Car guy? Really?
 

I have a new next-door neighbor. He's about in his late 30s. When he saw my various cars in the driveway and at the curb, he said he was a guy buff too. He told me all about his suped up '92 Camry, which was in the shop getting another performance upgrade.

A couple days ago I had to move my just re-built 912 engine from the back of the Tristar to the garage, so I asked him to help me carry it. It was just the block with no tin, no carbs, etc. It just had the distributor on it. While checking out the engine he points at something and says, "Is that the carb?" I wondered what he was pointing at since the carbs were on the bench. I finally realized he was pointing at the distributor! I politely said no and showed him one of the carbs.

What has the world come to?

HAHAHA! In the shop getting his 'cold air intake' installed.

rjp

More likely a new fart can.

I recently met someone similar. Said, "I'm a car guy."
I found out within a few short minutes that that meant, for him, that he likes cars.
That's it. He just likes cars.
So be it. :D

yeah, bless his heart. Clueless and doesn't even know it. Years ago when I had my old '88 Targa, a guy that I worked with said "I've got a sports car too". He had a Saturn SL2 and it was red. I tried to act supportive, but let the conversation die out.

:)
"Performance upgrade."

About all you can do. Just be wise and kind.

Hey, he can pick up half an engine. That's a useful ally.

at least he sounds eager to learn. --teach!

At least he was showing some interest...credit for that.
I wonder what they say about Porsche owners on the Toyota and Honda sites?

It’s a different world today. I agree w the others; if a young person even has any interest in cars, that’s more than most of their contemporaries. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience if they are receptive.

When I was a kid, there was no internet but lots of great cars on the road to look at. I read car magazines and just soaked up info. My dad was a guy who liked cars and actually had pretty good taste, (early 240-Z, e-type roadster, both w 4-speeds), but he did not have much mechanical knowledge or curiosity. There are lots of people like that and they buy the cars. :)

Many young guys, even those who wrench on, and upgrade their own cars, have exactly zero experience with carburetors or distributors. I'd wager most guys here (by a wide margin, I suspect) would have no idea how to drive a Model T, something guys like my dad would've similarly poked fun at them for.

_

I live in LA. There are a lot of "car guys" around here, which means they just really like expensive & flashy cars; they're checkbook car guys. (Or if they're poorer, they rice out lower end cars, like the Honda Civic I came across yesterday with a big Nismo sticker on the rear bumper :D.) Their actual knowledge of how cars work (kind of what constitutes car guy status IMO) may not be the same as what's found on a DIY site like Pelican.

Just dont race the 170hp Camry, it might outrun most the cars in your signature. ;)

Different world today. Is Shop still offered in public schools?
~~~~~~
I was always interested...not just in cars, but in engines.
I was about 10 yrs. old ('55)...neighbor across the street was building a lakester with a flathead engine in his garage.
My neighborhood friends were afraid of him because he was always gruff...but for some reason he tolerated me dropping by at night and just walking in.
I was there when he relieved the eng. block, polished and ported, etc.
When he set the non-progressive linkage for the 3 Strombergs...I even handed him tools...:)
~~~~~~~~
Fast Forward to about 13 years old.
I used to cut through back yards and alleys on my way to and from school. One day I saw some greasy overhead valved engine in an alley next to garbage cans.
I borrowed a neighbor's red wagon one night, looped wire around the engine front and rear, ran a steel pole through both loops, one end of pole rested on the wagon and I held the other end.
Managed to roll it several blocks and into our dirt floor garage surreptitiously, and over the next few months I dismantled it (screwdrivers, crescent wrenches, and a claw hammer - my mother had no other tools) down to the crank bearings.
I was driven to know that world.

