Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that ensures the survival of late-night TV because its victims are still wide awake and a captive audience for mediocre programs when sheep counts are nothing more than a futile exercise in arithmetic skills.
The reasons for insomnia are typically rooted in anxiety for most sufferers, including car guys. Since MyStarCollectorCar is dedicated to the car hobby, we decided to concentrate on gearhead anxiety and present five reasons they are unable to get a good night’s sleep.
Jim Sutherland
The first sleep-depriving tool is a car guy’s collection of old parts because many car guys are afraid to toss out any item related to an old vehicle. The car guy envisions a nightmare where a garage cleanup results in a part that gets tossed into the trash shortly before he needs the part for a project.
The grim scenario that plays out in his head is the car guy chasing down replacement parts sold at an outrageous price by somebody who didn’t toss the parts. This is the stuff of sleepless nights for car guys.
The second insomnia misadventure for car guys is ignited by the purchase of a vintage ride because the new owner is very worried about what lurks beneath the paint on the vehicle. The shiny finish may provide temporary camouflage for a Bondo-covered rust monster that will remain below the paint surface until the ink on the bill of sale is dry.
An unfortunate car guy may have bought a major restoration project that promises to ignite many sleepless nights after he discovers his old car’s ugly secret.
The third cause of car guy insomnia is related to the second cause, but this time the issues lie in tired mechanical components hidden within the old relic’s powertrain and structure. The worn-out parts may simply fail and blow up, depending upon the item in question.
The result of mechanical failure is enough to keep a car guy wide awake during the sleeping hours because he will need to guess how much time and money is required to remedy the problem and whether he just put a bandage on a severed artery in a mechanical sense.
The fourth sleepless night issue is an honesty issue because of the excessive number of bandits who wait in the muddy waters of the internet. They provide cheap knockoff parts built in foreign countries and use inferior materials with zero quality control. The net result is a new part with far less durability than the old factory part it replaced during the repair.
Today’s replacement parts are a crap shoot so car guys should worry about whether the parts will hold up when they are tested during the post-repair phase. Sadly, lingering doubt will cause insomnia in car guys.
The fifth and final cause for insomnia is fear, specifically fear of their brides when they find out how much dough has been sunk into a half-finished car project that shows no signs of completion.
Major restoration projects are painfully slow and even more expensive if they are done to the highest level.
The old vehicles will lose badly in a popularity contest with home improvements or nicer furniture and appliances, so an active drain on disposable income for a car project will also mean a serious sleep deficit for a car guy.
Mainly because a car guy knows his cost overrun will not be greeted favorably by his bride so his insomnia will extend from dread of an inevitable moment when she discovers the actual cost of the half-finished old car project crowding out everything else in their garage and their bank account.
Fear of the ensuing World War Three fireworks will mean even less sleep for a car guy while he figures out how to handle a major conflict.
The good news is the insomnia may now have physical roots because couches are an uncomfortable place to sleep.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
- CLICK HERE to Sign Up for the Newsletter
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest
