Inferiority Complex

There was once a post, I think here, which asked something like "Did you find your car or did your car find you?" and I answered clearly the latter. I had no desire to own a classic, but when Dad insisted on having his '50 Ford 'professionally' restored, and then just let it sit under a blue tarp in the driveway once it was 'done' because the restoration was botched, I couldn't bear to see it, and convinced him to let me house it in my garage and continue working on it.

I learned from boards like these, two cousins of mine who were Camaro guys, my late father-in-law and a former high school teacher of mine who really took me under his wing.

There will always be those who know more than me, and I accept that. We must always remember we are all still students. At the point when we think we know it 'all' is when our knowledge dies.

I'm in my later 40's and now both student and teacher. Learning from generations before me, and teaching the generation behind me.
 
I have been a Ford mechanic all my life, started taking flathead carbs apart when i WAS 6 YEARS OLD. i HAVE TAKEN EVERY COURSE AND SCHOOL i COULD TO LARN MORE ABOUT MY TRADE, AND STILL LEARNING. i AM 68 YARS LOD NOW, STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN. pROBABLY WON'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW IT ALL!:)
 
Lawson Cox said:
Hey Old Henry, I didn't know you were an attorney. I am a "retarded" Attorney myself. Have fully recovered from that affliction. LOL
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I, three, am an attorney, but I come from a line of mechanics and worked on cars since childhood.

As for the OP being intimidated by $50K rides and knowledgeable people, there's always going to be someone with something better than yours. You can't get obsessed and start spending stupid dollars (like liquidating a 401K or cashing in life insurance policies) just to keep up.

If you can learn the tax code, you can learn auto mechanics. That may not help to teach your hands what to do, but it will at least help you navigate to the right service providers.
 
I learned the most from my mistakes....many of which have been posted here so others could learn and not repeat them.
 
CJ Meyers said:
There was once a post, I think here, which asked something like "Did you find your car or did your car find you?" and I answered clearly the latter.
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Ha, that was a thread I started. Made for a lot of good stories. Too bad you are so far away, would love to show your car to my Father-in-Law.

This was his first new car... yours didn't come from DC did it...:D
 

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I've been around cars and car folks for as long as I can remember. Years ago I had dreams of becoming a mechanic but as fate sometimes does, my career path was detoured due to a clerk's decision at the induction center deciding that despite my high automotive test results, the Air Force needed clerks worse than mechanics...

So after my enlistment and 4 days outta the Air Force and I was working behind a parts counter at a Ford dealership but still wanting to be a mechanic. It never happened. Forty-some years later I am still deeply involved with cars & heavy equipment but in a different way. Admittedly I don't have the busted knuckles, bad knees and sore feet that often come from a lifetime of being a mechanic and for that I certainly have no regrets. I'm now pushing 62 and have been a tech writer for automotive and heavy equipment systems for most of the last 30 years. And although I understand many concepts and technology involved with the business/hobby I'll be first to admit I'm still no mechanic and very likely never will be. Kudos to those who are and to those with the willingness to learn, no matter how 'young' they are.
 
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Well, I'm 58 now. Got hooked on cars and motorcycles when I was young but I also got married early. I put most of that aside for 35 years and raised a family. I write software for a living but can't wait to get dirty on the weekends working on my projects.

Here is something you might do. I wanted to learn to weld so I signed up at the community college and took 3 semesters of welding. I already had a welder but really sucked at it. Now I suck less at it.

I also wanted to learn how to run a lathe and a mill, so when I got done with the welding, I signed up for a semester of that.

Most of the time I was the old fart in the class, but I didn't care. I had a blast doing it. Now I have so much to learn about flatheads. Look for lots of dumb questions from me!! :eek:
 
Heard said:
Well, I'm 58 now. Got hooked on cars and motorcycles when I was young but I also got married early. I put most of that aside for 35 years and raised a family. I write software for a living but can't wait to get dirty on the weekends working on my projects.

Here is something you might do. I wanted to learn to weld so I signed up at the community college and took 3 semesters of welding. I already had a welder but really sucked at it. Now I suck less at it.

I also wanted to learn how to run a lathe and a mill, so when I got done with the welding, I signed up for a semester of that.

Most of the time I was the old fart in the class, but I didn't care. I had a blast doing it. Now I have so much to learn about flatheads. Look for lots of dumb questions from me!! :eek:
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I choked on my coffee / Fell off my chair,With that one.
Thanks time for me to get down to garage anyhow.
 
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The really nice thing......you have the facilities to learn as much as you want.........
It's never too late!
 
Just keep on learning. Some of my learning is really re-learning. I fooled with a 41 Ford and a 40 Merc as a kid, and now I'm asking these hands to fix a 39 Ford. The hands know what to do and are squawking that my brain is not telling them the correct motions. I do notice skinning my knuckles hurts just the same. The thrill of success is also the same. I have learned tho: In my youth I would be flogging the car until almost dark and by the time I got cleaned up and out to the A&W root beer stand all the lovelies were already taken. Now I go about 4 pm and am home by dark.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not discouraged, just fascinated and in awe of the knowledge and skill I see around me. It isn't just the learning, its the experiences that a lot of you guys have had. Guys that have been building motors and cars for years. I can catch up on the skills maybe, but The experiences are gone.... Then again, who knows, in 20 years I may be bragging about how back in my day we drove are own cars, none of this automated stuff..:eek:...we actually had to pay attention and hit the brake ourself....:eek: OK.... and we did have drive in movie theaters...:cool:
 
If you want a really interesting learning experience...there's a book by a guy named Zannis on rebuilding the Model T motor in which he covers full rebabbiting at home!
He shows how to rebuild a cheap sears drillpress into the boring bar, jig up the bearings, pour and finish!
You may be as terrified as you are inspired, but it is a good read and a good excercise in practical thinking.
 
Bruce Lancaster said:
If you want a really interesting learning experience...there's a book by a guy named Zannis on rebuilding the Model T motor in which he covers full rebabbiting at home!
He shows how to rebuild a cheap sears drillpress into the boring bar, jig up the bearings, pour and finish!
You may be as terrified as you are inspired, but it is a good read and a good excercise in practical thinking.
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Sounds like a cool thing to do if I had a stand to work with. If you start with a dead motor and spare parts with a goal of something that runs. You aren't afraid to screw it all up.
 
Just don't blame me after your flaming death in a river of molten babbitt...
But it is extremely interesting to see the whole process laid out with no rare ancient jigs or KRW rebuilding machines, just a $75 Craftsman drill press an a lot of ingenuity.
 
Jim,

I'm right there with you. I have inherited the wagon but not all the experience! I wish I had more time and money.
I want to learn how to weld, shape metal, tune an engine, etc..
I was talking with my dad last time I was working on the car and he started telling me about his youth working on his cars. I wished he had taught me some of the things he knows when I was a kid.
At least I still have him around to ask him questions.

Keep 4-banging!
 
Welcome to a great learning site, You need to remember " He who makes no mistakes, does nothing. Best regards and do talk to the old timer you spoke of...
 
I am just scared that at some point in the future we will be standing round with our thumb up our rectum wondering what to do. …. Is this knowledge being passed on? Something to think about.
 
I guess I am not a youngin anymore at the age of 41 but these old engines fascinate me. I ask a lot of dumb questions but I am learning a lot too. Looking forward to my first flatty rebuild. Oh and as far as genes, my dad can barely change his own oil and I am an IT guy. I have taught myself to weld, shape metal and now engines. (though transmission still scare the 'ell out of me) If I can do it I am sure anyone can.

Thanks,

--louis
 
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