Can you call yourself a "Car guy" but you dont really wrench?

Discussion in 'The Bench' started by Sebambam, Jan 12, 2021.

  1. pbr400

    pbr400 68GS400

    A wise man once said ‘a man’s got to know his limitations’. The smart car guy knows what he can do-for some it’s filters, maybe bulbs, wash and detail. For others it covers every possible task. Most of us are in between, but knowing when to stop may be the litmus test. How many of us have seen a guy blow one completely apart and then stall and the car dies or is sold in boxes? That guy thinks he’s a car guy, and may prove he learned his lesson on his next car, but again he may not. I guess you’d have to ask his buddies.
    Patrick
     
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  2. Sebambam

    Sebambam Well-Known Member

    i Agree, "Know your limitations"
    but live teaches you your limitations ( or the Military ahahah) i am afraid that especially todays generation absolutely under-sell there abilities and expectations OR completely over-sell there skills but then again "life will teach you its the absolute equalizer"
     
  3. tt455

    tt455 T Bone

    If you eat, drink, sleep, dream, and talk cars your a car guy. If you also like to to turn wrenches well then you may be a gearhead also. Either way it's all good.
     
  4. bignastyGS

    bignastyGS Maggot pilot

    I do 99% of all work on all my vehicles except warranty work and some jobs on my TDI Beetles.My current TDI Beetle needs a fuel injector pump and I'll fork over the $400 to have someone else do it. The tools alone to do it are a couple hundred bucks alone. Same for the timing belt replacement. It's better to pay to have it done right than to tie up my car for a week. The guy I have do it does these jobs weekly and knows his stuff.Sometimes, you have to just pay the right people to do the work.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2021
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  5. Chuck Bridges

    Chuck Bridges Well-Known Member

    I let my mechanic handle anything I do not feel comfortable doing, such as taking the carb apart and totally rebuilding and adjusting it. Would I like to know more..... absolutely. Woud I risk damaging my car because I am stubborn and not will to acknowledge those limitation.... absolutely not.

    I know that Iam a learner, not a mechanic.
     
    BUQUICK likes this.
  6. 442w30

    442w30 Well-Known Member

    I've met people who have built a particular car, but know nothing about it.

    Are they car people?
     
  7. pbr400

    pbr400 68GS400

    I don’t think so. Like the techs Lucas and I mentioned; if they view it as just a job and don’t enjoy ‘talking shop’, they’re not.
    Patrick
     
  8. johnriv67

    johnriv67 Well-Known Member

    I’d beg to differ. That’s a totally reasonable thing to expect. The vacuum advance canister should absolutely be hooked up to manifold vacuum. That is the best way to get fuel economy back under light throttle and cruise.

    Maybe I took the bait, but I’ve only had my engine out of the car three times by myself :D
     
  9. TexasT

    TexasT Texas, where are you from

    I wouldn't bust on someone who doesn't wrench but definately wouldn't take their advice on mods and tuning. Bench racing is one of the best parts of car culture to me and the gtg can be epic. As I age I see why guys don't do their own wrenching.
    Some of the funniest exchanges come from the people who think they know stuff. I like to drag em "off sides" so they make wild unsubstaiated claims. Makes for great stories.
     
  10. pbr400

    pbr400 68GS400

    It’s interesting that real car guys ask ‘what’s it run’ and are (1) impressed to hear that you have made passes with it and (2) appreciate what it runs. The posers resort to ‘one upping’ you with his uncle’s neighbor’s chevelle that pulls the wheels at 120 while the screaming passenger tries to grab the hunnerd taped to the dash and it runs nines and should go eights but that was when they threw him out of the track.
    Patrick
     
  11. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    As a car guy myself (most likely conceived in a Buick for bonus points) and grew up in a Buick dealership, I don't want to call anyone NOT a car guy because he doesn't wrench. I had a buddy at work that was a Honda guy. He didn't do anything to it himself. I took him for a ride in my Buick and changed his mind about old cars. Now, he has a 93 Silverado short bed truck. He was needing something done to it and I told him that was about a half day's work and I'd help him if he wanted to try it. I think it was the rear end cover was leaking. Long story short, I told him if he was going to take the cover off, he should put a posi in it as no real car guy would dare own a single track! LOL. He bought a posi and we swapped it instead of just fixing a leak.

    Since then, he's dropped a valve on that Vortec motor and got 100% lucky that it only broke the valve. No damage to the piston or cylinder and just small dent in the head. He pulled the heads himself and had a machine shop I recommended fix the heads (stock Vortec with too much cam lift, known problem) for him. I helped him get it back together and retimed, which he had no idea about. Now, he's more confident and becoming more of a do-er than a check-writer.

    So, if the opportunity presents itself, you might be able to convert a passive car guy into a REAL car guy. Totally tongue-in-cheek.

    If you like cars, you are a car guy. We might differ on opinions of Yugos and Mini Coopers but we're all car guys here.
     
