A waste of expertise ?

There is a lot of experience and expertise that often goes to waste.

What plans or ideas do you have ? I myself have recently moved here and need to find something to stop me going insane when I have nothing else to do.

30+ years in logistics working for high profile brands including hotels, automotive, fashion, drinks.  I can also build / repair / upgrade any Windows based pc or laptop. If anyone has a project that needs some assistance or even advice.. I'm happy to help

Jlgarbutt wrote:

There is a lot of experience and expertise that often goes to waste.

What plans or ideas do you have ? I myself have recently moved here and need to find something to stop me going insane when I have nothing else to do.

30+ years in logistics working for high profile brands including hotels, automotive, fashion, drinks.  I can also build / repair / upgrade any Windows based pc or laptop. If anyone has a project that needs some assistance or even advice.. I'm happy to help

Thanks for that.
Just your response is valid proof that between us all we can cover a wide area of knowledge. For instance I know nothing whatsoever about IT other than if my laptop has a mental breakdown and after I finish stamping on it I take it get repaired. 
But ask me about the acceptable wear limits on a 1966 Shelby's crankshaft bearings or the viability of restoring a rare barn find and I could answer in minutes.
As to how we operate the group I guess all suggestions are welcome. I do belong to a group website specialising in rare cars that charges a small fee to members to cover costs. In return we offer unbiased appraisals of whether a project is worth getting involved in etc. Perhaps to begin with we could gather together a list of those that are willing to offer their expertise and evaluate what knowledge we have at our disposal and compose a directory of the knowledge available ?
Open to all suggestions.

Ahhh a petrol head 😮
Here seeing anything exotic on four wheels is a real find

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Ahhh a petrol head 😮
Here seeing anything exotic on four wheels is a real find

Lots of x USA military stuff kicking about, trucks (in various states of modification), jeeps etc & some old French stuff I have seen. Nothing sort of exotic though I suppose.

I did see a 66 or 67 fastback about a month ago in An Phu.  Surprised the hell out of me.   I sold my 66 fastback right before I moved here a year ago.  Nothing special, C code 4 speed car but it was priced right.  It was a driver, not restored.  I was getting tired of building "interesting" cars that would never be worth what I put into them so wanted to do this one.  Last two were a 1968 SAAB 96 that i converted from FWD to RWD, added a Mazda Miata drivetrain, turbocharged it including all of my own fabrication work.  Moved the firewall back 11" and made it a two seater.
The previous car was actually a Mazda Miata that I did a Monster Miata-type Ford 5.0 V8 swap on but again I fabricated everything myself to do the swap.

goodolboy wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Ahhh a petrol head 😮
Here seeing anything exotic on four wheels is a real find

Lots of x USA military stuff kicking about, trucks (in various states of modification), jeeps etc & some old French stuff I have seen. Nothing sort of exotic though I suppose.

I spotted a Lambo in Hanoi yesterday with some young punk behind the wheel. Probably ***bwhen he pushes it over 100kph!

Wow.. surprised they dare drive it on some of the roads here. Hardly the best quality.

Someone a while back said they saw a McLaren 720S in the city here.

Couple of tarted up BMW M coupes nearby with loud graphics and sports exhaust systems.

I have seen a new Mustang go past also..

goodolboy wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Ahhh a petrol head 😮
Here seeing anything exotic on four wheels is a real find

Lots of x USA military stuff kicking about, trucks (in various states of modification), jeeps etc & some old French stuff I have seen. Nothing sort of exotic though I suppose.

Yup have seen a few old military vehicles and know where there are a some more left abandoned in fields. Not worth restoring though and finding whoever owned them would probably be impossible.
Quite why anyone owns a car here is beyond me anyway.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Wow.. surprised they dare drive it on some of the roads here. Hardly the best quality.

Someone a while back said they saw a McLaren 720S in the city here.

Couple of tarted up BMW M coupes nearby with loud graphics and sports exhaust systems.

