I'm thinking we should start getting into work done and how you feel about the results, overall impressions on cars, mistakes you've made, things you would have done differently.
How do i obtain my own sub-forum for this discussion??
heheheee
I built my RX3 from the ground up, i did everything MY way. Even with stuff i couldnt do myself (paint/full rewire/engine assembly), i told the guys with the experience how i wanted it done. It taught me so much. Example, i used Glasurit paint coz its the standard paint on most european supercars and has a lifetime warranty; i used mil-spec connectors on the wiring harness coz if the military can trust them, so can i; the engine was machined by me but assembled by an engineer in NZ whom i trusted. Id love to do it again with more money and with the experiences learnt thus far!! (20B TT pearl white Ford Capri next time...)
Some things to remember:
**Mechanics are idiots. DO NOT trust them. They work on cars for a living, just like most of us dont really care for ours jobs, neither do they. A mechanic with an interest is usually better, but it can also be more dangerous!! Most workshop owners you trust are glorified mechanics with a touch of salesmanship.
One thing i tell EVERYONE... Engineers build racecars, mechanics dont.
**When you get an opinion on ANYTHING (exhaust size, primary extractor lengths/diameters, intake runner design, ECU tuning, clutch plate selection etc etc etc) ALWAYS ask WHY?? If they dont give you a straight answer to reinforce their suggestion, they dont know what they are talking about... neeeeext... Everyone has an opinion, most are fabricated from magazines and what their favourite workshop owner tries to sell them. Very few have been thought through as much as youd like.
**Get a written quote, no matter how much of a mate they are, just get them to write it on the back of a business card, itll save your ass more than once, i guarantee feeling like a prick for that 10sec will save you thousands. If they dont ring you before exceeding that quoted price, they are in the wrong.
**Become good friends with a towie and have atleast 3 saved in your phone, coz you know atleast 2 of them wont pick your ass up at 1am monday morning when youve busted a tailshaft halfway up a mountain pass doing 8000rpm reclutches on semislicks for fun!! hahahaaa
**In NSW, we have the "Department of Consumer Affairs", you will have spare forms laying around your room by the time youve finished your build. They are there to help, and man they work well
Businesses dont want a black mark against their name and the DCA can do that, very easily.
**Photos!! Everyone has a camera phone. You get bodgey work done by X workshop, DO NOT pick the car up, take a few pics and walk away (just tell them your towie is busy or you havent got the money together yet). As soon as you pick the car up, the work is assumed to be accepted by the customer. On the picture tip, forums are a GREAT way to express your feelings for a workshop, good and bad. If a workshop does a great job, PLEASE tell everyone and get some work for them, if they screw you, tell everyone and lose them as much work as possible. Pics can help you do either of these. Ive put one guy in Qld out of business by posting 2 vids on youtube/forums of a "new" diff i got built that had the backlash of a taxi and the leaf spring mounts that looked like they had been welded on my a crackhead monkey while waterskiing.
**Forums are your friend, but you do have to wade thru the "schoolkid engineers". Nearly every mod you intend to do will have been done once before. Just ask for others experience (and WHY!!)...
**Before you start a big build, write a list of EVERY part you want, im talking right down to thermo fans, fuel pump brackets, injectors, clutch, brake pads etc etc THEN DOUBLE IT (no seriously, double it). Its the small stuff that adds up so fast, is isnt funny. My $15k/3month budget base build (to start the modification process) turned into a $50k++ (i dont even think God himself knows how much that fucking thing has cost me...) and 7yrs in the build. But i did the entire build in one hit and researched EVERY part on that car instead of gradually modifying it like my original plan. Either way the car turned out the same and very rarely does the smile disappear while im behind the wheel
NOW, for the final and most important of all tips from GOD12A.
Draw a line in the sand of what you want your build to achieve. Then build to that, NEVER move that line in the sand. I see it all the time and it kills me. Guys that start off building a fun streeter, that turns into a streeter/weekender, then it gets some stupid big laggy turbo or mega stally, then tubs and full cage, then all of a sudden you have a $80k drag car you cant drive on the street and your driving a white VB commodore with 600,000 kms on the clock so you can afford to pay for the racecar...
Example, since Yr9 at school i wanted an off chops bridgeport RX3. I didnt complete the build till i was 26, but i built the car i wanted as a schoolkid and never lost sight of my original goal. On the flipside, ive got mates streetcars that have turned into undrivable showcars, drag cars or dyno queens and get out six times a year?!?! They all regret it eventually. Ive seen it happen a bazillion times (and yes i have overseen a bazillion builds in my time!!), trust me, draw a line in the sand and stick to it.
Perfect example... Mate had a 450rwhp RX3, went well, handled good, and was a great streeter. Got bored, dropped in a 640rwhp 20B, cage and minitubs. He cant cruise it on the street, it doesnt handle for shit and its a cop magnet. Its now been sold... The car he gradually modified over 15yrs, sold within 2yrs, coz the line in the sand moved...
Wow, anything else?? i could talk cars all night, someone jus gimme a subject!! hahahaa
Sorry for the thread hijack... *crawls back into dark cave*
Mark
