Your evolution as a mechanic

[ac_]

Awesome story! I worked at a shop called Virg's Brake and Suspension in Mount Vernon. Worked there for about a year and a half after high school. Then my wife and I packed up and moved to upstate New York, where I'm from. Took a job at a Ford dealership, but me and the shop manager never did see eye-to-eye. He let me go after six months. I did other odd jobs for a bit, before I decided that I really wanted to get away from the east coast, so we moved back to Washington. I decided at that time that I loved my cars as a hobby more than I did as a career, so I took the job that I have now, which has nothing to do with wrenching. Been here for 34 years...

I will tell you what, it was hard being a mechanic in Everett. All of my friends worked swing shift at Boeing, and they tried hard to get me in there, but I knew I wanted t be a mechanic. Those guys made bank though, but it was rough, they kept getting laid off or going on strike. It was not my world. I wanted to fix cars. Not so much anymore. I mean it is cool when you are lifting or modding, but when the clutch goes out or brakes that is just work haha. I like things you notice when you are done, I hate spending money on, and working on things that are maintenance.

I wish I would have known you when I lived there. I think we would have had a hoot wrenching on Jeeps together, and exploring in the Jeeps.

 

[Squatch]

I will tell you what, it was hard being a mechanic in Everett. All of my friends worked swing shift at Boeing, and they tried hard to get me in there, but I knew I wanted t be a mechanic. Those guys made bank though, but it was rough, they kept getting laid off or going on strike. It was not my world. I wanted to fix cars. Not so much anymore. I mean it is cool when you are lifting or modding, but when the clutch goes out or brakes that is just work haha. I like things you notice when you are done, I hate spending money on, and working on things that are maintenance.

I wish I would have known you when I lived there. I think we would have had a hoot wrenching on Jeeps together, and exploring in the Jeeps.

Yep. I think we have a lot in common, to be sure. One thing where we differ is regarding the maintenance and/or repairs. I actually still get a lot of satisfaction in those things. I just love the time spent with a wrench in my hand, regardless of what it is ('cept maybe oil changes...). I wish my schedule allowed for more garage time, but I've found that family life is rather time-consuming. Worth it, of course, but time consuming, nonetheless.

*Edit: I struggled with the notion of working at Boeing, as I know people who make some serious money there. Unfortunately, they also suffer from lay-offs and union stuff that I just can't get behind. In the end, I knew Boeing wasn't for me. I've now worked here longer than any of my friends have worked at Boeing, so I think I made the right choice.

 

[TJ2]

I grew up in the island where they do not have a shop, and so, me and my dad fixed everything (Jeep Willys , '74 Toyota land cruiser & a CJ) by hand. My routine is I got to high school and farm on weekends, fixing stuff with bare hands is pretty much normal. I learned the jeep's pulse by heart, no manual. Until now, it's weird for I listen to engines quietly still and calm, as if I want to learn what they are saying and understand how they are breathing.

 

[Eddie Greenlee]

Do most of yall own a impact wrench? Im may buy a battery 1/2 impact wrench. It may make my life easier. Up till now i just have used the manual wrenches and ratchets.

 

[TJ2]

Do most of yall own a impact wrench? Im may buy a battery 1/2 impact wrench. It may make my life easier. Up till now i just have used the manual wrenches and ratchets.

Dude, owning a TJ, you need all type of tools. I suggest you buy all the sets in all sizes, metric and inches adapter for your own good. I see people who still use the cross wrench in changing tires. I know it's an old school but come on.

 

[cliffish]

@Squatch where in NY are you from?

 

[Squatch]

@Squatch where in NY are you from?

Saratoga Springs and Greenfield Center. Neighboring areas...

 

[KMG]

My father was a mechanic who built an 8 stall auto repair business. In the evenings and on the weekends, his place was the local hang out for the hot rod guys. I grew up with the mechanics helping and teaching me. Great guys! Only one of the original mechanics is still alive and I have lunch with him every week. I bought my first car with my yard mowing money. A 70 Camaro (6 cylinder 3 speed manual) that the mechanics helped install a 425hp 427c.i. big block, 4 speed, and a narrowed 9" ford rear end.

 

[Squatch]

My father was a mechanic who built an 8 stall auto repair business. In the evenings and on the weekends, his place was the local hang out for the hot rod guys. I grew up with the mechanics helping and teaching me. Great guys! Only one of the original mechanics is still alive and I have lunch with him every week. I bought my first car with my yard mowing money. A 70 Camaro (6 cylinder 3 speed manual) that the mechanics helped install a 425hp 427c.i. big block, 4 speed, and a narrowed 9" ford rear end.

Damn! Helluva first car! :thumbsup:

 

[RussTJ]

Thought I'd give this a refresh with tales of my finely honed troubleshooting skills. I was riding home last week and the gray clouds were rolling in. The highway was stopped so I got off for the backroads before the rain came in. A few miles from home the rain started coming down so I turned on my wipers. They were doing a poor job and I went thru a brief checklist in my head. I'd replaced the wiper motor with a new Mopar replacement a few years back and it seemed to be moving smoothly. The wiper blades were also newer and I wasn't sure why my windshield was covered with rain. I soon realized the problem... I had the top down and the rain was on the inside of the window. Had a good laugh and a refreshing ride home.

 

[mrblaine]

My pop had a mechanic shop before I was born. He worked on all of our vehicles growing up. He went into the IBEW apprenticeship program and wound up being a union journeyman electrician for the time that I knew him while he was working. He was also a very talented musician who favored country and western. Along the way he developed a fondness for drinking. I never worked on vehicles growing up, I can't wire up a 3 way switched circuit, I can't carry a tune in a bucket, and I don't drink. Someone asked the other day what you learned from your dad. I replied, "how to dodge a well aimed kick".

I did almost no mechanical work other than a few engine rebuilds until we bought our first Jeep TJ in May of 99. I had worked doing all phases of construction (except electrical) so I do have mechanical aptitude, just not much need to grow it until we got a Jeep. I found that I have a fair bit of a knack for it and more of a knack for figuring out how to do things and just went from there. Not a mechanic, but I am highly mechanical.

 

[qslim]

I was always into cars, but never had any exposure to working on them at all. My first job was working in the wash shop of a Chevy dealership in the early 90's and didn't even have a driver license. I was in awe of having a job where they let me back Corvettes in and out of the wash bay, I thought I was the coolest guy around (spoiler: I was)! After I got my license I got a gig as a lot porter; shuffling cars around the lot, moving cars between dealerships, etc... Then I started working as a valet at the service dept of a Honda dealership, got to know the mechanics, and after a bit of time a few of them let me pull my own car in after-hours and work on it with their tools. Eventually I asked the service manager for a shot at fixing cars, and he said yes. I took a $1k loan from my mom for a little Craftsman stacker and the guys helped me buy my first set of basic tools.

Turned out I had a knack for it; went to a voc school for auto tech, got all my ASE certs, was doing alright. After about 8 years I decided to say fuck it and signed up to let the USAF teach me how to fix planes. Snuck in 1 month under the 27 year mark! Only did 4 years though, active duty was NOT my bag after doing my own thing for so long. But, it got me lots of amazing experience and now I only have to fix cars when I want to.

 

[qslim]

Do most of yall own a impact wrench? Im may buy a battery 1/2 impact wrench. It may make my life easier. Up till now i just have used the manual wrenches and ratchets.

Yes, impact wrenches are great. I used to fix cars for a living so I have a bit of a spread, but I've found that the impact wrench I use the most is my 3/8. It doesn't do lug nuts or suspension, but it's perfect if you're doing interior work or anything else under the hood. It's small and light and is wonderful for jobs that require a bunch of fasteners.

 

[J R]

My father has been in the auto repair business for over 40 years. I spent most my time after school and during the summer working in his shop. Started off sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, removing the trash. Then he would let me clean some parts for a motor job, do a lube/ oil change now and then. As I got older more work came my way like doing clutches and motors as a teen (with some help of course). Keep in mind that was all for free, food, hot water etc was payment. Nothing in my house was free. That was life until I graduated and then I jumped on a bus to MCRD SD.

Fast forward some time, I decided to come home and work full time in his shop. We had a blast, knocked out some serious work. With his shop in a small town north of LA I had to get away from that are. Those of you that life in small towns know what drama can be had there. Couldn't even hit the bar with out someone wanting to talk about there car, then some drunk know it all has to butt in and start an argument and I would reply "if your so good why are you not making a living doing this"

So packed my shit moved to Vegas, jumped on the construction boom as a union fire sprinkler fitter. The recession hit this area pretty hard, got a layoff and there was no work any where local and really didn't want to go on the road so I packed up my tools and equipment and drove to the closest shop and asked for a job. Back in a shop working on light duty diesels. You name it I've more then likely done it.

Then one day I got a phone call from one of the unions that I've talked to asking me if I wanted a job as a maintenance engineer. That's where I am at now. Electrical is my specialty, but if its in a casino/hotel I work on it. Boilers, pumps, electric motors, heat exchangers, plumping just to name a few.

Still have all my tools and equipment. Still work on my crap, don't touch the wife's SUV (it has a awesome warranty)
I really don't do much in side work but I do let my friends bring there stuff over use my tools while I sit on a bar stool with a beer and walk them through it.

my apologies for the novel

 

[jgaz]

I grew up in a small town, family owned hardware store. We installed and serviced everything we sold. Was holding a trouble light for my Dad (maybe not too well) at 6 years old.

When I was about 12 dad got a job with USPS as a rural mail carrier. 70+ miles of Michigan country roads with 550+ stops a day was hard on a car. We did all our own work since he supplied the car and was paid mileage $. By 14 I was doing his brakes (about every 10k) by myself.

At 16 I went to work in the local gas station and repair shop. Stayed there 3 1/2 years until he sold out. 6 months in a busy independent shop, froze my ass off and it was on to a small Chevy Olds dealer at 20 years old.

At the dealer I found I needed to do something the old guys didn’t want to do. So I kinda specialized in electrical, and a lot of theft recovery. Along with that I did front end work and Alignments. After about two years I was the 2nd highest grossing mechanic on the service floor. During some this time I also worked for local shop rebuilding starters, alternators, wiper motors, etc.

I worked at the dealership for about 10 years total, with 1 trimester of college (hated it) and 5 months in the NC Dept at a machine shop to break up the 10 years

At 30, I landed my dream job. I was hired as a mechanic at Chrysler Engineering in Detroit. I moved around a lot there. Sometimes it was my choice sometimes it wasn’t. Worked in the suspension lab, the service garage, the stress lab, AZ desert proving grounds, body hardware lab and finished my last 6+ years in the Road Test Simulator lab.

I couldn’t have asked for a better job, even with the ups and downs of the auto industry. I was truly blessed the day they hired me.

Now I’m retired and only work on my own stuff. I’ve got a crap load of tools that I may never use again, but that another story.

I also apologize for the novel.

 

[rasband]

I grew up fairly technically minded, but mostly in technology rather than cars. My dad passed when I was little (5 years old), so I wasn't around manly things a ton beyond the limited memory of his woodworking.

I learned to drive from a mutual friend of my parents (now who my mom is remarried to) around 8 in a 1977 F150 plow truck in the mountains of CO, and had a few chances to work on it.

However after my mom remarried when I was 17, my step dad and I went in on a project car together - a 1969 Commando. I’ve basically been going since then (13-14yrs) with all the stuff I can do in the cars I’ve owned between my wife and I. I’ll also help my sisters out from time to time as they need it.

 

[jjvw]

I grew up around muscle cars. My dad, uncles and their friends were all chasing horsepower. I appreciated it, but it never really resonated with me. My dad also had a CJ3A and a CJ5. The bare bones mechanical aspects of both fascinated me. Those were the first vehicles I learned to drive.

Eventually I found myself restoring old houses for a while. I went to art school in the big city. There was a long time I thought I might never own a car again. I built bicycles. Was a hardcore bike commuter. Loved battling traffic on brakeless fixed gears and old English 3 speeds. The art career didn't go anywhere. I landed in the bizarre world of art handling which is high stakes jack of all trades problem solving for museums and collectors. I'm pretty good at it.

Work moved me to Colorado, where I discovered the old mining access roads using a company vehicle and remembered my dad's Jeeps from decades ago. I very nearly bought a '67 Scout 800 as my daily driver before I came to my senses on needing a newer more reliable vehicle that I could learn to maintain without a fight. Up until this, I had barely kept up with oil changes and only repaired some vacuum lines and a wiring harness after a small engine fire resulting from a leaking valve cover on my high school car. I must have fixed that too. Can't remember.

The TJ was an impulse buy after another car deal fell through. I honestly told myself that I was going to leave it stock. Everything I have done to it, I learned to do myself. I think I've done ok on parts of it. My electrical work is not the best.

 

[F Troop]

I got my start with my first bike in 1971. I totally rebuilt it 3 times before I was 12. I worked on some dirt track cars with my neighbor between the age of 15 to 20 and generally putzed with every vehicle I’ve owned since.

 

[EJD]

Lol, funny concept here but for me...I was not very mechanical at all ever, never did anything outside of normal vehicle maintenance. After owning a Jeep for 2 years I have done everything from frame repair to an entire engine swap. All for the first time too and most things with only hand tools!

Still wouldn't call myself a mechanic though...

 

[Squatch]

Lol, funny concept here but for me...I was not very mechanical at all ever, never did anything outside of normal vehicle maintenance. After owning a Jeep for 2 years I have done everything from frame repair to an entire engine swap. All for the first time too and most things with only hand tools!

Still wouldn't call myself a mechanic though...

It's wise to never refer to yourself as a mechanic, because by doing so, some people will expect you to know everything there is about vehicles, and others will expect you to help them out regularly, usually for little-to-no money. It's much safer to simply refer to yourself as a hobbyist, and call it good.