What does it take to call yourself a true car guy? For me, being a gearhead is an overall obsession with everything even remotely related to automobiles, and it comes out in my hobbies. Slot cars, scale models, memorbilia, books, vintage parts, tattoo’s, vacations to car museums. Nevermind the weekly beg-and-plead with my wife to name our first daughter Lexus or Porsche. Sad, isn’t it?
The other day, at the secret squirrel headquarters of InMyGarage, we were chatting away over a round of Hot Pockets and Wired Energy Drinks and discovered that several of us had a remote control drift or street car. We knew it was time for a race, (followed by a re-race, a double-or-nothing race, a winner-takes-all re-race… and finally an “oh no the boss is coming, pretend like we are testing Speed Shine on the plastic bodies” race). This is gearhead stuff.
Now you know my level of dedication. How do you celebrate being a gearhead through hobbies? How do you drink your 10W-30 flavored Kool Aid?
September 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Personally…. I really like working with steel.
It’s alot of work, time and energy consuming, quite dirty, and I’m trying to build things out a super-tiny one car garage.
But I know if I build it… it’ll be at least somewhat unique.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
@ Rix – Hey I’ve seen some of the stuff coming out of your garage! Its more like art than ’somewhat unique’. You’ve got the knack with steel for sure!
September 28th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Work with cars, tinker with cars, most of my friends are fellow gearheads, have long drawn out conversations about what project vehicles, stare at my future race car while trying to figure out how to afford it, race cars, read about racing cars/tuning cars/ building cars, go to school for mechanical engineering in hopes that it’ll teach me more about cars/get me a job that allows me to afford the cars, ETC.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:42 am
http://www.inmygarage.com/?p=1550
September 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I started a car club that’s seen some amazing growth into a commuity of like-minded gearheads.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Yah for the car club!
September 29th, 2009 at 9:49 am
In the late 80’s, there was nothing I was into more than radio control cars. Straight to the hobby shop after school, scheming ways to get enough scratch for that “must-have” upgrade, racing on the weekends. Looking back, it probably kept me outta trouble (for a little while, anyway). Heck, I even wrote an article for an RC magazine, pretending I knew a thing or two about tire selection. And they published it. And they paid me!
Nowadays I’m more into the collecting side of the hobby. Old parts, magazines, art, clothing, anything cool related to cars. But you’ve got me thinking about dusting off my old JRX-2 (know what that is, kiddies?). Wonder if the batteries will hold a charge after 20 years?
September 29th, 2009 at 11:27 am
@Mike – your old school RC has no chance! Bring it any day of the weak…..I meant week.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Any time. Meet me in your choice of vacant, dirt lot… asphalt boy.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Real enthusiasts know tarmac is faster and requires more skill. If you’re too afraid, I’ll understand, swap some rally tires on and still whomp you!!!!!
September 29th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
When I was about thirteen I started getting frustrated watching my dad struggle with keeping our old broken down car going till next payday, one day I handed him the flashlight and fixed it myself because he just couldn;t figure out how to do it. I never looked back and he never complained that his daughter showed him up. I took the basic automotive class in high school, and went on to Lake Washington Voc Tech. I have always worked in the automotive field, I now own a shop with my husband of 25 years and we are in strong positionm to win the “Best of Western Washington”. THats what I do fo ra living…. On the side we also have build a six time gold winning ‘66 Mustang Comvertible. We love going to car shows and I find myself trying to talk my husband into going to just one more show. I collect antique and vintage photographs of cars, I have them framed and hanging. I’m still looking for the one shot… Most of my facebook friends are gearheads, some are important gearheads like Lance Lambert and Griots. I also collect car movies, and I found myself talking to a friend about the Italian Job and I absolutly didn’t remember that MArk Wahlberg had been in it. Just those great Coopers! I’m obsessed!
September 29th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Very cool story!
So I gotta know, what are your top 5 ‘gotta see’ car movies?
September 30th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Are you referring to everyone when you ask or just Dustin? Because that is a good topic as well. Car movies are great!
September 30th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I was actually asking Laura since she collects car movies, but I’d be interested in hearing anyones top 5.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I have the best memories from my child hood that brought me back to loving cars. I was always the little helper in my dad’s garage when it came to brake jobs, oil changes, anything a little girl like me could handle. I grew up around cars but lost slight interest through the teenage years. It wasn’t until I got my TC did I pick up the interest again. I love to clean my car and work on it whenever I can. The neighbors think I am nuts because I am out there washing the car every Sunday. The funnest thing for me is to get behind the wheel, pick a road and see where it goes. It is relaxing, soothing, and just plain fun to see where you end up. There is nothing like the windows down, sun roof open and music up cruising down the road on a sunny day. Gotta love it!
