Somebody asked "Who is this Bubba". I went to help a friend with her irrigation. The drip line had a 1/8" hole for a plug but Bubba had duct taped it with NINE FEET of tape and it leaked badly, of course. A real plug stopped the leak. Pray that Bubba stays with yard work and leaves cars alone. :p:

 

There is a Bubba in every used car. trust me

 

"Bubba " is a made up name for anybody that fixes or modifies things with little on no knowlege or ability. Using a coat hanger wire for a spark plug wire would be an extreme example. I've seen that done! :lol:

 

bubba is anyone that works on cars with no training; often they did not even take AUTO SHOP in high school

 

I enjoy my garden as much as I enjoy my Corvette. And I do not want Bubba there. Or in anyone's garden. He plants poplars that grow to 40' about 3' apart. He waters the lawn at mid-day sun. He plants maple trees 3' from the foundation so the roots grow through the concrete and strangle the water lines. And worst of all, he parks a C3 in the backyard for 20 years and uses it as a flower planter :rolleyes: .

 

I never took auto shop in High School. But I'm doing my best not to be a Bubba, or Bubba-ette. And I usually have supervision when working on it. I thought a Bubba knew the right way to fix something and chose the easy or less expensive route.

 

if you have supervision, that could qualify as training.

Bubba thinks cars are so simple no training is required. Bubba has no idea what the best procedure is, bubba thinks anything will work because it is a car.

Of course you are right that some shoddy mechanics put cheap parts in to sell a car fast, or fix it cheap, but i would call that person another name....

 

I got the shop manuals, Chiltons, Haynes, you guys, etc. but no training. Can I be exempt from being a Bubba?

 

books, manuals, even magazines will raise your AUTO I.Q.

Actually your repairs should be evaluated as a percent success ratio.

If you fix 100 cars and most stay fixed, that's pretty good. You are sure not a bubba.

I have about a 99 to 1 success ratio. To someone that did not see the 99 good repairs, i could look like a bubba on the 1 mistake. for a short time i feel like bubba, but i learn fast, and will change my mind in a minute with facts to learn from.

One must focus on their area of expertise. I can't do body work; you don't see me giving advice on how to fix a wreck.

if you give advice without experience on that particular problem, bubba is a kind word. i would use a more negative word.

 

Hmmmmm.. I think you are close, but this statement may be too broad, I for example have no formal training. I bought a book and started at it.

I think Bubba type repairs can be identified with the five following statements. Feel Free to add more.

1.Repairs that incorporate houshold or otherwise non automotive products (i.e. coathanger exhust hangers)

2.Temporary repairs that become permanent (i.e. ducttaped radiator hoses - note: duct tape is a perfectly acceptable tool for the automotive enthusiast, but should not be considered a permanent repair)

3.Electrical repairs that are messy, poorly done (i.e. twisting wires together w/o at the very least crimped connections) and work only temporarily.

4.Sloppy incomplete work. (for example - using a hacksaw to remove the a/c core on the firewall, never replacing it with the correct parts and just leaving it that way.) This is the core of bubba - his work is sloppy, it may function but you can see it when you look at it.

5.Using the wrong tools for the job. Bubba often uses crescent wrenches and vice grips to loosen bolt/nut combos. A cresenct wrench can be a fine tool sometimes, but most are very ppor quality, they are large enough that if you can get at the bolt with a cresent you can certainly get at it with a socket or a box end.

I think everybody on this forum at some time or another has done a bubba, if you worry about it at night, or fix it later because you just cant stand the concept of it being on your car - then you are fine.

Next week I'll learn how to spell
:lol:


[Modified by fauxrs, 7:17 AM 7/1/2002]

 

Bubba certainly doesn't fix it later, but this describes me quite well. We need a term for that too.

 

Bubba is what many on the forum call clowns who know basically know nothing about cars, do not even recognize the correct answers & never say thanks.

Will leave it to others to give ex. of their work.

 

This sounds like an info-mercial

"But Fauxrs! Could i too be a bubba?"
"What must one do to drop bubba status?"
"Come on tell us the real price you can do better than that!!!"

:jester

Bubba in short, is someone who does not know what they are doing, wont admit they dont, and believes they have fix a problem, usually resulting in 5 more.

I was once a bubba. its true, i know its shocking. but i believe i dropped bubbality when i rebuilt a rust-froze 350, and it turned over. But the way i dropped bubbality was.... (drumroll please) I read the freakin repair manual! bubbas dont read instructions, manual, or repair guides. they may skim, but never read. and they will screw up your car because of this. its not your car now, its thiers, but you will buy it from them soon enough...

Sorry every car ive owned has been placed in bubba hands at one point in time. i still have issues with it. the vette has been the worst. but its getting de-bubbaed. slowly, but surely.

 

a bubba is someone who plugs up radios/any other aftermarket electronic right to a fuse... and when the run out of spots on either side they double up :mad

And duct-tape... lots of duct-tape... especially on things that move that shouldnt. WD-40 is another great too... for things that dont move that should... now for the stuff around heat, use a peice of mg muffler bracket... err bailing wire :jester


[Modified by ZD75blue, 10:48 AM 7/1/2002]

 

I forget who it was that posted a pic of Bubba here a couple of months ago, it was great. It looked just what I think Bubba looks like.