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| Doing you own work | Login/Join |
| DRR Elite |
As have I starting at 15 y/o, helping a neighbor who was rebuilding his Ford 302 in his back yard. Shortly after that I got a summer job at an auto parts store and machine shop that did alot of head work and engine rebuilds for local shops as well “high performance” builds for the local street car crowd. Learned much from Joe and have been turning wrenches on my cars ever since, from daily drivers to street/strip cars to my race cars, there’s NOTHING I can’t do. Meantime, I knew I didn’t want to be a mechanic for a living, same as I didn’t want to be a carpenter, electrician, plumber or mason though I worked those jobs too in the summers during high school and continued while I was in college pursuing an Engineering degree. Entered the work force full time in 1983, hired by the company that I did 2 summer internships with, for $27,000 a year which was $2,000 more than the going offer for engineers right out of school. Within 5 years, I knew I made the right career choice and have never regretted it in my nearly 40 year career that has provided me the means to send both my kids to a very good college and graduate debt free and my youngest one gradated a little over 1 hour ago today. My career choice has also allowed me to bracket and now class race at the level I chose, fielding championship caliber cars. So I have always done my own work, put the time in, paid my dues, never counted on anyone to help me out, never took a handout from anyone, never took the easy way out and knew from a very early age that it was up to me alone to make a good life for myself and I did!! So while I can do everything on my race cars, I chose to have professionals build my engines, transmissions and carbs because I can, as do the majority of serious bracket racers and class racers today. So don’t disparage those that have the means and rather spend what little free time they have relaxing, enjoying life, vacationing with their families in the off season and RACE every weekend during the season, rather than work on their junk.This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1320racer, | |||
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| DRR Pro |
 1980 Camaro Taking the Best Working Small Tire Shyt Box & making it Greater Than Before! 3000 lbs. Pump Gas 436 | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
Anyone can say they can do anything, it costs nothing. Doing it is another thing. The means justifies the ends. Very few people have won a 41 race Super Pro championship. Many might say they could, it costs nothing. Doing it is another thing. Who can say they have with their own engine & transmission, they built with their own two hands? How many would dare say they could? Many under their breath, few if any in public. Supernatural Power  This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow, | |||
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| DRR S/Pro |
I'm in for just knowing who the best bracket racer in the world is... so I can know when I beat the best. .991 60' 4.36 @ 159 so far..... 6.86 @ 198 trying for more...... 533" single carb 235" Harrison 4-link | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
I've seen Lynch, Carr, G. Williams, The King, Scotty light em up BIGTIME, in person over 3 or 4 day race but to be honest, I didn't get out much. I think there's a bunch of em. There's a couple second generation racers who grew up at Sunshine with their dads racing, who've won big money races already. Trey and Burch's son. I guarantee, Trey was building engines and transmissions when he was ten years old. Lot's of drag racing experience and knowledge in that camp. He never missed a Friday night at Sunshine with his dad. Right in the middle of things every Friday night. There's a bunch capable though. | |||
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| DRR Pro |
By stating it exactly as you did, I think that might well be the very best post you have ever made here. Well said and well done. Take care. Tom Worthington If it seems that bracket racing has gotten too expensive for you, maybe you are just doing it wrong. | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
If you build your own engine, you don't work on it anymore than if a pro builder, builds it. Unless you're saying if you build it, it'll be unreliable, making it more work. Building an engine takes a couple two, three days once you have everything. If it's assembled correctly, the time you spend working on tuning, changing oil, spark plugs and adjusting valves etc etc, is the same. Unless you build yourself a headache. | |||
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| DRR Pro |
I agree, that's why I clapped after his post. 1980 Camaro Taking the Best Working Small Tire Shyt Box & making it Greater Than Before! 3000 lbs. Pump Gas 436 | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
As unpleasant as it sounds, for as much time as we spend here, we have plenty of time to vacation, relax and build our own engines. Common sense.  Truth But then again we wouldn't be here if there were 41 race championship seasons, in these modern times. Now would we? No. | |||
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| DRR Pro |
Too bad this always turns into a two person slam-fest. Used to like this Forum as a technical source and interesting stories. That is gone now. Couple little things; Ed, probably the best post I have read from you, thanks! Mike 41 race season at one track is a whole different animal than the traveling guys who hit different tracks, weather, procedures, unknown competition and usually with one or none time runs. There are a lot of local "champions" for sure, but when it comes to the different tracks week after week I would guess you could name 10-15 names you will usually see near the top race after race. See y'all on the other side someday, Jok | |||