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  12. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    The valve springs bind on anything over about .450 lift. He was running some 292 cam in it and got lucky for a while. The fix was LS6 beehive spring, cut the guide height and retainers/locks from Comp Cams
     
  13. Jayden

    Jayden Well-Known Member

    To each their own. I bought my car, intending to attempt to do as much of the work as I could. I've never done any car work beyond the basics and figured my car was a good opportunity to learn. Other than the satisfaction, the best part has been getting to know the car inside and out.
     
  14. Quick Buick

    Quick Buick Arlington Wa

    To me the term car guy is joke.. The first time I heard the term was when I had the TV on the show counting cars came on... The CLOWN goes to this guys house that has a front end damaged 60s corvette in front, Well the Clown knocks on the doors and introduces IT"S self and the Side Kick CLOWN as were car guys... With their stupid smiles,, make-up,,, That still has me Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A$$ Off to this very day.

    Am I a car enthusiast.. or even a nut, buff, gear head, and the many other terms I'd have to say yes.....
     
  15. The Big Guy

    The Big Guy Nailhead Nation

    I've owned over 60 cars in my lifetime.
    I've restored several cars that have done well at national meets (and turned wrenches myself).
    I've spent my entire working career in the car business, starting out as a grease monkey (lube tech in today's parlance).
    I have a full set of tools, a lift and a compressor at home.
    I go to car shows on vacation.
    I married a car gal.
    I belong to numerous car clubs.

    I consider myself a car guy.
     
    OHC JOE likes this.
  16. rmstg2

    rmstg2 Gold Level Contributor

    The term car guy helped me as a stranger in a new to me town. Before we moved here to Kalispell Mt. we were having breakfast at a local eatery, while sitting there I noticed several guys sitting at a table, one of them mentioned a 40 Ford. I started paying attention to their conversations and found most of their conversations were car related. I approached the table and ask if they were car guys, they all said yes and invited me to join them. Long story short, I made a few friends that day and since we've moved here I join them 2 or 3 times a week for coffee.

    Bob H.
     
  17. partsrparts

    partsrparts Silver Level contributor

    I call myself a car guy but mainly a gearhead. I've been into cars and motorcycles for over 50yrs. My step dad was a mechanic but I wouldn't call him a car guy, it was just a job. Son in law had a fast @ss chevelle when he met my daughter and was going to Wyotech at the time. He opened his own shop and was successful for about 10yrs got tired of dealing with everything that went along with it and closed it up. He now manages a very successful shop but sold the chevelle and wont turn a wrench now. He's still a car guy but won't even work on his own stuff anymore.
    I had one customer that owns 6 Harleys that I worked on that is an operating engineer but can't work on a Harley. An other one that owns a auto repair shop but won't work on his bikes.
    I worked on Harleys for 20yrs up till a year ago when I completely retired from working on other peoples stuff. My 76 Skylark is the first car I've built since the early 80's. Boy have things changed.
     
  18. 66electrafied

    66electrafied Just tossing in my nickel's worth

    I'm not a car guy.
    I'm a historian and a machinery enthusiast. I gravitated into cars because it was an outlet where I could tinker with something old and make it useful. I grew to be more of a car guy over time and experience, I do appraisals, but I approach them from a historical standpoint and not a "Oh wow that's a Lamborghini" standpoint. I can get the same kick out of a nicely restored Studebaker Lark that I can out of a well done Buick. I'll look at a 1 cylinder stationary motor from 1895 the same way I'd appreciate a Honda, if it runs and is useful, I like it.

    I know "car guys" who've never held a wrench, or haven't a clue about the inner workings of an engine, but they know all the stats, the races and the drivers. They're enthusiasts, and just because they don't know how to wrench or can't, shouldn't be something to hold against them. They get something different out of the hobby than maybe I do. To each his own.

    The only people I really don't like are those chequebook restorers who deliberately make it a pissing contest. I had one gentleman try and get my very original 1946 Buick tossed out of a show because it was parked next to his $100,000 1939 Ford Coupe restoration. He crowed far and wide how much he paid for this, who did that, his exacting standards, etc, etc, and then pointed my slightly worn paint and grease smelling motor out as "disgusting and a travesty".
    So when he went to the concession I "fixed" his lawn chair, and he went home with mustard all down his pretty Hawaiian shirt.
     
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  19. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    I like cars, trucks, boats, and trains.
    I like creating, building, working with my hands.
    I dont obsess about cars, I can get into landscaping my yard, doing electrical, fixing or repairing things in the house.
    I Like to do stuff myself, but I know my limitations:D
    I've seen what happens to true car guys, they go "all in" for the car stuff, if your "better half" isnt into it, you suffer, so does everything else not car related.
    I like mechanical stuff, electrical stuff, detail work, and making stuff look sweet, for me, a car fills the bill, a car or any motor vehicle is a canvas for me, whether its doing mechanical on the wifes Tahoe, or fixing my 240000 mile daily driver Safari Van.
    BUT, if a health issue comes up with the wife, or dogs, or any one of my step kids needs help financially Im there, car stuff takes a back seat;)
     
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  20. 70skylark350

    70skylark350 Jesus loves you unconditionally

    If you love cars, and understand and appreciate what it takes to keep them running, your ok in my book.
     
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