People with no mechanical skills buying old cars

These points are the makings of an economy. You could carry them further to the wildest extreme, people shouldn't have teeth if they can't fix them themselves, no bones if you can't take it let alone read an X-ray, no power equipment allowed if you can't wire the circuit. Want some more, no steak if you can't raise your own cow, no food if you can't grow it.

Just silly ! Get to work.

 

Everybody is different. We all have our place in this world.... or at least I hope so!

I'm 43 years old. I don't know 5% of what some of you old timers know about hot rods...... but I do know that I love old cars just as much as anyone on this board and I've learned a tremendous amount of skills over the years through pure effort and the help of others willing to teach.

That's what kills me about this board. Sometimes a person will ask a question on here and the poster will get a response like "what are you, fucking retarded?". We all have to start somewhere. Not one person on here was born with the skills they have. What I have a problem with is someone not willing to try to learn a new skill. I think this is what the OP is referring to.

I think way too many people get into this thinking "man, that is really cool. I'd love to buy that. I'll fix it up someday". Then they realize time, money, work, family, and so on gets in the way. Not to mention the patience and skills to do this stuff.

I have a 9yo nephew that I've already bought tools for and try to include in projects when I can. Just as my grandfather and uncle did with me as a young kid. Not everyone is lucky enough to grow up with stuff always around as some of us have.

Ed

 

It works like this: customers have talents I don't have, so I pay them to do what they do for me. I have talents they don't have, so they pay me to do what I do for them.

 

At one time these old cars were new, and a lot of the owners did'nt work

on them. So in 2062, when some youngin' buys a 2012 Camaro or

Challenger, he has to know how to work on it, to buy it ? Ridiculous

 

if it wasnt for a bunch of people who didnt know better, alot of us would be out of work. most people have common knowledge about car repairs. hell if i had the money i would probably pay someone too, because i DO know how much work is involved lol

 

Dang it. If I use the reasoning of lots of people in this thread, I can't own anything newer than mid to late 80's.
Too may wires and magic box's that they go into. I don't understand them and have no desire to understand them. I don't trust an engine without a distributor either.
Good thing I'm already planning on getting rid of the last rig at my place that doesn't have a carb on it.

One problem, I need cars without a differential. When I set the gears up myself, it whines that I don't know what I'm doing after it goes back together.

 

Just remember that those same people were buying those same cars when they were new.

 

1. You arent born with the knowledge to work on this shit, you learn it if you have the time, inclination, and motivation, and/or can't afford to pay someone else to fix it or buy something that won't go to shit at some point.

2. If you're like me, the learning curve is steepest when you've totally f****d yourself into a corner. You walk away, some ideas come to mind, you go back and make it thru. Its perseverance (stemming from self-confidence) that keeps you going.

3. I am fortunate, my father taught me a LOT about a LOT of things (cars, hvac, plumbing, electronics, etc etc) and he had a lot of patience. Since his health isnt well, I take great pride in doing his stuff now that he needs done.

4. If you don't have time to do it right, you don't have the money or time usually to do it over.

 

I am kind of in that situation but in reverse. I've worked on cars all my life and understand the old ones pretty well, but when something goes wrong with my daily driver I am at a total loss. When I open the hood there is nothing staring at me that I recognize.......fuel injection, coil packs instead of a distributor, computers, sensors........

I usually take it to the dealer for service or have my Sons help me because they do understand some of this new fangled stuff. Hell, I would even take it to have the oil changed if they didn't help me with it.

Give me a carburetor, distributor, and no electronics and I can figure it out.

Don

 

Not exactly. When these cars were new, ALL the service stations knew how to work on these cars. So no problem for anyone buying these cars, as servicing was no problem.

Now, no one knows how to work on the older stuff, so, problem.

Cosmo

 

people can't learn to be mechanicaly inclined, either you are, or you are not. you can learn to do something through training and repetition, but anything outside the box will baffle those without natural mechanical ability.

I was in elevator construction for a few years. there were people there building elevators who did not even have a screwdriver in the kitchen drawer. they did nothing mechanical at all in thier personal lives. thier favorite tool was thier phone, so they could call whatever guy it was they needed to fix what was broke at home.

I worked with journeymen who would look at some out of the box thing we needed to do and just be baffled, when the solution was sitting right in front of thier face. saw it over and over again. no natural mechanical ability but they could do the job because you did basically the same thing over and over.

some folks have it, some don't. shouldn't be a requirement for owning an old car.

 

I have a neuromuscular disease that prevents me from doing most work on my truck.I have to take it to a shop for almost everything but there is no way in hell I'd trade my old truck for something newer.I'd rather see guys or girls for that matter buying old,cool shit then driving a prius around.I don't know anybody that drives a new car that can work on it.Tools and diagnostic equipment are far too expensive

 

I think he nailed it perfectly right there. Everyone has his/her abilities. I can't carry a tune in a bucket but that doesn't mean that I don't like to listen to good music. On the same token I expect my doctor to be able to figure out what is wrong with me if I don't feel good or get hurt and get that taken care of but I don't expect her to work on her own car.

