[Flathead Fever]

I take my five-year grandson to taekwondo, and they teach perseverance, winners do not give up, they do not tap out. That's me when working on cars, more like that used to be me. Lately my body doess not have that same spirit. I was watching an MMA fight thinking about hoiw that doesn't look that hard and then I had to practically tap out reaching for the remote with my torn shoulder (third time it's tore) so I could fast forward through the commercials. It hard working on this stuff as I get older and I'm only 61. I have the knowledge but not the body to lean over a fender for hours is gone.

I was mechanic for 30-years. Seventeen ASE certification. Master Mechanic. Master Heavy Truck Mechanic, CA State smog License. We fixed 100% of everything in house. There was no passing it on to someone else to figure out. It was coming back to you util you fixed it right. They kept them for over fifteen years so we saw everything break that could. I had the advantage of having duplicate vehicles to look at and even swap parts from that you don't have at home. Tools you don't have at home. I worked with some pretty smart guys and a few not so smart ones. I learned from both groups what to do and what not to.

Because I was a fleet mechanic and scored well on the Stats exam test I was invited by the State to be on the team of ten-guys that wrote the smog test questions for the new smog mechanics. They wanted dealer mechanics, small repair shop owners, college automotive professors and one lowly fleet mechanic on the team. I was on the bottom of the barrel in that group of guys. When we developed those test questions for the State of CA, we were told to create two ridiculous answers, a distractor answer and the real answer. When I have a tough problem, I always think back to those test questions, wouldn't it be nice if there were only four possible causes to an automotive problem and two of them were stupid choices/ Engine has low compression on one cylinder? Mechanic "A" says, it's because the radio is tuned to political station that differs from their own view. Mechanic "B" says, old cars never did have good compression in all cylinders when they were new. Mechanic "C' says, the valves have high performance valve springs with more pressure. Mechanic "D" says it could have a head gasket leak. Those tests are designed for people just starting out as mechanics. The difficulty level was designed for a beginner mechanic. They won't be good mechanics until they have years of experience. We were told 15-years ago not to create any carburetor test questions, that there were students in automotive classes that had never even been in a car with a carburetor. Some of this old technology although fairly simple will become a lost art.

My dad had old Fords, so I started with a '65 Mustang fastback I turned into a fake Shelby. Eventually I bought a real '66 GT-350. I've had fifteen early Mustangs. I had a '57 T-Bird my mom bought new. I have a bunch of unfinished flathead Ford hot rod projects. When you work as a mechanic all night long. raise two little girls during the day while building a house, the last thing you want to do is work on your own cars at home. Now, that I have all these project cars and time to work on them (somewhere around seventeen vehicles that are not finished) I can finally start working on them. I collected cars and parts for 40-years. I've had two failed back surgeries (fused vertebrates), three shoulder surgeries and I'm in constant pain. So, it is hard to get out there and work on this stuff. That's part of the reason I like sitting here helping people with their problems, it's easier on my body, until I go to stand up. Oh my god does that hurt. The longer I make my rambling answers the longer I can put off trying to stand up. My most important automotive advice, do not become a mechanic!