Home build instructions from 1973

[ert01]

I was flipping through my brothers old collection of Popular Mechanics books tonight and found something that I found interesting and I thought you guys might want to see it as well.

I only took pictures of the pages for now but if someone really wants me to, I can scan them and get a really good quality image.

[BrianW]

That's cool!

[Ben10281]

Very cool! I love old books about building stuff. It could just be my imagination running wild, but I feel like more people made their own stuff in the 50's-70's than they do today.(This forum being the exception!) Is that really true or am I way off on that?

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Ben10281

Very cool! I love old books about building stuff. It could just be my imagination running wild, but I feel like more people made their own stuff in the 50's-70's than they do today.(This forum being the exception!) Is that really true or am I way off on that?

You're spot on actually. People who do things for themselves are getting harder and harder to find. Whether it's a van or something else we should be creative and experiment! That's my opinion, anyway.

Really cool book. I'm pretty surprised my Dad didn't have a copy.

[ert01]

My brother has a whole collection of these books... Probably 10 or more in total... They're really interesting to flip through! Tons of good ideas for almost anything. Too bad Popular Mechanics isn't the same now as it was back then :/ it's gone way downhill IMHO.

[TomsBeast]

What a great find! I also love the old DIY articles

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

You're spot on actually. People who do things for themselves are getting harder and harder to find....

I was talking to my 20-something yr old daughters about this very thing over the holiday.

"How many guys do you know, work on their own stuff, heck, how about change their own oil, can jump start a car?"

The response I got was frightening...

Guys like us are getting fewer and farther between

[BrianW]

My 99-year-old neighbor died a few months ago. I helped him and his wife a lot with his house and property. Up until his mid-90s he'd still work on his car, house, and fix random stuff. When he died his useless idiot son came to look at the house to sell it and complained that his dad was a "hoarder" in the basement. The son told me I could take any tools I wanted before he had the clean out service come. I went down and what I saw was the collection of a man that actually fixed stuff. Repurposable parts, materials, well organized bins of nuts and bolts, etc. And plenty of nice tools that I took to use in my shop. I guess I'm a hoarder, too. But it's nice to have that screw or nut, piece of wood, etc., that you need in a middle if a project without running out to the store.

[BUFFALO]

Originally Posted by BrianW

My 99-year-old neighbor died a few months ago. I helped him and his wife a lot with his house and property. Up until his mid-90s he'd still work on his car, house, and fix random stuff. When he died his useless idiot son came to look at the house to sell it and complained that his dad was a "hoarder" in the basement. The son told me I could take any tools I wanted before he had the clean out service come. I went down and what I saw was the collection of a man that actually fixed stuff. Repurposable parts, materials, well organized bins of nuts and bolts, etc. And plenty of nice tools that I took to use in my shop. I guess I'm a hoarder, too. But it's nice to have that screw or nut, piece of wood, etc., that you need in a middle if a project without running out to the store.

I'm with you guys on this.
It's fun and rewarding to fix or build your own things. To be self reliant.
I'm trying to clear my house and garage of clutter and things that don't get used often. But tools and extra parts from projects will always get used again.

Cool book!

[JWA]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

People who do things for themselves are getting harder and harder to find.

Originally Posted by TomsBeast

What a great find! I also love the old DIY articles

I was talking to my 20-something yr old daughters about this very thing over the holiday.

"How many guys do you know, work on their own stuff, heck, how about change their own oil, can jump start a car?"

The response I got was frightening...

Guys like us are getting fewer and farther between

Well I'm not so sure I agree with both of you on this however the DIY and being self-reliant thing has isn't as strong as it once was, even as recent as the 70s when these shared articles were originally produced.

Popular Mechanic's magazines facilitated and encouraged many a project, if nothing else it was a dream book of sorts. They had a knack for simplifying so many things that the common guy could knock one out in fairly short order.

PM lives on even if only through forums like SMB---how many here have begun a project based on knowledge found here and we who are willing to share info and offer solutions, encouraging others to jump in. After all misery loves company!

We who DIY can't understand why others don't enjoy or pursue similar things---guess its just not in their genes OR they're not encouraged to learn things like routine vehicle maintenance----I think its the latter truth be told. Its not illegal to "strongly encourage" a child into learning how to keep their own vehicles in reliable running condition. Young men and women too need a helping hand on occasion even if they don't seem to like having dirty hands.

[ert01]

Here's another article I found today from 1968: