Once a car guy, always a car guy?

[GTX]

Definition of car guy: Person of either gender who truly is into cars

This isn't a 'do you bleed grease etc' thing but I was watching some show last night with some guy doing the car scene and he got a Cougar and was going to fix it up. That's as far as I got because it was pretty clear that he had no clue at all and was content to turn it over to others to do it for him which in my book is akin to the ricer crowd.
It seemed real apparent to me that he was not what I would call a real car guy although he seemed to be trying, maybe just for the show. Sort of like what's his name on Overhaulin' claims to be a real Mopar guy.
To me you either are or are you are not although some do like cars and really try to become car guys.

My question is do you guys think that being a car guy is just something that's in your makeup?
Once it's in you do you think you can ever fully walk away?
Can you  become a car guy just by trying or is it something that is just either there or not?

I seem to always find very similar things in the makeup of all car people whatever the brand choice that is missing in others who don't share the passion. I guess that's what Barry McGuire calls Car Crazy.
For one thing I can hand them a wrench ask them to remove an intake manifold and they can do it even if they've never worked on that type engine before.

I've quit the car stuff several times but I always drift back and can't really get it out of my system.
I can't remember when I wasn't into cars and can't imagine not being so and the thought of not having some sort of muscle Mopar is beyond my comprehension.


Ideas?

[Charger_Fan]

I'd say that being a car guy is something that you're born into & has grown into another chapter of one's common sense. At least that's how I perceive my own car guy mentality.
Much the same as an artist, those people can look at an object & instantly understand how to lay it down on paper.

I agree that some folks have it & lots don't...they just don't quite grasp the whole picture. Even though they are probably instinctively drawn to the sleek shapes of the cars & the cool sounds they make, they don't have a full comprehension of how it all works.

No, I don't think a true car guy could ever successfully walk away & not have it eat at his soul. I've tried it before, when it was deemed that I had no money to play...and it drove me crazy.

[6pkrunner]

I think its hereditary or in you at birth. You start be being able to distinguish different makes and model cars when friends your same age have no interest in cars at all. Then you know from the sound alone what engine displacement, make and cam a car is running. You clean out your car stuff and its like trying to kick a heroin habit. doesn't go away. you may asscoiate with those that doen't even know what a car is, but a glance at a magazine cover in the grocery store, a car in a parking lot, a sign advertising an upcoming car show, all get your blood pumping.
Its a disease for which there is no cure. Only death will cure it permanently.

[Telvis]

I think a lot has to do with how you grow up. My dad died when I was small so I never had the influence to learn everything. I just had a natural curiosity about how things work. I had no one to teach me so i learned gradually by experimenting and reading books. By the time I had my first car it became a necessity to lear to do repairs. I had no money to pay someone to do it for me. Gradually over the years I have learned more and more. I built my first engine about five years ago. I'm not an expert by any strech. I have tons left to learn. I think I do alright for someone self taught. My 11 year old son is very advanced. He knows more than I did when I was 20. He grasps the concepts very well and is eager to learn. It sometimes amazes me how much he knows. He reads all the Mopar magazines and usually keeps me informed.

[TheGhost]

I can see how turning EVERYTHING over to someone else to do is ricer-ish, but, what about some things?  I'm incapable of doing bodywork myself, because I can't weld to save my life, and don't have a steady enough hand to cut out a straight line.   So, I'll have to farm out the paint and body work part of the restoration, but I still consider myself a car guy, because I don't know what I'd do, if I couldn't drool over cars....

[GTX]

Yea, farming everything out is ricer-ish to me but yes, few of us can do everything and sometimes just for the sake of deadlines you have to turn it over to others.
I'm just learning to weld and scared to death. I can paint but I'm not as good as I used to be so I don't trust myself for a really good one.
I can do body work but hate it now that I'm ancient and would gladly pay others to do it for me if I could afford it. As for engine building, for what i'm doing now ( stroker motors and hopefully high hp output - God, how I look up to Ron and others in here)  I think I'm beyond my safety zone for my abilities for the risk involved if I screw it up so I'll gladly pay others.
I just don't respect people who buy a car, use mommy's Visa and pay a shop to get the work done and then brag it up like most ricers seem to do. All I see them do is hang air fresheners and put stickers on by themselves. They can't even do a basic oil change for pete's sake and have no clue what they really have...or don't.
To me they are not real car guys and probably never will be.

[Mopar440+6]

I agree with all of the above. I say once a car guy, always a car guy. You will NEVER be able to walk away. But I also think that you can become one but there has to be that little part inside of you that will drive you to cars. So, in essence you are or you aren't. Its just a matter of whether or not someone or something brings out that love for cars. I even consider some of the ricers true car guys. Not the ones that make intakes out of PVC and think that stickers add horsepower, but the ones that actually take the time to build their cars right. Now, granted noone can build a car from the ground up. Almost all of us will have to farm something out. But if we really wanted to do it all ourselves we probably could, it wouldn't be perfect but we could do it.

[Silver R/T]

its gotta be in genes. either you got it or you dont

[ChargerBill]

I think it is definitely part of your make-up. Just like some people are mechanical, mathematical, artisitic, analytical...etc. My father was a car guy and I had a natural curiosity. My dad wasn't the best at figuring out how things worked, but he knew that I was and so he encouraged me...especially when he needed some help. he could follow a manual and once he did it he knew how to do it from there on out, but I alwways had the problem solving and natural mechanical aptitude that he didn't...we were a good team under the hood or on our backs rolling around under the car.

