How do you do your own builds?

[blink]

A lot of the people on here are doing all the building work themselves, how did you guys get mechanically inclined to being able to build up your own cars?

Does the standard 2 year diploma for auto service technician teach you enough to be able to go forth on your own?

[caliber676]

I did the diploma program and am an apprentice through audi. I would say it gives you a great knowledge base to improve upon. Honestly though, I have learned just as much reading through automotive books and researching online than I have from my schooling, it's just good to know the right stuff before filtering through crap online. I spend close to two hours a night before bed researching random automotive things online which helps a lot. For actually working on a car it's partially theory but it's mostly practice. Research some things, take stuff apart and learn. Trial and error, your going to be confused your going to break stuff, but you'll learn, it's just having the balls to dive into your engine and start taking things apart for the sake of enjoyment and knowledge

[Dragon Humper]

For me it was nothing more than living and breathing cars for 25years, took basic mechanics in highschool for 2 years. Start small, having a POS winter car that needs attention on a weekly basis helps you get the basics down on a car that you really could care less about.

I have more tools than most shops and most importantly, know how to use them. But like I said, I've been at this for 25 years.



Jon.

[beacher1B0]

Best advice is to just get in there. Youll either love it or hate it.
You dont need any license, just the willingness to learn and the committment to keep things moving.
I give the most credit too the lovers that document there build in detail. A big thanks to frankiman and cortexx and all the others that do so.

[amnash]

i bought a car and some tools. the rest is history...

[collector240sx]

In my case, my father has a garage (company) and works on pretty much any thing from ATV snowmobile to transport trucks, and boats. Being the only boy out of 4 girls, it was a given I would spend time in the garage with him. But I have always liked dissembling and fixing stuff from a young age. A lot of mechanical stuff but also electrical, building computer, etc...

Never took any mechanics course but had the best hands on training anyone could ever ask for. Like some here I also have enough tools to make quite a few mechanics jealous. Every time I had any kind of work to do on any of my cars, I went bought the tool to do the job and fixed it, didn't matter what kind of job either, from doing wiring jobs, to brake line, eventually even got a welder, painting gear. One day I'll have a garage to put them in, one day, hopefully sooner rather then later. lol

Being a good mechanic does not mean having a certificate saying you pass a course. It certainly help to have some patient and be able to read instruction, but instruction are going to be worthless if you can't even isolate problems. Cars use to be basic in the old days, you could fix most problems with a hammer, a screw driver and some wires. lol Obviously things are a lot more complex these days, when you break it down they are all a bunch of simple wiring schematics, but when all put together it can become quite disorienting. If you can understand why each exist and work you'll be much more capable of troubleshooting them, and it will go a long way into understanding any kind of wiring schematics you could go through.

More and more mechanics are becoming dependent on there electronics gear, don't get me wrong they are great, they save time and money. (When the electronic system is functioning properly, and even then there not 100% accurate all the time). But more and more of the problem in today's car are related to there electronics (sensors and such). Don't get me wrong it's not all electronic, but less and less mechanics are actually taking the time needed to find the real issues with clients car, and the reason is debatable. It all comes down to money, time is money, why pay labor involved in pin pointing a problem when it's often more cost effective to just change a couple of parts. This leads to mark up on price of parts and fix rate for the jobs, to encourage mechanics to do the jobs faster. This can lead to problem that use to be a simple job to trouble shoot, being over look by a lot of places. For an example, a friend of mine went to 4 different garage before going to the dealership, thinking they should be able to find the problem, after buying over 1K of parts, and still having the same problem. I spent 15 min listening to him explaining the problem, took a multimeter and within 15 min, I found that his power wire leading to the plug that goes in his fuses box was loose, causing the car to cut out at random. It was obvious has day and night if someone would have even bothered taking a look since they had change the fuse box already.

That and less and less place actually take time to rebuild engine, since most find it more cost effective to just drop a functioning used engine. There is also more to this, like a lot of newer engine being interference engine, and manufacturer cutting corner all over the place to cut cost. There first objective is not to make it easy to work on there engine but to make it as cheap as possible to build. This lead to engine like the Audi who require special tool to change timing belt, to engine like the Mazda 3 which will destroy it self if you loosen the harmonic balancer bolt to change the A/C belt.

It's not all bad, it also mean that if your good at what you do, you might even get jobs from other garages. I was very lucky that my father is very good at what he does, and I'll be the first to admit he doesn't know every thing, and he knows this. That's why when he has to do something new, like disassembling a engine or transmission he never touch before, he's will find the proper information before he starts the jobs.

Doing something for the first time always takes longer, good preparation will go a long way in saving you frustration along the road, be patient. Take the time to double check, triple check your work by respecting the precision work involve in building an engine right the first time and you'll see it's all worth it.

Good Luck

[rolyaT]

Had a lot of POS cars and instead of getting rid of them my father and I fixed them even when we really shouldn't have... Ex. Swapping Pontiac sunflower engines lol. Some things need to be tossed off a cliff.... #1 sunflower

[Voodoo_ChildR32]

I've been an auto tech for the past five years, and have at least 10 years prior experience from tinkering with all my cars. Knowing your way around an engine is a definite asset, especially owning a Skyline. I have always done my own work on my cars, whatever I didn't know I researched. I spent roughly six months researching Skylines before I bought my first GTS. I knew how to fix 90% of the issues the car had even before I owned it. Like all things, experience comes with time, and the more time you spend on your car the easier repairs will become.


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[A18]

I've always liked cars, so working on them just seemed natural. I got some tools and when things break or I want to upgrade, I just go at it and hope for the best. Most of what I do is just simple things like the starter, alternator, coilovers, etc. There's guides on the internet for EVERYTHING these days, from oil changes to full on engine builds. Whenever I start something new I usually google it beforehand, no matter how simple it is, just to make sure I don't mess it up.

[blink]

Thanks a lot of all your guy's stories, I am really a car lover and know how to drive, but at such a young age since I don't know any mechanics (friends/parents) it's been nearly impossible. I like to read up about cars and such, so I guess I'm just going to have to run in and take it slow ...if that makes sense =p

I know some probably think why I even have a GTR being so young without much mechanical knowledge, but its been my dream car and I've had civics, jeeps, etc and so I worked my way up to this car with business and hard work.

[gtrjon]

my best advice to you since ive been in your shoes is go buy a standard basic tool kit from canadian tire or whatever a 100pc set which will get you started. then whenever your working on a project if you need a tool you dont have go buy it and add to your collection. that way you will work up your tool collection without going broke all at once. read lots and start with little projects and maintenance. youll learn as you go.

[cortexx]

I started life working on cars at the age of 16 working from haynes manuals and getting help from friendly mechanics . Ended up getting offered a 2 year apprentiship at a good old fashioned country garage in Southwest England that happened to be an MG / Morgan dealership . My boss was a sports car enthusiast and collector that had amongst other cars an original Austin princess , 1974 Lotus Esprit turbo (rare jps edition), 1970's Porsche 911 turbo , A cosworth builtFord escort RS turbo , an original mini cooper, and a MGB GT 3.5 ltr V8 (death trap on wheels). Hence some track time was given at Castle donnington , blackbush and briefly about 30 minutes on silverstone F1 track. (boss was too afraid to drive his cars (especially the 911) , but enjoyed watching me hammer around the tracks in his cars )

Left that place after 4 years to wotk at Milbay Motors ( FSO , LADA , FIAT dealer) and got certified as an MOT tester . Used to work night shift to keep an eye on the car lot and used to sleep the early hours of the morning in the bosses wifes Nissan silvia 200sx - awesome car - had reclinables

Left that place when i got banned from driving for 12 months for doing some rather dicey street racing and decided to go in a different direction - started in the electronics industry and eventually ended up in the computer industry.

Once license was re-obtained bought and reastored a Reliant Scimitar , Fiat mirafiori 132 Arbath , alfasud cloverleaf TI and several other cars.

Have been working on and around cars since .

I research any task completely before i even start so that i am 100% familiar with procedures before i even lift a wrench. I make sure all required tools are at hand , and have an idea of most things that could pose a problem. The days of haynes manuals are gone , but the internet has a wealth of info - just learn to sort out the good from the drivel - there is ALOT of drivel !

I spend spare time reading about engineering, metallurgical properties , lubrication and friction , mechanical principles and practice . I read alot and research to prepare myself not only how to complete a task or repair , but to try and understand how and why the original engineers designed parts and assemblys the way they did. Once you understand the reason a part was made a certain way , you will find overhaul, rebuild or replacement is much easier to accomplish.

Patience and a thorough understanding of mechanical design are by far the most important tools in your tool box..!

[Black BNR32]

google

[Xeno-Vibe]

Tactile learner, get your hands dirty and it will go a long way. Also, following basic write ups like on NICO club with a junker helps down the road.