Lesson Learned

[Legacy Rally Guy]

I was pressing out the bearing race in my 1991 SS rear spindle and... put it in the press the wrong way... In my buddy's old school hand crank press...

... shoving my race through the retaining collar, removing the outer 1/2" of metal... With a thunderous kaboom, lifting the press about four inches into the air.

Good news.. I found out that the spindles are really sturdy *the spindle stays together under TONS of pressure.. but the bad news is... If I have to buy a one new, it's 160 dollars from the dealer.

Does anyone have some of these trial and error learning experiences?

That one felt a lot like the home made strut-spring compressor device gone awry.. *Loud noise... new shorts... have a sit down*

[entirelyturbo]

How much time do you have?

If you're not an apprentice or going to school, that's about the only way to learn.

[Legacy Rally Guy]

Yup, almost all my mechanical experience is from personal trial and error...
I do however have a very knowledgable friend who owns the shop and is now retired, so when I'm working on my car and he has nothing better to do, we sit around and talk cars. I worked for his father, when his father owned the shop and I was in high school, doing easy/tedious jobs, after I cam back from the navy, we started hanging out. He's one of those cool car dudes who has a very unbias voice in autos and loves a challenge and never does the chevy vs. ford thing.

Of course hes a bit more of a collector with his old school lotus elan, 55 Belair and stuff.. but he likes my car since I show an actual interest in it. Most people locally would just have him fix big and small things...

He doesn't mind at all; me taking up one of his bays as I completely go through the car from one end to another. And hes pretty supportive if I do something silly, just laughing and giving me a hand. Like when I blow the bearings race out of the wrong end of the spindle.