That's what I'm talking about. And electricians. I can do those things. It is also why I am finishing rebuilding a '79 Bronco. Pretty much all new, carburated, powerful and lifted. Uses some gas but it will go anywhere and I can fix it. I have a little left to do and spare parts to store. My buds and I have 5 or six of these older trucks. New stuff is nice, but over my head when it breaks.
One of my memories of Beirut 1983 was blowing a special gasket in our 35’ twin turbe diesel “Seafox” boat. Boy, was that a problem! I was the det commander, so it was MY fault, of course. The seafox crew (in my det but not SEALs) did not have a replacement, and the boat was “down hard” until a new gasket could be flown in from the states. The gasket was in an odd shape roughly a foot by six inches, with some kind of cork/asbestos inside of a pressed metal rim or flange. Not something they stock at the 7-11.
I went to downtown Beirut to a shop recommended by a local contact, and they built me an exact copy of the gasket on the spot. (We took out the opposite “good” gasket, they made a mirror image.)
Necessity is the mother of invention. In the third world, folks figure out how to fix, rebuild or replace almost anything, without getting “factory parts.”
I went to a Fort Lauderdale junkyard with a Colombian guy once. He was AMAZED. He said most of the cars in the American junkyard would still be running in Colombia, even if they had to take two wrecks, cut them in half, and weld the two “good” halves together! And he was dead serious. He couldn’t believe how Americans were “throwing away” nearly perfect cars because of a “little” (to him) damage.
We’ll adapt, we’ll have to. And having a “skill” will make a huge difference. Hey, I’m still a welder! I haven’t forgotten how to fabricate anything out of metal. Any metal, any process, any position. Custom fabrication is my specialty, up to and including my 48’ “Escape Pod.”