I also don't think you can walk away completely. Once it's in your blood and you have a passion for it, it will always be there. i was talking to a guy at the gym a few weeks ago who said he gave up his '68 Camaro and has let his '66 Vette sit in storage for years...he's now into Harley's. At first he was adamant that he was done with cars, but after talking with me about my cars and projects I was helping buddies with, I could see HIS EYES GLOSS OVER and the wheels started to spin. He was getting the old car jones right then and there... All of a sudden he started telling me about he he wanted to do this and that to the Vette, and always wanted a '32 Coupe. I'm sure he went home that night thinking about a project. Nope, once it's in the blood you're doomed...

[Ghoste]

Yep.  I tried to walk away once and it can't be done.  Got mad at the car and what i couldn't sell, I just gave away.  Five years of "I used to have one of those" and whining to my wife everytime I heard somebody getting on it, I had to get back in.  It's a lot more money to re-enter if you didn't bother with a hand stamp.

[hemihead]

I have been a Motorhead as long as I can remember.I was glueing model cars together before Kindergarten.At 6 I knew all the makes and models and my Father and I would visit all the Dealerships and used car lots on the weekends just to look around.My father loved cars (still does)but was never a mechanical person.He was a Truck Driver all his life.I am the mechanical person of the family.I do bleed grease.
  I don't know how many guys I see at shows bragging about their cars, how many were built, quoting magazine stats, etc.but when asked about certain technical aspects they have no idea.Sorry, I lose a lot of respect for those people.I can understand if you can't do everything but at least do something besides wash and wax it.Any yuppie into the " Musclecar Fad" can do that.It disgusts me when a guy with a deep pocket wins a trophy over a guy who really does his own work.I think the most frightening thing of all is when someone who thinks he knows what he is doing starts playing around with Brake and Steering Systems.

[ChargerBill]

Check this out: A couple weeks ago at the weekly car club breakfast a new member (he's about 45 yo) is complaining that his '63 Vette is idling rough at stoplights and sounds like its gonna die. So one of the guys standing in the group gives the appropriate suggestion...check the mixture screws on your carb...just turn them up a hair. The guy asks where the screws are located, so we describe them to him. Next question out of his mouth left us all speechless; HOW DO YOU OPEN THE HOOD? We were all stunned, our jaws dropped and a couple of the guys just rolled our eyes and walked off. I mean, this guy has owned this car for at least a year now and he's never opened the hood?....pathetic IMO.

[hemihead]

Typical. Just wants to be a big man and brag about owning a muslcecar.

[Ghoste]

And then in a few years when it starts to really run like a sack of dirt, Davey Deep Pockets will want to sell it for a huge return because after all, it's an investment.

[71Charger500]

Check this out: A couple weeks ago at the weekly car club breakfast a new member (he's about 45 yo) is complaining that his '63 Vette is idling rough at stoplights and sounds like its gonna die. So one of the guys standing in the group gives the appropriate suggestion...check the mixture screws on your carb...just turn them up a hair. The guy asks where the screws are located, so we describe them to him. Next question out of his mouth left us all speechless; HOW DO YOU OPEN THE HOOD? We were all stunned, our jaws dropped and a couple of the guys just rolled our eyes and walked off. I mean, this guy has owned this car for at least a year now and he's never opened the hood?....pathetic IMO.

Heh.  So im assuming this vette is older that the ones that have the little handle on the inside that says "hood release" in big white letter.  Hah.  Pathetic either way.

[GTX]

It really burns me to see idiots pretend to be car guys to disguise the they are either investors or sissies who never get their hands dirty.
I hate to see these idiots drive up the prices, win the trophies for cars they never turn a wrench on and personally I don't like them trying to be around those who are really into the car thing whatever that is. People who buy a car already resto'ed and then take home all the trophies and claim the credit really burn me. Anyone with a fat wallet can do that!
I'm not talking about well meaning newbies, they are most welcome and all questions are welcome, I'm talking about the posers and that's what I thought the guy on the tv show that prompted this thread was.

I've forgotten more than I should have about the cars by now and have been around these cars for 30+ years. There is WAY much I still don't know but at least I'm not a poser.

[myk]

It's only natural to lose interest in something, only to come back to it with that much more passion for whatever it is...I must say that sportbikes are starting to pique my interest though. After all, a machine that requires little maintenance, costs next to nothing but can generally outrun anything is very tempting.  Although,  I may never get the chance to go back to cars if I become roadkill...

[GTX]

Sport bikes are a blast, I rode for nearly 15 years with no problems but then got hit twice in one month - no fault on either.
That's the reason I am lucky to still be able to walk ( my post in what are you thankful for) let alone still alive but I have real trouble sometimes.

I'll stick to my cars.

[Old Moparz]

I've driven a few people crazy over the years with my love of cars, including family, friends & coworkers. I think it all started with Matchbox cars when I was a kid back in the 60's. Nobody in my family sees a car as anything other than a tool to avoid a long walk. My father hates cars, never had his driver's license & he's never checked oil on anything his entire life. My mother always had a car, knew how to change a flat & check oil, but wouldn't. She once drove for days with a shock absorber disconnected & slamming the floor pan & the pavement & said she thought one tire needed air. I fixed it when I saw it hanging off by the bottom mount.

I have no idea how I ever "inherited" the interest, but I definitely have it. I learned repairs on my first '69 Charger because, A) It always broke..... B) I ran out of money paying a shop to fix it.....&..... C) I wanted things done a certain way, like the right way. I never tore down & rebuilt a motor & have no intentions of starting to, but I've pulled & installed a few. I've done timing chains, intake swaps & similar projects, but that's about it. As I get older & have less time for it with a wife & daughter, I see myself wanting to have someone else do certain things I don't want to do. Body work & paint requires more tools I don't have & is a big PITA so that I'll gladly pay someone for.

I figure building my garage myself from top to bottom as big as my house, driving hundreds of miles to get parts & cars, planning vacations around car shows & swap meets, all seem to help qualify me as a car guy. Of course when you shop for underware in high impact colors only, that might not.