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| DRR Pro |
On the plus side, even this thread has shown me things I didn't know before, Jok. And it didn't cost me time, money, or even much effort. Take care. Tom WorthingtonIf it seems that bracket racing has gotten too expensive for you, maybe you are just doing it wrong. | |||
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DRR Sportsman |
I am all for "Not" disparaging those who choose to buy "professionally built" engines or transmissions for their race cars. Likewise I am equally in favor of not disparaging those who by choice or necessity, do build their own cars, engines, etc. All it takes is one disparaging comment, to turn any post on here into a shytfest. Dan "Jim" Moore Much too young to feel this damn old!! | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
The natural order is decided in nature. If you build your own engine and transmission, and have success racing, you're more of an authority on the topic, than a guy who rents a pro stock engine, or has a pro builder build his bracket engine, no matter how much money the person renting the engine has. Money isn't the order of things, capabilities are. Common sense.  | |||
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DRR Pro |
A lot of times I do stuff myself, even if I can afford to hire it out, even if I don't necessarily feel like doing it myself, and even if I don't have 100% confidence that I can do it properly - because it is so damn hard to find anybody to hire anymore who is worth a damn. That includes anything from building engines all the way down to painting the ceiling in my bathroom. Just sayin'... Mike | |||
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| DRR Elite |
Skilled tradesmen are out there but you have to pay! Seeking out the cheapest price usually never ends well and he’s usually the guy that tells you get inline, because he’s booked for 6 months. My wife is seeing this right now. She wants a new deck now. Doesn’t want to wait until October yet she’s complaining about the guy who’s price is “ridiculous” that can do it next month. My response was it ain’t ridiculous if you have to have the deck for this season. | |||
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| DRR Elite |
Jim, note what I stated in my thread...
That said I dint care how you or anyone here spends their $ and care even less how you spend your free time but me and the vast majority of my competitors spend our free time RACING and our $ having professionals build our engines, transmissions, carbs and cars!! | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
It's all relative, the guy who knows all the nuances of all the different tracks, has a leg up. This is common sense stuff. How do you get that leg up? You burn fuel out the back of a motor home getting to the different tracks right? Burning fuel out the back of a motor home is a luxury, the same as having 5,6,7 other guys who've burned the same amount of fuel, work together is a luxury. It's not a skill, it's a luxury. Correct? If you had a 41 race Pro Stock championship with all the best in their prime at Galot, you'd have a lot better gauge of who the best in the neighborhood was (neighborhood being Pro Stock all times), than if you drove them around the country to race, because one of them would win it by a bunch. They'd run away with it because there's no luxuries. All performance, no luxuries. Now with that being said, I can think of a few of the same 15 dudes you're talking about, who raced the same 41 races, at the same track long before I did, for a bunch more years than I did, and I hold all the records by a bunch at Sunshine Drag Strip, and I only raced 10 seasons. But maybe the only reason why, is because I was never looking for a leg up. To make things fair I did race my street car on a 10" tire too, so no excuses apply. It's all relative. 41 races with your own engine and transmission, lets see ya do it. I think there's a bunch of locals capable nobody has ever heard of, without the luxury of being able to take off from work to chase it. I raced with a bunch of em, I know. These types of comparisons never came up when local tracks had a pool of racers with the wherewithal (money) to compete for a 41 race local championship. It's only now that local tracks don't have that luxury, these comparisons are made. Furthermore, look at it this way, If Ed won the million, and someone commented, he's the best. How many from his local track will be laughing their azz's off thinking, chit Ed isn't even the best in his neighbohood? How many? Probably all of em. | |||
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DRR Elite |
Doing your own work? Sort of has slipped off of the heading I'd say. Built my chasis beginning with 2 pieces of tubing on a jig and going by what I saw and some measurements I took at the track. Did the front suspension and alignment on my own. Built the headers, drive shaft and did the interior and the windows. The car works fine. None of it requires being a rocket scientist. TAKE IT TO THE BANK!!!!! Later, Bill Koski | |||
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| DRR Top Comp |
At the end of the day, Bernstein is in Tim Richards office saying, what do ya think Boss? What are we gonna do to go 300 mph? This is the natural order, decided in nature. Capability Anything else is dis-order. It's only common sense. | |||
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DRR Top Comp |
down side. You build it,you tune it and you drive it. You loose its all you. The one win can over power ten loss. America home of free. Brought to you by 2nd amendment. | |||
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