I have seen a new Mustang go past also..

I guess that not bringing my own cars here is the one thing I really miss. I only have two left now and would never dream of bringing either to HCM.
Still, will be leaving in a few months so will at last be able to enjoy them again.

Suppobill wrote:

goodolboy wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Ahhh a petrol head 😮
Here seeing anything exotic on four wheels is a real find

Lots of x USA military stuff kicking about, trucks (in various states of modification), jeeps etc & some old French stuff I have seen. Nothing sort of exotic though I suppose.

I spotted a Lambo in Hanoi yesterday with some young punk behind the wheel. Probably shits his pants when he pushes it over 100kph!

Given the ground clearance and the state of the roads a Lambo is an ambitious choice of transport. The engines rapidly become troublesome if continually used at 25kph and heaven knows how long the clutch will last. Very expensive bills and long stays in a workshop locating parts are on the horizon I reckon.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I did see a 66 or 67 fastback about a month ago in An Phu.  Surprised the hell out of me.   I sold my 66 fastback right before I moved here a year ago.  Nothing special, C code 4 speed car but it was priced right.  It was a driver, not restored.  I was getting tired of building "interesting" cars that would never be worth what I put into them so wanted to do this one.  Last two were a 1968 SAAB 96 that i converted from FWD to RWD, added a Mazda Miata drivetrain, turbocharged it including all of my own fabrication work.  Moved the firewall back 11" and made it a two seater.
The previous car was actually a Mazda Miata that I did a Monster Miata-type Ford 5.0 V8 swap on but again I fabricated everything myself to do the swap.

Car restoration and car modification are two entirely different prospects although both, for the unwary, can lead to incredibly expensive outlays that can never be recovered, especially custom cars.
I guess most are more a labour of love than a viable source of profit. I have spent more money than I would ever admit too building one of the cars I have retained that pulls 1,200+HP at the rear wheels on the Dyno.
As a business though I generally work on a 1/3rd principle. One third on purchase, another third on restoration and the final third as profit which, if the project is carefully chosen, can yield extremely good rewards and there really are some absolute gems out there in the weirdest of places. Motorcycles too can raise ridiculous sale prices. I have just finished a long term restoration on a 1953 Vincent Black Shadow with an interesting provenance. Took several years to find the exact components and already have buyers competing to own it. Will be sad to see it go but realistically it is not of any practical use whatsoever.

Indices wrote:

I guess that not bringing my own cars here is the one thing I really miss. I only have two left now and would never dream of bringing either to HCM.
Still, will be leaving in a few months so will at last be able to enjoy them again.

I feel you.

I never saw myself as a real car guy as I was mostly buying mine as assets and for occasional cross country road trips in Germany  but the longer I'm here the more realise how much I miss just entering a car and driving around to do some shopping or do some sightseeing in another town.

My initial plan was to buy a motorbike here but I came to the conclusion that I don't enjoy driving them at all. Turns after all I am a car guy.

I doesn't help that most of my Grab drivers rarely know how to not completely rape their gearbox.

If we are counting new cars in HCMC I have seen at least five mustangs,one with a lady owner lived at my last apartment block, one Chevy sports car not sure what model, at least 2 jags, a Ferrari on the road to Vung Tau, a brand new RR at the airport. a Lambo outside the Caravel  Hotel & a Bentley. Big Lamborghini show room round where the Hard Rock Cafe as I remember.
Amazing really to see in a Communist country considering how much they cost here but China is Communist too & many hot cars there too.

devbob wrote:

Indices wrote:

I guess that not bringing my own cars here is the one thing I really miss. I only have two left now and would never dream of bringing either to HCM.
Still, will be leaving in a few months so will at last be able to enjoy them again.

I feel you.

I never saw myself as a real car guy as I was mostly buying mine as assets and for occasional cross country road trips in Germany  but the longer I'm here the more realise how much I miss just entering a car and driving around to do some shopping or do some sightseeing in another town.

