Rant: tired of wanna be car guys

[ldmiller281]

just wanted to get this off my chest and i've already annoyed all my friends with it. ha ha! i'm tired of guys that never do anything to their cars themselves, but are proud of their car like they did. EXAMPLE; i went to the dragstrip and talked to a guy with a nice new edge. i asked what was done to it. he had a few minor boltons and was planning on getting long tube headers. i asked if he was going to put them on and he replied saying that he was going to pay someone else to do it. what the heck? i do everything myself. i've built engines, replaced transmissions, installed rearend gears, etc. i only have a small garage, a good set of tools, and jackstands. i take great pride in my car. sure i get a little ticked when things don't go right and my hands get cut up quite a bit, but i still love it. i get irritated by magazines especially. there are so many guys that just pay a shop to make it fast and never even change the oil themselves. alright, i'm done.

 

[g36 monkey]

I don't change the oil myself, because it is cheaper for me to have someone else do it. I don't have to deal with the spill.

Long tubes on a 4.6 are a beeetch. I would also pay someone else to do that, because it's really tough without a lift and an engine hoist, both of which I don't have.

I let someone install my long tubes, because I needed a custom midpipe fabbed for them, and I don't have a pipe bender, or a welder, or a pipe flaring tool, or exhaust brackets.

Now, I built my motor from a bare block, but if I had to do it all again, I would let a machine shop assemble my short block, and then do the rest of the long block myself. They have better tools for measuring clearances, etc.

Sometimes you let someone do something because they have the tools and experience to do it right.
For instance, my rear end, I am letting a good friend of mine do it, because he is ASE certified, and knows how to do them. Last thing I need is a set of new gears stripping out because I didn't know how to set the preload on them.

 

[RichV]

Didn't we have this discussion within another discussion a while back?

I don't think it's that big of a deal. My thing is paint, I'm bad at it, I'm not patient, and I know I'd f*ck it up. So I don't do paint/body, I have someone that knows what they're doing get it done. Does that not make me a car guy??

I think I know what you mean about mechanical stuff, but if a guy knows he's bad at it, why not have a shop do it. Helps the economy out, and he can still mod his car. IMO there's nothing wrong with that, or what if a dude works stupid hours, makes a ton of cash but has no time to do the work himself. So rather than spend his free time workin on his junk, he wants to drive it. It's like hatin' on guys that instead of gettin' street cred and modding, they go out and buy a 650HP Saleen Extreme. I'd do it if I had $ comin' out my ass.

 

[g36 monkey]

I wish I had the too much money, not enough time excuse haha!

Both are hard for me to come by though.

 

[330CubeGt]

I fell you on that, I don't let anyone work on my car besides 1 good friend.Seems people with car sence never have the money to do what they want or know how to do and the people with the cash to have shops do the work have no sence. And Jeremy this wednesday im doing longtubes on my 4.6, x pipe, qa1 k, upr a arms and the beefed up t-45 that me and kyle are putting together tonight!

Heads up and ass kickin! Using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ferocious]

I'd so much rather take my car to a shop and let professionals work on it than sit there and break everything wrenching on it myself. Not everyone is good at working at cars. In the end we all still share that same passion for them, regardless if we built the car or let a shop do it.

 

[sweet94GT]

I have done everything on my Mustang, besides what was already done when I got it, and chasing a power draw. I have 2 buddies I trust to help, mainly because they both have had Mustangs, both have years of knowledge, and all the tools. Hell, one has a built 65 coupe, street driven, that last year ran a 9.29 before blowing a HG.

My wives '06 Pontiac G6.... That's another story. I go to one shop. Bob Thomas. Anytime I need a hand tool, I call them up, they let me take it home, use it, and bring it back. So anytime I have something that needs done on the Pontiac, I take it there, even if I can get it a little cheaper elsewhere.

 

[whiplash473]

i just get annoyed by guys that walk around with a puffed out chest cuz they were told that their shop built them a 500hp engine and itll go this fast and itll run this time and the guy doesnt even know how many valves he has per cylinder

 

[ldmiller281]

I fell you on that, I don't let anyone work on my car besides 1 good friend.Seems people with car sence never have the money to do what they want or know how to do and the people with the cash to have shops do the work have no sence. And Jeremy this wednesday im doing longtubes on my 4.6, x pipe, qa1 k, upr a arms and the beefed up t-45 that me and kyle are putting together tonight!

Heads up and ass kickin! Using Tapatalk 2

you and i are one in the same. it is a lot cheaper when you do your own work. also, you have a better understanding of your car's health. yeah long tube headers suck to install. i had quite a few issues, but it's definitely worth it. tubular kmember makes that a lot easier.

i have to admit that i did go to auto tech and worked in a shop, but that doesn't mean that some things haven't made me nervous. when i went to build a 4.6 i was worried that i might screw it up because i'd only dealt with a sbf before. i did tons of research and dove in. one thing i know is that if it blows up it was my fault. i didn't pay someone and have it blow up and then i have to pay someone again. maybe it is hard for me to be understanding because i do have the mechanical ability and don't know what it is like not to.

