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Do you sometimes not change things cause they are working good?

blazinzuk

blazinzuk

Buzzbox voodoo
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Horton is what I am talking about, this fall I am changing the motor and the doubler setup.

Its been making me nervous lately cause Horton works so freaking good. I really do think I have hit on a combo that just flat out works.

Not saying changing something major won't screw everything up.

I have a set of coilovers and find myself in no hurry to get them in because Horton just works really well.

I am not talking just about suspension here but the weight, wheelbase, tire size, rims, gearing, motor, trans etc. I seem to have hit on something that works extremely well. And something that can hang with trucks that have alot higher dollar figure on their buildups than mine.

So who puts off change on their truck just cause they are afraid they might mess up what seems to be an awesome combo.
 
You are looking at it wrong.
A lot of folks here just love changing things for the fun of changing them. Most of the time they are trying to improve them, or get them to do new things, but lots of times they just start wondering how it would do if they did that.....

I have done some of that in the past, but not all that much. I have done a lot of changing, but it was always to improve a system.
When I start something, I try to design it so that it will do the job I need done as perfectly as possible.
I sometimes make cosmetic changes, but unless it will do better, I leave it alone.

Take my F250. I did a huge amount of modifying when I got it, but I started out with a design in my mind of what I wanted, and what I wanted it to do, and when I finished, it was done.
I have made a few modifcations over the years when I found something did not do what I wanted, or as things wore out, but the basic machine is the same way I designed and built it back in 1989.

If your truck is underpowered, and you don't like it, by all means upgrade the engine.
But if it does great, runs good, and is reliable, then leave it alone. If it wears out, and you want to upgrade, then do so.
But try to resist change for the sake of change unless you just enjoy taking stuff apart and rebuilding it.

My cardiologist friend is a strange duck. He comes around the farm sometimes and notes the various things I am working on.

We were having a cookout one day, and he started asking about the various things. Pointed to the pump puller sitting over one of the wells, and I said that I had pulled the pump and was using an air jet I built to pump the sand out so that I could use the well.
He mentioned the tractor, genset, windmill, several different things I had in the works.
Then he looked at me, and asked me if I ever finished a project, since they all seemed to be in progress.

I said of course I did. But when asked, I could not come up with one right off the top of my head.
A little later, some of them started coming to me. I started telling him about them. He did not understand.

So, I had to explain to him, the reason I did not remember any finished projects, was because when I finished one, it was no longer a project. It was a functioning unit.

Right now, my gate is a project. If I get the time this week, I will add a relay to get the noise out of the control line, add a diode logic line back to the house to signal when the gate is open, closed, or moving, and finish the cover I am building.

Once I do that, it will be finished, and I will no longer work on it unless it breaks, or needs greasing.

I am not going to go out and suddenly move the motor, reverse the gate travel, or do something like that just to see how it looks.

Like K85 said, what you need is another project. Model airplanes, or something like that........
 
I only change things to increase performance. If what i had was doing what i wanted it to do i would never change it for the rest of my life. Why you would fix something thats not broken is beyond me. So to answer your question... YES! When my **** works i maintain it and leave it alone.
 
I used to just run down a wish list that I dreamed up,sometimes before I even owned the vehicle,based on things I saw in magazines or whatever. These days I start with a minimum list and once I get there I only do things that will truly benefit in my real world use. I always start with a vision,but it's variable as I refine the vehicle according to my own personal benefit,not just do it because that's what other guys are doing. I guess I've gone from going all-out to minimalistic over the years. In the end,it's where you can go that counts and to me there's something cool about doing it with less.
 
Fordum said:
You are looking at it wrong.
A lot of folks here just love changing things for the fun of changing them. Most of the time they are trying to improve them, or get them to do new things, but lots of times they just start wondering how it would do if they did that.....
quote]


I fall into this category but mainly change things when they do not work the way I want them to. My wife hates it, "why are you working on that thing again, you just got done. will you ever be happy"

Right now my trail rig works pretty good but there are a few things that I dont like about it. Dont like the wheelbase, think it would work better if I were a little shorter but that means redoing the tube work on the rear which is what I really want to change.:whistle::D And the list goes on.

What kind of changes do you plan on making motor and doubler wise?
Click to expand...
 
I think it depends. Changing to links is a drastic change i think that alot of work will be needed to get to work right and it may not work the same or better than your current setup. But a motor, a trans, axles, that wouldnt be something that would make it any worse if it were upgraded parts. Well gas mileage may suffer with more motor:whistle::haha:
 
I never fix it if it ain't broke.
If I were you, I'd leave it alone and either hold on to what you have or build another truck.
blazinzuk said:
Horton is what I am talking about, this fall I am changing the motor and the doubler setup.

Its been making me nervous lately cause Horton works so freaking good. I really do think I have hit on a combo that just flat out works.

Not saying changing something major won't screw everything up.

I have a set of coilovers and find myself in no hurry to get them in because Horton just works really well.

