Feeling like a "car guy"

Yesterday, a coworker asked me to weld up a couple of slots in the advance mechanism of a distributor (it goes into his hot-rodded '85 Chrysler 5th Avenue, which is worthy of its own post at a future date). Firing up the Miller Syncrowave makes me feel like a serious car guy; there's just something about melting metal and moving it around, even if for a relatively simple task. Wearing a sunburn from the welder just makes me feel stupid about not putting on a long-sleeve shirt, though. Another activity that makes me feel like one with the automotive world is adjusting valve lash. 

Once a common activity, it?s now a rare occurrence in today?s world of hydraulic lifters. Setting up a ring and pinion set makes me feel like a very serious car guy for the first hour or so, but eventually it just makes me feel like throwing shims and micrometers across the shop. Taking a die grinder to an engine block to make room for a new stroker crank feels pretty hardcore; so does attacking $1600 worth of intake and heads with carbide burrs and cartridge rolls in the quest for a few more horsepower. Sitting down with a laptop for a PCM tuning session always makes for a good ?car guy? time. Then there?s stuff that involves grease of another kind, like snarfing down a pizza while talking with friends about future projects or past adventures, or hitting the local burger joint during a car-club cruise.

So, what makes you tick? Whether it?s applying another coat of Zaino, changing the oil, checking bearing clearances, or catching a whiff of nitromethane at the local strip, we?re interested in hearing about it.