*Experience>Enthusiasm*

phoenix6

phoenix6

Rockin' the blades
Aug 13, 2006
1,138
0
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39
Serena's Place ;)
I agree with Ian, and BECAUSE I was one of those dumbasses, but with determination I pushed through, learned HOW to rebuild my car, and all of you helped in one way or another. I read that TSRM day and night I learned, I know that engine mapped in my head easily now and my car is STILL running ( yes I thought I had a BHG the other day, I was overacting shit) but she runs great, just needs a few tiny fixes which Im in progress of, but at least I know now how to maintain her.

Im soon buying my 2nd one, an 87 turbo :)
 
Larry_A

Larry_A

You don't matter
Apr 7, 2005
102
0
0
SoCAL
IJ. said:
This isn't a bitchslap to our younger members but recently I'm seeing a trend more and more of people buying Supra's with little to no mechanical experience and then undertaking rebuilds....

Our cars while old and cheap to buy now are a VERY complex system and I'm confused as to why people that would struggle to change a plug on a lawn mower think they have any chance of a successful rebuild..

My advice as always is try and find a Mentor in your area that has "been there done that" if you're not sure, too often people just delete things with no understanding of what the part's function is then wonder why the car has problems.
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Back in '81, my 1st roommate was a [genius] Toyota mechanic who did side work at home. A dozen Celicas & Corollas to work on every wknd. I had already pulled/built engines before I met him, but still learned a lot in the 2 yrs I lived w/him. I'd say that mentoring worked for me.

We had a 3rd roommate. We completely re-built his engine & on his 1st drive around the block, we heard a boom. He'd failed to put oil into the crankcase. He also shot himself in the foot on a camping trip, but that's another story.

My point? Even with the best mentor possible over a long period of time, some will never get it. Oftentimes, mentored morons are the ones who think they know the most.
 
MassSupra89

MassSupra89

Almost done.
Nov 3, 2005
1,707
0
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MA
annoyingrob said:
You know, if they made clear valve covers, I would buy them! Seriously.
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Damn, I've never thought of that. That'd be cool, probably not the best for heat though haha



bigaaron said:
Another thing I notice is many people buying parts based on price alone, and not even considering customer service or honesty or quality.
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I made like a $600 list from your website last night but wasn't sure of my funds at the moment, so be expecting that soon. lol
 
GrimJack

GrimJack

Administrator
Dec 31, 1969
12,377
3
38
56
Richmond, BC, Canada
idriders.com
"A smart man learns from his mistakes."

"A wise man learns from someone else's mistakes."

I'm with you, folks. Building cars isn't rocket science, but it's still not something you should jump into without some help.
 
tte

tte

Breaking In - in progress
Mar 30, 2005
940
0
0
Northern California
Doing stuff on your own is a good thing and a very good learning experience.
After finishing the task you set out to do, it gives you a feeling of pride and know it all attitude.

But when you talk to people like Ian who know the finer details on our cars, you realize that there is still alot to be learnt.

I mean how many things have Ian and the other experienced guys told us on here that we did not know about.

For most people getting mentor is the best advice.

Cheers,
Roy
 
phoenix6

phoenix6

Rockin' the blades
Aug 13, 2006
1,138
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39
Serena's Place ;)
tte said:
Doing stuff on your own is a good thing and a very good learning experience.
After finishing the task you set out to do, it gives you a feeling of pride and know it all attitude.
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I got that feeling and I needed it, ALL my friends and even MOST family told me give it to a mechanic, it will never EVER work. I still pushed, learned. I did it, and when I had the car ready to fire the first time.. it was silent, everyone was there and the only person who believed in me was my mom, and she was standing right there.. I turned the key and it cranked for a good 30 seconds, and my face got to a frown.. and then BOOOM!!!! She started, idled horrible, all these things i needed to fine tune, but she started and my mom was SCREAMING he did it, HE DID IT!! and everyone else was doing that whole... were sorry, good job, we knew u could do it.. but the reaction my mom gave that moment, was the proudest moment of my life, and makes me wanna cry every time I think about it.

I would gladly go thru that again and give props to anyone who tries when they have nothing but determination.
 
AF1JZ

AF1JZ

Almost civilian status...
Jun 26, 2006
3,109
0
0
Fredericksburg, VA
I'll be honest too...I walked in blind. I got the supra for $200 with BHG. But, I'm mechanically inclined and I've always loved this car. Now I have a perfect running 1jz and I'm happy as hell with this car.
 
tte

tte

Breaking In - in progress
Mar 30, 2005
940
0
0
Northern California
phoenix6 said:
I got that feeling and I needed it, ALL my friends and even MOST family told me give it to a mechanic, it will never EVER work. I still pushed, learned. I did it, and when I had the car ready to fire the first time.. it was silent, everyone was there and the only person who believed in me was my mom, and she was standing right there.. I turned the key and it cranked for a good 30 seconds, and my face got to a frown.. and then BOOOM!!!! She started, idled horrible, all these things i needed to fine tune, but she started and my mom was SCREAMING he did it, HE DID IT!! and everyone else was doing that whole... were sorry, good job, we knew u could do it.. but the reaction my mom gave that moment, was the proudest moment of my life, and makes me wanna cry every time I think about it.

I would gladly go thru that again and give props to anyone who tries when they have nothing but determination.
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Yes, that feeling which you speak of is great. I had the same feeling when i rebuild my motor, even when other jealous people thought I couldnt do it.

Cheers,
Roy
 
dugums

dugums

Better, Faster, Stronger
Apr 10, 2007
699
0
16
Chicago, IL
OK, so here I am. Maybe not very young, but still the type of person you are talking about. I have owned a few Supras, so I am not buying this car because it is now cheap enough.

I don't have much mechanical experience, save doing brake jobs and the like. I did car audio for awhile, so I guess I might be a little better than some with tracking down wiring problems etc.

But pretty much, I don't have experience. My car is now sitting in my garage apart. I used the TSRM, and tried to label as many things as possible, but I'm sure when it's time to put it back together there will be some hiccups.

I was lucky enough to find someone in my area with some experience to help me out when I was stuck.

BUT, I was planning on paying somebody to do this. Didn't have any problem $$ wise to do so. I was somewhat encouraged by comments from older members on this site, that doing the HG was a piece of cake, even for a novice. So I dove in.

Well, it's really NOT that easy if you are doing it for the first time. There are many things that pop up. Since the car is still apart, I really wish I would have just paid someone to do this, BUT I KNOW that when I get it back together, I will be happy I spent the time learning how to do this.

Heck, just taking it apart, I would see something in the TSRM that said something simple like remove the #3 hose from the kanuten valve. Well, where is that?!? So, I would stop everything, figure out what the kanuten valve was, then figure out what the hose was for, etc. etc.

Everybody has to start somewhere.
 
suprahero

suprahero

naughty by nature
Staff member
Aug 26, 2005
14,971
0
36
54
Roll Tide
Larry_A said:
Hello KWatanabe,
No need to be a cunt. You don't need a mentor? Good for you.
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You only have a hundred posts, so you don't know Kwnate. He's a little slow, retarded maybe, but we don't poke fun at him. I think he's mother may have did some drugs while pregnant with him and it's not really his fault that he doesn't like old people. Please try to be nicer to him in the future. Thanks.

BorHor said:
sorry :cry:
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Borhor, that's funny as hell, but it still pisses me off..................:biglaugh:
 
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