Am i really a car guy?

Was thinking (always thinking) about car stuff, my past cars, current vehicles, and future projects and ramblings, and i discovered that i may be a fraud/ not hard core/ disillusioned car guy.

For example:

• In all the cars i have owned, and its been a lot, i have never bought, installed or had in any way custom wheels on any one them. All stock. (This is usually the first thing people change) This is sad

• I actually have fuel economy heavily weigh in on a potential purchase. This one gets me because if cars are truly my passion why do i give a hoot what MPG they get? Daily driver practicality gets front seat maybe?

• I have never rebuilt an engine/ cyl head/ trans/ diff. "nuff said ( well a few bench ones but never for a running car)

• i rarely even get out and race anymore Used to AutoX all summer since age 17-almost 20. Car sold, DD only and no races all of a sudden.

• never owned or really messed with a forced induction car. at all. nothing.

• never seen a live race. (never done a $20XX Challenge)

maybe im only half a car guy? too busy with other life things?

Hmmmm dunno. Maybe in time things will work out.

Maybe i am only half the car guy i thought i was

Remember the conversation we had about Yugos?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're a car guy.

Just because you haven't done certain things doesn't mean you're any less of a car guy than ones that have done all the stuff you've listed. Some of that stuff I haven't done either, but that doesn't make me any less of a car guy.

Your 90 miles to Mid-Ohio racetrack. You should have hit a vintage race this summer. You must go next summer!

Stock wheels are fine. I've had both. No big deal.

Do you think about cars all the time? (minus food, sleep, and sex thoughts) then you are a car guy.

I'd say you are.

Same for this guy: this guy: these folks: and even:

Some stuff isn't my scene, but hey, cars - they're pretty cool, right?

Mike wrote:

Whoa. There's a convention for these guys? Wow!

Think of it this way: can you be a wing nut without being a pilot? Of course you can.

I'm the same way. I drive a Saturn (too), don't have a toy car, don't have a garage, the last time I autocrossed was three years ago, and I haven't even thought about modifying one of the household cars in years. But this doesn't not make me a car person. You're on a forum that's related to a magazine that regularly has articles on $500 race cars in it. I'd say you're a car guy.

Yes, you are a car guy.

you've never felt the urge to spend $10 and watch a race at the local 3/8 or 1/2 mile dirt oval?

you've never had 5 cars at one time- none of them less than 20 years old, and 3 of them not running for various reasons that had nothing to do with anything being wrong with them before you started working on them?

yeah, i don't know about calling yourself a "car guy"..

Ahh, baloney. Being a car guy doesn't have to be according to your constraints or any one else's. He's a car guy.

Hasbro wrote: Ahh, baloney. Being a car guy doesn't have to be according to your constraints or any one else's. He's a car guy.

"automobile enthusiast"

ask a silly question, get a silly answer.

CarKid1989 wrote: Was thinking (always thinking) about car stuff, my past cars, current vehicles, and future projects and ramblings, and i discovered that i may be a fraud/ not hard core/ disillusioned car guy.

I haven't done most of the stuff you listed, either. No Turbos, no engine rebuilds, no rims (I'm too cheap for that).....I think it is possible to be into cars without being a TYPICAL car guy.

We had a thread recently about being a "gearhead,". I posted there, but later deleted much of the post. Some of what I started to say there fits in much better in this thread.

I'm not sure I am a gearhead. I'm more of a design/build person. That's exactly how I feel. I'm certainly not a traditional car guy....I'm just a DIY guy who took on the biggest project I thought I could handle; fabricating an entire car from scratch. I like trying to make stuff. I've already told several people that when this is done the next project is probably an acoustic guitar. Last night, I told someone last night that fabricating body panels makes sense to me. Engines still scare me....I don't know how to do most of the things that are traditional "car guy" stuff. I'll learn it when I get there, but right now, that stuff bothers me. I think of the chassis and body panels as being like an art project....panel bashing as a form of sculpture. The datsun replica was/is a creative outlet, not engineering....It was learning to form something with my hands, not an exercise in seeking maximum performance. HOWEVER In the process of working on the datsun replica, I have learned a lot about cars over the past few years; enough that non-gearheads don't usually detect that I'm not one. (A real mechanic will know the difference. A shade tree mechanic or tuner kid will know the difference.) I still have people come to me for advice, though, because I have a reputation as a someone who knows something about automobiles. On a different note, remember that jeep ad from a few years back? That tagline, "What we make, makes us," really resonates with me. It even hangs in my garage. Trying to fabricate an entire car has changed me as a person.....I took on something that nobody thought I could do, and now, nobody I know doubts that I can do it. I learned quite a bit about being creative, resilient and refusing to give up. I'm still in awe of most of the GRMers who fabricate for the challenge - the skill level is astonishingly, intimidatingly high - but I'm certainly able to take pride in the little bit that I've done.

I'll stop rambling. My short version is that it is possible to be a "car guy" (i.e. someone who is into cars) without being "gearhead" (i.e. someone who is into modifying/swapping the mechanical bits.) I'm much more into the appearance and styling of cars from the 1920s-1950s....I just love the way they look.

If you endlessly browse Craigslist and eBay for cars, you're a car guy. You don't even have to ever buy any.

You need not be a wrench turner to be a car guy. Some people simply shouldn't hold tools; I've met a few. Love cars, totally incapable of working on them.

I've owned over 50 cars, and not one has been boosted.

