Inverted snobbery?

Wow, I can not believe this thread hasnt been deleted... I post about a group doing this exact thing, and it gets deleted in 2 seconds.. Anyway, must be because I'm a darky...

Anyway, very cool cars and I agree who cares who builds it, as long as the owners enjoys it..

Anyway Hijack.. Join the group

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=569
..

 

It doesn't matter who built the car and whether it was trailered to an event or not. Enjoy this great hobby.

I heard the same opinion on my first rod, it was fibergalss. I purchased a frame and bolted everything together. That was all I could afford, had limited knowledge and find at the time..... Man, did I take some ribbing, and the person(s) who were dishing out the ribbing, where are they now ? Who cares ! Ha Ha

Too those who state they did everything or fail to pass on credit where it is due, shame on you ! You know who you are..... Sorry, I jumped on the soap box for a minute....

This is a great place to be.....

 

Yeah, I read some of what you posted yesterday, and then saw where somebody with about 25 posts starts carrying on about so-called rodders who can't build their own stuff, and is this what the HAMB has come to!?

I mean, come on, WTF, the guy just got here, for cryin' out loud.

I don't know how to do much except chase parts, but I have always had a real appreciation for traditional rods and customs, long before I learned much of the history and the technical background behind them that I have learned here and elsewhere.

Just because I can't build it all myself, doesn't mean that I can't tell what looks right when I see it.

Later, Kinky6.

 

My son and I built the Chevy in my avatar...had the upholstery done, W/S and rear glass installed and had friends help finish assembling interior and mouldings....couldn't have afforded it if hadn't done it that way...I have NO PROBLEM with folks who don't build their car but do like to see that they KNOW enough about them to unhook a battery before letting it burn down alongside the road because they're waiting for the builder to come fix it for them....(actually happened and wouldn't let us help him !!) There is a difference between being a REAL car guy and a person with money that finds another place to invest it.......That's all I have to say about that !!

 

RoadFarmer said it best. I would love to build a car 100% by myself but I know my limits. I do a small amount of body work but I don't do finish work and paint. I don't do exhaust work but may try on my next one. I can weld but know when to have experience take over, especially on frame and suspensions safety. I love the engineering part and the build but I hate the début and the critics. I'm the first guy to recommend when to back off and hire it done. It doesn’t matter how you get to the ending results as long as you have fun with what you can afford and enjoy the ride.

 

Did I mine the ore to send to the steel mill to create the duece rails or the engine block? Of course not. Even Jimmy Hervatin did not make the aluminum that "HE" used to make the Emerald Tide, but I look up to the people that have the vision, wether it's Ratfink to "see" it or Jimmy to "Create" it. Weesner brought it to paper, Hervatin brought it to life. I do think the HAMB reconizes the visionaries, the biulders, the picture takers that bring the works to us, and the dreamers, like me. We try, we fail, but we are all a part of something cool.

 

The only thing anyone else has done on my truck is to extend the driveshaft and bend the pipes from the muffler out.

I am glad the last 2 clients had the $$$$$ to pay me to build their trucks for them. I do all but paint and body.

I'm starting on a 62 ford unibody tommorrow. Glad he has $$ also.

 

I've both assembled and purchased cars. I don't really care how it's done, I just like going for a ride.

 

I could care less if the guy builds his own car or not,hell this is what keeps alotta shops doors open and we all need their help from time to time...........the only thing I dislike is when someone takes credit for someone elses build,Hell Im the first to admit a friend built my 56 back in the 70s I just tweaked it a bit..........

 

My old man ran a shop that - coincidentally - had everything you'd need to build a hot rod (except upholstry....can't sew for shit anyway). And it sure doesn't hurt that the both of us are able bodied men. Nobody should blame a dude in a wheelchair for not doing his own work. That's lame.

And...Not everybody grew up with a dad like mine who was all about the hot rods. Some kids grow up with dads who work in cubicals (god I hate that I work in a fuckin cubical...but the pay is good). My son would never learn about building a hot rod if I didn't show him that his old man is capable.

 

Understanding this situation is simple enough, from our childhood we all remember the kid who was always spouting off about how his dad can beat up your dad, these kids grew up and now they can do everything better than you can.

