Finding Experience

10:22 PM 2 Comments

One of the things I bemoaned some months ago was that there weren't any adult/post-education "shop" classes for basic automobile maintenance and repair available in my area. The only thing I could find was a full 2 year certification course at the local community college, designed specifically for training professionals to go into auto repair shops and dealer facilities...not quite my aim.

So my second thought was, "wouldn't it be great if I could help out at a shop, or maybe find somebody who would let me observe?" But I didn't know anybody...

Radiator, beautiful rusty headlights, and drum brakes.
...then suddenly I did. Several somebodies.

What's nice about the car culture is that people really want to tell you about their cars. There are myriad knowledgeable people, and lots of very generous people who like to get greasy and be social about it. Thank goodness!

Last weekend I met an inspiring fellow who is an entrepreneur (like me, but way more successful) and also a petrolhead. He has a private workshop where he stores all kinds of tasty meatballs - a 1952 Chevy pickup, a 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo, and a god damn DeLorean...among other things. He invited me to check it out and wrench on his project cars, one of which is a gorgeous Ford Model A which apparently has hill climb and, uh, rally history.

Carburetors sticking out the side of the *straight four. Radiator standing tall at the front. And check out those headlights. Those headers shoot right out the side of the frame, too, with no twists, turns, or muffling. This thing must sound insane.
The body's off and everything is on display. This is the first time I've been able to have a clean view of the gubbins in their elegant, stripped-back states since learning all the basic bits and pieces. It's one thing to study diagrams and another to see it all put together and filthy.

Jim says I can come hang out and crawl under cars whenever. Yes please! I have so much to learn, and I am thankful that somebody is generous enough to let me sponge up some of his knowledge.

2 comments:

  1. Roger IuJanuary 29, 2015 at 12:58 PM

    Darling, that is a Straight 4 / Inline 4.
    The 4 cylinders are aligned in a straight line.
    A flat 4 would be like in a VW Beetle or a Subaru. The cylinders would be horizontal and opposed to each other with two on each side, shaped like the letter H.

    This is a Flat Head Inline 4 engine.

    Flat head engines have their valves mounted within the engine block beside the piston. The valves will aim upward as with the piston and the head itself only houses the combustion chamber and the spark plug. This allows the head to be very shallow in depth, usually no more than 2 inches, therefore a Flat Head.

    Most modern engines have the valves mounted in the head pointed down at the piston head. These are Overhead Valve or Overhead Cam engines.
    OHV engines have just the valves with springs and rockers that are activated by pushrods connected to the camshaft mounted within the engine block.
    OHC engines have the camshaft mounted in the head above the valves and valve springs allowing for fine tune ability of the valve timing. However this leaves us with massive heads that are 6-10 inches in depth.

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    1. Lauren StowellJanuary 29, 2015 at 1:26 PM

      Aaaah, that makes seeeense. I should've listened - the owner of this Ford did say straight 4 and I didn't realize they were two different things. I know nothing!

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