madman280
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 03:27 AM |
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Father, grandfather and great grandfather were plumbers. Family business was s*h*i*t.... so I went to college for engineering, dropped out joined the
military, dropped out (couldn't deal with killing people for a living or taking orders from morons - more s*h*i*t different pile) worked as a
millwright, then apprenticed and became a mechanic. Built and raced bicycles, stock cars, minisprints (500lb go karts with cages, wings and 440
snowmobile engines here) and a midget for a brief while. Now a specialist at a Ford garage. Loved the seven since the first time I saw one. I
understand its simple efficiency. A wife, preteen kids, house mortgage and all that have slowed my build. Well I can always aspire to breaking the
longest build time record.
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JoelP
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 07:55 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by madman280
A wife, preteen kids, house mortgage and all that have slowed my build. Well I can always aspire to breaking the longest build time record.
But i cannot imagine a better way to interupt a build 
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Richard Y
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 12:19 PM |
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quote:
What's that? Are you the Boom and Bling bloke then?
lol thats right hehe not so much for my car as im trying to save for my first kit car but if you need to know bout sound systems in ya car or car
modifiying they come to me, most of my customers are older to be honest though, sat navs the new in thing
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OX
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 02:10 PM |
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motor bike mechanic for 15 years, hated the job the last 5 years .
now im a plasterer ,no ones on my back,no nagging full of shite customers telling me that since iv serviced there bike it wont wheelie and now they
cant get there knee on the floor round round abouts lmfao,no stress,no worries incase anythings been left loose and no more saturday work unless its a
foreigner but now i only use my brain when im driving to and from work
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NS Dev
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 02:14 PM |
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I'm a process engineer for a living (previously prototype/development engineer) but car wise I have built 2 rally cars, (RWD 205 and Mid engined
Nova), my grasstrack car, several mantas from bare shell upwards, including full floor and chassis rail replacement, and all manner of other things
that I've now forgotten!
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Triton
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 02:23 PM |
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time served idiot here
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tractorboy
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 04:04 PM |
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i started when i left school and joined the royal navy as a weapons engineering mechanic (ordanance){gun grease monkey} did this for six years.then a
service engineer fixing photo boothes for 2 1/2 years and im presently an airframe fitter working on hercules c-130 transporter aircraft which ive
been doing for 10 years. ive always fixed my own cars as ive always been too skint or too tight to pay somebody else to do it. theavon is the first
kit ive built.
scott
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Scubastu
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 04:42 PM |
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Have worked at a main dealership...15yrs ago!
Did 4 yrs as TVR race mechanic, mostly for Rollcentre Racing...
Am now HGV driver delivering beer.
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Marcus
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 08:23 PM |
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Was electronics engineer, now injection moulding / extrusion R&D engineer. Been into rallying for more years than I care to mention so building
cars has always been my thing. Locost is first time I've built a chassis though!
Can't look at anything now without thinking 'what could I use that for on my car'!!
Marcus
Marcus
Because kits are for girls!!
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steve_gus
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 10:21 PM |
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I am an electronics design engineer, who has spent the last 18 years in the very specific field of designing x-ray machines that inspect food for
contamination.
My grandfather was a mechanic, who also encouraged my very early interest in electrical things. I have rebuilt engines, and repaired a metro that had
been rear ended.
My most recent project was a total ground up rebuild of a 1977 kawasaki KH250 triple. That explains why my car progress hasnt come far in the last
year.
I dont plan on building any further cars after this one is complete as its taken so friggin long. Perhaps one day when im retired I might build a kit
- no way would i attempt a scratch build again.
atb
steve
[Edited on 31/7/05 by steve_gus]
http://www.locostbuilder.co.uk
Just knock off the 's'!
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phelpsa
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 10:36 PM |
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Steve, as is always said, the further you get away from the 'book' the longer it'll take. Your cars on another planet to the
book 
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steve_gus
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| posted on 31/7/05 at 10:56 PM |
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I hadnt noticed.... 
atb
steve
http://www.locostbuilder.co.uk
Just knock off the 's'!
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madman280
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 02:28 AM |
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tractorboy wrote:
"presently an airframe fitter working on hercules c-130 transporter aircraft which ive been doing for 10 years."
Damn.. I rememeber flying on C130's and C-115's(buffalo). Aren't there airframes with millions of hours out there now? We used to
have a running bet on what would break next. And I thought being a Ford mechanic was a busy job
And they used to make fun of us..whats brown and falls out of the back of buffalo??
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Ben Graber
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 04:49 PM |
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37 replies and eighty votes in less than 24 hours! Interesting results too, i thought there would be more 'full time' mechanics than
anything else.
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Alan B
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 06:06 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ben Graber
37 replies and eighty votes in less than 24 hours! Interesting results too, i thought there would be more 'full time' mechanics than
anything else.
Why would you expect that?...just curious.
I ask for a few reasons...
1) if you work on cars all day would you want that for your hobby too?
2) I am not certain that a mechanic is the most ideal occupation for locosting....building a kit perhaps, but welding frames adds a different skill
set requirement.
I'd say perhaps a fitter with decent welding skills and eye for problem solving (perhaps in maintence?) would be more ideal...
Just a thought.