I am not talking just about suspension here but the weight, wheelbase, tire size, rims, gearing, motor, trans etc. I seem to have hit on something that works extremely well. And something that can hang with trucks that have alot higher dollar figure on their buildups than mine.

So who puts off change on their truck just cause they are afraid they might mess up what seems to be an awesome combo.
Click to expand...
 
Almost every change I make on Horton increases performance.

Putting coilovers on will increase performance.

The new motor ( its a 6.5 turbo Adam) will increase performance.

The new doubler (241-205 instead of a 203-205 Adam) will increase performance.

I don't really make changes I don't know will make stuff better.

What I am talking about here is Horton works very well right now. Sure I have to replace leaf springs every year or so. Still a little too wide. Wish I had a bit more power every now and again, etc etc etc.

But Horton works very well and I think its the whole combo not just one specific thing. So I fret over changing it.

Not that I won't change it.

I don't need another project Horton is too far from being done to start something else. Besides if I start something else its going to be a bunch of tubing and start bending.

Plus I have the Jimmy and dually to get done

Nother project,:haha::haha: nope not this guy
 
Yep I am in the same boat. The only thing I currently have planned is the 241/205, but otherwise I have pondered a new motor, links in the rear, narrowing with boatsides.

The motor I have now runs like a top. It has never given me an issue in 10 years. It doesnt make a lot of power, but I am not doing truck pulls.

My leafs works well and probably better than most of the coil sprung guys I wheel with.

The narrowing and boatsides at this point is mostly an astetic mod. My body is destroyed and I have no issues fitting everywhere I wheel right now.

I dream up things all the time I want to change and do, but what I have works well too, and for me I dont like missing trips and I dont have the time to do some of these mods quickly. Wheeling is more important to me than changing stuff that currently works. :waytogo:
 
blazinzuk said:
Putting coilovers on will increase performance.

The new motor ( its a 6.5 turbo Adam) will increase performance.

The new doubler (241-205 instead of a 203-205 Adam) will increase performance.
Click to expand...

I said drivetrain i wouldnt consider something that would hurt performance, only make it better with better parts. Coiling would make it better im sure, but im sure even the best people cant just set up links and coils and go. Im sure it takes alot of time to make everything work correctly and for that time performance may suffer.
 
I would leave Horton alone Eric...as you mention it works so well as is...simple and rock solid (for the most part) And when you change one thing the snowball starts rolling!
 
Deuling said:
I said drivetrain i wouldnt consider something that would hurt performance, only make it better with better parts. Coiling would make it better im sure, but im sure even the best people cant just set up links and coils and go. Im sure it takes alot of time to make everything work correctly and for that time performance may suffer.
Click to expand...

It will take some decent time tuning the shocks in. The links I know enough about stuff like that I shouldn't have to change it but who knows.

76zimmer said:
I would leave Horton alone Eric...as you mention it works so well as is...simple and rock solid (for the most part) And when you change one thing the snowball starts rolling!
Click to expand...

Well its wheelin season Dave so nothing is going to change anytime soon!

I went wheeling last weekend plan on going this weekend, the next weekend and the one after that too. Thats just what I have planned LOL
 
If we didnt fix what wasnt broken, we would still be rollin around on 33s and open diffs.
It is just part of the game to me, buillding them is as much fun as using them.
 
Thought many times about bigger axles and all that stuff. But the Jimmy just works so well for what I want to do with it, I can't get into changing it. Could not imagine not getting air under it whenever i wanted too. Just more ponies would be nice.
 
I've got a friend that has that problem but it's good for me. His M1009 had a squeaky right caliper. Turns out it was bound up on the pins and not sliding on them like it should. He bought new pins, hoses, and calipers for both sides! I now have his "junk" parts. His oil pan was leaking. He took it off to find it had been put on with orange permatex and not gaskets. The front lip of the pan also was bent down slightly so the previous owner filled the gap with the the silicone and that is where the leak was. I told him to drop the pan, clean off all the silicone, tin knock the slight bend in the pan lip to straighten it, put gaskets with Indian Head brown gasket shellac on it and put it back. He bought a new pan and I ended up with his "junk" again! (I have an awesome running 86' 6.2 that has a rusted out oil pan no more :D). The list goes on and on with him. He is obsessed with changing out things that don't need to be but I guess spending money needlessly is OK with him. Then to top it all off the new pan requires a 88' and newer style dip stick which he had to order from GM and wait 6 days to come in. More money. LOL
 
i wait to break something and then change it.i went through 3 twelve bolts and broke my front hubs a couple times and lost the lug studs.figured why not upgrade to 3/4 ton and get bigger brakes a bigger front bearing and 9/16 studs with a 14bff.when i got the axle the drums were crap so why not do the disk brake upgrade and needed new shock mounts so inboarded them for the new rear axle.now im at the point where it all works good and i wont upgrade again til it breaks.having all that good stuff on there will be nice,but if you are happy with what you have,you can always upgrade later.if you feel the need to upgrade now,keep what you got in case you dont like the new setup.after you change coils i dont know that going back will be an option that youd want to go back to.
 
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