Live and let live.

[Old Henry]

Just do what's fun for you and let everyone else do the same, or, how to "Don't Worry, Be Happy" in this funnest of hobbies.
(Some "musings" of a Phlathead Philosopher, [or is that Flathead Filosofer?]).

I love this forum. It is my number one "social media", way above Facebook or any others. I enjoy most everything I read and enjoy the interaction between everyone, most of the time. But, over the 4 years that I've been on the forum I've been uncomfortable at times with some of the contention and "squabbles" and, unfortunately, have participated in some. And, although it is stimulating at times, it is usually at the expense of someone's self esteem. So, I've pondered what the cause of such is and possible approaches to reduce if not eliminate it.

The contention seems to arise when one with a passion for one thing finds it ridiculous that another would not have the same passion and criticizes such lack of passion. I've found that most fit into certain categories of flathead hobbyists, at least on this forum. There is probably a wider variety on other flathead forums and some with less variety. But on this forum I see these:

The Mechanical Perfectionists. These are the guys who, for the most part, cut their teeth on flathead blocks and have been "tinkering" with them most of their lives. Most of what they know they have learned from experience - the "School of Hard Knocks". Their passion is mechanical perfection if not innovation and they are happiest when they are in their private sanctuary (the garage) tinkering with the machines. For many, actually driving their cars on the road, particularly long road trips, are not their passion and not what they call "fun".

The Drivers. These are the guys whose passion is sitting behind the wheel with the car going down the road. Doesn't matter when or where, the more time and places the better. Their passion is not mechanical perfection nor spending long hours in the garage trying to reach such. For many the maintenance and repairs are a painful but necessary means to the end of keeping the car going down the road. Driving is what's fun for them, not turning wrenches.

The Innovators. These are the guys for whom mere perfection of the original machine is not enough. They lay awake at nights dreaming of ways to "improve" the machine and spend their most joyful hours "tweaking" it with their new ideas. They may or may not be passionate about driving but are very passionate in their "creative outlet."

The Historical Purists. These are the guys whose number one priority is to recreate or preserve their car in as original and authentic condition as possible. Their loftiest goal may be to have a flawless 1000 point car at the car show and take home the biggest trophy. They may be so passionate about preserving the perfection they have created that they may not drive their cars at all and have others without this passion label them "trailer queens". But that's what's fun for them. Nothing wrong with that.

The Greenies. These are the guys who are fresh and new to the hobby. They may have just inherited or found or bought an old flathead that they know nothing about but catch the "bug" to do something with it. They may start with just wanting to get it running to drive it or find they have one of the other passions listed above and want to pursue that. These are the guys that absolutely everyone should be able to identify with and have empathy for since we all began in that category.

The Rub. Now to the source of contention. I think it can, in most cases, boil down to, as I said initially, someone with one passion thinking his passion is the best passion and superior to all other passions and that anyone that doesn't have his passion is clearly inferior. A very typical "rub" is the Mechanical Perfectionists feeling that the Drivers, that just want to do the minimum to keep their car on the road, are inferior and need to be scolded for such mediocrity. Or, on the other hand, the Drivers feel that the Mechanical Perfectionists, who hardly every drive their cars, are just plain "dumb" since "That's what Ford made them for." The Purists may feel that the Innovators are corrupting the pure art form and are disgusted at it. Anyway, you get the point.

The better way. So, keeping in mind that is just a hobby, not something more critical than that for most of us, and that it should be FUN above and beyond anything else, we should do all that we can to keep it that way, both for us and for others. Rejoice, not only in what brings you joy, but in what brings others joy that may well be quite different. At least don't criticize their approach to happiness, maybe even give theirs a try some time. You may like it and become even happier.

Just my 275¢

P.S. There are a very few on the barn that are just "bullies" who seem to get their fun out of criticizing, ridiculing, and belittling certain "victims" that they pick for any thing and everything for no reason at all, i.e. not based on any of the "passions" above. The world will always have such and there isn't much to be done about such other than report their snide remarks to Ryan when they get to be too much.

[29AVEE8]

I seem to overlap into several of your categories. How many Black Labels and soda will it take to figure this out.......

[Tinker]

You need a hobbie.

Interesting social exploration. How is your beautiful car coming?

I guess im a histinkway

[Scott H]

I'm about 80% Greenie and 5% of each of the other categories.

YES I want to fix it myself
YES I want to drive it down the road
YES I want original Ford when possible, and rebuilding mine to be 'of the period'...mechanical brakes, 6 volt, bias ply, etc
and YES I'd like to take it to a show, but just for fun. If I got a trophy I'd probably give it away to someone else at the show whose car I liked.

