Sunday 27th August 2017

DIY supercars

You'd be mad to service your own supercar, wouldn't you? Not according to these PHers!

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Conventional wisdom says you only ever let a fully trained technician with a sensei-like understanding work on your supercar. But what if there's another way? Now, we're not advocating letting your local fast fit joint have a crack at the servicing, but what about wielding the spanners yourself?

Seen a Murcie like this before? Course you have...

This isn't as unusual as you might think, and we've found plenty of supercar owners willing to get oil under their fingernails. What is clear is they don't do this to save money, but because they enjoy the experience and it enhances their pleasure of owning the cars.

Ian van Reenen grew up watching his dad work on cars before graduating to fixing his own pushbikes and cars. He says: "I've yet to own a new car and so everything I have bought has always needed some level of TLC and I can happily say that I have 35 years of amateur wrenching behind me. My Ferraris are no different in that I can't imagine not opening them up to chase down a rattle or replace a worn part. To me the time spent with the car in my garage is half the pleasure of ownership, and the mechanical understanding you develop helps on the road as well. My cars still go to specialists DK Engineering once a year for their annual check and to ensure that anything that I have done myself is completely to spec."

While he's happy to tackle most jobs, Ian recognises there are limitations: "I think doing basic work on supercars has become more common nowadays due to the availability of information. It does tend to gravitate to those with older cars (10 years-plus) not only due to the complexity of newer cars and the introduction of five or seven-year warranties, but also because those who like to pick up a spanner also seem to prefer the more analogue cars.

... but like this? Probably not!

"Working on a supercar does introduce some difficulties but probably not the ones people assume. Yes, some tasks require specialist electronic diagnostic tools but that's no different to any other modern car. Access is probably the biggest differentiator. Supercars are so tightly packaged that getting to anything often involves removing a few perfectly functional parts simply to reach the part you need."

This doesn't mean larger jobs are beyond the home mechanic, as Reeves Knyght proves: "I do all the maintenance on my Lamborghini Murcielago that doesn't require specialist equipment. To date that's only one task - a clutch change. For the e-gear car, bleeding the clutch requires the factory service computer to operate the valves of the e-gear 'box. This procedure requires the engine and 'box to be connected outside the car and special, very long cables connect the engine and transmission to the ECUs in the car while the gearbox is bled sat next to the car. After this, the engine and 'box combination can be put back in the car with a long reach engine hoist, same as was used to remove the combo. I have had a Lambo tech come to my house to do the bleed and I did the rest."

Why just work on one Ferrari...

Don't think Reeves has access to a lavishly equipped workshop, though, as all of this work has been carried out in the underground car park of his apartment block in central London. So, what's the motivation? Ian says: "One of the reasons I do my own work on the Ferrari are the shortcuts on maintenance many people do. I don't know if it's at the previous owner's behest or just bad workshops. When I first went to do a clutch change, and removed the engine bay covers, I found sandwich wrappers. Not an auspicious start. Despite a book stamped for major services performed, there was evidence of parts that should have been replaced, still original and unchanged. I think part of the problem is when something goes wrong, owners often opt not to fix or replace items until they completely fail due to parts and labours costs. When you service yourself, it's only the parts price and you tend to replace things to prevent future issues."

That attitude has stood David Such in good stead. The Aston Martin Vanquish owner is now something of an expert in the model to the point his enthusiasm has grown into a part-time business. He says: "Dealers have to work to a timeframe that the cars don't always want to allow. Doing the work myself allows me to step back, think about what I'm doing and take that extra bit of care when completing jobs without racking up bills at up to £120 an hour. I can spend two hours undoing one bolt and walk away if it gets frustrating, but the sense of personal achievement at doing a great job is worth all the frustration."

... when you could work on two?

All of these owners recommend buying the best possible tools and keeping meticulous records and all receipts to prove the work has been done. It also helps protect the car's future value.

So how does working on your supercar at home actually affect its worth? Aldous Voice runs AV Engineering, a Ferrari and Maserati specialist, and his view is this: "If you had four identical cars, the one with a main dealer service history will always be worth more than one that has been serviced by an independent. An owner-serviced car will be worth less but more than one with no history. Just how much less is dependent on a number of things, most importantly the model of car. An owner-serviced 458 would be a nightmare to sell but a 308 that had been maintained by a retired engineer would be favourably looked upon."

So, working on your supercar at home isn't impossible and won't adversely affect its value. As Reeves Knyght says: "Supercars are just cars, and with a factory manual and some useful links on the internet, anyone can work on them."