My initial plan was to buy a motorbike here but I came to the conclusion that I don't enjoy driving them at all. Turns after all I am a car guy.

I doesn't help that most of my Grab drivers rarely know how to not completely rape their gearbox.

  Gears seem to be beyond their comprehension and I often cringe when in a manual Taxi. I do not particularly like bikes either other than restoring them occasionally and for the most part when going around I sit behind my wife as a passenger as she handles the motorbike far better than I do. I find it hard to go more than a few miles without wanting to get off and argue with someone over their manic driving or leaving a right hand indicator on forever and then whilst on their phone without warning turn left !

I miss the freedom of having a car also. The option of jumping in and driving off somewhere at the drop of a hat.

Wife says it would be hard for me to drive here as it is different.... Only difference I see between here and Europe is that no one here in a car knows how to operate it correctly.

Missed gear changes, badly timed ones.. no idea how big the vehicle they are driving is.

I'm fairly sure after a few days to adjust to the traffic I could drive to a much higher standard

Never ridden a scooter, but having seen how they are used here I think I could do it as well if not better.

goodolboy wrote:

If we are counting new cars in HCMC I have seen at least five mustangs,one with a lady owner lived at my last apartment block, one Chevy sports car not sure what model, at least 2 jags, a Ferrari on the road to Vung Tau, a brand new RR at the airport. a Lambo outside the Caravel  Hotel & a Bentley. Big Lamborghini show room round where the Hard Rock Cafe as I remember.
Amazing really to see in a Communist country considering how much they cost here but China is Communist too & many hot cars there too.

There is a really fit lady driving around in a bright pink porsche carrera.  She must be a movie star.

She got out spoke Vietnamese to who I assume was her boyfriend. When she drove off, he spoke english with an American accent so must be Viet Kieu.

Hello,

A great networking idea, i am also retired but have 30+ years of project management experience and i am certainly not nursing home material and would love to take on a nice sized project. Count me in for the group!

Van

vanbran wrote:

Hello,

and i am certainly not nursing home material

Van

Nice one 

vanbran wrote:

Hello,

A great networking idea, i am also retired but have 30+ years of project management experience and i am certainly not nursing home material and would love to take on a nice sized project. Count me in for the group!

Van

Thanks for this.
As for age I consider that a massive advantage, the older the better. However clever you just can't put an old head on young shoulders. Experience is priceless and the more the better.
I have one guy signed up that is 84 and an absolute gold mine of knowledge including mistakes that I guess we all need to make.
I am currently putting a directory together and would greatly appreciate adding you to it.
Doesn't cost anything, only your time. Any arrangement made with the enquirer is entirely up to the individual members. When you have time contact me privately via messages and I will get back to you.
And thanks again !

But ask me about the acceptable wear limits on a 1966 Shelby's crankshaft bearings or the viability of restoring a rare barn find and I could answer in minutes.
Open to all suggestions

Should have gone to Cuba.
You would have enjoyed working on those vintage cars with very limited parts available. Cubans mostly built some parts from waste.
I enjoyed my rides when I visited Cuba 15 years ago.
Regarding my expertise, I am a certified  PMP Program / Project Manager and now retired. I had thought about doing that again just part time to keep my mind sharp but this not something that can be done part time as it requires fulltime attention.
Hence my expertise could only be used if someone is willing to offer me a post to guide their PMs temporally, nothing fulltime.

lifeisgoodok wrote:

But ask me about the acceptable wear limits on a 1966 Shelby's crankshaft bearings or the viability of restoring a rare barn find and I could answer in minutes.
Open to all suggestions

Should have gone to Cuba.
You would have enjoyed working on those vintage cars with very limited parts available. Cubans mostly built some parts from waste.
I enjoyed my rides when I visited Cuba 15 years ago.
Regarding my expertise, I am a certified  PMP Program / Project Manager and now retired. I had thought about doing that again just part time to keep my mind sharp but this not something that can be done part time as it requires fulltime attention.
Hence my expertise could only be used if someone is willing to offer me a post to guide their PMs temporally, nothing fulltime.