OK, in all fairness, I believe that back in 1992, Toyota sold a Camry SE. Maybe it was a Camry, and it only had 168 or so HP. But it was the sporty Camry, tuned to go up against the higher HP (190?) Maxima (remember their "4 door sports car" ad tagline back then?). Kind of an automotive Q-ship for those who couldn't afford an M5. I'd give him some props if he's got a Camry SE. :p

Hell, most family cars these days will stomp anything that I drive off the line.
Maybe even most of my 6 motorcycles. While I'm shifting, their 6 speed autos are pulling away.
Times have changed, gents.

Absolutely: Cars and trucks today are magic carpets compared to the 70's/80's/90's and you really don't have to do a thing other than follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule.

Performance is another factor. A Ford Focus sedan eats every sports car I have ever owned alive, with the a/c on.

I can remember vapor lock, packing wheel bearings, timing lights, getting out and locking hubs, changing oil and pouring it down a storm drain....on and on. Remember the water station on the Grapevine?

Times have indeed changed, and for the better.

My son and daughter know how to do mechanical things because they grew up on a farm and we worked on all the farm equipment together. Jack worked two summers in HS at a friend of mines auto repair shop but that is about it other than the routine stuff we did to our cars.

I've met a lot of Porsche guys who couldn't tell the difference between a distributor and carburetor. You can still be a car guy without wrenching, some people just don't have that knack.

College kid helped me work on my cars last weekend. My newest sports car is older than he is.

I think it will be my civic duty to ask him to help me put the engine and tranny back in the car.

A wise man. He likes driving them, not fixing them.

It's true- everyone has to start somewhere and better willing to learn than someone who just buys a car to post pics of on instagram or FB. I learned about cars out of necessity of being broke and wanting to drive as a kid.

There is a strain of car guys out there that just want to own the latest internet buzz- big (but unusable in real life HP #'s) - just to bench race.

The older you get, the less you care about HP #'s and more into the whole balance of the car- does it drive nice, can you work on it, is it capable enough for what you want to do? Is it actually fun to drive? Those are the qualities that really matter, not absolute HP.

rjp

Mmmm. Without googling it, how many "car guys" can tell me what this is.

It may be THE most common car part in history to date.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1529868969.jpg

Ejector seat button?

A coil?

Jeez, say 'gear box' not 'tranny'. He is young and will think you are talking about something else or may get offended.

Model T 4 of them

I'm not a great wrench. But IMO a self-proclaimed car guy should at least know how car stuff works, even if they don't know how to fix it physically when it doesn't.

They're all about rims. Not wheels :rolleyes:

Chris Rock talkin' about rims. (Contains profanity...it's Chris Rock after all)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zZYryyA28go" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Reading this makes me happy.

I somewhat lament when I see an older gentlemen give up a car because they are too old to keep working on it, surely isn't there some younger person they know that they could work with? I would have loved as a teenager or early twenties to get to work on a car with direction from someone that worked on their own car for decades and knows everything about it.

So thanks for giving him he opportunity to work with you!

I go Scottsdale for Barrett every other year. The guys I go with have know idea what they are looking at, just what looks good to them by appearance.

Coil. Fords needed 4 I believe.

Back on topic, yes. A lot of douche-nozzles think they are car guys.

It's how places like JC Whitney stay in business. I have a funny story about those goofy wings you used to see on ricer cars but it's too long to type. I think all you get it anyway. Summary, they look cool but do nothing positive for the car.

When I read some of these posts I completely understand why Paul sold his 911S and bought a Mustang.

[QUOTE=manbridge 74;10084484]I go Scottsdale for Barrett every other year. The guys I go with have know idea what they are looking at, just what looks good to them by appearance.[/QUOTE

"know idea"? Really?

Sort of like the rear spoiler on my 78SC :)

Duuuuude . . . now yer talkin'! :):)

This should have been green, right? Assuming you ever get over 60mph, then the stock tail on a 911 is working for you, as is the front lip. It may not be an improvement if you've only got one vs both.

^^^ Have both...just saying that the positive effects are prob no greater than the spoiler on a ricer...esp with a rear-drive ricer!