Be glad you don't have the wheel fetish. It's an expensive and frequently frustrating thing to have to personalize each and every car I get with unique rimz to make it different, y0.

"Car Guy" is a state of mind, not a resume'.

Custom wheels hardly ever make a car go faster. Now tires on the other hand, those matter. I'll spend money on good tires far faster than I'll spend money on shiny wheels.

Fuel economy matters when I have to regularly feed the beast. The daily driver had better sip sparingly!

Rebuilding engines and such isn't all it's cracked up to be. Driving is a lot more fun. Even with clouds of smoke and a stumbling idle.

Spending all day standing around a parking lot so I can drive for 3 minutes isn't the best way to spend my Saturday, generally. I'd rather go driving around the country roads and such. Besides, seeing the times posted to publicly remind me that I'm not nearly as good a driver as I like to pretend I am isn't always fun.

foxtrapper wrote: Spending all day standing around a parking lot so I can drive for 3 minutes isn't the best way to spend my Saturday, generally. I'd rather go driving around the country roads and such. Besides, seeing the times posted to publicly remind me that I'm not nearly as good a driver as I like to pretend I am isn't always fun.

+1000

I haven't autocrossed in a long time, but every Saturday and Sunday I start the day with a drive in the countryside, usually heading towards what passes for a curvy road here in FL. That's more fun than standing in a parking lot. (...and yes, my autocross times usually depress me.)

Barry Maguire would call you "Car Crazy", 'nuff said.

CarKid1989 wrote: Was thinking (always thinking) about car stuff

Ok CarKid. I think I'm a car guy, so compare where you are to me. I got my first car at age 24, after I graduated from college. It was a Datsun 510 on steel wheels. TSD rallied it for a few years. Moved to a city and lived in an apartment with no place to work on cars so I just drove my stock GLC. Bought my first home (age 31) and spent all my money and time on it. Got married at age 33. Bought a 1972 Mini to autocross and suddenly had to learn all kinds of stuff that I had never done before. Blew the engine twice, changed clutches more than once, etc. etc. Autocrossed and won several provincial class championships and one national. At age 44 I took a racing school and built my first race car and went racing for 10 years. I think you're already way ahead of my timeline in terms of your mechanical skills and vehicles owned. There's lots more to do so get on with it !

novaderrik wrote: you've never had 5 cars at one time- none of them less than 20 years old, and 3 of them not running for various reasons that had nothing to do with anything being wrong with them before you started working on them?

Thanks, ND, this makes me feel better about myself. There's hope for me yet.

• In all the cars i have owned, and its been a lot, i have never bought, installed or had in any way custom wheels on any one them. All stock. (This is usually the first thing people change) This is sad
  I've had custom wheels on 4/6 cars I've had, but 1 was a factory option, and we bought it that way, 1 we just spray painted the wheels a different color, and 1 came that way from the PO. Only 1 did we put them on, and that was because of it having steel wheels. You aren't doing bad here

• I actually have fuel economy heavily weigh in on a potential purchase. This one gets me because if cars are truly my passion why do i give a hoot what MPG they get? Daily driver practicality gets front seat maybe?
  MPG and performance [should] go hand in hand! Especially, if you're like me, and you can't have more than one car.

• I have never rebuilt an engine/ cyl head/ trans/ diff. "nuff said ( well a few bench ones but never for a running car)
  I bet that half the guys on this board have never done this. Myself included.

• i rarely even get out and race anymore Used to AutoX all summer since age 17-almost 20. Car sold, DD only and no races all of a sudden.
  Since I was 16, I've had years with 1, 1, 0, 4, 17, 4, and now this year I just made it to my 2nd of the season. There are still 4 events left here for the year! I actually made it out this past Saturday and trophied--fire reignited.

• never owned or really messed with a forced induction car. at all. nothing.
  I had a SAAB 9-5 Linear, totally stock... Does that count?

• never seen a live race. (never done a $20XX Challenge)
  I've seen the Indy 500 3 times, but never anything with more than 4 corners. And I'd like that stuff more. Oh well, I'll get over it and get to a turny race some day

maybe im only half a car guy? too busy with other life things?
probably the latter.

I have done exactly one autocross in my life so far (I am about to start doing them a lot more often though). I look at fuel economy for DD. It saves money for toys! I haven't rebuilt and engine yet either. Never owned a forced induction car. Oh and my Civic has BMW bottlecaps if those count as custom wheels (the car had 17" wheels on it when I got it and I sold those).

If you're on the GRM Forums and you think you just might be a car guy. Guess what. You're a car guy.

I used to worry about this. Back when we had our first kid, time for project cars got tight. Then we had our second, time got tighter, and money started to get tight (the project RX left somewhere in there). Our third came along a year or so ago and now I don't even have time to worry about whether I'm a car guy or not during any hours I'm not trying to earn a living. :p

It's all good. Comes and goes like anything else- and I'm sure I'll get back to it again when the kids get a little bigger. For now, they are learning how to DIY stuff around the house same as I did when I was a kid. If GRM ever branches out into Grassroots Home Remodeling, I'm there. First issue of GHR: concrete patio construction with Margie...

Datsun310Guy wrote:

Mike wrote:

Whoa. There's a convention for these guys? Wow!

No, that's a support group.

Oh, and IIRC, I did some head work on a Yugo cylinder head or two for you. If that ain't a car guy, I don't know what is.