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Dec. 16th, 2021 03:01 pmGot Ai's power steering bits all put back together, and then I got some rusty bits patched up. Now that she's running and passed inspection, I can finally sweep the floor of all the rusty metal flakes, some of them larger than others. It's a bit disheartening to find a small hole that shouldn't be there, and it gets even more disheartening when in attempting to patch that hole, it doubles in size. And doubles again because a chunk of sheet metal just falls off with a poke of the finger and crumbles in my hand. It's empowering when I'm able to fill in said hole with a patch piece and body putty. It's disheartening again knowing it's come to that. Her engine and transmission are solid for the most part but sections of her body panels are trying to return to the earth.
Mechanical work, I can handle. That doesn't bother me. I have a good idea on what to do and working knowledge on how to do it. Body work is different. That's something I'm better off taking to a proper body shop. The cutting, welding, painting, and frame-straightening requires equipment and skills I do not have and probably never will. To do it right requires an artistic skill I just didn't level up on. YouTube and various forums beg to differ, as shown in many DIY videos. Someone using the parking pad on the side of their house will start off a video with something like "today I'm going to replace the entire front end of this car I got from a salvage auction, using tools from Harbor Freight" or something similarly extreme or ridiculous in scale. Then they do exactly that, like it's no big deal. And the results don't look bad either.
It's both easy and hard to explain why I'm doing any work on her, even though I don't have to explain. If I seek validation from other people, then I won't find it. The easy answer is because I want to, and most gear-heads will readily accept and understand that answer. Non-gear-heads may be like "there are newer and safer cars with more features and better efficiency and more this and more that!" That's true. I do have newer cars, too. There's just something about driving in Ai. It's not even the nostalgia, although that does have a non-zero value. There's a driving experience that can't seem to be replicated in newer cars. Miharu is a very nice car, I'm glad I got her. I can drive her for extended periods of time and it doesn't take a lot out of me. When I do my next big road trip, I'm taking Miharu. It's just that everything feels more insulated and isolated. The feedback isn't as pronounced. That's how it goes, I guess. Maybe, 20 years from now, I won't have a choice and the only way I can get around is in a self-driving living room on wheels.
Meanwhile...
At work, I've officially reached 20 years at the same job now, and I'm starting to feel it. Not physically, although that can't be ignored. More like, I see more coworkers who are much newer and younger. And a few who are newer but certainly not younger. And they all have one thing in common: They're coming to me for advice. I'm becoming senpai. I feel like I should know more than I do know.
Mechanical work, I can handle. That doesn't bother me. I have a good idea on what to do and working knowledge on how to do it. Body work is different. That's something I'm better off taking to a proper body shop. The cutting, welding, painting, and frame-straightening requires equipment and skills I do not have and probably never will. To do it right requires an artistic skill I just didn't level up on. YouTube and various forums beg to differ, as shown in many DIY videos. Someone using the parking pad on the side of their house will start off a video with something like "today I'm going to replace the entire front end of this car I got from a salvage auction, using tools from Harbor Freight" or something similarly extreme or ridiculous in scale. Then they do exactly that, like it's no big deal. And the results don't look bad either.
It's both easy and hard to explain why I'm doing any work on her, even though I don't have to explain. If I seek validation from other people, then I won't find it. The easy answer is because I want to, and most gear-heads will readily accept and understand that answer. Non-gear-heads may be like "there are newer and safer cars with more features and better efficiency and more this and more that!" That's true. I do have newer cars, too. There's just something about driving in Ai. It's not even the nostalgia, although that does have a non-zero value. There's a driving experience that can't seem to be replicated in newer cars. Miharu is a very nice car, I'm glad I got her. I can drive her for extended periods of time and it doesn't take a lot out of me. When I do my next big road trip, I'm taking Miharu. It's just that everything feels more insulated and isolated. The feedback isn't as pronounced. That's how it goes, I guess. Maybe, 20 years from now, I won't have a choice and the only way I can get around is in a self-driving living room on wheels.
Meanwhile...
At work, I've officially reached 20 years at the same job now, and I'm starting to feel it. Not physically, although that can't be ignored. More like, I see more coworkers who are much newer and younger. And a few who are newer but certainly not younger. And they all have one thing in common: They're coming to me for advice. I'm becoming senpai. I feel like I should know more than I do know.