I've never seen it in writing or said except for a certain cadre of snobs on the internet and at rod trots that you shouldn't be allowed to own a hot rod or custom if you didn't or can't build it yourself and don't maintain it yourself.

We have a number of rod shop owners/ workers on here who turn out some of the best rods and customs anywhere for their paying customers They wouldn't stay in business if they didn't have paying customers who want rods or customs built or redone.
We also have a number of members who turn out parts and pieces for our rods and having said parts and pieces on our rods is a badge of honor and we don't get slammed for not building the same pieces. You can pretty well assemble a car in your home garage that was built almost completely with parts and pieces made and sold by various Hambers in their shops around the country.

And yes several of do seem to teach a section of HAMB hot rodding 101 the basics on a regular basis. That may be partially due to the simple fact that auto mechanics classes have been few and far between in the past 20 years in the high school setting and seem to get cut on a regular basis around the country as school administrators and school boards for some reason don't think students should be learning how to work with their hands anymore.

 

If you only work on stuff you are comfortable with, you will learn very little. As you get out of your comfort area, and do the proper research, you will accomplish tasks that you never dreamed you could . You will then feel the intense pride and satisfaction of a job well done. Even if nowbody knows or cares what you just did, you will know, and that's all that matters. After that, you will have the confidence in yourself to learn more and try other more complex projects. Don't limit yourself- have confidence in yourself. Of course, you will break a few things, just try to keep them to a minimum and work safely. You will learn a lot. After a short time, you will be so smart- i will be asking for your opinions a variety of subjects. best of luck to all...jack

 

Growing up around old cars all my life with family that lived through the depression who had to do about everything them selves its hard for me to understand how someone cant work on a simple old car,like what was said before there were people who could not work on them when they were new so it looks like we all cant be mechanically inclined and someone has to do the other stuff. If anyone had to depend on me for a living they will go broke but I do farm out some repairs when its cold and cant get into the garage due to too much crap in the way and it needs done now,in those cases I will try to trade labor for some of my skills to keep costs down and I am slowly learning my way around EFI.

 

The old cars in general, and our traditional hot rods in particular, are simple enough that anybody who has the aptitude and inclination can learn on them, and they generally can be worked on with basic hand tools rather than requiring lots of specialized tools. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work on our old stuff. The best way to learn is to buy an old car and not have the means to pay anybody else to fix it.

 

I know of someone who had the money, bought the car of his dreams and doesn't drive it, doesn't trailer it, just lets it sit in his garage. When people visit, he allows them to sit in it and start the engine. That's some crazy shit.

 

Hey, I don't know much about sex....but I still want a gorgeous girl to get naked with. The bone wants what the bone wants.....

OR
LOTS of talented NASCAR and Drag Race drivers out there that don't know how to hold a screwdriver.

 

Yup. My buddy bought a '64 T-bird. Sold it a year later. He didn't have space, tools, or the means to work on it at all. Oh well.

 

I get customers like this and i run when they walk in the door. Most of them plead lack of talent or knowledge as a form manipulation. There is a good reason that they can't find somebody to work on it for them. They will hurt you by the time you get rid of them.

 

IMHO, this sums it up very well. Having the old car is wonderful, but learning your way around it is going to give you a deeper appreciation of the machine and your own potential.

In a manner of speaking, you'll earn your chops by doing your chops

 

Yeah, I'm going to have to say this is a stupid thread. Does everybody that didn't build their house not worthy because they didn't know how to build it?
If it was "required" to be able to build your own old car to own one me and a bunch of other pros would be out of work. A lot of it too depends on the person. several of my best customers don't work on their own old car. They are gearheads alright and they have proved to me they could but they don't enjoy it, they make decent enough money to afford to pay me to do it so they do, I see no fault in that. I like a nice yard but HATE yardwork, I'd hire it out in a minute if I could afford it.

 

I hire my yard work done. I hate yard work with a passion but I do like a nice yard.

 

Hey, you have to start somewhere. im only 16 and i learned everything i know (which aint a lot, but enough) on my 63 chevy truck. fixed it and got it roadworthy myself.

 

A-freakin-men.

 

had a cpe with a gm crate motor,it had low oil pressure. they told me to see the service manager. he said we will schedule it in . what kind of car is it. i told him a 35 chevy. he said we have nobody qualified to work on your car believe me we dont. so there u go.

 

The upside is the cars are not sitting and rotting and anyone who owns a shop makes money fixing them!

 

I have friends that are not gifted in mechanical skills but still have the desire to own and operate a nice street rod, they have the wherewithall to do so and so it should be. Many of us are getting up years and it isn't easy or wise to be thrashing all nite long, like we did back then. Spence

 

Ol' Lefty said it: "If you got the money honey, I've got the time".