I'm always astonished (and pleased) that anyone would do this kind of work.
Cambridge motorsports, racestorations, even the big guys making special
parts for modern cars--the margins are low, the competition is everywhere,
and knockoffs and unethical business practices are common. I think everybody
does it as a labor of love first and foremost. I was a motorcycle mechanic
in the sixties and seventies, and designed a lot of racing parts and tools.
Some were quite successful, such as my manometers for synching multiple
carbs, and expansion chambers I designed with a complex computer program (in
the _sixties_, the program was stored in five boxes of punch cards, it would
be trivial today, but it was a big deal then). I remember the pittance that
I made, and how I lived. I have never since worked so hard and made so
little--or had so much fun.
After I stop running my advertising agency (which generally feels like
getting paid very, very well for bullshitting) I'll probably do something
related to cars and racing just for fun, but I sure wouldn't want to try to
put bread on the table from it.
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