under the dash of my ’63 Pontiac wasn’t a big deal at 18. I’d just position myself upside down, with my feet up on the seat and my head down on the floor, looking up. At 64, I can’t contort myself like that anymore. So, this kind of work has dropped from my “I don’t really mind” list to “oh, g-d, why me?” list.
Likewise, things that require more finger dexterity have fallen from the “that might not be so bad” list. I had carpal tunnel release surgery on both hands a few years ago. The pain relief was amazing, but so has been my loss of ability to pick up small things with my fingertips or manipulate small connectors in tight spaces (where I can’t resort to needle nose pliers).
In general, though, my least favorite thing to do is anything requiring some tool that I don’t have, forcing me to improvise. I don’t mind the improvisation itself; it’s the time and attention lost in the process, whereas having the right tool for the job in the first place just gets it done.
It’s Exhausting
Scott: Exhaust systems. Big. Heavy. Dirty. You assume every fastener is seized, or about to break off. You get to find out that the last guy saved by welding it all into one piece. You get a cat back only to find that the 1500$ cats are junk. I hate anything with a tailpipe.
ParaboTech: Exhaust systems for sure. Exhaust manifolds are the worst. Cramped work areas, special or customized wrenches and tools, penetrating lubes, waiting times, broken bolts in the worst places, and the ongoing threat that you will probably have to pull the engine to fix something that you broke while trying to fix something.
Bryan P: Any exhaust system work for sure. It’s the one thing I will gladly pay to have fixed.
Conversions/Restomods
Andy: Although I have not started it yet (I have the parts), switching from an FMX auto tranny to a five-speed. The clutch pedal assembly will require taking half the dash apart and removing the steering column and brake/clutch support. The actual tranny install looks straightforward.
Not old not grumpy: I inherited my brother’s 1967 Mustang convertible “restomod”. It has been cut up and abused by so many different people not least of all him that doing anything requires reinventing the wheel. It’s an adventure! I’m currently attempting to finish installing the aftermarket air conditioning he started. Finding room for those hoses and the fuel injection harness and the auto meter gauges and the aftermarket stereo is a bit of a challenge.
cdlamb: I have a ’31 Model A Ford Tudor and electrical was somewhat of a problem since I converted to LED lights, 12 volts (which required total rewiring), plus some added accessories too. My biggest problem has been the fuel system, and a trashy gas tank. I refuse to remove the tank since the car has a relatively new paint job and that would destroy a good portion of the front-end paint. being a gravity-fed system, the slightest particle will plug the carburetor. At 79, climbing under the dash to change the tank filter and address any wiring issues is all but impossible. Almost to the stage of hiring to get it done.
About Overengineering…
Binksman: Working on my wife’s 2001 CLK320. Best I can figure is that Mercedes hires engineers with sadistic bracket fetishes intended to cause harm and suffering to anyone who ever might need to service the car. My Dodge Magnum has the same NAG1 transmission, and both had a leak from the transmission plug port: a 10-minute job in the Dodge, two-hour job in the Merc. Layers of brackets, many unnecessary, all leading to me use up all of my known list swear words while wondering how Dante could have missed the “engineers who never turned a wrench” level in hell.
Organizational Issues
norm1200: keeping my shop organized and uncluttered. Yes, this to me is a project, and one that sometimes gets a really good sigh outta me. Getting organized is an ongoing project that’ll probably take me into the next century, maybe millennium: I still have glimpses of my first house—900 sq ft, 1-car garage w/ port, all dialed in after four years of weekend work, and working on my cars at the dealer.
I’ve been kinda lucky not mixing up metric & SAE fasteners. It’s something that, if let go for too long, can be a one-way trip down that rabbit hole. Fortunately, I can tell the difference between Nissan, Toyota, and other foreign hardware, let alone 60s-80s SAE bits. Staying uncluttered? It’s been a long while since it’s been that way, but I keep chipping away at it. I just bought $400 worth of plastic containers for my pic-a-part treasures, etc. and at that cost, I’d like to think it’s enough.
Everything But Driving?
Ben: I gotta say that at 75 years old, I love to drive cars but I hate working on them or cleaning and polishing them.
I recently tackled a steering column removal for one of my projects which falls under the general header of dash work, and managed to pull it off without any broken clips, not too much blood rushing to my head, and a relatively low number of curse words
You da man!
Wow! I’ve never had a day like that..
Just within the last few days I’ve been faced with an exhaust issue that looks remarkably like Rob’s photo in the article above. I’m preparing to go back to his earlier Armada columns to investigate the best Hack Mechanic methods to affect a semi-passible repair job on a 2004 4Runner. It shouldn’t be terribly difficult (he said as he sat in his recliner with his laptop – definitely NOT while lying on cardboard under a rusty, dirty chassis trying to line up a bunch of ill-fitting parts (needing at least five hands and only possessing two) while trying to keep the cussing to a level that won’t make the wife yell out the kitchen door to “knock it off – you’re scaring the dog”). Exhaust system work may move up into a higher position than under-dash work and maybe even sanding before this saga is finished.
If you don’t care about stock. I would suggest buying an after market exhaust from the likes of flowmaster. Out with the old and in with the new and you can change it out pretty fast.
I recently tackled the exhaust on my ‘lil Compass. My plan was to do a header-back system, but after about 2 hours of trying to get the cat off, I just gave up on that. I replaced the resonator and muffler (which required about 10-15 trips to the local O’Reilly’s to get the right adapters) only to realize I hadn’t planned the curves right so now it looks a bit like an F1 exhaust (Single, chunky tailpipe right out the middle of the rear). It looks pretty hilarious, but the little 2.4 sounds like a freaking v6 now so I would say worth it in my opinion.