Thanks for the response.
As per some of my previous posts I have visited Cuba many times as it is a rich source of components.
I could not guarantee you would be offered an official post especially here in Vietnam so I will leave you off the list for now. If things change please let me know.
Thanks again for the contact.

I've seen three or four McLarens in Ho Chi Minh City . Where I live in Phu My Hung it's not uncommon to see Ferraris or the odd Lamborghini, Porsches are as common as muck as the main dealer is down the road . Actually one night there was a minor holdup and a fluorescent green Lambo was observed to be decidedly stationary in the right hand car lane with a guy in a red polo shirt, torn jeans, and a Rolex watch, going off at some blind old git, and his misses, standing beside a crabby Honda Dream II .  I couldn't see any damage but just a scratch would cost more to repair than that guys Honda is worth . LMAO! My gf's sister has, amongst other mundane exotica, an AMG E400 which also has never been over 101kmh . My gf sold her Ford Explorer because it was 10 years 'old' . It had 40,000km on the clock!

I'm 45 , 20+ years in IT and anything internet related. Worked most of my life running a digital marketing agency, so I'd be more than happy to contribute my skills in IT and automation.
Oh. And I love cars too

I told someone the other day that one grows older and becomes wiser through life's experiences, learning new skills along the way, learning via our triumphs and mistakes, and loves and loses. Finally at the age of 92 one sits back and realises that there's nothing more worth knowing and subsequently dies! Billy Connolly once said that life would be so much better if we were born old and grew younger with time! The intelligencia amongst the locals, whom are post graduate, value our wealth of knowlege and experience whereas the average Western example, between 17 and 27, as you say, wants us embalmed because they know everything. Conscription had its benefits. What they forget is that they will also become older too. I am an expert in the printing field which is a discombobulatingly highly technical industry where hands on experience, nerves of steel, an eye for detail, perfection, and a cool head, is required. A guy running a 3 million dollar printing machine must be more than 99.98% mistake free in order to be average. This is why the best cutting edge packaging printers are in Northern Europe. My uncle was incharge of one of the shifts in Concorde maintenance at British Airways having Served with the RAF, BEA, BOAC, and then BA until retirement. He knew about every aspect of the aircraft bar the electronics. Had also been a test pilot his role would have been simlar to mine in the Printing industry, but probably worth double the money! I'm  finacially secure so do I really need the stress now? I think not! My teaching job in HCMC is zero stress, a walk in the park compared with working in the printing industry . I rebuilt my bicycle at 15, my motrorbike engine at 16, resprayed helmets, tanks, complete motrorbikes, and car body parts. I've respoked wheels, hung wallpaper, totally rebuilt, painted and rewired my ride on lawnmower, designed my own house and project managed the building, tiled floors, and bathrooms, painted ceilings and walls, resheeted plasterboard walls, done plumbing, moved powerpoints, and completed fencing from design to finish. My kitchen design was so successful that some of my friends copied it in entirety right down to the laminates and door handles! I've also lived on four continents, became a patched member of a motorcycle appreciation group, owned and used a 357 magnum and I'm a pretty good shot with an AK47!

Tediuki wrote:

I told someone the other day that one grows older and becomes wiser through life's experiences, learning new skills along the way, learning via our triumphs and mistakes, and loves and loses. Finally at the age of 92 one sits back and realises that there's nothing more worth knowing and subsequently dies! Billy Connolly once said that life would be so much better if we were born old and grew younger with time! The intelligencia amongst the locals, whom are post graduate, value our wealth of knowlege and experience whereas the average Western example, between 17 and 27, as you say, wants us embalmed because they know everything. Conscription had its benefits. What they forget is that they will also become older too. I am an expert in the printing field which is a discombobulatingly highly technical industry where hands on experience, nerves of steel, an eye for detail, perfection, and a cool head, is required. A guy running a 3 million dollar printing machine must be more than 99.98% mistake free in order to be average. This is why the best cutting edge packaging printers are in Northern Europe. My uncle was incharge of one of the shifts in Concorde maintenance at British Airways having Served with the RAF, BEA, BOAC, and then BA until retirement. He knew about every aspect of the aircraft bar the electronics. Had also been a test pilot his role would have been simlar to mine in the Printing industry, but probably worth double the money! I'm  finacially secure so do I really need the stress now? I think not! My teaching job in HCMC is zero stress, a walk in the park compared with working in the printing industry . I rebuilt my bicycle at 15, my motrorbike engine at 16, resprayed helmets, tanks, complete motrorbikes, and car body parts. I've respoked wheels, hung wallpaper, totally rebuilt, painted and rewired my ride on lawnmower, designed my own house and project managed the building, tiled floors, and bathrooms, painted ceilings and walls, resheeted plasterboard walls, done plumbing, moved powerpoints, and completed fencing from design to finish. My kitchen design was so successful that some of my friends copied it in entirety right down to the laminates and door handles! I've also lived on four continents, became a patched member of a motorcycle appreciation group, owned and used a 357 magnum and I'm a pretty good shot with an AK47!

Sounds exactly what we need.
I am currently compiling a registry of members with various expertise. Will not cost anything to be part of it. All I need is a very basic description of what you can offer in terms of specialised skills. If enquires come in that  would match a certain profile I will put that member in touch. What happens then is between the enquirer and the member.

You wanna see exotics? I invite you to come to 480 Nguyen Van Linh and guarantee your expression to be "WOW"

Do we have a link or page to submit to ?

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Do we have a link or page to submit to ?

Not as yet but will have shortly once I have some more members.
For now just mail me with some basics and will add you to the directory. I will not list anything you write without your approval first. Don't need much just your areas of expertise. Then if an enquiry comes in that suit you then you take it from there. No fees or anything, just a collection of people with the knowledge to help others in a specific field.

Sounds like a good place to start.. then if things take off have a separate forum page listing who can do what

Logistics & Shipping - 30+ years experience in fashion, hospitality, automotive, beverages.

Laptop & PC repairs /upgrades / repairs - 19 years experience.. started as a hobby and grew from there. At one point (self confessed upgrade junkie) had around 10 laptops of various sizes and around 20 PC's built and in kit form around the home

Re embalming and vintage cars...

I'm with you on the cars and motorcycles. Good luck with those, however! Do you know someone who can cut through the shifting regulations/public-servant-behind-the-desk crap? Coffee money? You'll probably need a fair bit more than that. Then again, why bother in Vietnam? Sounds a bit too desperate to me.

As for 60-plus issues, sorry to sound morbid, but you might want to consider dying somewhere else. A close Dutch friend of mine succumbed to pancreatic cancer in Kuala Lumpur, and it took his Dutch wife several months to get his remains back to the Neths. It took her more than a year and a fortune in solicitor costs to sell their apartment in KL and get the money. They were obviously stringing her along but what could she do?

Vietnam might be different, but given its normal way of going about things, I wouldn't hold my breath.

robvan wrote:

Re embalming and vintage cars...

I'm with you on the cars and motorcycles. Good luck with those, however! Do you know someone who can cut through the shifting regulations/public-servant-behind-the-desk crap? Coffee money? You'll probably need a fair bit more than that. Then again, why bother in Vietnam? Sounds a bit too desperate to me.

As for 60-plus issues, sorry to sound morbid, but you might want to consider dying somewhere else. A close Dutch friend of mine succumbed to pancreatic cancer in Kuala Lumpur, and it took his Dutch wife several months to get his remains back to the Neths. It took her more than a year and a fortune in solicitor costs to sell their apartment in KL and get the money. They were obviously stringing her along but what could she do?

