Good workout

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
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Maybe it's just me but it seems like working on an old car is excellent workout and working on a car will make it ok if you skip the gym or an afternoon run.

A couple weeks ago I worked on my scamp and I climb in and sit on the inner fender, only to look at the ground and see the wrench I need. :BangHead: all day in and out, and crawling under the car, wedging myself under the dash, ect.

Then recently I did a driveshaft in a duster, its amazing how heavy a driveshaft gets when your laying on a piece of cardboard holding it up on one elbow and holding a tape measure in the other hand lol.

I wake up feeling more worked out than if I had gone to a gym when I get a good day of playing car. I use muscles I didn't even realize have not been worked very much.

When I wake up feeling like I was in a wrestling match the day before, I say what an awesome labor of love. When the car starts coming together, it's so worth it.
 
If our classic car addiction keeps us healthy, then not all addiction is bad. ;-)

Landscaping here today, small stumps pulled for my next bonfire.

For some reason, my back aches.........
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
Maybe it's just me but it seems like working on an old car is excellent workout and working on a car will make it ok if you skip the gym or an afternoon run.

A couple weeks ago I worked on my scamp and I climb in and sit on the inner fender, only to look at the ground and see the wrench I need. :BangHead: all day in and out, and crawling under the car, wedging myself under the dash, ect.

Then recently I did a driveshaft in a duster, its amazing how heavy a driveshaft gets when your laying on a piece of cardboard holding it up on one elbow and holding a tape measure in the other hand lol.

I wake up feeling more worked out than if I had gone to a gym when I get a good day of playing car. I use muscles I didn't even realize have not been worked very much.

When I wake up feeling like I was in a wrestling match the day before, I say what an awesome labor of love. When the car starts coming together, it's so worth it.
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In some aspects you have an unfair advantage there young Lady...try wedging yourself under the dash when you are 260 pounds...:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
Maybe it's just me but it seems like working on an old car is excellent workout and working on a car will make it ok if you skip the gym or an afternoon run.

A couple weeks ago I worked on my scamp and I climb in and sit on the inner fender, only to look at the ground and see the wrench I need. :BangHead: all day in and out, and crawling under the car, wedging myself under the dash, ect.

Then recently I did a driveshaft in a duster, its amazing how heavy a driveshaft gets when your laying on a piece of cardboard holding it up on one elbow and holding a tape measure in the other hand lol.

I wake up feeling more worked out than if I had gone to a gym when I get a good day of playing car. I use muscles I didn't even realize have not been worked very much.

When I wake up feeling like I was in a wrestling match the day before, I say what an awesome labor of love. When the car starts coming together, it's so worth it.
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It really is. I'm always tired after a day working on a car. Up down, up down, back and forth to the toolbox a hundred times.

'Course, I just ruined that with my new lift. :thumbsup:

Probably die a couple days sooner because of it.:lol:
 
As a verified senior citizen I fully concur with your thoughts on car exercise. I have been working on my barracuda every open minute I have since late October and most of it has been low and under the car. Now I am under the dash doing a new custom gauge cluster and I don't know how I ever got the loom wire tied before but I doubt I will be able to do it again when I reassemble it. I come in the house hurting and in pain at my age it is difficult but I must say that the results are worth it. I am just glad I can still do it and my cardio conditioning is up and my weight is down. All good here---------------:)
 
This is right on! Pretty sure half my effort of any job is going back and forth to the tool box for the right tool. The other half is spent walking and climbing around the car and garage remembering where I set the damn thing down.
 
Garethw said:
This is right on! Pretty sure half my effort of any job is going back and forth to the tool box for the right tool. The other half is spent walking and climbing around the car and garage remembering where I set the damn thing down.
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Sounds like me trying to remember where I left my drink!
 
