coppercutlass

Something we all hate admitting but we learn from our mistakes. Been slowly building a th350 trans ., my second one. My first one went perfect by the book. This one from the get go had previous shoddy work i had to address. Now during assembly i ran into clearance issues in the clutch drums where they had not left enough clearance so i had to buy some parts and had to cut the clutch pistons to get the desired clearances although they had the same amount of clutches before. I then started to replace bushings and i put the pump on a vice with a towel wrapped around it., well the towel slipped and i cracked 2 sealing ring lads on the pump. It is now scrap. So i bought a core from a friend for 40 bucks and pulled that pump installed new bushings , seals and cleaned it and all that fun stuff. I go to do my final assembly and everything goes as planned. I do one thing a little differently than other guys. I not only check the backlash of the trans with it vertical while assembling but i check it laying down as it was on the car. I do this because i notices the bushing/ thrust washers can possibly be cocked and throw it off. Yep after all was said and done i did a final check and i had to pull the pump again. No big deal there. I pull the pump off lay it on the bench walk over to the other bench to grab my selective shims and i hear a loud BANG . Pump fell off the bench and cracked the britle cast iron. I bought another core bright and early today. I did score however as i needed a transpan and this one had a nice one , It also had a b&m shift kit so it made up for costly mistakes. My whole point being is that although we make costly mistakes and it gets frustrating at times which last night i was a bit livid., We learn alot. I had that trans apart about 8 different times during the assembly process to make sure my clearance issues where in the lower half of the trans where good. Mistakes lead to experience which is one of the most valuable tools we as individuals can have ., specially in this hobby. Don't be afraid of failure because it pays off in spades. It may have cost you a little extra , some time and frustration but in the long run its worth it. End of rant lol.

rocketraider

If that maxim holds true (and I do believe it does) then I ought to be an Einstein-Tesla hybrid by now!

coppercutlass

Lol. Now I didn't say we would geniuses but we \ I tend to learn better this way.

Allan R

According to my wife I never learn.....

oldcutlass

Ignorance is making a mistake and learning from it. Stupidity is when you do it again. I too should be a genius.

coppercutlass

That's the thing though I wanna make theses mistake because you get to learn. I had this trans apart a few times and now I memorized where which components in order and where there needs to be thrust washers or bearings ., I learned my trade (body work) the old way I learned while I worked and made mistakes but that's the way I learned best. I also have crash coursed a few jobs. Meaning I know what to do but its a new job or something I have never done before. Like the first time I replaced a quarter panel at work. I knew what to do but never did it before so I just dug in. I had enough experience to forge through any little set backs and not compromise the job. Working on cars you never stop learning. If someone tells you they are the best or know it all that's the guy you don't want to work with or working on your car. You want the guy who say's "well I remember running into this problem before and this is what I did " at least in my experience .

Sampson

http://www.famous-quotes.com/author.php?aid=3904http:

Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing.
H. Stanley Judd

Koda

Wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others.

Allan R

...or asking questions/doing reasearch to avoid mistakes.

oldcutlass

Very true!

coppercutlass

My mistakes where lack of proper equiptment most backyard builders down have . Some are unavoidable and not all questions can avoid mistakes.

djcrook73

copper, I totally hear you man. when I started at my first body shop job in 1998 I would obsess about not making a mistake to the point that it would take me three times the amount of time it would take someone with experience. what my boss told me next was right in line with what you are saying and I learned a lot from just that one statement- he said" you worry so much about being perfect that it is almost killing you.. what do we do here, we fix cars right? well if you never **** something up, you will never truly learn anything from making the mistake. don't worry, we can fix whatever goes wrong and you probably will not make the same mistake again, so stop sweating that and just do it, it will work out fine in the end" from that day, I did make mistakes but learned from every one and what he said gave me confidence to just go for it and not let it stop you from going for anything that you think you can handle, and even doing things that you thought you could not and surprising yourself! I have read plenty of posts from you and appreciate that you are a hands on guy who likes to learn by doing as do I. I imagine your words may inspire others to go for it too! if only I could apply this philosophy to actually finishing one project instead of just buying the next one that catches my eye, then I will be on to something. either way, good words of advice and keep it up man. dave

seansolds

I remember the day I finished the cutlass it had taken me years to finish it you know saving money buying parts when I could finding deals on the web to save money. After years of it mechanically done. I finally am at the last tedious block sand and I'm excited cause now I've got all my paint material and now I have to get it trailered to my freinds pole barn so I can prep for paint. He is unfortunately wheel chair ridden. However, prior to his unfortunate vehicle accident he was a great body, frame and painter so fortunate for me he would tell me exactly what to do. With painstaking reassembly and clear coat sanding which was like sanding a stone after a week of drying I finally got my plates and now I'm going to take for a rip. So I show off in front of his house being its just a country road I rip it down better than a quarter mile probably doing over a hundred mph, I bring it back probably the same and my freinds dad says " where are all your lug nuts for this front wheel you have only one on" i forgot! I never bothered to check it been so long ago from sitting. I had two on but one fell off after just hand tightening and was going to purchase more lugs at some later time. Now I'm O.C.D. every time I take it out..I can relate with what you say. I learned from that stupid near miss mistake I'll never do again.

m371961

I make plenty of mistakes, but I figure if I do it myself and have to buy a part or some material twice, it is still less then paying someone else. And so what if I have to take a carb (or trans, pump, whatever) apart more then once to get it right, I got plenty of time. And if it ever fails where there is no help, at least I have a clue. Plus if I do have to pay someone else, I know enough not to be BSed.

coppercutlass

I hear you on that seansolds . This past summer I got burnt by a blown off radiator hose. Just missed my face. After that I'm very very careful about not overlooking anything on my car . When I put the engine back in (which is the one I got burnt from while breaking it in on a stand ) I went the extra mile to avoid possible accidents. Things I wouldn't normally not think twice I went ahead and made them better. That is alse reflected at work . I'm even more careful .

Dj although I never obsessed about messing up about 3 years ago when I worked for lexus I started to really obsess about my fit and finish. When I left lexus about 4 months ago that obsession came with me. The guys at the new shop give me a hard time because I will shut a door , trunk, hood countless times until I'm happy and know the customer will not complain. I don't care how much of a roach the car is if I'm fixing it I try to make it as perfect as I possibly can . I'm not affraid to fail but my drive to avoid it as much as possible has led me to become a bit o.c.d with my work.

djcrook73

yeah copper when I first started I did worry since I went to my first shop with no experience but right after my pep talk I learned to focus on just doing the job and learning without worry. that has taken me very far since I started. and yes I do the same thing with panel gaps and such because if I am happy with it, then I know my boss and most importantly the customer will be too. nothing more embarrassing than a comeback so yeah ocd is a good thing in this racket. so yeah adjusting a door and opening and closing it 25 times may seem crazy, you need to hear and feel that perfect close before moving on to the next thing. I am glad I learned from some insanely picky people, because at least I know my own stuff will always come out better than if I paid someone else. half the stuff I learned was because I did pay someone else and was not happy with the shortcuts taken for the money spent so each new project was like free school and I knew exactly how it was done without doubt.

71rocket

I did most "all my learnin'" on farm equipment. Any mistake was a business expense.