<VV> Providing Answers

[Hubert A Smith]

Smitty Says:     For a good 15-20 years after I got interested in
Corvairs I went all out to help people.  I gave up entire weekends to
newbies, rebuilding carbs, setting up diffs or adjusting rockers.  Always
trying to teach.  I only had one agenda, and that was to make ownership
enjoyable so we could build more Corvair enthusiasts.  I gave away good
parts to help them and took time away from my own projects and family. 
After a while I realized that I was simply fooling myself.  The people I
was helping were simply using my services to get their heap fixed up and
running so they could sell it.  Easily over 95% were cultivating me just
for that purpose. One of the shining examples was a cute 16 year old high
school girl that had a bad valve on a 102 engine in her 63 Vair.  The
club made a weekend project of robbing a head off of a perfectly good 102
engine one of the guys had in storage, and putting it on her engine.  The
guys made it plain that all they wanted from her was an article we could
publish in our newsletter.  As I expected, she dissappeared ino the
woodwork, never to be seen again.  In another case one of our
"occasional" club members asked me to adjust the carbs on his car.  As
usual I broke out one of my sheets with printed instructions on it and
made him follow me step by step through the procedure.  I found that he
had a slight intake valve leak and told him it wouldn't run any better
till that was fixed.  I also found a float valve leaking slightly so I
replaced it.  He asked if I would show him how to rebuild the carbs and I
agreed, so next weekend we went through that procedure.  I reminded him
he had a valve problem that would have to be fixed before it would idle
at 100%.  Next thing at a club meeting a few weeks later I see that he
has a pair of Clarks or Youngs or Hatchells carbs on the engine.  I asked
him why and he said, there was something wrong with the ones I had
rebuilt because it wouldn't idle real smooth.  Then he asked me to
synchronize the carbs.  It told him to read the instructions I had
provided.  He didn't know where the instructions were.
        I'm not saying this is always going to be the case, but it is
often enough that I just don't get off on mentoring anymore.  I am glad
for you, for whom it works.