Garethw said:
This is right on! Pretty sure half my effort of any job is going back and forth to the tool box for the right tool. The other half is spent walking and climbing around the car and garage remembering where I set the damn thing down.
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Ben Drinkin said:
Sounds like me trying to remember where I left my drink!
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inkjunkie said:
In some aspects you have an unfair advantage there young Lady...try wedging yourself under the dash when you are 260 pounds...:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
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Or 220 and 6'2'' and have had a broken neck , with down bars on a 6 point cage !
 
oh man can I relate, slide under car, ****, forgot the 9/16 , up and to the bench, slide back under car , dammit, forgot the extension, back out and up to the bench, slide back under , F*CK, forgot my light to see what the hell I'm doing, back up and get light, back under car again , now I can't freaking see because my glasses are sitting in the fender, slide back out from under the car, go to fridge, crack a cold one and stare at the 440 knowing what a sexy beast it is
 
inkjunkie said:
In some aspects you have an unfair advantage there young Lady...try wedging yourself under the dash when you are 260 pounds...:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Click to expand...
I stopped wedging myself upside down and backwards, 40 years ago when I was still 165ish;I finally figured out the seats are only held in with 4 nuts........and sometimes seatbelt bolts. In less than 5 minutes, I can be so comfy; and the bonus is that the headliner stays cleaner.
 
Working on cars, rowing a boat, walking, riding a bicycle. It's all good. How much do those heads, crank, intake, block, transmission, rear weigh? Torque head bolts to 90 ft lb. I can still out work most people my size, without going to the gym. Who knew...
 
Bulldozer said:
oh man can I relate, slide under car, ****, forgot the 9/16 , up and to the bench, slide back under car , dammit, forgot the extension, back out and up to the bench, slide back under , F*CK, forgot my light to see what the hell I'm doing, back up and get light, back under car again , now I can't freaking see because my glasses are sitting in the fender, slide back out from under the car,
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This right here is why I switched to working on motorcycles. Plus almost everything is made of plastic or aluminum, and practically floats of the unit. Even the heaviest part weighs less than my wife, so when I carry the engine to the bench, I'm a hero. Well, I used to be, now they have 6 cylinders.And I can't carry the wife too far anymore either...................................... lol.
What I really want to know, is how heavy Methuselah's wife was. I mean us married guys gain about a pound a year, am I right? I mean after 42 years of marriage, I could diet down to 202 PDQ. But after 969 years, Ima thinking old Methusela mustabin a lil porky, right? And Ima thinking his Mrs wasn't far behind, cuz you know, she's the cook and the daymn; great,great,great,great,great,great grandkids are coming home every other Sabbath, and the tent is never big enough. No wonder they killed the cow for the party. Maybe farming kept him skinny... IDK,lol.
 
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I totally agree Rani.

I enjoy the workout... sometimes you even forget you're getting a workout. Jamming to the music, getting up to get the right wrench, crawling back under the car, busting a couple knuckles, saying a few curse words under your breath. Yep, an enjoyable workout indeed!!

Just yesterday I pulled my left side header and starter, so I could wrestle the monstrosity we call a power steering gear!
That was a great workout!

IMG_20200113_183134.jpg
 
Our parents and grandparents didn't know what a gym was because they busted thier butts at work and at home.
I haven't been to the gym since last may. During that time, I took down (by hand so I could salvage/reuse a lot) a 16 x 20 hundred+ year old barn and have been building a 3 car 24x32 garage by myself. Other than having a concrete company pour the pad, all work was done by me. This includes raising 26' wide trusses using a boat winch (that I took down and salvaged from a friend that was taking down a garage last year to build an addition to his house), and a 14" x 3 1/2" 18' header for the large garage door. At 55, I have better muscle tone now than anytime since
I was in my 20s.
So you are absolutely right Rainy that doing your own manual labor can more than make up for going to the gym.
I suppose I'll be lazy once the new garage is done having concrete as I took the /6 out of my car with the hoist sitting on plywood scraps on a dirt floor - moving that was a fun adventure.
 
I agree with this post.. working on the Cuda (or stuff related to it) has gotten me in a lot better shape than I used to be. Had more than a few times I had muscles hurt I didn't remember I had, lol.
 
Doctor asked me what i do for exercise.
I said im a mechanic. he said no, exercise, like jogging or sports.
I said no, im a mechanic, i work for a living. Exercise is a waste of time...
 
In the summer, working on cars in my storage building. 100 feet to my toolbox in the shop. Thats if im just inside the door. Back of building is another 80 feet.
Them round trips add up to miles by the end of the day.
 
diymirage said:
Someone should really invent a tool box on wheels
:poke:
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I has a forklift. Beats trying to roll it across a gravel driveway. Still not moving it. Aparrently i need the “exercise”
 
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