Some are now on the HAMB, and most of them still can't back up their words, and even those who can, are acting like dick heads when they put others down.

I despise an "I am better than you attitude" even when it is true. We all need to watch it, it is all too easy to become a "big shot".

 

If you had somebody help you with part of project, you don't have the knowledge, ability, whatever to do, and source it out, recognize your help from your sources.
If your not able to build your car for whatever reasons and have somebody else build it for you, know what you're paying for.
If you bought another version of a used car, try to learn about what you bought and possibly got yourself into.
I damn sure recognize who did the work on my A, and recognize who taught me while I was able to do something new during the build, how the project started, etc.
Recognize your builder, your helpers, your weaknesses and strengths. Just be honest about who did what. If you can do that, you will be repected.

 

I have a shop that does everything from small repairs to show quality cars of all types.
But i started out as a young guy in my parents garage building cars for myself and friends. As i got better more people wanted me to do work for them
that is how most shops start out.
We have the ability to make customers dreams reality, with skills that some people dont have.
In recient years i have done work for older guys that have always built their own cars. but they now farm the chassis and major fab work out to profesionsl shops. Then take them home, tear them down and decide what parts they will do themselves. Things like final body and paint will be sent out and the owner will do the final assembly at home.
These older guys do it this way because time for them is slipping away as they are no longer as young and fit as they were and want their next ride on the road sooner than later so it can be enjoyed

I still have to deal with customers who give no credit for the design and construction or whatever i have done. Because in some groups having someone else do what you could do is frowned on. And some guys want to look cleverer than they are.

How many guys out there can design and build the homes they live in. Make their families cloths. Grow the food they consume and generate the power and other necessities for every day existence.
No one hangs shit on them if they are unable to do that.

So whats wrong with having others do part or all of work on what ever type of car you want to own and use.

 

If it wasn't for the HAMB, I wouldn't be building my 33. Thats a good thing...

sometimes.

 

just newby with my two cents worth. I drive a forklift for a living. So I build my own stuff out of necessity.I'm proud to be able to do and say that,but no prouder than anyone who had a car built by pros. When I'm independently wealthy I would love to have someone build me a car.I would save a ton band-aids alone. However would I care what some one thought of me or my car ,possibly, until I found realized that they don't know shit about me or what I've done in my life KRIPFINK you have the kooooooolest panel ever I don't care if you personally lifted a wrench or you asked captain kangaroo to do it .I would park next to ya and enjoy "shootin' da breeze wit ya" mostly because you probably know more about life than the jerks who worry about who built what.Now if you tell us you trailer that old panel around we might have a problem

 

Dang, fast moving thread.

For me, it's about the appreciation of the craft/car/time.

If the owner is clearly more interested in who's watching him than he is in showing what he's learned, and learning more, through sharing all this with the world, he needs to pack up and go on his way. After that, we're all just sharing our love of the game.

 

The ONLY THING that PISSES me off is the guy who buys or has his car built and then passes it off as he built it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thus taking away the Honesty and creativity of those who did.

 

Hot rodding is a mindset.

Do movie directors do all the acting, play all the parts? No, but they have a vision and create the work of art.

Say that you had a stroke and the brain surgeon who saved your life also happens to like hot rods and has some mechanical ability but cannot build one because he cannot risk his hands, so he has one built to his vision by professionals - does that make him an A hole goldchainer?

What about musicians? Okay yeah, there's Jeff Beck who builds 'em anyway but I am not sure he would qualify as normal....

There are many things I cannot do well, cannot do at all or do not have the confidence to do, and things upon which my life depends, so I have them done by pros. The pros like me because I feed their business, pay my bills on time and keep them and their staff in work.

Very simple really - no paying customers = no pro shops.

 

I think people put down a non-owner built car out of a mixture of jealously, ignorance, and sour grapes.

The Kripple Kart is bad ass, that goes without saying.

As far as taking credit for others work, its flattery of the highest order and they paid for the priviledge. I have an opinion about that behavior, but I think it's petty to get bent out of shape over it.

If my boss decides to take credit for my work, well, all he owes me is a paycheck. If I don't like it I can go work someplace else. The boss makes the rules, and life isn't fair.

