There's a lot of expertise here, how'd ya get it?

[compos mentis]

I'm constantly impressed reading about and viewing the complex project builds here along with all the great problem solving skills/troubleshooting for the 'finished' rides. To me at least and perhaps others on this board, I believe it would be interesting to hear how both pro builders and guys building cars out of their home garages acquired the knowledge to put together these high quality, hi performing rides.

[Vegas69]

I am far from an expert or as talented as many here. I took on a pretty damn big garage project though. I started working on cars in my teens and went to college for two years and graduated with an auto degree. Was ASE master tech and a GM asep student. I also spent about 3-4 years working on new cars, rebuilding engines, trannies, drivability, basically everthing. I have also spent countless hours researching my build and that has taught me alot about these pro-touring cars. You need a pretty vast amount of tools to take on these projects as well. Even having a nice tool box full I had to expand my tool collection into another box which is basically full. Really love working on cars but decided in my early 20's I couldn't do it for a living. Someday I hope to have a shop where I can fiddle around and not worry about the money aspect of it.

[Restomod]

Far from a Pro or anything but 30 years of trial and error.....Plus never having the $$ to pay for having it done forced me to learn to do it myself.

[compos mentis]

I am far from an expert or as talented as many here.

I've seen your Camaro and its very impressive of course. I was wondering how you got to that point. A lot of hard work over the years it sounds like.

Off topic but I really like that is has an aluminum big block in it... bucking the LS trend. -:)

[Paul_J]

Getting in over my head and having to figure out how to get out. Some expensive lessons and a few bumps and scrapes. Now there is so much information on the net and really good books available too. Like R. G. LeTourneau said "The School of Hard Knocks, our colors are Black and Blue and the school cheer is "OUCH"" He founded the company that builds some of the world's largest earth moving equipment and he had no formal education. I guess that's why he also founded the university named after him.

[Bobby Schulz]

I have been around cars and turning wrenches since I can remember.
Went to work part time when I was old enough to work after school and then over the years got my ASE tests,GM master tech status,and Ford stars.
Over the years I have worked in mom and pop shops, trans shops, dealerships and custom shops.
Then after 15 years I decided to quit twisting a wrench and get into service writing/advising and management at a dealership.
Leaves me to work on my car without feeling burnt out:scared:

[compos mentis]

Robert Gilmore 'R.G.' LeTourneau...I agree, that is a great story and life.

[Damn True]

Mine "fell off the back of a truck" (wink-wink).

[compos mentis]

I could be wrong, but it seems like quite a few guys doing builds here have at least some experience turning wrenches for a living at some point in their careers.

[Damn True]

Eleven years as a Coast Guard Helicopter mech, 2.5yrs developing semiconductor manufacturing equipment, 2yrs with a linear actuator company and I'm now in x86 servers.

[Chicken Coupe]

chevelles.com

[70TWO NOVA]

I suck at this compared to 99.9% of the guys on here, but........I guess i got something from; Awsome high school auto teacher, UTI, USAF, pro-touring.com, lateral-g.net, PHR, Super Chevy, CHP, Car Craft, and lots of trial and error! lol

[Vegas69]

I've seen your Camaro and its very impressive of course. I was wondering how you got to that point. A lot of hard work over the years it sounds like.

Off topic but I really like that is has an aluminum big block in it... bucking the LS trend. -:)

I actually used the insurance money from my stolen Camaro to get into Real Estate. Appreciate the comments.

[compos mentis]

Eleven years as a Coast Guard Helicopter mech, 2.5yrs developing semiconductor manufacturing equipment, 2yrs with a linear actuator company and I'm now in x86 servers.

Sounds interesting, what has that experience helped you with the most as far as building a ride?

[zbugger]

I read it all on this here internet...

[gearheads78]

Worked in a restoration shop for a year and a half during highschool and learned some there. The rest is just trial and error and watching what other people do both right and wrong. My skills practicly don't exhist compared to some of the guys on here but I thing I can hold my own with the average joe.

[maroon88iroc]

im only 19 and you can see from my sig i have plenty of irons in the fire. and if you search my name you'll see pics of some of my cars i built. i come from a car family but my dad drives a semi truck and is rarely home, i am pretty much self taught. basically i would just take stuff apart on my iroc and see how it worked and put it back together, if i ever got over my head i would just have my grandad come over and take a look and get his insight. but i have come along way really quick. i have only been working on cars since i was 17 and i can now do everything in house basically. i have rebuilt motors, rearends, done plenty of interior work, modifications(converted my auto iroc to a 5-speed, and converted a carbd car to fi, rearend swaps pretty much anything you name it) i have never attempted to rebuild a transmission and i have never attempted to paint a car. i cant do any metal work yet and i wasnt confident enough to paint a car and have it come out as nice as i wanted it to.