 

[DPSFleet]

Great article and quite thought provoking. Yes, if you have the tools and are technically minded I see no reason why not. If you have plenty of money then a lift and set of the best workshop tools would be simple to set up. As a qualified Chartered Engineer I have no qualms about tackling maintenance myself but I am generally held back by a lack of time and an aversion to the oily mess than you can find yourself in! I leave my 997.2 GT3 to the OPC because otherwise it's value would bomb! However, I have an '89 911 and I do bits on that occasionally. I do really get the point though that many of us enjoy working on fine machinery and understanding our cars through and through.

[akirk]

Considering the thread on a Reader's Car where the owner is taking his Ferrari to a level of quality above new, there will always be those with the talent to do their own work - however I suspect that many people who own expensive cars have lives which while earning good money perhaps leave less free time - plus the skills needed to earn money are not always the same skills you need to repair a complex car... but great when you see people doing it!

[Fattyfat]

I think owners threads on forums can be a good indication of how an enthusiast owned car has been cared for. The reverse can be true too, did someone on here not get badly stung with a Clio Williams a few years back?

Anyway, I only work on my own st boxes but would happily work on a Ferrari or likewise if I owned one, all part of the experience IMHO

[jakesmith]

A friend of a colleague bought a leggy 360 about 10 years ago I think for 30k. Has done all the work himself (he builds and races cars as a hobby so is quite mechanical). He has changed the clutch, said it was basic. Must be able to run it for reasonable money if there's no labor charges. Doubt it's worth less than what he's put into it so far too

[Gus265]

akirk said:

Considering the thread on a Reader's Car where the owner is taking his Ferrari to a level of quality above new, there will always be those with the talent to do their own work l

Do you mean the chap with his F430 16M recreation? That totally takes it to another stratosphere! Fearless and incredible knowledge. It's a huge excellent thread and massive hats off. My thoughts - new stuff (or XJ220s!) to the people who know, old stuff you can tinker if you know what you are doing.

[HardtopManual]

Sometimes, the supercar packaging makes a job easier, such as a clutch on a 355 which can be accessed after removing the rear bumper and exhaust.

OK, a cambelt change needs the engine to come out, but it drops out on its own cradle and, once out, access to everything is obviously great. If only I had the garage space to do it...

For an excellent DIY Ferrari thread, head over to Club Scuderia and search for long threads by Terry.

[J4CKO]

A car is a car, anything these days can need weird and wacky equipment to maintain it but a lot of stuff is if pretty standard. Even a 2003 E class needs diagnostic gear to bleed the brakes.

It's knowing when to defer to an expert that is a key skill.

[Yipper]

Because of the huge distances between main dealers, self-servicing or self-repairing Lambos, Ferraris etc. is much more common in the US. There is far less stigma attached to it.

[Hasbeen]

I started working on my own cars when I bought my Lotus 20 Formula Junior. I could never have gone racing if I had to pay mechanics to do the work. Fortunately a very experienced engine builder gave me every bit of advice I could use, & most of what I needed.

Today 50 years later there is no way I would let most "experts" work on any of my cars. The only area I use an expert is in electronic stuff, which keeps advancing so quickly I have never been able to catch up, let alone keep up with it.

Fortunately my son is pretty good with that stuff, & we have a real expert to go to when in doubt, [fairly often with the modern stuff].

[jeremyh1]

I have always worked on my own cars and run a small courier company and work on the older vans. I have a small but well equipped workshop
I am the most critical member of this towards the other members who dont take any interest in the mechanical side of their cars in my view you are not an enthusiast if you dont take a mechanical interest .
So i was very impressed reading about these PHers working on their supercars It proves they are real enthusiast. This is the sort of person an enthusiast should be These are the real heroes of the site . If I wanted to know something about one of these cars these are the people I would be talking too .
I know the 1.9 Citroen Berlingo engine inside out but I am keen to lean about supercars !

Edited by jeremyh1 on Monday 28th August 09:49

[jeremyh1]

Hasbeen said:

I started working on my own cars when I bought my Lotus 20 Formula Junior. I could never have gone racing if I had to pay mechanics to do the work. Fortunately a very experienced engine builder gave me every bit of advice I could use, & most of what I needed.

Today 50 years later there is no way I would let most "experts" work on any of my cars. The only area I use an expert is in electronic stuff, which keeps advancing so quickly I have never been able to catch up, let alone keep up with it.

Fortunately my son is pretty good with that stuff, & we have a real expert to go to when in doubt, [fairly often with the modern stuff].

Hasbeen I wish there were more people like you on here Instead of posting 150 times in four years I would be using the site all the time

Edited by jeremyh1 on Monday 28th August 09:48

[StescoG66]

How refreshing and welcome change to advertorials on the latest Blingwagen - a true PHers piece. Anybody with a trace of fossil fuel in their veins will appreciate this. Well done to the subject, and also to Pistonheads for doing this article. More please........