 

[ldmiller281]

i just get annoyed by guys that walk around with a puffed out chest cuz they were told that their shop built them a 500hp engine and itll go this fast and itll run this time and the guy doesnt even know how many valves he has per cylinder

+1 you know exactly where i'm coming from. i don't even buy the magazines anymore cause it pisses me off to see these guy's shop built cars always featured. sure, i may not have the baddest or most powerful car, but i'm proud of it because i built it.

 

[justinschmidt1]

I've pretty much taken my car fully apart and put it back together...it kinda sucks lol

I understand why some guys get older and have some more money so they go and pay someone to do the work.

I can say that I hate ignorance.

Theres guys that just stop their car off and say make it faster and have no idea what work was even done to it

 

[KidK9]

That's great, nice rant, you're the man.

But this is my most favorite quote ever from G36: "For instance, my rear end, I am letting a good friend of mine do it, because he is ASE certified, and knows how to do them."

 

[g36 monkey]

Theres guys that just stop their car off and say make it faster and have no idea what work was even done to it

This, this here is what irritates me.


Frank! That's awesome! Wish I had time to come help but school starts again this week, and I probably won't have my car back from paint until the weekend.

 

[Orange 94]

Idmiller i agree with you. I'd must rather do everything myself. I dont like shops touching my vehicle and i enjoy doing it myself.

However many people dont have the proper tools, space, time or knowledge (luckly i had my dad to teach me everything i know). Another advantage to having a shop do the work is the "warranty" or whatever you want to call it. If something breaks its the shops fault. Theres also specialty shops that have professionals to do trick jobs.

But i'm with doing everything yourself. I dont like other people touching my car. So far the only thing touched by a shop is the machining, dyno, wheel balance, and wheel alignment on my car.

 

[poisonbl]

I'm on both sides of this one myself... but most of that is my sheer lack of a place to work on the car, and a sheer lack of the ability break it, get frustrated, walk away, and come back to it in a couple days... since, while I could walk to work, I prefer not to have to... I bought the car for, first and foremost, that very reason. Given a garage and a second vehicle... aside from paint, my car'd never see anyone else's tools.

 

[belber095]

i only have a problem when people who pay someone to do something start talking down on others.

 

[Tony]

i love working on my vehicles myself. biggest reason is cause shops dont care about things that i do, lol. like my paint being scratched, my wheels being nicked...etc.

my only problem is i dont know much about ford motors. so i just asked a bunch of dumb ass questions till i figure it out, lol. i see nothing wrong with knowing your limits though. i would never pay a guy to bag my mustang, some of you guys would get an air ride kit and be lost. i would throw it together in 2 days, lol. just like if i had a vortech s/c kit in my hands, i'd be lost

 

[vermilion]

only thing i havent done is my long block assembly. every other nut and bolt on the car ive done myself..... tony the vortech kit is easy. trust me.

 

[KillNThrill24]

I would attempt anything except short block work. Reason being I don't have the proper tools for it. If I have the tools for it, or know someone who does, I'm trying it. I really don't care how difficult it is lol just means it'll take me longer. Shit I did head gaskets on my old Grand Am when I had never done anything engine related and it turned out fine lol. Did the 4.10's on my Mustang when most people told me to pay to get it done. Had to send the carrier into work with my dad who works at the Cleveland Ford plant so he could get the bearings pressed on but other than that everything was done in my garage lol.

I agree that it irks me when guys act like they're hot shit because some shop built they're car lol but at the same time I understand getting your car built of cars aren't your forte. Just don't act like you did it all yourself.

I agree with Jeremy about getting something done if it's cheaper. I had free oil changes for a while and I took full advantage of that lol. But I mean if I can do my own oil cheaper I will. Takes 5mins.

My buddy was like that for awhile. Wanted to pay a shop to do his Springs lol I was like dude are you retarded? Yeah dude pay a shop to do something that you and I have done on a bunch of other cars lol... Then he was saying he was gonna take it in to have his cams done. I had to point out to him that he was having someone else build his car and he was driving someone else's car. O well whatcha gonna do.

That's my little rant about your rant haha

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2

 

[Slykin]

I think if a guy doesn't even show interest in learning how to do stuff on his own car, he isn't a car guy. I put them in the same league as guys who drive donks. I understand not wanting to mess up stuff like transmissions/rear ends/engines, especially if you have a deadline, but not even wanting to try it is pitiful to me. How can you actually appreciate your car if you don't even know how it works? Take something apart... see how it works. It's fun.

An example: My brother-in-law. We get along really great, and we both love cars.. but in completely different ways. He knows all the stats on cars, loves F1, but couldn't tell you what an alternator looks like. He's always talking about how cars feel when driven etc, which I do too.. but he has no concept of what actually makes cars drive the way they do. This generally doesn't bother me, but sometimes it's kind of annoying when he goes on and on about why different cars are better than others with out really knowing why.