[compos mentis]

I think a lot of people out there want to build it themselves, but don't because they choose to be intimidated by size of the task. From what I'm reading you can't be afraid to fail. And just start working on a car where it doesn't matter if you make mistakes. Seems like it is the only way to discover if a person has talent for car building or not.

The neat thing is the payoff is great for those who take the leap as long as there is a sound build plan and if something happens where they have to sell... aren't way upside down.

[Nine Ball]

I started wrenching at age 11, had an older next door neighbor who was in high school at the time. We hotrodded his El Camino, later his 2nd gen Camaro. My Dad is also into cars, we always had V8 musclecars as our family cars. I started out building model kits at age 7, now I consider my real cars just "big model kits". In high school I was heavily into the SBC and 5.0 Mustang scene (88-91) and built my first car with my Dad ('69 Camaro)

I actually got the mechanical eng degree with plans to learn more about cars and engines. lol. I pretty much read anything I can get my hands on that is car-related. I'm nuts for sure.

[JEFFTATE]

I was a professional automotive Tech for a long time.
I've been a do-it-yourselfer hobbyist ever since I was a teenager.

And I get most of the good information from reading books , manuals , and surfing the web. ( Particularly this site )

But , applying the info and learning from my mistakes is always the best way to get it done.
And hanging around Road Killer Kustoms to see how its done at a real shop.

[compos mentis]

My Dad is also into cars, we always had V8 musclecars as our family cars.

Every young gearheads dream!

I tried hard to convince my Dad to make the then new 1969 455 Hurst Olds our family car.

He bought a Ford LTD Wagooon instead.

[BonzoHansen]

try it-screw it up-try it again until correct...

I also learn form reading, be it places like this or factory service manuals. My 82 TA w/CFI made me learn because dealer techs were no help. My 82 shop manual is actually in 3 pieces now, worn to shreds, with about 50 pages missing. The EFI part of the book is littered with part numbers & notes.

My dad thinks cars get you from A to B, but he was an electrical engineer for the govt back when the govt was R&D. He hold patents in capacitor design, worked on the laser rangefinder technology. My brother is very technically oriented, so I think we got some kind of gene that helps us understand things.

[GBodyGMachine]

Sleeping in Class @ Wyotech. Biggest waste of money ever!

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

Far from a Pro or anything but 30 years of trial and error.....Plus never having the $$ to pay for having it done forced me to learn to do it myself.I am in the same boat. Married with 4 kids. If I had to pay for the car I wanted. I would never get it. So I do a ton of research. Trial and error. It took me two tries to make my front caliper brackets. The first one looked and fit great. Till I tried to put the tie rod end back on. :pat: Lot's of time and patience. The car only progresses when I work on it. I don't have it going to shop to shop while I do my daily job. It is a lot of fun, I love it. I feel that I also appreciate my car more. Because it came from my own mind and hands.

[compos mentis]

Well put Sam.

[Damn True]

Sounds interesting, what has that experience helped you with the most as far as building a ride?

Well relatively little of that has happend yet on the Camaro. I have built a few motorcycles and trail jeeps. I guess the biggest benefit is not being intimidated. Once you've taken apart, re-assembled and flown a helicopter a Jeep, Camaro or Harley doesn't seem all that complicated.

[WS6]

I always asked why after asking how. Once you know why something works the way it does, putting it together isn't so hard even when it's on something "different". I've never pretended to know it all and constantly work to better myself by reading what I can when I can. Listen to those that have come before you and have done what you're trying to do. I too like many others had to teach myself so much because of lack of funds or by not knowing someone. My father was into cars since he grew up when these old classics where new, but he wasn't hands on with them. He did the best he could for me and is responsible for sparking my interest but I quickly out grew his knowledge and had to search elsewhere for my answers and help.

[compos mentis]

Once you've taken apart, re-assembled and flown a helicopter a Jeep, Camaro or Harley doesn't seem all that complicated.

That's probably why I always respected T.C. the most on Magnum PI. :lol:

Seriously, flying something you repair... that is all kind of skill.

[67turbostang]

Sleeping in Class @ Wyotech. Biggest waste of money ever!

Ditto.. Big waste of money!