 

It's been said already but I will say it again anyway...

It doesn't matter if you paid for it or you built it. The only problem I have is if you pay for it and then take the credit for building it.

I'm farming out a lot of stuff just because I flat don't have the time to do it all anymore. I want to get out and have some fun and not lay on my back covered in 90wt all the time...

 

Got no problems with check built rods, its what I do. I do have issues with check built rodders claiming the work as there own. It happens all the time but that doesnt make it fair.

I willing help those who have a clue get a little more skilled and learned at the craft. No need for everyone to have to farm stuff out when a little coaching and practice can get them up to speed on whatever it is they are working on.

Anyone that knocks a guy that pays for his vision to be realized has issues and should be ignored.

 

A lot of people don't have the facilities/skill/time etc. to build their own rods. I don't have a problem with that. I do have a problem with people who look down their noses at those who have a car built. The "hot rodier than thou" attitude pisses me right off.

 

Ive owned nothing but pre 60s cars and my 57 is the first car ive ever tried working on and i did as much as i can do by trial and error and help, but there are things i know i cant do and would never attempt to do.. thats when i had someone else do it for me and its totally worth it because i know its being done right...I'm not a car builder but i love them just as much as one and thats what matters....Its like saying someone who cant play an intrument cant appreciate and love music the same way a musician can

 

While your last point is all that's needed, I "wanna" look at your other points.

Cooler? Not from any perspective IMO. There's a saying that if you do what you love you never work, and I call BULLSHIT on that. I got the scars and burns to prove it at any given time. The point being that for a pro builder it's his job as well as his passion if he's all in. I already commented in another post how I've provided for some pretty big folks in our area. Who's cooler? The guy with 70+ cars that I'd like to have any one of, or the grey-haired fucker busting his ass to get 1 or 2 for himself? I don't think I rank any higher than the next guy that builds or buys unless it's in a competitive venue, then it's my job to be better, or "cooler". The stories from a builder are sometimes boring to buyers. Theirs is the most important to them and often don't care much about you solved Stan's problem vs Tony's problem, etc.

Lately there's a shit ton of false bravado and chest pounding on here. Are we bored? Second guessing our choices? I think a guy that can make his mark with a 'net site that dedicates itself to our passion is cooler. I think a guy that can buy a chunk of land for 6 figures and turn it into a couple dozen 7 figure sites is cooler. I think the guy that flys a fighter is cooler. But that's just me. I'm critical of how cars are built and even more critical of my own work. Can't help it. I'm doing an O/T hotrod right now. The guys retired and knows as much about cars in general as you could imagine. Makes him a better customer. He's "cool" in my book. Now I also have an asshole customer that wants to change the deal 1/2 way through. He's not "cool" no matter what his car is. Von Rigg Fink is just as cool as the next guy cuz he not only rolls his own, he gets involved with others and let's his pals play too. So does Danimal. Niether are pro builders by their own speak but both are having more fun than I am right now cuz I got a lot of work to do and little time to enjoy it. Still, without buyers I'd be out of a job right now. Without home builders I would also be out of a job. None of us can do it all. I can't sew or pinstripe, I've only machined 1/2 of a V-8 in my whole carreer. Pinstripers, trimmers and machinists are "cooler" to me and get my respect.

You said it best in one word. Passion. I'm just happy you didn't say it in a Barry Meguire impression

 

I can be a bit of a Snob in my mind,althought I don't show it.I've done several old GM trucks,not all out hot rods but modified stockers.I build them from a pile of parts on the garage floor,make as much as possible with crude tools like saws grinders,torches and a MIG welder.I assemble the engines,machine work farmed out,I rebuild tranny and rear axles myself.Make up wiring harness from scratch ,do my own suspect body work and paint. The end result isn't perfect for sure but I like it.I'm a constrution tradesman and enjoy building things.The build is more fun for me than anything,except sex
Ok,so I see another guys vehicle,nicely finished,I might be jealous ,just a touch.And if he says he didn't do the work,then in my little mind I feel better.
However,I do know a very few guys who will try to hide the fact they bought the vehicle just as you see it or had the work done.
Not everyone can build a vehicle,especially younger guys where the family is job one and money is tight.Some have physical limitations as mentioned by the OP. Or some of us have mental limitations? Naw