[51 MERC-CT]

I plead guilty to almost all of the above ( at one time or another ) but not all at the same time

[Lawson Cox]

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Some very astute observations there Professor. I too fall into each category from time to time.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Interesting social exploration. How is your beautiful car coming?

I am definitely a Driver above all else with Historic Purist following in close second, i.e. keep it original/authentic as possible but not afraid to drive it.

Spent a few hours last night learning all about the abandoned section of the original transcontinental railroad bed and ghost towns along the way in northern Utah (where the Golden Spike was driven) that I'm going to drive in two weeks. Can't wait. A driver. Definitely a driver. With full respect for all others now that I've figured this thing out.

[charles in east texas]

Old Henry, I'm a driver also. Charlie

[Ol' Ron]

OH Henry! I'd give anything to go with you on the old railroad trip, I'm a great fan of railroads and have read everything I could get ahold of . I will be looking forward to your report, Thanks in advance.
Not sure where i land in this hobby, love to drive them when I could, but never considered them as perfect, maybe in there day? I gave up om there transmissions and rear axles over 50 years ago because they were a source of trouble, My present truck has a 96 Jeep Cherokee rear axle and a late F150 Trans.w/OD. I don't go in for fancy paint jobs, as I can't afford them. But I do like t help people and one of my best friends is a purest, just damn.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

OH Henry! I'd give anything to go with you on the old railroad trip, I'm a great fan of railroads and have read everything I could get ahold of.

You might enjoy reading this that I found last night all about the route I'm going to try to drive: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/o...ut/8/intro.htm And check out the route on Google Earth. You can still see where the round house was at Terrace (41°30'09.61" N, 113°31'05.55"W). The pile of red bricks east of that is the old library. Here's the Google Earth image of such:



The old cemetery is at the east end of town:

[66miles]

I figure myself at about 80% driver with a few pretty lousy backyard mechanic skills thrown in just to get me in trouble now n then with the real mechanics! In my 1 short month on the barn so far, I've had a ball. A guy replied to a question of mine this one time with something that pissed me off for about 2 seconds till I realised I was being a little thin-skinned. I just went back in the garage and carried on tinkering. No probs! At the end of the day we're all just keepin the flathead faith.

[Bassman/NZ]

The one thing that all who dabble with the interweb must have, regardless of whether they be purist, rodder, driver etc, is a thick skin. The written word in the hands of us amateurs is often not what we are really trying to convey, and feathers get ruffled. The next moment, there is a squabble going on. This can be overcome by taking it slow. Maybe reading a contentious posting twice to get to the real intention, and taking some time and thought to the reply before attacking the keyboard. Just my opinion, which in my opinion is always right.

[66miles]

Love that last line Bassman!

[Mart]

I'm more of a builder/tinkerer than a driver. I would be a mechanical perfectionist if I could afford it. I seem to content myself by making sure something will work as well as it can while not being perfect. I do respect other peoples viewpoints though. It was interesting to see everything laid out into specific categories, though.

It is a hobby after all at the end of the day, we don't have to do this, and it should be fun.

Mart.

[tiger.1000]

I'm just NUTS !

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by tiger.1000

I'm just NUTS !

Yep! number one requirement for all

[done4]

Pursuit of happiness is driven by finding an escape from the daily norm, this often creates strong feelings and macro focus on that vision. It also fuels hard lines of thought that to some take it as an insult. It's been called many things, what immediately comes to mind is "tunnel vision". When working on a project I have that mind set. To me you can't number off what a person is when they are chasing a dream. We all have a common thread of being passionate about our cars. I'm a hot rod hoodlum, have been all my life and when I get my great reward on my tombstone will be " I'd rather be working on my 32". Just my opinion and like everyone here we all have spark plugs laying around.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

You might enjoy reading this that I found last night all about the route I'm going to try to drive: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/o...ut/8/intro.htm And check out the route on Google Earth. You can still see where the round house was at Terrace (41°30'09.61" N, 113°31'05.55"W). The pile of red bricks east of that is the old library. Here's the Google Earth image of such:



The old cemetery is at the east end of town:

Nice, you sure are lucky (in my opinion) to live in the west. I enjoyed my time there in colorado when I was in my 20's. Can't wait for the pictures later! It does look like, from the google earth shot, you might want to bring some extra water for the trip! Enjoy your ride.




.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Mart

It is a hobby after all at the end of the day, we don't have to do this, and it should be fun.

Mart.

That's what goes through my head every time I see someone get riled up about something.

[keith oh]

I fell asleep somewhere between mechanical perfectionest and ahhh h h h h h h