Please read my latest post.If they resist your knowledge,just let it go.I had a hs kid working for me years ago,he was interested in what I could teach him. After technical school He is now a skilled bodyman in the St Louis area.
So you never said if the young guy was all wrong or half right. At 32 I still get guy's coming into the dealer I work at contradicting me! If they're so smart why am I fixing their cars? I do not know it all, but I'm smart enough to admit when I don't! And thread gets closed!
What I can't figure out is if you are so good at alignments, why you payin' some "kid' to do it for you? I can check camber, toe, and caster anywhere it is reasonably level without any fancy equipment and it will be as accurate (or even more so) then any $20,000 alignment machine. It's mostly common sense and stepping back and looking at it. BTW.. I have used the modern stuff and it ain't as good as it is cracked up to be. There is plenty of room for error if the guy running it doesn't pay attention... Should have just done it yourself...
Why would you judge me on one comment I made.You missed the point,I couldn`t stir the shit as I was trading cars and was getting a good deal. If I was paid for information given, like a lawyer,I`d be rich. I will help anyone I can if they ask and I know how to help them.
I recently retired after 39 years in the frame-front end alignment business.Last week I had my 39 Chev.at the shop for state inspection,and they had a friends 46 Ford on the front end machine(fresh car-all new M II front end).I showed the front end man how I had aligned those front ends for years,and the easiest way to properly align them. I went home to the garage and a few hours later the car owner called me and said they could'nt align the 46 on their front end machine.I had aligned 5 or 6 hot rods for this guy over the years on the same equipment.He had to trailer the car 40 miles to get it aligned,because the young guy at the shop did'nt want to put forth the effort to do the job. I was'nt born knowing everything,and after many years in the business I was still learning.and happy to listen to others input.
Can somebody help me with the alignment on my hot rod? Ya see, my tires are getting bald pretty fast and they smoke a lot, pretty often really. What causes this? Oh shit, nevermind. It's the rear tires! DOH!! I actually wanted to make sure there was a hotrod subject in this wasted space. Carry on...
Ok, as an official old fart with the card to prove it lets hear your tire wear theory vs the young wipper's tire wear theory. Back in the 70's when I was doing alignment work I had a lot of cars brought to me that had been worked on by "guys with lots of years of experience" that still weren't right. I could even tell when the guy got out of his car on the apron in front of the shop that he had been to one particular shop before heading where I worked. Tell us what he said and tell us your theory and how it differs from his and we will see who's theory is closer to correct.
So you didnt want to "Slam" him so that you could rip him off???????? I see it both ways Being a sorta young Mechanic myself I have been on both ends of the stick. Some fresh fellas just have big mouths and cant help it. they will learn, then again the old fellas have big mouths and cant help it either but chances are they are too stubborn to learn.
Lots of good stuff in your post, and I especially liked this part. Having been involved in drag racing in the past, I met a lot of people with varying levels of skill. The guys who "knew everything", or thought they did, in reality knew, say, maybe 90% of everything. They were never as successful as they could have been. I was fortunate enough to meet the legendary David Reher & Buddy Morrison back when they dominated NHRA Pro Stock... along with Lee Shepherd, who I was able to talk to at some length about cylinder head theory...(rain delay, dialed-in car, and his taking pity on a young guy). The main thing that I learned from all three, independently, was that the guys who are truly successful at racing....ALWAYS, ALWAYS, question everything and listen. Nearly all of these guys have little ego (though perhaps little tolerance of fools). They always assume that in any given situation, there is a better way to do things, and they haven't yet found it. I've met several other icons of drag racing over the years with similar results, and have not found any reason to discard this way of thinking.
the "know its alls" learn only by failing. its the quiet ones that listen that are worth our time and experience. you have to know who you are dealing with and determine if they are worth your time.
well I guess I fall under the catagory for a young punk sense Im 19 but the same thing goes for SOME older guys because they are older they think they know the best way to do something or they know everything but the project and my way is wrong until I prove them wrong. But its dumb how your bitchin about us young kids when we are the next generation of hot rodders and if he was wrong he probably would figure it out sooner or later. Thats what learning lessons are!!!
I'm almost 56. Know plenty but sure don't know everything about cars or life. Always open to constructive input. Don't care how old the source of the knowledge is. Stay teachable.
A hot rod is supposed to wear out the tires prematurely. 'Cause' & effect. Nothing 'wrong' with that if it handles good.
Every Young Mechanic needs a Mentor. You can't learn it all from books. Hanging out with my Dad, I got to work with drag race Hemi builders, custom metalflake painters, Ascot motorcycle builders and racers, Harley bikers, Porsche mechanics, drag boat builders and more throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. They were all great guys, most are long gone but the knowledge they shared with me lives on and I am happy to share it with anyone who will listen. Young or old.
Life is about judgement. I judge that you made 2 crappy decisions #1 being a jerk to the kid and #2 coming on here and bragging about it. Both of these in my opinion qualify you to be a smug jerk in that situation. If you don't like being judged as a smug jerk... don't be one. I didn't miss anything you didn't write in your original post. You only now list more information like you were trading cars and were looking get one over on him. (Which would probably be #3)
im happy that all the old timers i know pass down knowledge and dont feed me bullshit stories like the younger turds i used to hang around with.
Mark Twain: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to twenty one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years." Mark had another comment that applies to this thread: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
yes yes yes to all .after 40 years of fixing cars i have had some young wood be mechanics say old man u dont know shit . i just walk away . but here is the kicker , they always run to u when they are i trouble or after they have created a problem for them selves, then u help them after the boss chews them out then the fact comes out next time listen to that old guy, u just might learn some thing ///// so as a older mechanic i have learned to be very patiant with the young turks as i was once a young turk my self a long time ago
but what i feel so good about is that when the young turk gets real good after working with u . i think it is a sence of pride in knowing that u have mentored a good mechanic
Doesn't anyone have to "Pay their dues" anymore. When I was first learning about Harleys, I caught a lot of hell from the older guys for being ignorant. Maybe it was to show me that I really didn't know everything there was to know, kind of keeps you humble. But guess what, it was the same guys that pointed me in the right direction and showed me the ropes. I guess things are to socially/politically correct for that kind of stuff now days. Larry T
The secret is fiber, you will be much happier with a regular routine, a great pressure will be relieved and you won't feel the need to start threads like this anymore.
The Jalopy Journal
