McManagers?

Cleaning bricks at 14, stacking egg pulp tins at 15, apprentice fitter and turner at 15, senior tradesman status at 21, toolmaker at 25, instrument maker at 27, engineering workshop owner at 28 with wife and two daughters, workshop manager at 36, Sales Manager for international company at 42, free lance sales agent at 54 and still doing the same old s...t at 64 and loving it. Currently having a serious mid life readjustment, do I pay into super or do I build a Cobra, well a little of both I guess, I have ordered a Pace 427 and still watch the stock market...come on you lot, I still have to buy fuel for my beautifull little beast when it finally turns up around March/ April.

To all those that mention and include your family, your wife and children... I tip my hat to you all.

Having said all that, I can,t wait until the day I am out there cruising in my Pace 427, 5.0 Coyote and TKO - 600 and making some serious noise.

I'm a team leader, so in Bernie-speak does that make me a McTrainee Manager? :)

My team is a group of recruiters who are all high achievers so they make my life easy.

My first drive in a Cobra was when I had to show Qld Transport that my supercharged V8 Cortina was not too loud. There were 3 test facilities in Brisbane and my nearest one was about to close when I arrived. The owner asked me to meet him at his place later and he'd test the car there.

Frank opened his garage door and there was the dream car. I jumped in and we headed off to grab some fuel. I was 24 years old and drooling over the little details, not to mention the sound and feeling of cruising down the road in a COBRA!!! Frank offered me a drive. I never usually drive other people's cars, but I couldn't resist. I was hooked.

He had me hook, line and sinker, so when Frank mentioned he was selling the car, I had to have it. I couldn't afford it, but 2 minute noodles go a long way.

That was back in the 90's and a few Cobras ago. I can't imagine not having one in the garage!

Lived hard, played hard and although me youth is spent and me back is bent and the snows in me hair -- Proud to be a "proper tradie" Fitter machinist all disciplines incl CNC, Toolmaker, Fabricater, Plastics Moulder (-injection,blow and extrusion)
Mr

Hmmmm

I think I know where I might be going wrong now...

- I only have 1 job
- I have (at least) one cappuccino a day
- I love beer
- I hate 2 minute noodles

%/

Faark, I am never going to make it! :CRY:

well for me it was at brissie motor show 30 years ago I saw then bought my first cobra then got married the first time sold the cobra to buy a house , had 4 daughters .saved every cent to buy one again purchased a chassic & body & started again ! with new wife but low & be hold no.5 daughter arrived so now just working to build & pay for all those weddings & keep up with a 3years old
who can retire .......im just tired at 51

cobra goin for proxy vin on Tuesday
soon I my be free to drive again & feel young again

Tonnus,

Just set a date mate a goal without a date is just a dream.

Like it Damage... Really like it...

I got hooked on the Cobra when those Coca-Cola competition ones came out.

What got me started on my own Cobra build was when the wife and kids (3 boys) and I were driving along and one of the boys noticed a Cobra go past in the opposite direction and pointed it out to me.

I then muttered "My life's dream is to build one of them one day when I retire". One of my son's then say's "well why don't you now?", also to my surprise so did the missus.

That night I was on the Interweb and the rest is history.

Finance-wise the boys were finishing school so the fees were disappearing which helped a lot.

It was a great father-son bonding experience and they boys pitched in where they could. Even got the missus to hold a few bolts in place whilst I was under the car doing them up etc.

I put myself down as "Professional" as I am in IT like Modena.

I did start out in Electronics Engineering doing Industrial Robot Repairs and AC/DC Drives for Paper Mills and Steel Mills.

Then this thing called the Internet was invented and the rest is history.

This has been an interesting thread to find out the different paths we have all taken.

cheers

Gregg

Well I may as well add how I got to where I am.
We lived on a property so my first paid job out of school was shooting pigs and Roos for money. We took them into town where they were all put into a refrigerated semi trailer and we were paid by the kilo. Sold as game meat in Europe... The farm is where I learnt how to drive / ride. Used to drive our semi when I was 14.... Moved to the Sunshine Coast and had a number of jobs before moving to Brisbane after a courier company I had bought into went bust. Worked for the City Council for 12 years before the old boy asked me to come & learn the business.
I now run the family business, we make covers for spotlights usually found on trucks and 4x4's. They are sold all around the world, we also make the wind wings and sunvisors as sold by snake bite and AP.
As a farmer my father taught me to be a 'jack of all trades', you have to do that when you live so far from everything.

Well I guess I should add my story here. (long story)

In the late 90's I was right into home theatre stuff. I came across a post on a dvd forum that you could get some really big old projectors that were awesome for the money. I already had hundreds of dvds, and digital projectors were un heard of at that time. Some guy in Qld converted a squash court into a theatre for low money - I was hooked!!!

I ended up buying a huge 60kg CRT projector and attaching it to the ceiling at the amazement of my neighbours and friends. A group of us into those projectors formed a group known as the A team, and we all helped each other tweak our speakers, amplifiers and CRT projectors. We had get togethers, group buys, set up nights and a really good time, One member of the group who helped everyone set their projectors up perfect was Craig White. He had a Cobra so I always asked lots of questions.

After spending a fair bit of money on Commodores while I was at Uni doing Engineering I settled down and got a company car. I promised my wife that I would be good, but one day I would build a Cobra.

Some time later Craig told me he would be in Goulburn for the Nationals so I went down for a look. I could not believe all the awesome cars thrashing on the track.

A year later, I took my wife for a casual drive and ended up in Goulburn. My wife finally realised why I had a dream to build a Cobra. I mentioned to Craig that if a good kit came up cheap let me know.

Several weeks later Craig sent me an email pointing out a partially finished Classic Revival kit in Victoria. It so happened that I was down there for work a week later, so I took a look. I was super impressed, but I knocked it on the head as my wife was 6 months pregnant and cash was not exactly easy. Not a good time to spend on cars! My awesome wife convinced me to get it or I would always regret it.

I started building my Classic Revival Cobra in a single garage, and the first people I met with my heavily pregnant wife was Phil and Karen Mizzi. I think I bought some second hand wheels, but the ongoing advice and friendship we got was priceless.

It took me about 5 years to build the Cobra when money allowed, and I made friends for life with similar minded people in the B Club. What an awesome bunch of blokes living the dream.

My Cobra turned out better than I imagined and was featured in Street Machine and won one some major trophies somehow.

I have sold my Cobra now and have been playing with other toys, but I have made some great friends and may yet come back to the Cobra world........

Ben

Mechanic by trade. Helped a guy home deliver drinks, got hit by a car, broke my leg. Pumped petrol, then did my apprenticeship on Volvos and Honda. Travelled around Australia getting jobs easily. Bought a home dog food delivery franchise. Travelled around Asia for 7 years, did well in real estate. Built ski boats. RAA road service for 7 years. Became a Mr Mum last year. Now back contracting for RAA road service. Cars are easier then Babies.
JD

I've put manager as Technical Manager is my current job title. Started work as an apprentice electrical fitter in Sydney where I was lucky enough to be exposed to a variety of work mostly of the troubleshooting type. I could be diagnosing an issue with the one of the Sydney Morning Herald printing presses in the morning and then sorting out a drama on a bauxite carrier ship in the afternoon.

I fell into Facilities Management and then Hotel Engineering. Hotels took my wife and I overseas 19 years ago and we're still going albeit my current role is non hotel.

Saw my first Cobra bodyshell at about age 17, it was a NZ kit exhibited at the Sydney Motorshow. Tried it out for size but ergonomically it was awful with the transmission tunnel in serious conflict with my left leg and the experience turned me off for quite some time. Wasn't until I dropped into Warwick's factory one day that I realised I could fit.

I bought a uncompleted Harrison kit in 2008 and Warwick put it together to my spec while I was in Saudi Arabia. The rest is history.

What ever your job.....try to make interesting

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps27509d13.jpg

Tennis anyone
 

My story,

I was an Australian ranked junior tennis and wanted to be

A pro player or coach.

I soon realised that I wasn't going to make it as a player ( on the court )

So coaching it was :D

I finished the apprenticeship (yes it is a 3 year course ) and started

coaching or more to the point baby sitting. Of the 100 or so kids that

I was coaching only a handful want to be there, they were mostly there so their

Mum's could go shopping or OTHER activities, it was the 80's :)

So off to TAFE I went to complete an Electronics Engineering Certificate, this

Was hard work so I decided to get a job fixing copiers, I worked out I wasn't

very

Good at that so went into sales ( copiers) and have never looked back........


Stiffy