[selym]

StescoG66 said:

How refreshing and welcome change to advertorials on the latest Blingwagen - a true PHers piece. Anybody with a trace of fossil fuel in their veins will appreciate this. Well done to the subject, and also to Pistonheads for doing this article. More please........

Yeah, hopefully this motivates the spanner handy owners of exotica to work on them, and document it on here for us of course!

[Limpet]

All that would put me off looking after my own supercar (if I had one!) would be the impact on resale value or desirability. I've looked after my own cars for years, albeit mundane four and six cylinder mass produced stuff, and there is little I haven't done (servicing, clutches, head gaskets, manifolds, gearbox and engine swaps, cambelts etc), but these were all on cars that were worth three-fifths of diddly squat even with a full main dealer history, so it didn't matter. On a car where I would have a considerable investment tied up, and therefore need to worry about recouping it at some point, I'd need to assess it a bit more carefully.

That said, there is no technical reason at all why a competent home mechanic can't service and do basic repairs on a supercar in the same way they can any other car. I think there's a lot of unjustified mystique around supercar engineering. Yes you might have eye-wateringly expensive, exotically constructed components, and more recently some hideously complex electronics, but the fundamental principles are no different to any other car.

Edited by Limpet on Monday 28th August 10:40

[sospan]

I have always lived working on cars having done so as a boy with my dad who was a coachbuilder. It helped keep costs down and meant I could bug older dars and get them shipshape. I now have a Morgan with a Rover V8 and engine management. Half the fun of ownership is the maintenance. There is a greater feeling of enjoyment to the car. Being a Morgan you have woodwork to deal with not just metal/plastic.
There is also a vibrant club/ownership scene with a huge background of knowledge.
I have had a couple of jobs done at dealers though due to complexity/time.
The car is used year round not just summer but wintertime usually means pre-planned jobs. This autumn/winter has a few lined up.
A house move is planned this autumn and the garage there is under"planning", a scissor lift being on the list.
Over the years a good toolkit has been built up, many being my dad's tools.
So, my views are do what you are capable and confident to do. It is surprising what is pissible.

[Onedesi]

One of the most inspiring threads I've read in a long long time.

I've always wanted to be able to do the mechanics myself but never been brave enough - the fear of my car not working again scares me.

Perhaps this will motivate me to get an old car that I can do the works on - trouble is which car ?

[a11y_m]

Braver folk than me, but I can see the appeal.

I do the same but on my bikes (pedal powered). I get satisfaction from doing stuff myself and I genuinely enjoy the majority of it Plus I know if I do it myself that it’s done right: I lack confidence in the majority of bike shops. And I like learning more about how increasingly complex mountain-bikes work. I taught myself to build wheels from scratch despite pre-built off-the-shelf wheels usually being cheaper than buying the separate components, so it’s not about any £££ saving –inevitably anything I might save ends up being spent on ‘upgrades’.

Vehicles however, perhaps I’ve not owned anything special enough or just lack the skills/confidence, but I view maintenance as a necessary evil and can’t wait to get it finished. Or in most cases just pay a garage to get it done.

[Guffy]

I've always done my own oil changes and brakes etc, so have continued that as my cars have gotten more expensive.

Have changed the oil twice and installed an exhaust on my R8 V10, quite satisfying as both jobs are labour intensive, but along with brake discs and pads is about the limit I would take it.

I have little trust of the main dealer though.

[rxe]

Never worked on a proper supercar, but have rebuilt several Alfa V6s, changed the cambelts on them (quad cam), and they're just as complex as anything coming out of a Ferrari factory mechanically. To be honest, the principles of engine building are pretty much identical whether you are rebuilding a lawn mower engine or a V12, you check the same things, on the bigger engine there are simply far more steps and the opportunity to put stuff together in the wrong order. With a decent manual and the internet, anyone with half a clue can do it.

To be honest, I enjoy the spannering more than the driving, that's why I get sheddy
Alfas and rebuild them.

[GibsonSG]

What a great thread and for me the heart of what my passion for cars is about. I don't have an exotica, but have done my own maintenance and repairs on my older cars since I first started driving.

Sadly, my daily cars tend to be newer (I had Company cars for years until I managed to get paid off from the scheme) and like many I get them dealer serviced to maintain their resale value, having got crucified on a selling a youngish Subaru that I'd looked after myself.

The quality of work from dealers can be extremely poor - I'm servicing my daughter's Fabia now after a protracted run in with the dealer over faults that I found post service.

I'd love to read some more detailed articles by the people mentioned in the original post, it would be great to get a feel of what challenges supercar servicing and maintenance consists of.