September 29th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
In my mind being a gear head means that the person has to have the passion to work on, tune, or finish a project that they’ve been helping with or working on by themselves.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I don’t have enough money to have hobbies outside of my project cars lol. The MR2 still needs the motor finished, the truck still needs me to put all the parts I have on it, The Lexus needs a new exhaust and a vinyl job, still need to coax Rix into getting Beth’s new car started so I can have at the old one and Jen’s cars are falling apart so yeah. I do still have 2 slot cars though.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:46 am
I’m a proud member of Gearhead Wives and Children Annonymous. I first joined the organization as a child when every car we every had was a project, a labor of love, requiring lots of sweat, work and swear words from my father. (I even remember helping him bleed the breaks at the tender age of
Now I gladly support all my husband’s gearhead ways.
And NO we will never name any child of mine after a car! (and not an engine type, famous driver, or famous race course either!!!)
September 30th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
As hopefully a future grandmother….
I’ll take Lexus, Porsche…….for crying out loud I’ll even take
Pinto (the car, not the bean)!
Love ya Dustin!
Mom
September 30th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Yeah its been entertaining living at Eric’s and watching him and Matt tie a string to one of the cars and get my cat to chase it. LOL
September 30th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
A true car guy? For me it’s trying to keep it show-room clean in Washington during the winter; and the summer. And the fall…. Just so you know, I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out how I raised a gear head!
October 1st, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Really you can see commenting on automotive blogs is really a family affair for my family so i suppose you can chalk that up!
October 5th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Enjoy the blog and hope all of you will visit
the website – This is the fastest Henry J in the USA
NHRA – Top Sportsman
Got some great pics to share with my fellow gearheads!
http://www.rememberwhenracing.com
Dave Granger/Owner Driver of the Henry J Division 3
Won the “Wally” in 2008 at Earlville, Iowa Division 5.
A huge thrill.
Thanks!!
REMEMBER WHEN RACING
Tinley Park, Illinois USA
October 5th, 2009 at 8:59 am
PS
Sorry – a typo was made here ~ it’s the FASTEST STEEL BODY
Henry J!!
Best E.T. 7.39 l88 mph.
Thanks!!
October 5th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I’m a Griot’s customer, and also coincidentally the Editor for Hi-Torque’s “R/C Car Magazine.” All of us are gearheads at this magazine, and my staff and I have obsessions with automobiles AND radio-control cars. Awesome to see Griot’s employees bangin’ doors with some on-road electric R/C cars!
October 6th, 2009 at 8:00 am
@ Stephen – I love R/C Car Magazine! Thanks for stopping by to say hey! The guys and I are complete R/C nerds and competely understand the total obsession with everything auto. Glad to know there are others out there. Do I smell a transmission fluid soaked support group?
@ D Granger – Thank you for the pics! They are incredible! What a great hobby, I can smell the race gas now.
October 9th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Besides the usual Car talk on a Nightly basis, I’ve started collecting smaller versions of My 1:1 scale cars. My office is littered with 77 celica models, Slot Cars, SC300’s, AWD Rally Celicas, 4Runners etc. Being an eBay guy I’ve picked up models from Europe, Japan and Australia.
My other sicknesses includes, Automotive photography on weekends, automotive vinyl cutting for Car clubs, and of course Detailing friends vehicles!
December 21st, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Besides keeping my car clean and puttering around in the garage, I’m an online sim racer at iRacing.com.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
My hobby is my older Land Rover and motorcycles. I ride whenever I can (never too cold; only too slick) and when I can’t, I take the Rover.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
I can remember the times that my father and I cruised up and down the autobahn in a 1981 Merc Benz 500 SEL back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I had to replace the exhaust manifolds with him in the cold German Winter, and I think that is what got me started. I really didn’t mind getting dirty under the hood, I actually wanted to. It wasn’t until I graduated high school, and pops bought me a used 95 Mustang Cobra. And from there the adventure really took off. Lets just say the first credit card I got, was maxed out on a Vortech S-Trim Supercharger and of course the Flowmaster American Thunder Cat Back. Then the Spo-com era hit, and my friends 95 4-Door Acura Integra GSR came along and handed me a discouraging loss at the track. Who ever knew that a 1.8 liter, 4 Cylinder, Crazy Vtec lift wrapping out at 10,000 rpms could be so fast. From that point on, I figured it would be way cool to just work on advanced motors instead of the ole push rod, and to be honest I never looked back. Nowadays, I admire the lines of the cars, as well as the heritage of the autos. I try and not discriminate between origins of the automobile, but rather critique the uniqueness of the automobile that I am glaring at. Unless of course it’s a Ford Probe.