Who taught you?

[Breaka]

I'm pretty determined to be able to do alot if not all of my own work (car) but being in no position to carry it out by myself at the moment (no space and limited tools, limited time and lack of knowledge) I'd like to hear from others and how they got to being able to carry out any sort of work on their cars.

Whether you're a professional spray painter/panel beater/mechanic/auto electrician/fabricator etc. etc or not, I'm wanting to know who taught you or how you learned.

Cheers.

[ke70dave]

no better way to learn than giving it a go.

buy a manual for you car.

Start by changing brake pads, or if your not up to that stage start by taking off your wheels and putting them back on again.

once you learn how to swing a wrench and a spanner your set.

another good way is to go and visit your local pick-a-part wrecker, just dont drop a car on your leg while your doin it.

ive just learnt by doin exactly that, started off by doin small jobs with dad and my mates, and after reading more and more you get an idea on how things work.

there is nothing more important than getting a manual for your car, dont listen to internet forums in regards to technical knowledge, they are a good reference to check but the manual is always right.

btw what kind of work are you talking about?

oh yer good tools are good but not completely necessary, go buy a decent socket set (sidchrome 100$ job will be awesome) then just go crappy spanners and screwdrivers from supercheap, they will get you by (maybe one decent phillips head...). thats all i use and ive done almost every "job" on a car and been fine.

oh yer im in my final year of mechanical engineering at uni, so ive kinda always liked mechanical things so that makes it easier.

[GOODY]

Majority of the stuff I know I was taught by my dad, helps having a home mechanical bussiness lol.
But yeh like ke70dave said your best bet is actually having a go getting your hands dirty and learn as you go.

[Klutch]

i haven't really done all that much
but what i have done is it was just all from researching it on the net and learning as much as possible then having a go

best way to learn is just getting in there and doing it, you might surprise yourself

[yoshimitsu9]

im the sort of person that will jump into the deep end and give virtually anything a crack if i have a rough idea on what needs to be done (even such as reading on the net). ive done a gear box, couple of diffs, screwed around making tvis work and the wiring associated with it. working on an 86/70 especially it isnt all that difficult to pull bits out etc. the diff would weigh 40 odd kg where as a live axle commodore diff is roughly 80kg and the gear box being roughly double what an 86 g/box weighs.

[Breaka]

I've got my hands on a Gregory's manual and I read it quite a bit and then go have a geeze at the car.

I'm not completely useless. I've had bikes (moto's) all my life and am pretty mechanically minded. I can carry out basic shit like services. It's the fabrication and engine modification side of things I want to get a handle on.

As for tools, I've got a Sidchrome ratchet set, some sidchrome spanners and large ratchet aswell as some old shitters and screw drivers.

I'm thinking some sort of welding or spray workshop would do some good.

[ae71neo]

My dads a mechanic. So i pretty much grew up around cars. Learnt alot from him. Then research a specific job, or just jump in and see how it turns out.

[k.aaron]

My uncle taught me how to drive like a maniac.

Love him for it!

[Mickey H]

I got my knowledge from my job (light vehicle mechanic). Before I started my job I did alot of my own work, mostly through trial and error, and using workshop manuals. It's pretty easy to learn the basics, and there are great resources (like this website) if you get stuck.

[Jonny Rochester]

My Dad taught me nothing. Sometimes this is better, because what you learn yourself you know better.

Young guys whos father is a good mechanic/racer etc just end up talking shit.

[Gilly]

likewise, no one in my family is "technically" minded

i did an apprenticeship, to be honest did not learn much. i think if you learn how to use your tools and you can read and have access to SOLID info you would be surprised at what you can achieve.

i'm sort of doing that now with house stuff

[racsov]

i started out with a free sigma wagon and a workshop manual

[boh086]

Read and read, then read some more, then just have a crack.

You can never know too much about a job that you are going to do, and once you think you know as much as you can, just try it. There will always be things that come up that you don't expect, and generally experience can get you around those things, but if you can't work it out, then you can ask questions to get you through.

Experience is the only thing that will really give you the confidence to tackle all sorts of different jobs, but reading manuals and other peoples thoughts will help get you the start that you need.

I say this from kind of having my dad show me some basics, like oil changes, and then just trying to work everything else out myself, and that is how I have done engine builds, and swaps and suspension and all sorts of other stuff

[LittleRedSpirit]

Awesome topic I must say.

To be honest, my good friend Beerhead (Brad) sparked my interest in all things mechanical, and taught me a whole bunch of stuff about rollas.

I got into rollas because I had a bigger car and i wanted something sporty, light inexpensive and efficient that is rwd, and those options are very limited in Australia.

Rollas are the logical choice for me I guess. I wanted to play with a car I could potentially fix myself, as a learning aide for all things mechanical. I have a good technical aptitude being a tradie and I picked things up fast and here we are today.

I can safely say there is not one part in my car I haven't swapped, fixed, recod or serviced and it feels good to know what you're doing.

Ive also been studying the different principles of handling that apply to a rwd live axle car and that's a lot of fun too.

[8ball]

My Dad taught me nothing. Sometimes this is better, because what you learn yourself you know better.

Young guys whos father is a good mechanic/racer etc just end up talking shit.

That explains a lot about this forum, but seriously i spent many a day pulling holleys apart and fixing them amongst other things, he taught me a great deal, i also did a lot of reading as well, but actually getting into it yourself teaches you shitloads, especially after you skin your knuckles a couple of dozen times a year. Maybe we could start a thread called skinned knuckles and share experiences?.

[sonsta]

my dad always did the basic shit on our cars and i always helped him, from ten it was just heaps of reading and then having a good look at what im trying to acheive before i start. From then its just practice and research

[Sturgey]

my dad taught me how to spray paint, how to panel beat etc.
most mechanical stuff i learnt from school

[driftke70]

rebuilt a few motorbikes around 8 years old and onwards, transferred what i knew across and added on top as i went. Have had knowledgeable people around me, worked a little bit in the industry. Talking to people, using my eyes at track days etc.

[dave2221]

my dad is a suit, i am at uni studing to be a suit.

best way to learn is to do.... everything on a car is attached by a bolt, a screw or a clip..... find them and undo them and shit comes apart.

then just reverse to put back together. (its worked for me so far)

[ThatsHowWeRoll]

iv been mates with my brother inlaw for years and he has taught me alot...

He grew up pulling apart sigmas and mokes and just figured it all out.

He owns his own car enhancement shop nw and does things like details, stereos, bodykits etc.

He has a hoist now too which is winner and makes heaps out of parting out cars and buying cheap cars making them rwc and selling them....

i learn the most from breaking shit and having to fix it.

[Rice86]

just have to be machanically minded and give it a go...never to late to try, start on something small, something that if u screw it up you wont care much about...and yes the right tools will always keep you in the game

[tricky_dan]

my dad is a suit, i am at uni studing to be a suit.

best way to learn is to do.... everything on a car is attached by a bolt, a screw or a clip..... find them and undo them and shit comes apart.

then just reverse to put back together. (its worked for me so far)

haha i read somewhere a guy was gonna go around australia so he bought an old landcruiser or landrover or something, took every single bolt apart and the whole engine apart (maybe) in his back yard, put it all back together again and drove around aust! would have known how everything fitted together pretty darn well! so i think thats quite a good principle to work off.. not necessarily taking apart the whole car haha but if ur working on a certain bit fiddle around with it and see how u go.

i learnt from my dad a fair bit, most of my friends whos dads/relatives arent into cars find it a fair bit harder to get the head knowledge of cars and be motivated to work on them a lot, still i think cars are absoltuely 'learnable'! get one of those car manuals, search and read LOTS of forums, but like ke70dave said there can be some dodgy stuff on them, generally i think its usually pretty good, but its prob good to double check the info with ur manual as a bible as such lol..

[greeneyes]

..and you can d'load and print the entire Toyota workshop manual for the AE86, which I did for my KE70.. all 350 pages odd!

I bought a burnt-out 1949 Armstrong Siddeley when I was 15 and rebuilt it, all by trial and error and asking. My dad was not knowledeable about cars, but I taught him a lot!

From there motorsport taught me everything, building rally cars and wrecking them. I used to work in a laboratory, so I've had no formal automotive training, but there is little I can't do on a 1970s-1980s car now.

Just jump in and try stuff!