BTW, I'm a mechanical design engineer, ex- works/maintence engineeer so obviously biased...:
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Ben Graber
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 07:47 PM |
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I haven't thought about from a non-mechanic point of view and i suppose if i were to be working on cars all day i might not be so keen to build
a car but as i work on trucks all day a petrol engine car is a challenge and not my normal day to day work. As for different skills, again i didnt
think about car mechanics, but in the last couple of commercial workshops i've worked in, welding and fabricating parts to fit is a regular
thing but i'm sure in a main dealer car garage that would be unheard of. Basically i am suprised that the majority of people who are building a
car from scratch and, looking at some photo archives, doing a bloody good job of it aren't mechanics. Perhaps I should of put the fist option in
the poll Mechanic/Engineer! I never thought so many people would have the balls to take on such a job. My opinion only but i'm full of praise
for anyone who's even thinking about having a go.
[Edited on 1/8/05 by Ben Graber]
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Volvorsport
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 08:39 PM |
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started life in injection moulding cos they gave good wages , hated it within two weeks , 19 yrs later im doing what i should have been doing back
then - ive worked on few nice motors since then.
www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 10:01 PM |
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I have been a Bodyshop manager for the last 13 years (crash repairs, not makeup!). I am now working out my notice, and will be an independant
insurance company assessor in 2 weeks time.
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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jollygreengiant
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| posted on 1/8/05 at 10:15 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alan B
1) if you work on cars all day would you want that for your hobby too?
Spot on alan. I kind of compare it to if I'd been an obstratitian or or gynacologist. You know, you've just pulled a 36hour shift and you
get home. Your wife is lying stark naked on the bed, very provocatively, and the first words that come out of her mouth are "I want you to make
love to me".
Your first thought is "oh god not another one!".
Enjoy.
Beware of the Goldfish in the tulip mines. The ONLY defence against them is smoking peanut butter sandwiches.
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Fred W B
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| posted on 2/8/05 at 08:28 AM |
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I also didn't expect to see many mechanics, for reasons mentioned above.
Myself, I built soap box karts, Airfix and Tamiya car plastic kits, balsa model airplanes, etc as a kid. Don't forget Mecano - do kids still
have that?
Also rebuilt and raced lightweight motorcycles in late high school, then had a long break from motor sport while I studied and got my career going.
More recently, raced two stoke karts, built karts and engines etc for several years.
I am qualified as a mechanical engineer, and work at management level for a large company that manufactures bulk liquid transport equipment. As I now
work at a desk and computer most of the day, I enjoy the practical side of the car building in the garage at home. It makes a nice change to just
concentrate on say making a bracket, instead of the multiple conflicting demands on your time you have to manage at work nowadays.
Haven't actually done much practical work on real cars before, apart form the usual messing around trying to keep bangers going as a student,
but have always read a lot about cars.
Original car inspiration must come from my Dad, who ran Jag XK120, MG TC and A , Healey 100 etc while I was a very young kid, although he was a
Pharmacist, of all things. Unfortunately he passed away while I was still at school, as he would really enjoy what I am doing now.
Cheers
Fred WB
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VinceGledhill
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| posted on 2/8/05 at 10:04 AM |
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Time served as per my sig as auto electrician at Lucas. Got out of the trade and am now a sales manager for a fork lift truck company. Enjoyed the
tinkering and the kit cars are a great way of filling the gap.
Built a cobra replica before this thing.
Regards
Vince Gledhill
Time Served Auto Electrician
Lucas Leeds 1979-1983
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jestre
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| posted on 2/8/05 at 02:40 PM |
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Am I the only Professional Computer Geek on here?
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DarrenW
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| posted on 2/8/05 at 03:13 PM |
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im not a mechanic but iam a time served mechanical engineer with electrical qualification to boot and now work as a Project Manager in the automotive
industry.
As said before i doubt you would find many mechanics doing the jobs that building a kit requires. Most mechanics that i have come across (main dealer
that is) have been little more than fitters. If a part doesnt work, replace it etc. I havent come across many mechanics that would take th etime to
work out why something doesnt work and suss out an innovative fix - main reason is that it would cost far too much in time and they would go over
time. all IMHO of course - im sure there are a lot of highly skilled one man operators that would prove me wrong tho - im mainly thinking of the
commercial outfits here.
Perhaps the poll should have included engineers in the list.
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ADD
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| posted on 2/8/05 at 03:14 PM |
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Im an engineer for a fisheries research agency. I look after the equipment that scientists use to tell us not to eat cod.
I havent got the foggyest about the mechcanics of a car but I like to teach myself through mistakes!.
If I had known a bit more about stuff before I begun the build I may have remembered to remove the ECU from my donar before I scrapped it!. DOH .
Adam
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jolson
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| posted on 2/8/05 at 06:37 PM |
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Bicycle builder (frame maker) at present. Previously tutor/technician/lecturer, yacht designer, sailor, shipwright, and system analyst/computer
programmer. The analyst job was the best paid, but the least healthy.
I prefer working at something where I can get my hands dirty and where a day's effort results in something I can hold in my hands (as opposed
to spending weeks, months, and years of my life breathing manufactured air and sitting under flourescent light swhile pushing electrons around inside
a computer ... bah)
Cheers
John
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