History (1) more question, then I'm shutt'n up and HRP can have it

I have always been behind the curve, late to the party, the last one to know, etc.
I at age 12/13 I had the basic knowledge of of cars and how they worked but didn't have any experience at all in working on one in anyway until I was 21.

I remember one of my idols the same age as I was saying, "WTF Moe, you don't even know what the cam shaft does". I did know, but never even had seen one. This was when I was 18. It wasn't until the car I was driving needed help (a ' 51 Chev. fast back) that I tore it down in the Airmens autoshop at McConnell AFB and rebuilt a 216, and put all that book learning through the years to practice. Of course there was all that other stuff, brakes, tires, and all that took another 10/15 years and I'm still learning and behind the curve in many many ways.

The question: At what age did you learn and get full grasp of the workings of an engine and then proceed to learn more about automobiles?

 

at 16 small engines class/….

 

Age 66 - still a mystery!

 

read my sig line,I learn something almost every day.

 

14/15. At 15 i rebuilt the engine in my Cushman scooter. Took the crank to the local macine shop smd they ground it to .010. honed the cylinder with a borrowed hone and some of dad's mineral spirits as lube. Lapped the valves. Cleaned it all up and put it together with new insets and rings. Started on the first kick and ran perfectly until I sold it

 

I hung out with my brother, 13 years older than me, and my next door neighbor a lot before I turned even 10 years old. They were both into British cars, Austin Healeys, Bug Eyed Sprites, etc. I knew how to put a 4 or 6 cylinder together by age 10. I began to understand how they worked soon after that. Brakes, cooling systems, etc was all by osmosis. I could read a dwell meter and do a full tune up myself by age 14. I still dont totally understand dwell.

 

My stock 1927 Model T was the first chassis I restored and drove around the driveway when I was 17. Electricity was never taught in parochial grade school, and I don't remember anyone talking about it in High School. I'll die without understanding it, and I'm ok with that. Bob

 

13-14. Lived in the country and learned by helping rebuild Chevy 6 cylinders in pickups, trucks etc in the vehicle. Rings, bearings, take head to town for valve job if needed or just disassemble and lap/clean up valves. We had probably 6 or 7 of these on the ranch. Helped on Farmalls roo. Also helped on a couple of flatheads. After that I progressed to motorcycles and cars. Many 097 cam and solids in friends small blocks too. Think about every small block car in town had this setup.

 

My Dad was drag racing and started dirt track racing before I was even thought of and he built his cars from the ground up. He had a speed shop and bored and built engines for others as well as himself. At one point he built three dirt late models and a dirt modified and it was all on him to keep the cars ready to race three nights a week. Dinner talk was always about cars between Dad, my brother and me. So I always had lessons going on all the time.

 

I was teaching auto shop in the 10th grade.... The teacher didn't know a damn thing!.... I did a brake job on a '70 er '71 Cutlass.. And also rebuilt the carb on the motor... I had that sucker running sweet...

 

I was in the third grade when my grandfather bought me an old non running Maytag one-lunger at an auction for a quarter, and that was my first experience working on an engine. With a little guidance from grandpa it came back to life, and I still have it under the bench today, 57 years later. It still runs beautifully. Since then it's been a nonstop hobby of mine, learning as I go. The stuff I mess with nowadays is a lot more complex than the old Maytag, but that cast iron lump started it all.

 

1972 (Age 12)......Auto Shop High School and my buddy and his Hotrod Dad...the anchor was set in the mud so to speak.

 

I never know what I'm doing.........

 

I’d say it was a slow transgression.
At 17, with my first car, adjusting valves in the old y block, tune ups and brake jobs. What ever it took to keep it on the road.
Later, it was more of the same only different automobile makes,
From there, it wasn’t until I was 45 with the kids out of college did I rewire, disassemble and reassemble along with paint and bodywork.
Just wish I had more income and another 30 yrs to play more.

Larry I love your title. That’s funny right there.

 

More income and more time , some things sorely lacking in my life as well !

 

From the time I was a little boy I guess

My Daddy put me to running a D8 bulldozer when I was 14,,,,taught me to work on them too.
He has always been the smartest guy I knew.
Taught me to always,,,always,,,watch the oil pressure.
Keep a good eye on the temp gauge!
Constant check my instruments ,,,,never hurt an engine because of that.
He is still going strong at 90,,,,my mom is too at 89.
But,,my mechanical ability I owe to my dad!

By the way,,,I rebuilt my first engine at 16 ,,a Chevy 350,,,easy as pie.

Tommy

 

Pictures of our auto shop class ‘73

 

Never bothered with motors much. They either work or they don't. Concentrated on the engineering, building and fabrication. Could change cams, cranks, pistons and such, but was never into it. To routine for me. More interested in the creative side. Built my first super modified at 17, my first sprint car at 19. Had my motors built. I knew my limitations.

 

I was 9 when I disassembled a Maytag 2 stroke washing machine engine. I had seen pics of 4 stroke valves. I couldn't find any valves. That puzzelled me for several years. At 13 I was swapping y-blocks from different cars under a tree. At 26, I had a top fuel car. I was a better mechanic than an economist. LOL

 

12-13.
Growing up on a farm 11 miles from the nearest town and a tiny town at that you didn’t run to town unless necessary so any farm equipment was fixed on site. Started driving at the same time

 

Started with mini bikes and go carts in Jr. High. Took auto ship in HS. Learned by having to fix what I broke. Thought I knew just about everything. Over 50 years later I realize that I didn't know half what I thought I did and still don't know much.

 

At 15 I got my 1st car and helped my dad rebuild the motor. When I say helped I was more like light holder and parts washer

 

At 13 I found a box of carburetors and a box of car magazines in an old shed that was being torn down. I disassembled the carbs to teach myself how they worked.. A few months later my across the street neighbor was having trouble with his Harley that was hesitating and running rough. I went over and asked him if I could help work on his carburetor and later got it running sweet. At 14 my father bought a 1957 Chevy that had been left at a transmission shop. I took the engine out and tore it down and learned about the internal parts (and camshafts). I started doing some body work to practice. My mother came out while I was trying to weld some sheet metal with my arc welder buzz box and handed me a wet piece of cloth and told me to wrap the electrode. Huh, well it worked. She told me she had worked at the Philly ship yard during the last year of the war. The 57 ended up as a senior prank and I am now a Vehicle Fire and mechanical Investigator for insurance companies....

 

Mom said at 4 years old I took Dads new mower apart. She said it wasn't going to be good when he got home, I don't remember it but She said it was back together when he got home. Did my first street rod(58 corvette) at age 14 did motor/trans swap, tires/rims, some wiring. Was my older cousins who new nothing about cars.

Sent from my smartass phone when it wants toThe H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I knew how they worked by about age 12, but didn't actually tear into one until I was about 19. A 283 Chevy in a 66 Chevelle Malibu. Found out I didn't have all the tools I needed , a torque wrench wasn't a suggestion, it was a requirement, and a cheater pipe wasn't a suitable substitute!
The engine actually ran fine, but not having those head bolts tight enough let the head gaskets blow! I learned my first lesson on building engines, make sure you have the proper tools, and how to use them!

 

Wow, I really find this very interesting guys bring on more. There was no auto shop at my highschool, I graduated in 1957, sure wished there was.

This was my first car,a 47 Kaiser. A girl who often rode with me from school had to tell me the u-joint was going out, not only that she replaced it. I traded one of my trumpets for it and a couple of week ends labor. Mine was not this nice, this one being maybe a #1, made mine close to #9.
My best friend living behind me who is guru taught auto shop for years at the local hi school and has built well over 100 cars.
Oh the Kaiser?? The crusher got it after the clutch went south and l didn't have a clue what to do. The young lady was gone for the summer and I had a new job at Boeing so I replaced this ol' girl with a 50 Ford.
Like I say, keep the stories come'n there great reading.

 

Wait until you are in your 70s and think you know a lot. And then start hanging around guys who run blown Nitro Hemis. They have a whole different way of looking at things

 

I too owe my mechanical ability to my dad. As stated above I was lucky enough to be the light holder and parts washer. My old man wasn’t a great teacher but he was very talented at whatever he put his mind to. He explained to me once learning anything was about hanging around somebody who was talented at something - keeping your mouth shut and paying attention to everything they did and really concentrating on picking up their knowledge. I’m always amazed at how some people can watch something being done many times - and never pick up how to do it.

 

I started at about 16. Bought a disassembled '36 flattie from a friend and figured out how to put it together. Got it all assembled and was pretty proud of myself. Later, put it in my friend's '40 Merc and it would barely run. Finally figured out the cam/crank gears were not aligned. Huh? Align what? What dots? Oh...............

 

4 years old. To shut me up while my dad babysat me. He gave me a old 2 cylinder air compressor pump and a old cast iron 3hp Briggs on a tiller. He took the rings off of the pistons. I would take them apart and put them back together every day to keep me busy. Still remember it like it was yesterday. He would only let me use open ended wrenches. That took longer.