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Working on cars alone VS having a buddy over...

I work alone and I am more like the guys you mentioned. I go to shows but tend to engage in conversations with non car people who are reflecting on owning one of the types of cars I have. I enjoy the artistic part of restoring the cars most I think. Researching what what was correct and restoring it to make it correct or an artistic license to correct. For me it is not mainly about the car it’s about the history and restoration process.
 
I do my “work” alone. I’m learning as I go. If it wasn’t for the guys on this website, I’d be screwed. My son nor my friends are into cars. My buddy who I’d been working on the car with has had some health issues. Still love working on it. Wife hates the fact that I can still go to the garage for 12 hours, lmao. It is what it is.
 
Almost always alone. But there are those jobs that require two sets of hands...so I either enlist the aid of Mrs. ACME or my next door neighbor (Chebbie Guy - and an EXCELLENT welder) depending upon the job.
 
I try to get my kid interested and come out to the garage to help, but that hasn't panned out yet.
My wife will occasionally come out and have a beer with me, but otherwise I'm out there by myself getting stuff done.
It's almost preferred as I think thru problems and how to resolve them.
While I'd love to have some buddies stop in and shoot the bull, most are busy doing their own thing or not into cars as much these days.
Ryan
 
Sometimes a helper can be useful
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I am a lone wolf, friends dont exist for me.
I figure out how to do everything myself.
I am very anti-social and can be very awkward around others.
The wife is very social and drags people over to socialize and I am quickly ready to go back to the shop or vegetate in front of the tv.
The wife loves my dart and is claiming the model A as hers when complete.
None of the 5 kids seem to have much interest in the repair processes, but enjoy the adventures in the Dart and the 2-3 car shows i do attend.

I live on the family farm beside my parents and get alot of discouragement when it comes to repairing older vehicles that they threw away as used vehicles. Some of the salesmen that show up love to see the cars and my father loves to brag about the completed vehicles.
 
I work alone mostly, people that tend to stop in seem to be overwhelmed by jealousy, instead of learning from me or just appreciating the time I put into my builds. I do find its mostly the case at car shows, out of every 100 people Id say there's only a few that actually appreciate and can recognize the detail and man hours that go into a build. Seems like its not like the old days where someone can stop in without drinking being the priority, I quit 7 or 8 years ago and haven't looked back. I pride myself in my work, I am my greatest critic , but I would love to mentor some younger generation kids , but the attention span in this internet need it want it now world has ruined that.

Main problem I run into is the prices of parts, people hording things just to make a buck, no wonder the younger guys get turned off of the hobby, chances of them being able to own and repair thier own mopar are slim to none,

Heres my latest show car build, 2.5 years on and off as i work full time as a biomedical technologist. Have 2 full on show car builds under my belt, now I can use what I've learned to make my 2 70 chargers stand out. Only way I can afford to have the cars I want is to do every single thing myself , steel, body paint, upholstry engine , electronics, Helps to have a career that allows me the time to research and find what I need for parts at a reasonable price.

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I felt like such a redneck when I did a body swap on a toyota tacoma by myself. I had some of the jankiest setups to get the body off the frame. I don't have a lift. Yes those are 8x8 posts sitting on lawn chairs holding the cab off the ground. lol The end result was pretty cool though. The black cab was destroyed inside. The white frame was badly bent. Actually shoved back 2 inches on the driver side. So I bought the black truck and pulled the body off the frame and put the white body on it. Had to repair the core support on the white cab. Also the white engine into the black trucks frame. That was the easiest part.

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most of them are nowhere near as car crazy as I am
Some are more and their entire lifestyle revolves only around cars.
I admit I was once that way.Now in my golden years my car craziness as slowed quite a bit.
It will never go away,just not as important anymore.
 
I usually work by myself which I highly enjoy.
Just myself some tunes and stuff to play with.
Because I'm usually only doing an hour or two here and there it would be tough to coordinate schedules and I'm able to do most anything alone.
Occassionally I'll need or want help for instance my son helped me install the transmission in the Charger this past summer.
He's very talented but it's hard to pin him down for help but when he does help it goes quickly and I pretty much just hand him tools and tell him to slow down a bit.
@Skytrooper helped me drop in the engine this summer it was kind of a spur of the moment thing because I was planning to pick up the rear axle that day and it wasn't done yet.

I do find working with another guy or small group to be very enjoyable it's fun to have other stuff to talk and joke about while you "play".
These are the most memorable times for me especially when you get to do something fun like put an engine in and get a project near the running stage.
 
If it is up to me (And it is cloudy or cold) it is easy to just stay inside.
I hear that. Many times I got to the shop,open the door,turn on the lights,look around and say"Not Today"
Off go the lights and close the door.
 
I'm another loner and don't really like having 'help' unless it's really needed as in having to move something around that can't be done alone. To add to that, I worked the off shift the majority of my working life so whenever I was enjoying my off days, everyone else was at work and not available so ended up devising ways to get things done by myself. One time a buddy just happened to drop by when I was in the middle of pulling an engine/trans and we ended up running into each other....a lot lol. And I also do the best work when alone because there's no distractions like beer drinking etc. There has been a few times when someone was around to help and well, he did the things that I don't like doing anymore while I watched! :D
 
I'd love to run into a mopar guy again and work on cars so I can learn. I'm a great extra pair of hands and always try to anticipate what is needed next. Everything I know is from learning from other people or reading here. I find working with like minded car people very enjoyable and wish I knew some. Working on my cars by myself I find very boring and tends to be the last thing I wanna do. The last mopar guy I worked with started drinking heavily and I'd find empty bottles hidden in my garage!
 
If I am doing bodywork, then I prefer to be alone. I don't like working over someone else's work. Their "Good enough" is usually not good enough for me. When it comes to wrenching, then I normally don't care one way or another. Sometimes it is nice to talk with someone while doing mundane stuff. That has bitten me before since a lot of friends don't know when they exceed their talent level. On the other hand, I have a couple of friends that I would let work on any engine any time. Those fellers know their ****!!
 
I believe it was stated earlier about figuring out how to do things when by yourself.
Sure is a good feeling when you do.
 
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