Stig brings up an interesting issue, that also pertains to "why" some of us, masochistically, almost, slave away at finding and installing parts for our Forwardlooking cars (compared to the easy process of going through a catalog, and ordering-up whatever brand new NORS pieces we might desire--or, in the case of ONE company, ordering-up a brand-new "turn-key" cloned 1957 Chebbie convertible )! Stig is concerned that "higher-educated" car people may have a low opinion of mechanically adept car people. If my interpretation of his, and Roy's, opinions is correct, NOTHING could be further from the truth. Most of us know how expensive it is, to pay someone else our hard-earned money, to restore &/or maintain our cars. A "mechanic" can afford to service his car(s) at a fraction of the cost , that those of us with varying levels of mechanical aptitude, must pay. What's Stig's/Roy's point? That 'mechanics' feel that they are not being appreciated, or, are being "dis-respected", despite their hard work, by "higher-educated" people, (who "do not" work on their cars, but, merely pay to have someone else work on their cars.) The "First" irony of their complaints, is that the 'instigator" of this thread ( "Needs Restored"), is Ron Waters, who is BOTH well-educated, and is PERSONALLY restoring his car(s) . The "Second" irony of their complaints, is that most of us, here, I believe, DO persoanlly get our hands 'dirty' , in working on our cars, to varying extents (I can not weld, & do not own pneumatic equipment, but I can turn a wrench). I am sure that 'all' of us are VERY envious of a guy who can install suspension bushings, and overhaul mechanical components. If we were not "crazy" about our finned cars, we could spend our time & money much more productively, regardless of the amount of BOTH that we choose to expend. IMHO, the only "snobbery", in the FWDLK community, concerns wether, or to-what-extent, a car is "restored to factory-condition" (and I am guilty of that, in regards to OEM color & upholstery, but, not to OEM-type mechanical-upgrades) "Fearless Leader" Dave Stragand has done a great job in ensuring that our discussions stay "on-FWDLK" subject, on- which Ron's thread was arguably 'off' , but, still, it was of some interest to us, as evidenced by all the responses! BTW, in case it is NOT abundantly clear, amateur (and even NON-electronic-type professional ) mechanics are a dying breed! For example, carburetor overhauls "almost- have" to be sent-out to an 'expert' company, as qualified technicians are not common, any longer. So, it IS a good thing to remind us that mechanics need to be appreciated, as they/you can do things that "we" can only WISH that we could do! But, "Needs Restored" is STILL bad-English! Neil Vedder ************************************************************* To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1 |