How Many Hours Labor Is This Job?

madmike1157 said:

I was in the army cpt. sir. For 4 years. I drove guys like you all around the field so they could check on the rest of the subordinates to make sure they were doing what they were supposed to be doing, before going into the warrant program at Rucker, so try not to preach to me what it's like...I've been in a similar place.

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Ha!

So, your vast experience of 1 term in the military means you know what it's like for all 1.3 million active duty service members? You've been there? Complete Arrogance!

Tell me please about how you juggled deployments and living overseas and still making time to work on your car. I'd love to hear it! I've spent almost twice as much time in hostile countries and overseas than the 4 years you just touted. And you think you know what it's like to be me? GTFO! You don't have the slightest clue to relate yourself to me in that way. You were a driver? What kind of unit? Ever deploy? How many duty stations? Ever even overseas? If so, how did you manage to work on your car? Did you come back to your tent and build parts while you were in the desert? Oh, you didn't actually live a life like mine? Right, so you don't know what you're talking about.

When you were a commander prepping your 180 man infantry company for its combat deployment and were working 80+ hour 6-7 day weeks, who did your personal chores for you while you spent your 1 free day under your car? How did you manage to get things done when you were in the field? Did you bring your car with you?

Obviously, since you've served out 1 contract, you're an expert on every job across the entire army? I'm a careerist and I'm not arrogant enough to believe that I understand the lifestyle of others. No! You're just an arrogant old man with plenty of time on his hands who puts himself on a pedestal he can look down from. You don't know as much as you think you do. But keep on marching to the beat of your own drum.

I like that you list "know it all" as your occupation. At least you realize that you're an arrogant prick.

Take pride in what you buy or pay for, and I'll take pride in what I build.

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What about the motors I did build? What about taking pride in choosing the design of how my current car was built? Is that ok? I take pride in having a clean house. You can take pride in cleaning it if you like. LOL.

When he told me to go join a book club, his words were intended to be personal. I took them that way. People don't talk to each other like that in person, though. Only behind keyboards and computer screens. He's the mod of a car forum! Tell him to be professional.

Obviously, we all appreciate guys with knowledge and strong opinions even if they differ from our own so long as the guys are cordial and give respect for you and your opinions. Afterall, that's why we all participate in these discussion forums with each other.

I respect and appreciate the 16 year old kid that doesn't have a clue or a dollar but has the same innate love for speed/mechanics that I do and is just out at "the hole" to have a good time. I can respect and appreciate the friendly rich guy with the lambo/ferrari as long as he's down to earth, whether he's knowledgable or not.

I definitely have more appreciation/respect for those that do all of their own work IF IT'S GOOD. Some of the stuff I've seen where people fabricate uncommon improvements or solutions to problems that took their own creativity and skills to do/solve really blows my mind. Those are the types of guys I love talking to and learning from because they usually think outside of the box and actually enjoy the work. Those guys, be they rich, poor, educated, or high school drop-outs, are the epitomy of car guys to me, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the other car guys.

Most of the other people, myself included, know just enough to do the basic swaps/installations, bolt-ons, maybe a little engine internal work at most, and they like to hang out, talk a little smack among friends, see a few cars run, race your own when you can, blab about the latest and greatest coming from the factories, and argue over a bench race every now and then, which can be entertaining, especially before getting the two cars you're talking about to actually line up. These are the guys I get along with the best. To the point: ANY of the guys above, from the most experienced and capable to the least, can fit into this group. To me, these are the "car guys."

Hey, I love doing the work. It makes me feel bad that I can't. But here's another consideration: a backyard mechanic can't build a car from scratch. We don't forge metal and machine our own heads. Most don't install the valvetrain. Everyone has to pay other people to do stuff that we can't do ourselves. If we didn't, we'd all be walking around on foot. Maybe Mike can build fabricated 9" housing as good as Team-Z did for me. Perhaps he made his own billet crankshaft, or welded up and machined his own minitub. For ALL of the rest of us, there are limits at which we all have to pay someone else to make parts, do work, or we have to choose to go without them. Skill varies greatly, as does the time available in each person's life. Still, I pay people to do stuff that I can do, and even want to do, but "really really" don't have the time for it. And anyone who thinks less of me for it.

Haven't seen it happen in awhile...

Yeah, I probably would have when I was a mod.

haha. I guess it depends on whether Mike can let it go, or not. I don't think I'm going to. I know I should, but that's passion vs. reason.

I suppose I could. And I still may. But I will add my two cents. I served from 01 to 03 in the Marines. I was and engineer. As you can Imagine I disabled IEDs. We had one that another branch was to freaking stupid to let us know wasn't secured as it should be. We lost mine and I had a large amount of metal in my torso. On my way back home I contracted meningitis. I had to learn to read and speak again. Fast forward to more resent. I have had a ton of money, lost it,was homeless with four sons and now I own two homes and almost bought a 911 turbo today. I build my own cars if I choose.
Everyone has a story, and everyone has a right to do whatever they want with their car. But the thing that I'll never understand is why people think it's so important to build a car by hand? Hell I've done more than once and have no desire to do it again. Who cares what someone does or doesn't do? The op ask a simple question why did it need to have anything other than a simple answer?

Or bring in a lot of booze.

Damn right!