What is a GearHead ?

So, what is a GearHead? Well, it's not a comic book character as described in Wikipedia, and it's not in the dictionary.

A gear is a mechanical linkage that is used to transmit rotational motion. It can be used to increase or decrease torque and speed. I started my career working for Chevrolet Muncie, and later was the gear engineer on GM's EV1 drive unit, so I have an intimate knowledge of this type of gear.

It is also used to refer to equipment used for many things. Camping gear, fishing gear, hiking gear, audio gear, scuba gear, my gear or your gear are some examples of gear (George Carlin called it stuff, but that's another tale). The point  being that gear is something we use to assist us in doing other things, usually to make life easier. Our gear can be a necessity or just something that appeals to us. Usually gear affects our senses in some way, by sight, touch, smell, sound, or taste

Head can mean the top, the start, the wisest, most powerful, or just the place that our brain lives. Our brain is what controls us, gives us our intelligence. It tells us right from wrong, and gives us our emotions. It's these emotions that  are at the heart of us. It gives us our passions.

In a nut shell (or cranium) a GearHead is one who has a passion for an object that they become attached to. Though I believe the term Gearhead is mostly used in the realm of cars, bikes, boats, and planes or the transportation segment. Why, because people are passionate about them, so passionate that they usually cannot leave them alone. They have to customize them, usually doing the work themselves when they can. I'm not saying that there are not GearHeads in other areas, but for the last hundred years transportation has been at the head of the class. That said, I also believe that this era may be winding down and electronics will be the passion of the next generation of GearHeads.

The other characteristic of a GearHead is that because of their hands-on approach they can be skilled craftsmen. They are the example of do it right, the best you can, and they take pride it what they have done.

Most of all GearHeads are pretty cool and good to have around.

Next time, what makes me think I qualify.

In the Begining....

If someone wrote a book about your life, would anyone read it? That is a question in a military recruiting add several years ago and I have pondered on that question ever since.

Actually I think that I have done some cool things in my life (not to be compared with a lot of people out there), so to see if anyone wants to hear about it I'm going to learn how to blog.


My Grandfather is probably where I got my gearhead gene from. He was a mechanic, racer, pilot, and flight instructor. He built the airport in Winchester, Indiana. So I have been around mechanical "thing's" all my life. 


At 8 years of age I built my first model car for a Boy Scout project. A 1960 Ford Starliner. What's interesting about this is that ever since I have had a car it has been a GM Product, never owned a Ford. From then on I have always been interested in cars and car related subjects.


To further seal my fate, those same grandparents got me my first subscription to Hot Rod magazine in 1963.


So thus was the creation of this self proclaimed gearhead.