Inspired someone!

I was looking through some forums that I frequent on a regular basis. I've been on them for a very long time and I always share my experiences in restoring and fixing my Porsches.

A member put up "My thread inspired by" me. As he posted he had talked about how he had a 930 that hadn't been road worthy for a long time. He posted up pics of completely going through it, doing the engine out maintenance and really giving the car the TLC it deserved. I thought "Wow, I actually inspired someone to try the DIY stuff? NO WAY!" was a good feeling.

I bet it was an ever more awesome feeling for the owner.

I feel like working on your own car is becoming a lost art for people just being introduced to cars nowadays. Think about it.

Everything runs off of diagnostic computers. ECUs are getting more and more complex. Braking and stability systems are advanced now, not at all basic like they were at one point in time. There are the few tech guru rebels of the 21st century who dare to learn them and excel, others are so intimidated that they will never venture.

There is then another sinister, deeper section that is losing it's style. That's right... the oldschool stuff.

The reason I talk about this is because I think it's really important that people remember the basics. Think about it. If I walked up to you and said "Hey can you gap the points on my car for me?" Would you know what I'm talking about? If you've driven any car that is probably younger than 1980 you probably have no idea what I'm talking about since most cars moved to modern ignition and fuel injection by then. Not all... but most.

If I said "I am going to go adjust my valves." would you raise an eyebrow and go "What's that?" - back in the day a lot of cars relied on frequent valve adjustments. This is of course before modern valve trains came along and made it far easier, or the intervals far far greater.

There was a point in time when most people did valve adjustments, changed their own oil, gapped their own points and did a very large majority of it themselves. Why? Because it was honestly pretty damn easy to do. It was just part of having a car back then. I can think of a lot of people from my dad's generation that are car fanatics, he's in his 50s now, and those car fanatics always talk about the DIY stuff they do on their cars. Why? They've been doing it since they were young like me.

But now we enter generations split from this. Most of my generation that I know of don't really dabble in old cars. "They're expensive to work on." - not necessarily, you know why? Because finding a mechanic to do it when they aren't used to it is hard because the old stuff is getting less common. Can you do it yourself? You betcha! Is it free? Besides materials, tools and beer? Yeah! FREE LABOR! YOUR LABOR!

It thrills me when I post something up like maintenance on a car like valve adjustments and get a reaction out of people like, "WOW, that looks crazy. You sure know your stuff! I could NEVER learn to do that!" and they have no idea just how insanely basic it is.

Have you tried using a new computer from the 21st century? Have you ever gone "Man I know how to use this thing but there is no way I know how to diagnose it and dig in and look at all this complex stuff." - Well, while the hardware of most modern computers is much more civilized than it was back in the day, a lot of it is pretty easy. But some operating systems are definitely more complex than they used to be, and without the proper tools and software to diagnose them, the average user isn't always able to dig that far.

Do you remember the OLD computers? When things were as simple as a few regedits, maybe a simple software patch, or maybe you were used to a few glitches in the operating system and you had to click a few buttons in a weird order, say a catchy phrase while you spun 3 times and rebooted it? Old cars are like that.

To those who never dabbled, it's like a new technology. But in fact, the logic and basic things and components that were at one point in time considered "Normal" are becoming forgotten.

It is like a time machine to go back in time to an old car, like an old 911 or an old 914 and see the systems on them and work on them. People say "It's so difficult!" when really once you understand the overview of how it works, it is SO SIMPLE! It is so rewarding to maintain a machine on your own. To be responsible for that vehicle's functioning manner, to be the person who makes it work and then be the person to drive it. The ultimate "Hey, look at me!" - man and machine.

Anyone can buy a car and drive it. Not everyone can buy a car and be the sole factor in ensuring that every nut, bolt, washer, nook and cranny are up to snuff in it's performance and operation.

So when I read that, when I saw someone took it upon their own 2 hands to put a 930 back on the road, THAT made my day. Hats off to him! Another one saved! Another one made man and machine. Inspirational all in it's own.