Becomiing not so mechanically challenged!

Some Jr Colleges and other adult ed programs have night courses. I'd look for one of those in the area.

 

The local jc probably has a beginning auto course, maybe even a local adult ed type class. Look around see what is available.

I was a car nut from 15 on, majored in auto shop, big time, never wrenched for a living, but parlayed my automotive enthusiasm by being a service writer/shop manager, sorry i drift a bit as i get older, i drifta bit, sometimes with all 4 wheels )))))).

See if you can team up with a buddy or two, who do their own stuff, even if it is not a F car. If the guy is willing to let you clean parts and hopefully, he will take the time to explain what is going on and give you a bit of the why, this will be a good learning experience.

Pick up an entry level automotive technology text or two and start reading. If you have curosity about suspendion or electronics or engines and tuning, try picking up basic texts by HP press - a good company.

You might also try looking up maintenance tasks here on the chat for things that you would like to know more about - anything from brake pad replacement, camshafts, shocks or rearview mirrors. I wish the search engine were more difinitive.

To digress for a moment, persuing a good general theoretical understanding of how brakes work and engines produce power and tires grip the road, will give you a big advantage when buying parts and working on the car. I'm sure the guys will tell you there is a ton of "vaporware" out there, that is parts that aren't worth a sh*t but are still promoted with a lot advertising dollars, hoping to lure those with meager understanding into purchasing their, (usually over priced) parts that really don't get the job done. If by study, you have a better feel for the forces, pressures or temperatures involved in what you are doing you will avoid some mistakes. I find trying to understandwhat the he*ll is going on is really pretty interesting and challenging.

As soon as you start taking a class, get some basic tools, craftsman or the stuff at napa will do. Take the safety stuff seriously untill you get to be an old pro (and still have all of your fingers), then you can start short cutting the safety stuff Untill then, don't even think about getting under the car with only a jack under it.

Find a buddy, with some experience, to come over and help you start donig some basic stuff like oil changes, spark plugs, gear lube changes, brake pads, wheel bearing repacking, shocks, light bulbs, and like that.

Sorry if i have been too basic, but i wish i had been able to be an auto instructor, like my old high school auto shop hero Lee Sawyer, a cool guy.

chris

 

Chris -

Are you suggesting that a little drop in VORNADO in my air-box won't really give me 20 extra horsepower and better MPG? It's got to work -- I saw it on TV, and they had a scientist talking about the venturi effect. You're making me sad.

 

**disclaimer -- I am not a professional mechanic. At best, I'm a hobbyist**


Junior college courses are a good idea. I know several people who have done that, and I too am considering taking the classes to get some formal training.

That said, a lot of what I know (which isn't all that much) was learned by keeping a series of $200 junkers on the road.

If you have the space, spend a little bit and buy a Fiat X1/9 or Yugo or early Honda Prelude or something similar, and get a Chilton/Haynes manual for it. Pick a procedure, read up on it, and carefully follow the manual. Take lots of pics as you go to reference. IF you have parts left over, take it back apart and see what you missed. Repeat until you've rebuilt the car

After a while, you'll start to get a feel for how cars work in general, and will start to recognize patterns across all the brands.

Just never get under a car that's only supported by a jack. Jack stands are your friends!

 

Good post from chrismorse. Start with simple books, Peterson Publishing had a series of books ,basic cams , carbs, ignition ,etc way back when taht were very good at explaining mechanical ideas lots of pictures. Iused to pull wrenches for a living a long time ago so I stiff fool with the more vintage stuff but many tasks are the same . As you begin to learn more it is important not be blind to the basics. I have seen many posts here and on other forums where people look for complicated solutions to simple problems. For example ,any electrical problem should start with acheck of the battery, next go to fuses, sounds juvenile,but Iwould bet that 75% of all electrical problems are no power bad ground poor connecton or fuse related. Same for fuel system and the like . Brakes suspension and other stuff is still pretty straightforward. Good luck and dont be afraid to try things, just remember to lable and or take pictures of the more complicated stuff.

 

Spike,
Do what I did. Go to Verell's house and hang out. It's a long commute but lots of fun!



Birdman

 

Mike,
Check out some books at your local libary. They usally have a good selection from novice to advanced.

Check Oakton, Harper, Triton, & Wright Colleges. I know Oakton has auto courses. I don't know if they still offer students the "bring your own car to work on it" perk due to liabilities but you could check.

I can offer to have you over to my shop while I'm working on the Boxer. It's currently on the lift so we could go over some details that would be applicable to your 308.
Dave

 

Sorry Mike,

Try barnes & noble, author search, "Puhn, Fred"; he has a couple of good books about making your car handle and automotive brake systems. HP Press has a huge series of well authored automotive books.

But, I forgot the best, My all time hero, Carroll Smith. He has written a difinitive series of books, starting with "Prepare to Win", and ending with "Drive to Win", generally geared to the aspiring racing driver/racing mechanic. His series is unique in auto texts in that he has the very rare talent to combine unquestioned authority, (by virtue of his engineering/racing successes,i.e. the Ford GT40 Le Mans win), A thorough mastery of engineering, coupled with an ususually fine grasp of teaching and writing, but most of all, he has the unique ability to combine these tallents with anectdotes and HUMOR. The humor aspect makes an "ocasionally" dry subject not just palatible but fun to read. I have re-read his stuff many times,ocassionally, a bit of his understanding is retained.

"Prepare to win" is followd by his best text, IMHO, "Tune to Win", then "Engineer to Win", a bit technical on the metalurgicalside, then "Drive to win" and a text about bits. Anyway, If you want to read, this is the best you can do.

Oh Yeah, if you are lucky enough to have a ferrari buddy like Verell, you still might want to read, just to be able to ask him a question that will show him that you are really interested in this stuff.

hth,
chris

 

It's not HP press. It's HP Books. You need to buy a few. How to make your car handle, hoe to build horsepower v1 and v1. These are pretty good, but they can't teach you common sense, or how to not be a monkey. Take classes with hands on experience.

 

As Nike says, "Just do it". Get your self a basic set of tools, and good shop manual, and start wrenching. Just ad tools as you need them. You will be surprized at how basic most of the stuff is. Unscrew this, take that off, put this on, screw it back in. You don't need a degree to turn a screw driver. The hardest thing about working on cars is figuring out what the problem is, or as some say "diagnosing" the problem. Once that has been figured out, the rest should be pretty easy. What the college course will do is cut down the learning time for diagnosing problems. That is the biggest advantage you will get, aside from the guidance of experiance. But even the best classes can't prepair you for the unknown. Mabe it's just me, but I don't think it is that hard to work on cars. You just have to get over the fear of the unknown. When I first got my 348 I went to the local community college looking to for some enlightenment. I even took my Ferrari there and told the instructor that I wanted to work on it. He was kind of reluctant to even look at it. I told him that it was just an engine, but I think he was scared of the name more than anything. Anyway that is when I decided to do it old school. The school of hard knocks, bloody nuckles, and plenty of cus words. LOL. Just start with the small stuff and work your way up. Oil changes, air filters, fan belts, changing break pads, rotating the tires, etc. Before you know it you are doing you own majors. It's like riding a bike. You will never learn to ride it until you get on and skin up your knees a few times trying.

 

get a part time job at your local friendly repair facility. i'm sure they can use the cheap help and you'll learn and gain confidence. most of the repairs on modern computer controlled vehicles are beyond the scope of the backyard mechanic due to the special electronic gizmos neede to test the various systems. but you certainly can manage to work on basic things once you build up your confidence. book learning is well and good but there is nothing like getting in there and getting your hands dirty. when purchasing manuals avoid the ones that say REASSEMBLY: reverse disassembly procedure.