am I the only one?, paranoia about driving ruins it? Options

[tat2dphreak]

ok, over the past 6 years, I've done damn near everything on my car... the transmission is probably the only part 'untouched' and even it got new seals and every linkage bushing...

but now, when I drive it, I'm nit-picky, and every little thing seems to cause worry...

example... yesterday it got up to the high 80s outside, and my car, in stop-go traffic got up to slightly less than 220 on the way home... and I started worrying of over heat...

every rattle, noise, smell or anything a 40 year old car could have, worries me bonkers to the point the fun in the car is far upset by the paranoia...

does anyone else get like this?

[Jake Raby]

If you are that worried you aren't enjoying the car.. You are also creating somewhat of a safety hazard for others because you aren't concentrating on driving.

Whats going to happen, is going to happen. What makes one good at working on these cars and engines is having to work on the damn things. When I was a kid growing up in these rural mountains I either had to fix the problem with what I had on hand or I didn't go anywhere, there were no parts houses (and still aren't) and no one had comprehension of the cars...

Get in the car and drive the damn thing. Deal with the issues if they come up and enjoy the car, the issues you'll encounter and have to solve will build character.

I've restored a vehicle to include the engine and all other components (pan off), having only driven it up the road for 5 miles and then made a 10 hour drive the next day with flawless results. I did that at age 17.

Over time you'll build confidence. Over the years I have found myself on the side of the road using what I had on hand or what I could find on the side of the road to make patch up repairs to get to my destination. I pretty much will jump in any car in my lot and drive it an hour home and never flinch or worry. Hell I only check my oil once every six months in my 912E, its been three years since I changed it... 160K in 7 years and it still goes and goes.

It is exactly what you make it.

[ericread]

If you are that worried you aren't enjoying the car.. You are also creating somewhat of a safety hazard for others because you aren't concentrating on driving.

Whats going to happen, is going to happen. What makes one good at working on these cars and engines is having to work on the damn things. When I was a kid growing up in these rural mountains I either had to fix the problem with what I had on hand or I didn't go anywhere, there were no parts houses (and still aren't) and no one had comprehension of the cars...

Get in the car and drive the damn thing. Deal with the issues if they come up and enjoy the car, the issues you'll encounter and have to solve will build character.

I've restored a vehicle to include the engine and all other components (pan off), having only driven it up the road for 5 miles and then made a 10 hour drive the next day with flawless results. I did that at age 17.

Over time you'll build confidence. Over the years I have found myself on the side of the road using what I had on hand or what I could find on the side of the road to make patch up repairs to get to my destination. I pretty much will jump in any car in my lot and drive it an hour home and never flinch or worry. Hell I only check my oil once every six months in my 912E, its been three years since I changed it... 160K in 7 years and it still goes and goes.

It is exactly what you make it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Well said!

It's gotten to the point that I can hear a problem as it develops. When it sounds funny, it's time to break out the wrenches. That said, my latest issue was the failure of my FI trigger in the distributor. But like any point of failure that I had not previously seen, I failed to trust what the diagnostics (and members of this board) were telling me.

But this car is my daily driver. If the car is a no-go, I am a no-go. And in the past three years, I've only had a few days where I was unable to travel.

Eric Read