Anyone Else Honored With Working On An Old Car Guy’s Stuff?

This morning I finished an article that I've been pondering for a while. What happens to a car guy/gal when they can't work on their stuff anymore? I've been honored to have three old guys ask for my "advice" which translates into "please come fix it". This is different from the useless husband of my wife's friend who can't be bothered to maintain the family car. An old car guy knows how to fix it, has the tools, has the knowledge, but physically can't anymore. That's when they call someone they know and trust.

You can read my article if you want, but what I really wanted was to see if anyone else has thought about it? I'm sure plenty of us fix cars for other people, but having someone you look up to who may have even taught you how to wrench ask for help seems like an honor to me.

For some reason it is different from working on my parents cars. I did that because Dad taught me and it was kind of expected as a way to contribute to the family. Having someone outside the family trust me with their own car finally made me think about what was actually happening. Thoughts? Personal stories?

My father in law asked me to weld something on his hay wagon the other day. That was a proud moment, as he's a really experienced welder. He just couldn't. Sure, it's a tired piece of farm equipment and not some hot rod, but the approval felt the same.

Hint: when welding on hay wagons, make sure you don't set all the loose dry hay on the axles on fire.

Keith Tanner wrote: Hint: when welding on hay wagons, make sure you don't set all the loose dry hay on the axles on fire.

That gave me a good laugh. Yes, wise advice indeed.

I get older guys at the SCCA events asking me all sorts of Miata tuning/modifying/buying questions, and it gives me the warm n fuzzies

NickD wrote: I get older guys at the SCCA events asking me all sorts of Miata tuning/modifying/buying questions, and it gives me the warm n fuzzies

Yup, once the old guys start respecting your knowledge you've made it.

Helping a friend understand the intricacies of fuel injection who is a die hard throw a carb at it kind of guy because, you know, old guy.

When I was young I learned a lot of stuff from my Grandpa, he was a machinist (owner operator of a screw machine operation), farmer, and super shade tree mechanic. I picked up welding on an old Lincoln tombstone arc welder from him and dad, and took all the ag classes I could in Jr. high and high school. By the time I was a Jr. in high school, Grandpa was saving little projects for when I got home from school. I knew he could weld whatever it was that needed stuck together, but sure was proud of the fact that he was relying on me to fix something.

Done that enough times that now at 72 I am the "old guy" who needs the help.

slefain wrote: This morning I finished an article that I've been pondering for a while. What happens to a car guy/gal when they can't work on their stuff anymore?

They bring it to me.

(Seriously, half the project cars I get are cool old guys who like fast cars but can't wrench on them anymore. Right now I have a '70 Torino I have to finish putting together, and a very VERY clean GN with under 16k miles. And another one that is very far from stock that lives exclusively on C16, smells wonderful when I maneuver it around the shop )

Old guys tend to be more demanding with respect to their expectations, but they also tend to be realistic with what those demands are going to cost. And when their expectations are MET we get customers for life and a lot more word of mouth business.

Keith Tanner wrote: My father in law asked me to weld something on his hay wagon the other day. That was a proud moment, as he's a really experienced welder. He just couldn't. Sure, it's a tired piece of farm equipment and not some hot rod, but the approval felt the same.

That's the exact vibe I got when my boss's dad requested my help with the engine swap in his Solstice. My mind was somewhat blown. In my mind, I still remember when he very quietly and controlledly yelled at me for what felt like fifteen minutes for taking the corner off of his bench grinder's wheel. When you get yelled at like that, you STAY yelled at. And he wanted me to look at his car to see what was up with how it was (not) running.

After we got things sorted, he started speaking to me off-the cuff about some of his machine-shop expoits from the 60s, stuff he did and some secrets that I don't really want to divulge, because he felt comfortable enough to explain them to ME and it sounded like they were the kind of machine-shop tricks he'd take to the grave rather than let become common knowledge.

Knurled wrote:

slefain wrote: This morning I finished an article that I've been pondering for a while. What happens to a car guy/gal when they can't work on their stuff anymore?

They bring it to me. (Seriously, half the project cars I get are cool old guys who like fast cars but can't wrench on them anymore. Right now I have a '70 Torino I have to finish putting together, and a very VERY clean GN with under 16k miles. And another one that is very far from stock that lives exclusively on C16, smells wonderful when I maneuver it around the shop ) Old guys tend to be more demanding with respect to their expectations, but they also tend to be realistic with what those demands are going to cost. And when their expectations are MET we get customers for life and a lot more word of mouth business.

That's a good bit of our shop's business too. A '54 Chevy with C4 rear suspension and LT1/4L60e went home today as did a '32 5-window coupe. Earlier in the week a '68 Barracuda convertible and '30 Model A.

We also get the occasional old guy that thinks prices should be the same as they were in 1960...

More and more the last few years. Good contacts and I appreciate the beer currency.

My father in law draws all of the physically demanding jobs in his group of car guys. Things like climbing under the dash to fix wiring. The group says he has to pay his dues because he's the young guy. He's 66.

mazdeuce wrote: My father in law draws all of the physically demanding jobs in his group of car guys. Things like climbing under the dash to fix wiring. The group says he has to pay his dues because he's the young guy. He's 66.

These darn kids today, think that everything is all synchronized transmissions and heated cabs, makes'em lazy.

In reply to slefain:

And don't get me started about that newfangled automatic timing advance in the distributor.