Your best/worst self-install

[Adverse2Change]

What would you say would be your...

1) Most enjoyable self-install/mod/repair etc. (not from the result standpoint)

2) Least enjoyable (i.e. most disastrous)

3) Best for the cheapest

4) And most expensive!

 

[RED98]

I know I suck, mechanically, so the only one I did myself was a complete pain in the a$$. I took out the interior panels myself, cleaned them up, and spraypainted them red. In the process I ruined half of them, had to buy new ones, and paint those. Then autozone ran out of my color so I had to drive 3 towns away to get more. Should have been a 3 day job; my interior was torn up for 2 weeks. Would I do it again? HELL NO but you can see the results in my garage.

 

[b52yellow]

The best MOD done by me was Installing the Interior accent kit-was a pain in the BUTT since it wouldn`t stick-Would i do it again-NOOOO, I got some extra pieces that need to be replaced but don`t wanna mess around w/it. Second : My CAI-Paid $65 at the local Shop which claimed they Couldn`t fit the RUBBER Clamps "One side was too big-the other was too small" was their excuse......I RE-DID IT MYSELF-and it FITSSSSSS-never going back there again-Tried to MILK me on TIE ROD ends a few days ago($57.50 each outer) Found BOTH for $25 on E-bay.........Will I do those myself-NOOOOO, I`ll go somewhere else-shouldn`t take more than an Hour to replace though but why bother-support the MECHANICsssss.

 

[Adverse2Change]

I know I suck, mechanically, so the only one I did myself was a complete pain in the a$$. I took out the interior panels myself, cleaned them up, and spraypainted them red. In the process I ruined half of them, had to buy new ones, and paint those. Then autozone ran out of my color so I had to drive 3 towns away to get more. Should have been a 3 day job; my interior was torn up for 2 weeks. Would I do it again? HELL NO but you can see the results in my garage.

Looks pretty good to me. Does it look that good in person? I know pics can sometimes be deceiving... My wife would kill me if I tried painting in the interior

 

[RED98]

Looks pretty good to me. Does it look that good in person? I know pics can sometimes be deceiving... My wife would kill me if I tried painting in the interior

It looks about the same in person, because I put a couple coats of clear gloss on top when I was done and let it dry. The only problem is the part on the drivers door; some of the gloss is getting worn off because my arm rests there, so it's dull on that one part. But other than that, it's been good. Still, I would recommend getting it done professionally, if you want it done. It's just too easy to screw it up if you do it yourself. Some of those plastic interior pieces are really expensive if you have to replace them.

 

[GREENBIOCH]

1. Clutch in a parking lot...just because it was the first big mechanical thing i did to my car myself.

2. RR's cause i snapped a bolt off in the upper plenum to the lower plenum that was a bitch to fix cause i snapped the rethreading tool as well, yeah chalk that one up to a learning exp. But the RR's were easy themselves.

3. UD Pullies best bang for buck for the price.

4.Gears/Tlok(inc Install) on my old 6 or the exhaust i just did on My GT(Catback and Midpipe) I live in Canada so the shipping was more than the exhaust setup itself .

 

[TMX]

1. Probably my CAI. My dad and I just installing it on christmas day, was fun. Sure didn't yeild much more than a filter and gave me a cool whistle but it's great for ADD.

2. Freaking plug and wires. The clips were attached to the back of the block and eventually I just cut the wires and didn't use ford's clips in the back, then had to take off the CAI and the stupid PCV hose continously kept falling out making the car stumble some. I still suspect it's a culprit every one in anywhile as I get issues but it's still in there.

3. Um...well I guess CAI cause I gained some, and didn't cost me anything =).

4. Exhaust: $300 total so not bad. Probably the biggest gains out of anything.

 

[RED98]

I put in a chrome hood prop today, took me aboot 5 minutes..

 

[Adverse2Change]

I put in a chrome hood prop today, took me aboot 5 minutes..

Heh, never would have thought to replace the existing one. Where'd you get it?

 

[RED98]

Heh, never would have thought to replace the existing one. Where'd you get it?

california mustang

 

[Kuestone]

Tachometer- Ran wires split into computer didnt work, gave up. Later found out I needed a tach adapter....

MID PIPE- Had exhaust leak

throttlebody/plenum- idle at 1500

cold air kit- Filter flew off of car, ran it over

Vortech S trim - 8 trips to pep boys, got oil all over me, got gasoline all over me, Went for dyno tune and car ran real lean due to fact I forgot to plug in maf. But i plugged it in and everythign worked great

Gauges- fuel pressure gauge broke off on shreader valve, had to buy new fuel rails.

Currently- Car is making really loud engine noise after new fuel rail install and I dont know what to do.

I dont know crud about cars but Eventually i get everything to work. SELF TAUGHT GARAGE MECHANIC.

 

[cruisinV6]

Damn, that is some list of minor problems there. But you do have a SC, which I want real bad.

Most exspenive would be the used Stalker hood, cost about 300 shippped, but had some rock chips, so cost me another 325 to get it repaired and painted. Looks awesome as hell, and was worth it since it retails for 500 plus shipping from Cervini's new.

Best bang for buck would have to be UD pullies. And pretty simply to install once I got the damn bolt that holds the stock pulley off.

Best mod to date would be exhaust, love the look, love the sound, although I now have a rust hole in a muffler. But 300 for a y-pipe system from MAC, also easy to install. Now just have to get my O/R x-pipe put on.

least enjoyable would def. be my first, not really a mod, but i got my car used, and so it had a few rock ships in the paint. I bought a kit to sand the spots down slightly, and repaint them and buff it out. Pain the ass big time, but it actually worked quite well.

I have done everything myself except the repair and painting of my new hood. I absolutely love working on my car and I plan to do a cam and intake and maybe head swap this summer with my dad.

 

[jasonh_86]

What would you say would be your...

1) Most enjoyable self-install/mod/repair etc. (not from the result standpoint)

2) Least enjoyable (i.e. most disastrous)

3) Best for the cheapest

4) And most expensive!

1.) I'd say the most enjoyable was when I completely removed my catback, just so I could hear my car with nothing but an O/R Prochamber Talk about LOUD!... Or... When me and my buddy (as mentioned below) took the hi-flow cats off of his SLP X-pipe and replaced them with the Race Pipes from SLP. Nothing like a nice night of working on cars, while eating pizza and having a couple beers

2.) Probably the LCA install on my friend's mustang, 02 GT just like mine. We got the driver's side in within 5 minutes after everythign was removed. But the passenger's side took us about 3 hours due to the angle of everything, then the bushings got angled and we had to take it out and fix it

3.) Probably the LCA's.

4.) Not quite sure. Probably my buddy's Bassani catback.


But.. for my next trick... I'm going to be installing VT Stage 2 cams and Manley Valvesprings on my GT next month .. Going to be a pita, but I think it'll be a fun learning experience, tearing the top/front off the motor and seeing how everything looks inside of that thing.. instead of looking at pics via the internet

 

[zincyellow03]

What would you say would be your...

1) Most enjoyable self-install/mod/repair etc. (not from the result standpoint)


2) Least enjoyable (i.e. most disastrous)
None yet, but I'm guessing that the pulley will be...

Non performance wise: The sub...has so many problems with that

3) Best for the cheapest
Rear Sway bar. Close to $150, but I feel a difference Time for a fronth sway bar!

4) And most expensive!

Gears/T-lok are going to my most expensive to date. I'll know the finial figure when I install it...