[Vance]

no better way to learn than giving it a go.

here here!

have a crack. you get better at stuff and learn from your own mistakes. just be patient and youll make less

[richo]

i also jumped into the deep end. hadnt done any major work to a car other than oils, filters..... went out and bought the 86. killed the gearbox and engine within a week and then took the engine out bolt by bolt. ive done over most of the car, with help from the net and the occasional phone call.

[Turkish-86]

Its all just nuts and bolts!!!

Honestly nothing better than giving it a crack yourself.

[shift_rook]

i learnt form mainly doing shit myself, also doing auto at school that's taught me about engines, also do part time work at a workshop, my dad and older brother are also quite mechanically minded

[blair]

its all trial and error at my place.

[drift kid]

my dad

[marvis]

My fuck-ups and/or friends.

(That's not implying my friends are fuck-ups)

[doony]

beer.
mates.
no money
you dont really have much of a choice but to "teach yourself"

mind you im now an apprentice mechanic and getting paid to work on cars has its up side
trade price, government incentives, free tools. hands on experience, free tafe courses etc etc

[Dave]

i've learnt most of things about cars from my dad, although he's not too updated with the modern technology today

[Low Style]

i have done everything to my car myself (apart from built and put in the engine - slydar did that)

but i have done engines on S13's.

[Beau]

My old man learned me

[Ade_Mc]

i have always enjoyed breaking shit, so in the end you have to fix a few things here and there.
man dad built our family home, just him and a couple mates.
so i guess i get it from him.
i bought a stripped Hachi, downlowed a manual and aked the odd question on here.
the tools he left me also helps!
easily the best way to learn is to do it yourself....until you get stuck.
then you call in a mechanic.

[samuel]

reading / trial and error!!!

its the only way.... the manuals tell you the correct way to do everything and they are quite easy to understand


what pushed me was my mechanic, he couldn't be bothered with my car so i pulled out my engine and started doing everything myself, new head gasket, all new head seals, i did all the wiring myself, and all other things that need to be done are pretty damn simple once you done all that....

[Mickey H]

Mechanical stuff is pretty easy, wiring is what I really hate. Setting up the cam angle sensor, coils and ecu for my gze scares the shit outa me, but I'll gladly rebuild engines and replace gearboxes/clutches. Also want to learn how to weld, buying a mig this week so that should be fun.

[Jdm-Mcc]

Mai Dadday is a mechanic by trade! but now a tyre fitter, so hes a bit long in the tooth when it come to modern cars. However he taught me everything I know since I was about 8 me and dad yapped endlessly about cars and engines and things that wernt cars but had engines. Over the years we bought and fixed up shitty holdens and re sold them so I was always there helping look for the dropped washed on the ground fetching tools and beer. Cheers dad you fat bastard.

[Water Boy]

I think like a lot of people learning started when u were 8 years old passing tools to your ol man! Iv had the luck of my ol man building race motors/running a race team in the 80's so he has taught me heaps.

But also when your 10 and fixing your bike bcuz its always bloody breaking is a real learning experience! Also reading on the net has opnened my eyes up to new ways to do things! ;)

[lo_rolla]

With engines, I learn that at work and at TAFE.

For the rest of the car? I jacked it up, put it on axle stands and stripped it down to a bare shell. I was gonna weld it all myself, but I'm starting to think that it's over my head to do it AND make the car look good, so I'm sending it off to get the panels / body kit / flares done.

But first I'm gonna get my Equips and all my suspension in, then put it on a trailer take it to a pro. Then rebuild motor, put it all back together, and try get it to start... then take it to get tuned.

Basically, I've got a lot left to learn, but I think I'm going the right way about it.

[Slimer86]

Get a manual, download as much relavent information as you can, and do it.

If its wiring, find diagrams, print them out, and check what wire does what and goes where using a test light or multimeter. Work out what everything is and go from there.
Mechanicals, same as first line, take your time, make sure you have enough allocated time to complete the task and give it a crack. It things turn pearshaped, ask someone, either locally or online.
I am self taught, if I broke something (gearbox) I would take it apart and have a look at what failed, then put it back together and throw it away. A good way to learn I think, root cause analysis helps with future fault finding etc.
Good luck!