It sounds like we’re close in age
I’ve got an iota of common sense
But I believe I’m not cantankerous
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db I shoot from the hip, say it as I see it, no sugarcoating.
Sounds like if you throw asemaster into the mix, we 4 are all very close in age… We the young pups on here… lol
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I’m 27.
Or at least I think I am. Truth is I’m twice that. I still think I can do everything I did then, and just as fast. But overall I can’t complain. No real aches or pains, and I can still crawl under a dash or pull a transaxle if needed.
I think I’ll be working into my 70’s. 
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Same, turn 55 later this year…
I’m complicated!
55 chronologically.
60s physically.
70s philosophically!
Since my (chronological!) 40s, I’ve tended toward the automotive, musical, and technological preferences of someone a lot older than myself.
I guess I’ve just become more pragmatic and common sensical over time.
I can do that too, once.
I pay the price for several days depending on the stress involved.
That’s great but give it ten more years 
Then you may have aches and pains that just crop up for no good reason. Sitting on the couch and suddenly… your ankle hurts. WTH
Those physical strains when we were young really do come back to haunt you…
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Dang, I thought I was one of the young ones here, I turn 67 this year
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I haven’t crawled under the dash in years, but I did replace the kitchen faucet a couple months ago. Crawling inside the cabinet, lying on my back, and muscling the connections off was painful, but it subsided quickly. I’m 72 btw.
The worst part was being unable to bend the hot and cold copper lines to get them through the sink. I ended up using a big wrench to collapse the lines, then repeated bending to break the connectors off the lines. Without connectors, the old faucet came out easily.
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I’ve got 5 years on you, and unfortunately for me, work like that has been a no-no for several years. As you will probably find after a few more years, the pain doesn’t easily subside. At times like that, a TENS device can work wonders in an hour or so.
I’ll be 53 in a few weeks
scoliosis, arthritis in one shoulder, tinnitus, very poor eyesight, neuropathy in my feet and a few things I’m not mentioning . . . so basically your typical middle-aged blue-collar guy 
I have to do rehab type exercises several times a week to live WITHOUT pain
But my weight is good, I eat correctly, I’m fairly flexible and I’m not on statins
I do a lot of work, such as front-end type of stuff and tearing out dashes, that the other guys don’t want to, but I feel the exhaustion later on, but I like diagnosis better
I have no illusions about working into my 70s. There’s simply no way my body will cooperate that long, no matter how hard I try. I’m hoping for another 10 or 15 years tops
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Let’s clarify. I said I think I can still do everything I did then. Whether or not I actually can may be a different story. But age may help, the years of experience have taught me the most efficient way to do something, so that goes in my favor. My 18 year old athlete son asked “How do you get Dad strength, because I’m in better shape than you but you’re still stronger?”
I wasn’t trying to brag. Honestly I’m thankful and realize just how lucky I am to have somehow avoided all those aches and pains and worn joints. I’ve got some hearing loss in one ear, the result of years of air tools and always having the stereo turned up to 11. 
3 1/2 years ago I went into the cardiologist with 3 completely blocked arteries and she asked “what meds are you on to keep your cholesterol so low?” I told her I didn’t take any meds for anything. She replied “I’m putting you on Lipitor.” Apparently they get prescribed a lot.
I’ve been out of the hardcore shop scenario for a few years and gotten into the training side of things. But I really do miss it. Sometimes I’m just itching to go pull a rack and pinion or do a set of cam phasers. What I really need is an old car to restore…
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I’m just hoping I will still be able to walk in 10-15 years, and drive…
The last time I pulled my transmission by myself, I built it and when I went to reinstall when done my body said nopers, not happening anymore, only went under it to make sure my buddy that has been a huge help didn’t miss anything, and then I helped my daughter do brakes on a friends Altima, and that about killed me just jacking it up and placing the jack stands under it… I’m done, only help what I can and advise now… I can still do about whatever if I can sit though…
Gonna have to build a wheel ramp to roll me up in the back of my truck and ratchet strap me in, cause I ain’t letting it (my truck) go without a fight… I will just have to remember to duck when pulling in and out of the garage…
But my buddy, 75 now, was in a biker gang (so lots of hard core parting) many moons ago and drank a lot, never took care of himself until he hit about 60yo, is still painting cars and doing ground up car and bike builds out of his shop, and I mean welding in complete floor pans and floor boards as well as building engines and fabricating whatever…
Sometimes it is just plain genetics… you either have them or you don’t…
After i was diagnosed with this wonderful crippling crap I have, not to mention all the other crap wrong with me, my dad said that some guy or something did a test of some kind when I was very young (baby maybe), never heard of it and don’t remember what it was, probably snake oil or something… Anyway, he said I would have very bad health when older… Lucky me he was right… lol
EDITed for something… lol
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But, it does give you the opportunity to visit my town, occasionally.
Ahh, yes. Somerset. In fact I will be there for 4 days in a few weeks! Please be sure you have good weather for me.
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Let me know if you want to go to Luca’s for lunch!
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You have a lifetime of knowledge and experience, that’s a very valuable resource. Surely a local technical college, vocational school, or even private industry is in need of a qualified instructor or trainer. The money may not be the same as you could make in the trenches, but flexible schedule and limited physical activity are a benefit.
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No offense, it I’m skeptical. If an artery was completely blocked, that would mean no blood flow and you would have been a candidate for amputation. If you were lucky. My guess is that you had significant blockage and it was caught in time to get you better.
In 2010 I was diagnosed with a 95% blockage in my lower anterior descending artery (LAD) on my heart. This condition is known as the Widow Maker. I had a stent installed and that issue, at least, is in my past. Did you get three or more stents? If not, your arteries were not completely blocked.
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In the past, people did not know that consumption of saturated fats will plug up your arteries, just like people did not know that tobacco causes cancer (of various organs). But now, people know better, so we can avoid this health hazard if we wish.
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None taken. Sounds suspicious for a 51 year old.
Too far gone for stents. The widowmaker almost got me.
Stress test and imaging showed poor blood flow to the heart and some muscle damage indicating previous myocardial infarction. Scheduled in for catheterization and angioplasty, I figured a couple of stents would fix me right up. The doc was unable to get through that far. LAD, Ramus artery, and Right Coronary were “severely diseased and chronically functionally totally occluded.” Circumflex mildly diseased. If not for some collateral branches I would have been dead years before. I was in for triple bypass a week later. All my life my cholesterol was and remains quite low.
Now, for the Public Service Announcement part…it was freakin’ stupid that I waited that long to see a cardiologist. For a few years I would just shrug off that shoulder discomfort as getting older, or being out of breath as a sign of needing to lose 30 lbs. Coupled with a strong family history of heart disease, I was just ignorant in not being more proactive. Had I gone in 5-10 years earlier I probably would have gotten away with stents instead of major surgery and missing a month of work. So everyone take that as a warning!
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