[Scottem]

started with magazines and dreams which blossomed into cheap bolt on parts that were shiney

got tired of cheap parts because everyone had them on their rides and started hanging out with streetrodders at the car shows and various car clubs, when ever I had a question there was always someone at a show that knew the detailed answers. The detailed answers gave me the gumption to do the more complex mods


now its just reading forums like this one and reading books/ mags on the latest mod's

[compos mentis]

Ditto.. Big waste of money!

I think a lot of us would be interested in the specifics about why it is a waste?

[Paul_J]

I didn't go to Wyotech but I did go to one of those tech schools you see on late night TV to get an Electronics degree (N.E.C. - Not Exactly College). I realized that there were two ways to get through it. One way was to be a butt in a seat and the other was to learn as much as I could and even more than the courses offered. I found that my instructors responded well to initiative. Just my experience.

Also...
I stopped finding faults with others cars at local car shows after thinking about all the mistakes or not so perfect attempts I've made. I would have hatted for someone to bust my bubble while I was learning how to build things. Now, offering to help me to do it better or make it safer is different but I'm not going to bust someones bubble because It wasn't built to a certain level of expertise. Keep that in mind next time you see someone trying hard to participate in this hobby.

Great thread!

[compos mentis]

Also...
I stopped finding faults with others cars at local car shows after thinking about all the mistakes or not so perfect attempts I've made. I would have hatted for someone to bust my bubble while I was learning how to build things.

Thanks Paul.

You brought up an excellent point; if someone knew how to build it better or had more resources ... most would.

Or be a better anything most would, if they knew how or believed they could be.

[moreHP]

"learn by doing" has been my motto mostly. My dad taught me a lot and I have always been interested in mechanical things so I would always bite off way more than I can chew. Sometimes it bit me in the butt and other times it paid off!

Since I can't afford the nice cars that are done, I usually end up with a real *pos* and work from there. But I actually enjoy the challenge of fixing the broken, wrecked, rusty, etc cars anyway.

Heck, the nicest car I own was "totalled" when I bought it and now nobody can tell it has ever been in a crash.

[compos mentis]

Heck, the nicest car I own was "totalled" when I bought it and now nobody can tell it has ever been in a crash.

Sounds like quite the restoration you did.

Got any before and after pics you'd like to post?

[moreHP]

here is a couple of it "done". I really thought I had a couple of it smashed up, but I will keep looking.

[compos mentis]

I've always really liked those cars.

Thanks for posting it.

Looks great.

[Bow Tie 67]

I started working on cars around age 13. My best friends dad was a backyard mechanic and taught me the basics. Over the last 30 years I have read everything I can get my hands on. But when it comes down to it hands on trial and error has been the best teacher. I have always believed " you learn more from your mistakes " I have ASE cert and Airframe and Powerplant license. Oh and I'm cheap and very picky, so to get things done the way I see fit, I have to do it myself.

[rocketman]

Mine came from childhood, and My dad and uncles building cars, and alot of self taught tricks, hanging around other builders picking up a few of there tricks, and the internet now is a great resource everything is on here, mags are becoming a thing of the past.

[Gtrpunk23]

I dont have much but I've been in my dads shop since i could stand and I learned a lot by breaking/redoing things on my own when my dad wasnt looking, trying to impress him. But I learned almost everything from my dad, and a whole hell of a lot from you guys everyday.

[cantvalve16]

For me.. it was all about just being around other people who were doing what I wanted to be doing and assisting them during the stuff I didn't know how to do.
My advice for people wanting to know how is this...

-Never be afraid to look like you don't know. This causes people to explain things that you can later do research on.
-Find people that do what you want to be able to do. Then, just sit and observe.
-Ask questions to anyone that has shown they know what they are doing.

[compos mentis]

My older cousin was the only gearhead on either side of the family. I still remember in the early 60's him swapping out the auto trans in his ultra cool (to me at least) '53 Merc and putting in a stick trans.

Next car I remember was a beautiful '57 Olds coupe he bought home after traveling cross country in it.

Ever seen a dash on a '57 Olds?

A work of art IMHO.

[CRCRFT78]

Most of its trial & error. My dad had his own shop when I was a kid and I loved being there. As I got older we bumped heads so everytime he wanted me in the garage to help I didn't want to go. Now I regret it.
He doesn't care much about cars now and thinks I need to finish my Nova (1st car) and stop messing with all the others. I would love nothing more than to do a father/son build with him. He always says if he builds one last car it has to be a 57 Ranchero (his favorite). So I'm looking for one in decent shape if it comes along and the timing is right.

[compos mentis]

CRCRFT78,

A '57 Ranchero would be a neat father/son project. I hope things work out well for you both.