Vietnam might be different, but given its normal way of going about things, I wouldn't hold my breath.

I have no idea how your post is relevant ?

Indices wrote:

I have no idea how your post is relevant ?

I think he is trying to say that if you go to all the trouble of importing a classic car, and then kick the bucket, that your heirs will never recoup its value.

THIGV wrote:

Indices wrote:

I have no idea how your post is relevant ?

I think he is trying to say that if you go to all the trouble of importing a classic car, and then kick the bucket, that your heirs will never recoup its value.

I see . . . . He is on the wrong thread.

Indices, you're right, the second part of my reply was off thread. Sorry to waste people's time. I got a bit carried away by your opening comment about some people feeling that those over 50 should be emblamed, burned at the stake or buried at sea, and was dying (groaning pun) to share the traumatic recent experience of my close friends in KL. Don't know how such events would have panned out in VN but I felt a warning might be in order.

Anyway, thanks THIGV, for coming to my rescue with your point about recouping the value of an imported classic car -- and, I should add, getting the money out of the country. Not sure how any of this works without red invoices etc, or indeed even importing a car if you're not a diplomat, but I vaguely recall this was discussed on another thread.

As for Indices' suggestion to form a group to share accumulated knowledge, I'd like to contribute though I'm not sure what I could offer from Australia. I'm involuntarily semi-retired since we returned from Saigon to Melbourne last year (fortunately my wife earns well here), though I do a bit of freelance sub-editing on Unique Cars magazine. I have some 35 years' experience in editing and publishing in (motorcycle) magazines, in newspapers and books, did a fair bit of radio work, taught Media Studies, love globetrotting on two and four wheels (could probably apply to the Century Club if I were so vain), and speak several languages. If there's a need for a bit of editing work or something along those lines, I'm happy to try and contribute remotely -- so long as it's not through Myface because I adamantly refuse to sign up to that.

robvan wrote:

Indices, you're right, the second part of my reply was off thread. Sorry to waste people's time. I got a bit carried away by your opening comment about some people feeling that those over 50 should be emblamed, burned at the stake or buried at sea, and was dying (groaning pun) to share the traumatic recent experience of my close friends in KL. Don't know how such events would have panned out in VN but I felt a warning might be in order.

Anyway, thanks THIGV, for coming to my rescue with your point about recouping the value of an imported classic car -- and, I should add, getting the money out of the country. Not sure how any of this works without red invoices etc, or indeed even importing a car if you're not a diplomat, but I vaguely recall this was discussed on another thread.

As for Indices' suggestion to form a group to share accumulated knowledge, I'd like to contribute though I'm not sure what I could offer from Australia. I'm involuntarily semi-retired since we returned from Saigon to Melbourne last year (fortunately my wife earns well here), though I do a bit of freelance sub-editing on Unique Cars magazine. I have some 35 years' experience in editing and publishing in (motorcycle) magazines, in newspapers and books, did a fair bit of radio work, taught Media Studies, love globetrotting on two and four wheels (could probably apply to the Century Club if I were so vain), and speak several languages. If there's a need for a bit of editing work or something along those lines, I'm happy to try and contribute remotely -- so long as it's not through Myface because I adamantly refuse to sign up to that.

Would be good to have you on board. It will. not be confined to Vietnam or any other country for that matter but rather a global group willing to offer their expertise which could be in any field imaginable.

I got skillz:

Web application developer, made many tools for company internal use, to implement business processes.  Some examples HR on-boarding (new hires, tasks), sales funnel program (salesmen, company prospects, contact history, steps), purchase order tracking (people, orders, approvals), business coaching app (coaches, trainees, classes, evaluations).

Static website building to display data different ways. I like messing with data.

American English pronunciation coach. I'm building a course, I would especially like to help Vietnamese English teachers. I'm also building a web program to accompany it, with spoken words to illustrate American sounds, and quizzes to test listening and translation. A work in progress.