I agree with you Rick. Someone once told me "Don't try to beat a man as his own job". I believe that and you can certainly look at the work that Jason does and prove the point. People have different aptitudes for different things, case in point, the CIA tests employees for aptitude with languages. If you got it, they send you to language school. Not everyone has it.
However, mechanics knowledgeable about second generation firebirds are becoming fewer and fewer. For example, when I was discussing changing my heater core with a mechanic friend, he pointed to the A/C box and said I need to pull the A/C out. I think that's what he does when he changes them. We discussed it for a few minutes and it become obvious to me that I knew a whole lot more about these cars than he did. And, I'm not really criticizing him because his shop works on all makes and models of cars. It's impossible to keep up with all of them.
For that reason, I like to do most of the work on my cars. Brakes are one thing I'll have a shop do. But, it depends on my situation. There are times when I can make a whole bundle of money rather than work on my car. I outsource when I have that situation. But, I think hard about it and if it's something that can wait, I'll wait and do it myself.
Forums like this are going a long way to help "hackers" from hacking. They can ask questions and usually there's someone who knows the answer and can guide them down the right path.
