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Date:         Thu, 25 Apr 1996 20:15:33 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         ehintz@mail.utexas.edu (Edmund A. Hintz)
Subject:      Re: '69 BUS; NEW ENGINE HELP/INFO

At 7:05 PM 4/25/96, Vdubdude@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 96-04-25 00:33:11 EDT, you write: > >> Look at it this way, the real brainy people get jobs as physics >>professors, the less endowed work as car mechanics. > >Edmund, > >I take exception to this broad generalization. I did not become a mechanic >because I had nothing better to do, I became a mechanic because of a real >love for equipment and a determined interest in things mechanical. I also >did not become a mechanic overnight. It has taken years to grow my skills to >a level that I feel confidant to jump into a badly running vehicle, diagnose >the problem and stake my reputation on my diagnoses every day. I do this >dependably. I do not guess. I do checks. I do not merely replace parts >until the vehicles run better. I work very hard for the little bit of money >that I take home every friday. I offer an excellent value and I am proud to >do what I do for a living.

Bravo! Kudos to you and a job well done. I didn't mean to say that only morons are mechanics. What I was getting at is that anyone can do it, which is not always the case in other fields. Not anyone can discover the Theory of Relativity. I certainly can't. But I can maintain a VW engine. So can anybody else. I'm also not trying to say that all mechanics are robbers or incompetent-that number I am sure are in the minority-but they exist. As do lousy brain surgeons. However, a mechanic, by definition, is earning money when he/she works on a vehicle. And that means the vehicles owner is paying that money. For something they can do themselves. Not as fast, perhaps not as reliably at first, but it still can be done. And the experience is invaluable on the road 100 miles from anywhere when something goes wrong, and no phone is in sight. Many people seem to think that an automobile is a strange and magical thing, and that they are incapable of maintaing it. I was trying to point out that it is in fact a simple beast, and that we can all do it with a little outside advice. > >Yes, anyone with a minor inclination for mechanical things and a service >manual can disassemble and reassemble a Type1 motor. But that book is not >going to tell you all of the little things that make a truly great motor. > Cooling system quirks, the perfect sealer for the case halves, ect. This >can be a costly failure for a first- time rebuilder when you could visit a >decent VW specialist shop and get a well- built type 1 motor with a good >reputation and warranty.

Which is why this list offers resources such as yourself and Bob Hoover, who can help with these things. I don't think that everyone should work on thier own car, only those of us that want to. Anyone not in that number can indeed get a good rebuild for around a grand, assuming they buy it from a source which pays more than lip service to quality. And many will indeed buy their engine elsewhere, either because they don't think they can do it or because they don't want to mess with it. IMHO, the best warranty I can buy is the one I make with my own two hands. It's my butt on the line, I'm not going to cut any corners because it's ten-to-five-on-friday-afternoon-memorial-day-weekend-and there's-a-concert-to-go-to. I'm going to do it right, no matter how long it takes. Which is not to say that you wouldn't. But some *won't*, and the gentleman's question was how to exert control over the quality of his engine. That's the best way I know how. My sincere apologies to you and every other professional mechanic out there I inadvertently insulted.

Peace, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Edmund A. "Eddie" Hintz **|** "You may say I'm a dreamer, Voice Major, UT Austin * | * But I'm not the only one... <ehintz@mail.utexas.edu> * /|\ * I hope someday you'll join us, '70 Primered Transporter */ | \* And the world will live as one. '73 Orange Super Beetle ***** Imagine." Web page: http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~ehintz ------------------------------------------------------------------------


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