 

I don't know about the rest of y'all but when at a show or meet or whatever, how many times are you/we asked "didja build it yourself?" I think I can honestly reply that I've been asked it less than half a dozen times. If someone asks, I tell 'em; if they don't, I don't. Seems it's a moot point to those who truly like the hobby. Only ones who it might be a concern to is the real 'snobs'. I'm not a builder but it doesn't mean I like the hobby any more or less than a builder - who of course gets tons of kudos for doing so. My career path took a different direction decades ago when in my case, Uncle Sam told me he needed a supply guy and not a mechanc; so after I ETS'd, instead of turning wrenches on cars I sold parts to people that did.

If it wasn't for the builders I wouldn't have had a job. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have had work. Team effort=overall satisfaction. And a great hobby to be in, and loving it for what it is.

 

You know, this one sort of hits home with me. I have pretty much always built my own stuff other than the machine work on engines and front end alignments. One of the last "nice" cars I had was built by someone else other than a few things I did to change to overall look. The feeling I got when someone commented on the car wasn't the same as what I experienced on the ones I built because I knew I had little to do with the look of the car, but I have started to get over that. The older I get and the less time I have, I have started to just enjoy my old cars more based off of what they are and that I get to drive them (and work on them) other than worrying that I didn't do everything on them.

This is kind of the same as when I get a compliment on one of my kids like "That is a good looking boy you have there". My kids are adopted so it isn't like I had anything to do with how they look, but I can still take the compliment...

I agree with others here in that the only thing that bothers me sometimes is when someone tries to play off that they built a car that you know they didn't.

I have been able to enjoy and fund this hobby for a long time because others needed their cars painted or other misc. work and I could do that when they couldn't. I don't see that the guys that I painted cars for were any less of a hot rodder than I was. They just needed help on some stuff just like most of us here.

 

I help a lot of guys with everything from soldering a radiator to tutoring them through a motor overhaul, NEVER ask for pay for my assistance. I promote D.I.Y. If that's Inverted Snobbery, I'm waving my battle flag. On the H.A.M.B. there are many that put down D.I.Y. work as inferior, cheap, even unsafe. Snobbery? No, it's worse than that, I think they are promoting the idea, using the negative attacks for self interests, a way to drum up business.

 

beyond simple things like plumbing/rebuilding brakes and installing a wiring harness.
i dont know how to do ANY of this stuff.
60 hour workweeks dont help the situation much.
i dont have a shop
the time
the skill or the tools.
that said i am gonna drive the bejeezis outa that 27 when it's done.
and i sure as hell aint gonna say i built it!
if it werent for mechanic/artists
some of us would never in our lives get to drive our dream.

 

Wow, I didn't expect this thread to stay at the top for so long. The truth of the matter is I didn't really start it because I was thinking of leaving but because I was worried about the deletion of the non-builders/customers social group thread. I only got as far as three quarters of the way down the page 1 when I got called away and when I came back it was gone. It seems to me that would only have happened if it turned into a drama thread or been deemed unsuitable, and this worried me.
I love this place and since I've been on here apart from a couple of exceptions, I have been treated with nothing but civility and respect. I consider it to be the Oracle of information on my favourite American icon, the Kustom Kar. The fact that I can ask questions, opinions and generally integrate with a community online with such huge experience and knowledge on the subject, whether it be because they were there back in the day or because they have the skill to carry on this wonderful tradition is a truly wondrous thing.
Thing is I and plenty of other people out there love this " hobby" with a passion, but for whatever reason have to go to others to realise their dreams. I get the feeling that there are people on here who regard people with money as nothing more than "gold chainers" with nothing to contribute. I may be right, but this thread has shown me and other people without skills to do their own work that at least a good percentage of members on here do not regard money as a dirty word and have no problem with people who come to the site armed only with enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and cold hard cash. I'd like to thank you all for responding in such a positive way to the subject which is always come across as, shall we say "controversial" in the past. I find it particularly encouraging that the great majority of posts seem to be from experienced members who have their shit together and not a bunch of newbie keyboard warriors with bad attitudes. I salute you all!
Shit, I love this place
Paul