A thread on another forum made me think about this, My son is 16 and has been pretty good with a wrench, he is learning, not quite where I was at 16, but he gets it done, my father says he can't do more because I do everything for him, lol... I just think that is a way for my father to make him self feel better about never helping me, lol....
Anyway, I was thinking, I bought a 79 trans am, 403/automatic, blue with blue interior when I was 15, the previous owner pulled the top of the motor apart because it was overheating and had leaking head gaskets, never fixed anything, just took it apart and lost all the bolts.
So I paid $750 for the car, I had a savings account with $1600 in it at the time, from my "landscaping company", which was a lawn mower my uncle gave me when he bought his condo, a sickle I bought at bennys, and some yard tools from my parents house, lol... My mother gave me a bunch of attitude when I asked her for the money, she thought it was a big waste, but my father told her to go to the bank for me (it was my money)...
SO I get it home, I called about every machine shop in the phone book, everyone wanted $500 to do the heads, back then. But the gas station by our old house had a mechanics shop and I used to help the guys out on weekends (plus cut the grass in front of the place)... They sent the heads out for me and it only cost me $200, surfaced, and all fixed up, like new. I put the motor back together with a CHILTONS BOOK!!!! I also put some vette seats in it and a few other guido touches, lol. I sold it for a good profit before I even got my licence...
Then after that I got a 1992 buick riviera, black, with black leather, moon roof, with 40K miles on it, it was like brand new in 1995.. EXCEPT, my uncle bought it for me at the insurance pool, so it needed a hood, bumper, grill, 1 light, and 1 fender... I found the parts in New Hampshire (a local yard was nice enough to find them for me), I had a high school friend of mine drive me up there and we pulled the parts ourselves, best part was THEY WERE THE SAME COLOR!!! I pulled the fender support and rad support with the winch on the front of my fathers CJ, chained the opposite side of the car to a tree and tied the cj to another tree, winched a little here and a little there, we got it done. I mounted teh fenders, washed it all up, changed the oil, changed a front rim that ended up being bent (didnt know that till I got to the highway), and I had that car for a LONG TIME, my kids rode in that car, lol....
Oly bad part was I used to get pulled over a lot because I was a young kid in an expensive car, I sold it years later with around 130K miles on it for $1900!!! Almost double what it initially cost me...
So when did you guys start wrenching, I feel like I really started on bicycles and then go karts, then the dirt bike, then cars... I also feel like our kids today missed that part of life, my kids are OK', but other kids I see dont have a clue, maybe because cars today are a lot tougher to work on? maybe because video games replaced bicycles? I don't know?
Anyway, I was thinking, I bought a 79 trans am, 403/automatic, blue with blue interior when I was 15, the previous owner pulled the top of the motor apart because it was overheating and had leaking head gaskets, never fixed anything, just took it apart and lost all the bolts.
So I paid $750 for the car, I had a savings account with $1600 in it at the time, from my "landscaping company", which was a lawn mower my uncle gave me when he bought his condo, a sickle I bought at bennys, and some yard tools from my parents house, lol... My mother gave me a bunch of attitude when I asked her for the money, she thought it was a big waste, but my father told her to go to the bank for me (it was my money)...
SO I get it home, I called about every machine shop in the phone book, everyone wanted $500 to do the heads, back then. But the gas station by our old house had a mechanics shop and I used to help the guys out on weekends (plus cut the grass in front of the place)... They sent the heads out for me and it only cost me $200, surfaced, and all fixed up, like new. I put the motor back together with a CHILTONS BOOK!!!! I also put some vette seats in it and a few other guido touches, lol. I sold it for a good profit before I even got my licence...
Then after that I got a 1992 buick riviera, black, with black leather, moon roof, with 40K miles on it, it was like brand new in 1995.. EXCEPT, my uncle bought it for me at the insurance pool, so it needed a hood, bumper, grill, 1 light, and 1 fender... I found the parts in New Hampshire (a local yard was nice enough to find them for me), I had a high school friend of mine drive me up there and we pulled the parts ourselves, best part was THEY WERE THE SAME COLOR!!! I pulled the fender support and rad support with the winch on the front of my fathers CJ, chained the opposite side of the car to a tree and tied the cj to another tree, winched a little here and a little there, we got it done. I mounted teh fenders, washed it all up, changed the oil, changed a front rim that ended up being bent (didnt know that till I got to the highway), and I had that car for a LONG TIME, my kids rode in that car, lol....
Oly bad part was I used to get pulled over a lot because I was a young kid in an expensive car, I sold it years later with around 130K miles on it for $1900!!! Almost double what it initially cost me...
So when did you guys start wrenching, I feel like I really started on bicycles and then go karts, then the dirt bike, then cars... I also feel like our kids today missed that part of life, my kids are OK', but other kids I see dont have a clue, maybe because cars today are a lot tougher to work on? maybe because video games replaced bicycles? I don't know?