67mustang302

Much of the aftermarket is about providing a higher quality, more reliable, better performing part for less money than you could DIY. Some of it is overpriced and useless, but who has ever ported their own head, and had it compete with a reasonably priced aftermarket head? The aftermarket manufacturers have facilities than can produce things we can't in many cases. My view of DIY is the labor in assembly, I'm not gonna waste my time trying to build performance parts that I prolly don't have the proper equipment for, when I can go out and buy one at a reasonable cost that has a warranty and I know will work and work well. Time is money and when you buy a part, you're paying for the time you save not having to build it. I won't pay to have something done to my car that I can do myself, but I will pay for good quality parts that perform well.

And they still sell English Wheels these days, but not many people know how to use them....at least not without losing fingers.

andrewmp6

Daze i wish i knew half of what you do my head might hurt tho.People like you that make parts give the aftermarket ideas on parts to mass production so keep up the work.

rmodel65

i do everything myself except for stuff like making sheetmetal intakes[8D] etc. anything, mechanical, or body except for my glass parts. id make my own subframe connectors etc

cprstreetmachines

Hard to say. I did make many cars alike in many ways. But it did make it possible for many more people to play. I remeber when me and my partner would go to the junk yard almost every weekend looking for fans, disc brakes, and what ever else we could find. It's not worth buying Granadas in the junk yard anymore. By the time you buy them, get new calipers,pads and so on, you've spend just as much, plus wasted a day searching and pulling them. Hell I even made my own Caltracs for 100 bucks. There was a great deal of satisfaction. But I wouldn't do it again, and I didn't. I bought the next set. Better material, powder coating, nicer, and a TON of less work.
Stifled ? Maybe. If it costs 75, I just may by it if it takes me all day to duplicate it.

Daze

Let me let you in on a little secret, I am self taught. I got my first welder in 02 and have spent the last 5 years practicing. I do lots of research and that really helps. When I started my Jaguar IRS project I printed out every page on Jag IRS units that I could find, regardless of what kind of car it was going in to, and put them in a binder. Over 500 pages later I have so much info that I truly understand every aspect of this project. That is the whole reason I developed my web pages, and why I spend so much time on forums. I am a firm believer in the pay it forward concept and I would not know "half of what I do" if it were not for the internet and the people I have befriended through it. The other thing that really helps me is I cant leave any thing alone, my mind is always looking for a better way to do things so even if I start with an aftermarket part I am constantly thinking what can I do to make it better.

JMD

I am with you.learning is doing, for me anyway. This can be where the aftermarket can hurt DIY. Early on in my playing around with cars, therewas somefabricating that I did because I could not find a part.If I would have been able to buy these parts I might never have tried fabricating....

Preparation is very important as well. I have learned that the hard way from time to time as well. Think it through and save some headaches..

109jb

It is also exactly where the aftermarket helps DIY. For example, someone that would never contemplate fabricating their own rack and pinion or brake swap for fear of screwing it up and having something unsafe may be willing to do it viaan aftermarket kit. Then they can get some experience and start in on other projects and might start down the road of learning fabrication themselves.

Let's face it. Half or more of our cars wouldn't be on the road without the aftermarket. Quit bitchin about the aftermarket unless you are willing to fabricate all of your sheet metal parts , or how about that nice new upholstery set you got. Instead buy planishing hammers, an english wheel, etc for the steel work and head to the local fabric shop to get the material to make your own seat covers. Sure there are guys that can do this kind of stuff themselves, but give me a break.If you have EVER bought anything that is pre-fabricated for your car then count your blessings that the aftermarket is there. I think I'll go out and fondle the aluminum valve covers I have that Imade casting forms for, melted the aluminum for and poured the aluminum for by whipping out my credit card and picking up the telephone.

John B.

Daze

What makes you think I am "bitching"??? My first post clearly stated that I love the aftermarket, The only idea of my post was to see if others thought something had been lost by the ability to buy everything instead of be forced to make what you have at hand work. Makes me laugh that you thought I was bitching, I am part of the aftermarket. I have the $$ to work on my cars because of the parts I sell.

kryo

I wish I had a garage so I could go out there and start what I wanna start. I have a carport and 1/4 of the front end sticks out into the rain (I live in Seattle, and we get rained on every day.) and with a rusted out cowl, the puddles on my floorboards tempt me.I have a friend who is taking an autobody class at college and in the summer they allow you to bring your cars in and do your own bodywork (with sheetmetal that comes free because of the school!) AND paint (with FREE paint that comes with the school!!) and I really wish I could start taking everything out of the car now.. but because it's raining everyday and most of my interior is perfect, I'm afraid the rain will ruin stuff. It just sits out there.. waiting.

109jb

Daze, that was a poor choice of words on my part, but it wasn't directed at you or anyone in particular anyway. At least it wasn't meant to.

My point is that although DIY is great, probably at least 75% of the vintage mustangs wouldn't be on the road without the aftermarket, and the price of the remaining ones would put them out of reach of the average person. So in that regard too, the aftermarket helps DIY by keeping these cars around. Who would attempt rust repairs if the repair panels weren't around? Who would attempt putting on new seat covers if they had to make the seat covers too? Who would do a carb swap if they had to build te intake manifold first? Every one of these things I've mentionedis a DIY project BECAUSE the aftermarket does exist. Without the aftermarket even simple DIY projects become nearly impossible. That's my point. Sorry if I inadvertently offended anyone.

John B.