What is the most frustrating thing about your car?

[rp23g7]

I've worked on Chevys, a few foreign cars, Mopars of course....
I'm curious about what you find the most frustrating about working on our cars. I spent several years dealing with the ease and low cost of Chevy parts when I owned a Camaro and a Chevy truck. My first episode of Mopar frustration was actually with my first car, a 69 Dart. THAT car had a strange problem with the charging system. It would eat alternators, regulators, starter relays and starters./QUOTE]

My 64 Custom 880 would also eat voltage regulators, probably one every few months, causing the temp and oil pressure readings to go up and down and all around, never fried the voltage limiter though.

 

[Kern Dog]

Bruzilla.... Your picture is sorta creepy.
Creature from the Black lagoon?

 

[rp23g7]

I'm glad these old Mopars don't lend themselves to hydraulics very easily!! But I've run them from all the way down to all the way up too just to see the effects lol. Had a 67 'Net once with the front end all the way down and the rear as high as I could get it with stock parts and using air shocks on the rear. That was pretty strange lol

Sometimes that's what ya have to do. I've used floor jacks under the doors before and used the weight of the car for the adjustment more than a couple of times but you had better be careful and go at it very easy or you could end up with much more of a problem than you bargained for! Need to protect the door from the jack too. Other words, you need to know exactly what you're doing in order for that to work. An old body man showed me how to do it and it's only for very minor 'adjustments'......

Love torsion bars too. I worked at a Corvette/speed shop for a while, i can do a new set of springs on the front of a GM product in my sleep, but what a pain in the butt.

"hey GM dude, lets have a contest in who can lower or raise their car the fastest" I got my 3/4 inch wrench and a tape measure right here.


The most frustrating things on my cars? the 70 Duster slant six, why did they put the distributer so low?? Gotta put electronic iginition on it someday.

the 73 Duster?? why wont it run right???

the 69 Coronet, changing spark plugs is no fun

the 41 street rod, trying to figure out the parts that were used so i can buy spare parts for it.

 

[Bruzilla]

Bruzilla.... Your picture is sorta creepy.
Creature from the Black lagoon?

Yep! Made him from scratch, along with the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers that's in the background. We're working on a werewolf from the movie Dog Soldiers for this Halloween.

 

[67 coronet]

me!i am just too much of a perfectionist when it come to my cars.i cant finnish one project on her without starting another.at this rate it will never get on the road.:angryfire:

 

[Cranky]

For me the most frustrating part is FINDING PARTS, especially stuff you'd think would be pretty easy like a 1970 glove box door in good condition!! If you own something like a wing car or convertible, it's an absolute nightmare finding anything specific to those models. The brand X guys have it made, but then again, it's very rewarding to show up with a rare Mopar. Also find it a bit frustrating working out electrical bugs like new sending units that are inaccurate, dim lights at idle, or faulty grounds, etc.

Cranky, I feel your pain on the 70 Chally glass as I did it twice on my driver's side Cuda...I swear I was ready to torch the car!! LOL

After doing a few over 20 years ago, I got the hang of it but you still have to hold your mouth a certain way and point your left foot to the north. But it's been so long since doing one, I'm sure I'd be in a learning curve again if I ever had to do another!

me!i am just too much of a perfectionist when it come to my cars.i cant finnish one project on her without starting another.at this rate it will never get on the road.:angryfire:

I got rid of all my other projects as far as cars go but I still have too many things with engines on them that always seem to require attention at the wrong time.

 

[Al K]

The tranny leak

You too? @#$.:angryfire::angry9: My most frustrating and irritating issue is small leaks as well. Fix one,find another.

Oh,the fact that my car loves my tools more than it loves me. I worry...

 

[451Mopar]

Having to work all the time so I can afford to buy parts that I don't have time to install.

Also, no aftermarket replacement parts for power window cars, like switches, wiring harness, etc.

 

[kikgas01]

Rust!

 

[Propwash]

Hmmmm.......Most Frustrating.

Dealing with ignorant, cheap, arrogant, lying, lazy, greedy parts vendor's and vendor's providing a service that are there just to take your money......Horrid

The cars on the other hand are like a woman. Require lots of attention, have issues here and there and cost money...But in the end, worth it when you've found the right one.


Now the X on the other hand....she would be a lemon.

 

[Red63440]

I think that the people with cars made in the later 60's and 70's have it made as far as body panels are concerned..several suppliers repop them. Finding other parts would seem to be easier to because of the glut of crushing at junkyards in the early 70's that all but wiped out late 50's and early 60's cars. Try building something from the early 60's where you can only hope that someone has a part of two tucked away. Granted you can buy floor pans and for the most part poor quality replacement glass, some interiors but not all and there are tail light bezels out there for a small fortune. I was lucky to have found the car I have...yes it had quite a few wrong parts and some had been installed on the car with little thought about "What if".
I grew up working on Mopars and just learned to deal with them. NEVER owned a chevy and only owned one Ford. I will gladly keep what I have and will enjoy it when I go to a show that much more. I have never taken the time to think about quiting just because something was hard to do, it just makes me more determined to finish it. Look at it this way...it took hundreds of people to design your car, you only work on one part at a time, suck it up and prove that you are just as smart by fixing it.

 

[Kern Dog]

Red63: I like your attitude. Very inspirational.

