White punk on dope

Until February of 2011, I was a mechanic.
I’m far too old to have ever been a technician.

Prior to that, I spent nearly 40 years working on everybody's stuff but my own.

Until my wife revolted about ten years ago, I drove a series of miserable $100.00 disposable rust buckets that I absolutely refused to do anything more than the bare minimum to keep on the road.

True story: My wife once bought her 740 Turbo to my dealership's service lane and got a ticket made for me to replace the timing belt, water pump, and front engine seals. She knew this was the only way "I'd get-around-to-it".

In my career I have worked on cars, trucks, exotics, farm equipment, school buses, forklifts, tractors, tracked vehicles, and road graders.

I have worked for VW, Fiat, Opel, Porsche-Audi, Mercedes-Benz, the Virginia State Farm garage, BMW, SAAB, Volvo, an independent Jaguar shop, an independent Harley shop, my County garage, and a Gulf station where I started as a pump jockey in 1971.

One day the station owner let me change the oil on a Fiat 124 and I've been standing under or beside one brand or another since then.

The last 17 years I spent working on Harley-Davidsons, 7 of that servicing and repairing a fleet of 44 H-D Police Motor Cycles for my local Police Department.


Because of my job and it's wear and tear on my body, I had lumbar fusion surgery in and was retired on disability.

Four vertrbrae, no joke. This is where the dope part comes in.

My tools came home to live in one bay of my two car garage.

I couldn't ride or work anymore.

I sold all of my motorcycles, my vast collection of cycle parts and all my motorcycle equipment.

This became the budget for my old Ford.

I have re-discovered the fun I once had many years ago when I first began to understand what I was doing as a mechanic.

I found this feeling again by working on my own car and not somebody else's junk.

I consider myself to be a good journeyman mechanic and trouble-shooter.

I’m no fabricator. I can weld but don’t consider myself a welder.

I have always excelled at electrical and fuel injection diagnostics and repair, and this is where I think my talent is.

The idea that I’d join a car or motorcycle forum would have been laughable a couple of years ago.

Why would I when I dealt with that crap all day?

“Oh”, I’d say with disdain, “You read it on the internet.”

But now I’m here.

Burned out? Uh, huh.

Cynical? Yes.

Jaded? Abso-frikkin-lutely.

I’m here because I dig the spirit of this place.

If you've actually read though this screed, you may get what I mean.

Or not.

I’m gonna’ lurk now.

Later.

 

Welcome , enjoy your lurking. Even more you can be the guy that gave someone advise on an internet forum, and their mechanic cal roll their eyes at em!

 

Welcome to the H.A.M.B from Ga

 

I know what you mean about the back that is where I'm at now just waiting on the MRIs at least there may be light at well you know Welcome from Texas

 

I know how you feel, got three hernioated disks, that they are not fusing becaue they dont believe it would work for me. I am lucky though I have an "office job" so no disability for me.

Keep your head up and your hands greasy and all will come good

and also welcome from down under

 

Great intro ... you'll fit right in. Welcome to the HAMB.

 

Welcome....

 

welcome along . understand fully about the back surgery , been there and have the T-shirt!




.

 

welcome, yep same here but I have done body work and coach building on lots of things from fire trucks, planes and lots of different makes of cars, not forgetting rust repair on some heaps of crap that most would think not worth the effort. broken lower back, neck and shoulder 23years ago.

you have found the right place

 

It really is awesome site! Welcome from another burned out mechanic. Workin on my own junk is a little better.

 

Welcome to the hamb from the Great State of Maine. Yours in one of the best intros I have ever read. Glad that you are prioritizing things in your life and are still having fun with old cars, you will have to tell us what you are working on.

 

Welcome from New York.

 

Welcome from Tennessee .

 

Welcome from Union Pier, MI. You'll be right at home here.

 

Welcome from Oklahoma. Join the club, I've got a 6 inch "zipper" scar in my lower back, but, fortunately, I was able to return to riding the old hog after a couple of years. Hang in there and enjoy getting to work on just your stuff.

 

WELCOME to the board of education .ENJOY.

 

Welcome to the H.A.M.B.

 

welcome sounds liike you'll fit right in here you said old ford what year, model, engine etc

 

come on in boy the waters fine

 

Welcome from the sunny side of California

 

Hold on a min I didn't get no t-shirt

 

Here's my rusty old Ford:

 

Welcome from a Union Ironworker 32 years,self taught shadetree mechanic 40+ years,been ridin the same Shovelhead over 30 years despite being T-boned once,1 highspeed wobble survival and countless times having been run offa the road I'm still kickin,a little mutilated but still kickin harder than ever and yes,I believe in better living tru modern chemistry! R~R

 

Welcome from Texas! And that Ford doesn't look so rusty to me!

 

Welcome to the HAMB

 

Here's the power plant; lotsa' Eastwood rattle can paint goin' on here:



I think it's time to clean the lens on the old Olympus.......

 

Welcome from Wisconsin.

 

welcome very refreshing !

 

AMEN,brother - welcome to the HAMB from Davenport Iowa -next to and sometimes in the Great Mississippi River !!!

 

White Punks on Dope....... The Tubes!!!!