File fitting piston rings………………….
Oh no. Were supposed to clean and polish them too!
I had a fuel percolation problem with my 66 big block El Camino boiling fuel at the fuel pump. The solution required installing a vapor separation filter in the fuel line between the pump and the carburetor, and running a return line back to the fuel tank. That involved changing out the sender in the gas tank for one with a return line port, and running a steel return line along and through the chassis. I dreaded and put off the job, because of all the potential obstacles I could foresee, but finally got to it. It actually came off without a hitch. The new sender even worked when I started the motor up after completion. It’s nice to get away with an obstacle free job even when it’s a lot of work.
Setting the ignition timing on ANY Tesla.
Use the recommended Kent Moore tool identified in the service manual.
That’s model TSLAFU-134.
Haha
Hard snicker ‘mate.
78 years, rheumatoid arthritis and a July knee replacement eliminates anything requiring dexterity or flexibility.
Anyone need an S111 E-Type?
I am with ya. Had to let my 1960 Bugeye go to Bugeye Guys. Could get in it, just could not get back out. Rolling out of your car is not sexy. But great fun for 28 years .
Felt the same way about my Triumph 1500 Spitfire. Getting out of the car meant stepping UP to the pavement. And under-dash work was a nightmare, as my hands are larger than those of a small-statured 12-year-old.
I like so many have found my least favorite task is under-dash electrical work. I am absolutely positive when I arrive in Hell, the Devil will say “We’ve been saving this job for you. We have a compact car that’s had a dash fire and needs to be rewired. The dash won’t come out so you’re gonna have to do it in the car. BTW, I see you’re fat and wear Bifocals so it should be fun.The customer needs it for the weekend.” If I complain, they will offer my second least favorite job-hand mounting 10-22 radials on a 42 wheel gravel train outdoors in the sun and using ether to seat the beads.
… And then the Devil hands you a pair of large scissors and needle nose locking pliers and tells you “that’s all of the wiring tools we have in hell. “
I hate fixing anything someone else started, most of the time they knew nothing about how to fix the problem in the first place and just made the problem worse by breaking more things.
Bleeding the rear brakes on a Bugeye Sprite has to be the worst. My local Princess Auto had to put in a special order for the delivery of more brake fluid by the time I was done. Reading about all the special tricks used by other victims only seemed to make it worse, or maybe I am just getting too old.
There’s a reason for that difficulty…Bugeye rear brakes were adapted from an Austin A30, which originally had hydraulic front brakes, but mechanical rear brakes (!). BMC engineers interposed hydraulic wheel cylinders to activate the foot brakes, but (cleverly) retained the mechanical linkage for the parking brake. Thus those hard-to reach bleeders…I have one too and feel your pain.
I’m the original owner of a ’76 MG Midget 1500, and now 74. Spent 2018 to 2022 doing a complete refit of the car which I had mothballed for about 25 years. I was still pliable when I started the refit. What a difference a few years can make. The car is going to my son who asked me to keep it for him when he was 12. He just hit 40, and yesterday I told him to come over with my grandson and I’ll teach them how to do its maintenance. He drives it these days. It needs an oil change and gear box/diff oil check, and that means back up on stands and lying on the cement floor. Time for the Next Generation. I want something like a ’55 T-Bird that I can get in without further wrecking my damaged lumbar vertebrae.
That bird is not the answer!
Here are two hints from an old-timer for working under the dash of my ’74 MGB. #1, have you wife do it. Her hands may be a little smaller than yours, so she might be able to reach whatever it is you need to reach. However, she might not know how to do the job working blind. #2, get your hand as close as possible to the whatever, then EXHALE as hard as you can. That will make your hand shrink just enough to get the job done.
Just kidding.
😂😂😂
Well I’m 60+ and have back issues, so anything where I have to lean over an engine bay is a no go. I also hate crawling underneath a car on my back, whether on a creeper or not, to change oil or whatever. Sitting on a rolling shop stool to do brakes, no problem.
I have to agree with Ben, I love driving my MGB, but now that I’m 75 years old; working on it- not so much, lol.
Well, Now that you asked. Opening any brake system and repairing/replacing parts. Not to mention the many rear trailing arm bushings on a early C3 Corvettte.
I’m 86 yrs old with a great 73 MGB. I’m replacing the rear leaf spring bushings. Looking forward to your help Hiram 😂🤣
I have to agree with Hiram Kelly in the comment above and Ben in the article, I much prefer driving to working on my cars. At 76 I probably don’t have many more years of driving left before my car keys “disappear” one day.
I agree with Ben. I find no joy in fixing cars. And the older the vehicle, the more the hours spent fixing problems outweigh the hours spent using it.
At 80 yrs old,I like a challenge (a very small one). C5 Corvette Anniversary
My C5 Anniversary only has 23,000 miles on it and hasn’t needed anything yet. At a very inflexible 74, I hope it stays that way.
Hi Vernz! If you only have 23,000 on that 50th Anniversary Vette, you need to drive it more often! Of course, I shouldn’t talk. Mine only has 54,000 miles and I live in San Antonio where we have no winter, so I should drive mine more often, too!
My last cuss-worthy project was installing the aftermarket device which prevents the common and dreaded steering wheel lock problem. It plugs into the electronics module under the dash on the passenger’s side. I had to lay on my back over the rocker panel. Even though I put a bunch of thick foam cushion padding on the rocker panel, my back hurt for 3 days afterward! This was 4 years ago so I was 66 at that time.