 

[tpodwdog]

frustration

my frustration lies not in my car but other cars. i cant tell you how many '69 camaros (vomit)...are at these events i attend. ...and for the most part there are 10 of them to one mopar. i am not knocking other makes of cars....but i think i have seen plenty of 69 Camaros..(vomit again ).. with flocks and the masses gathered around it like its something new. i can only attribute this behavior to " they just dont know any better".

i love other makes of GM vehicles and Fords. I love the AMC's because you really dont see alot of them and i can appreciate them more because of this. but would you really rather look at ANOTHER 69 camaro....( here it comes.....VOMIT ).....or this ? :

 

[67 coronet]

my frustration lies not in my car but other cars. i cant tell you how many '69 camaros (vomit)...are at these events i attend. ...and for the most part there are 10 of them to one mopar. i am not knocking other makes of cars....but i think i have seen plenty of 69 Camaros..(vomit again ).. with flocks and the masses gathered around it like its something new. i can only attribute this behavior to " they just dont know any better".

i love other makes of GM vehicles and Fords. I love the AMC's because you really dont see alot of them and i can appreciate them more because of this. but would you really rather look at ANOTHER 69 camaro....( here it comes.....VOMIT ).....or this ? :

i feel your pain!one of the things that got me interested in mopars was the fact the at my highschool there was a club for camaro owners with about 12 members whos cars where from 68 to 71.(all of them painted with two over the roof stripes)to this day i veiw early camaro's like imports,dime a dozen.

 

[tpodwdog]

i feel your pain!one of the things that got me interested in mopars was the fact the at my highschool there was a club for camaro owners with about 12 members whos cars where from 68 to 71.(all of them painted with two over the roof stripes)to this day i veiw early camaro's like imports,dime a dozen.

AMEN BRUTHER...and thank you for your sympathy pain. :headbang: i quit watching the MECUM car auctions for this very same reason.... every 5th car is a FREEKIN CAMAROOOOOOOOO....( vomit):werd:

 

[wannadrag]

I would say the cost of parts particulary reproductions.One that comes to mind is the company that does all the mopar sheet metal,the same company also does brand X stuff as well.Brand X full 1/4 $350,mopar 1/4 $700.You cant tell me it costs double to reproduce it versus the brand X panel.

 

[kb67mopar]

I would say the cost of parts particulary reproductions.One that comes to mind is the company that does all the mopar sheet metal,the same company also does brand X stuff as well.Brand X full 1/4 $350,mopar 1/4 $700.You cant tell me it costs double to reproduce it versus the brand X panel.

It certainly doesn't but they also never sold their prints to brand x. Meaning brand X is reproduced from reverse engineering while a mopar panel will be popped from factory spec's. Worth the value...depends on the car value but for my driver I'll go brand X any day.

 

[Ron 73]

my frustration lies not in my car but other cars. i cant tell you how many '69 camaros (vomit)...are at these events i attend. ...and for the most part there are 10 of them to one mopar. i am not knocking other makes of cars....but i think i have seen plenty of 69 Camaros..(vomit again ).. with flocks and the masses gathered around it like its something new. i can only attribute this behavior to " they just dont know any better".

i love other makes of GM vehicles and Fords. I love the AMC's because you really dont see alot of them and i can appreciate them more because of this. but would you really rather look at ANOTHER 69 camaro....( here it comes.....VOMIT ).....or this ? :

My wife and son has asked me why its so hard to sell parts i have, and i said it as more of a joke but if you think about it, its the truth... I told them that 70% of the guys around here are Chevy guys, and yes most Camaros or Chevelles, then 20% are Ford guys Mustangs and then Mustangs..And that leaves the other 10% for us real guys who have real cars, the Mopars.. There is one member who lives in my area, hes been here and ive bought parts off him and we talked about this, Theres a free ad in a local on line paper that we sometimes buy/sell parts, We seem to be getting ahold of each other when we try, he said he thinks himself and me is the only ones who are int rested in the Mopars, i have to agree... its real hard to find or sell anything unless its the other brands!

 

[flypaper]

It certainly doesn't but they also never sold their prints to brand x. Meaning brand X is reproduced from reverse engineering while a mopar panel will be popped from factory spec's. Worth the value...depends on the car value but for my driver I'll go brand X any day.

the stuff fits like crap so there is no value there!
givin a choice
i would take a used or nos panel over a repop any day of the week
at twice the price if need be.
the time saved to install alone would make up for it.

mopar repos are some of the most over priced junk i have
ever laid eyes on

i could see the price if it would fit like a glove
but that is far from the case!!!... :angryfire:

 

[Red63440]

i feel your pain!one of the things that got me interested in mopars was the fact the at my high school there was a club for camaro owners with about 12 members whos cars where from 68 to 71.(all of them painted with two over the roof stripes)to this day i veiw early camaro's like imports,dime a dozen.

Thats what makes our cars stand out in a crowd. As I stated before in another post, I was able to drive most of the 60's and 70's Mopars when they were new. EatnPark on a weekend was like a car show with everyone bringing out the muscle, Mopars, Fords and that other brand and a few AMX's and Rebels thrown in for balance. The one car everyone in the brand X camps wanted to beat was a 69 Hemi Charger, red with a black vinyl roof. He would always show up with is wife and his two little daughters sleeping in the back seat.

The early part of the evening was spent eating and looking at the other cars but around 10:30 you would see the Charger leave and 30 min. later he would return with his slicks mounted and alone in the car. There was always someone in the other camp that would follow him as he pulled out. Being that he had never been beaten it was a sure bet that the guy who followed him out wouldn't be seen for a few weeks due the embarrassment of loosing after shooting his mouth off. A lot of money changed hands back in those days and it wasn't uncommon for a camp to pool their funds to be able to put up several hundred dollars for the bet and their losses paid for a lot of parts for my car.

We had a guy with a 57 T-bird with a 429, another guy with a 68 Dart with a Hemi, a guy with a 64 Falcon with a built 289 and another with a 69 Dart with a 440. I will always miss those days and for now they have been replaced rice burners but they say that the pendulum always swings back so you just never know, all we can do is hope.:sFl_america2: