I would say 17 when my mother thought it was a good idea to let me buy a Trans Am GTA. First thing I really did was swap for a bigger throttle body and larger runners.
How Old Were You When You First Started Wrenching?
- Thread starter BlueOvalFitter
- Start date
Late teens. Parents weren‘t the mechanical type. Had to learn it all for myself.
When I was 9, dad showed me how to grease the crank and wheel bearings on my bicycle. If you call that wrenching, then I started at 9 years old.
When I was 12, dad and I pulled and rebuilt a little 4-cylinder Ford engine. If this is really wrenching, then I started at age 12. YMMV LOL
When I was 12, dad and I pulled and rebuilt a little 4-cylinder Ford engine. If this is really wrenching, then I started at age 12. YMMV LOL
I was probably 11 years old or so. We had an old lawnboy that stopped running it was carboned up. I figured it didn't run what could I hurt. Cleaned out this exhaust ports and put it back together and continued to cut grass until my mom used 4 stroke oil in the gas instead of 2 stroke... Lets just say it wasn't the same after that...
My son has been with me in the garage since he could walk...
Just my $0.02
My son has been with me in the garage since he could walk...
Just my $0.02
Been wrenching on cars a long time.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2020
- Messages
- 155
17 when I bought my 08 Pathfinder. Oil changes, tire rotations, brakes, replaced a few sensors. Struts and shocks. I should of just left it alone honestly. But I always liked taking things apart and putting it back together. That's about all I've done. Other work I don't feel confident in myself to do went to the shop that we trust. I've done 2 oil changes on my 13 Tacoma so far.
I was about 8 as growing up on a farm, was always fixing a farm implement or vehicle
I was in my early teens before I was tackling jobs on my own. I "helped" my Uncle with little jobs on his '72 Ford F100, mowers, etc.. when I was younger than that, maybe 10 or so. Some of my early work was on my Mom's '79 Mercury Monarch.
Probably around 13 when I had to get the Clinton wind the rope onto it to start engine on the reel mower running to do the lawn. I'm not counting bicycles.
Automotive started at 16 at the Esso station. Pump jockey and mechanics assistant was my first car training.
Automotive started at 16 at the Esso station. Pump jockey and mechanics assistant was my first car training.
My dad always had tractors and light acreage farm equipment at home. I probably started wrenching at about 10 years of age. We had a go cart and a homemade riding lawn tractor with 2 manual transmissions hooked together. We were always wrenching on bikes and small Honda motorcycles too. My dad owned a small gas station with a regular and premium pump but no mechanic garage or anything. Just gas. My dad would buy old 8N Ford tractors or small Farmall's and repaint them and sell them too. We would do light mechanic work and paint stripping on them. My dad would finish them with spray paint and decals etc.
That's about the age I started taking things apart. Now I have about 50 unfinished projects and boxes of parts for who knows what.
Lazy old soul that I am, rather than retyping I refer y'all back to this ancient thread when I was a rookie BITOGer ...
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanical-ability.230958/page-3#post-3638867
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanical-ability.230958/page-4#post-3639856
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanical-ability.230958/page-5#post-3641906
Good thread, it was fun to read through it again years later.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanical-ability.230958/page-3#post-3638867
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanical-ability.230958/page-4#post-3639856
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanical-ability.230958/page-5#post-3641906
Good thread, it was fun to read through it again years later.
I didn't start wrenching on cars, my dad had a printing shop when I was born and had 4 presses, an old school off set Otto printer and several big cutting machines. I would go with my dad on saturdays and was fascinated by the machines especially when they where being fixed, thats were the wrenching started, and has been a hobby/passion since. I was probably 4 or 5 when I first saw these machines, and they left an idelible image in my mind. Once I was 11 or 12 and we moved to the US my dad did all the maintenance on the cars because we didnt have much money, thats when the auto bug hit me plus I got to spend time with my dad which is even more important. Now I'm trying to do the same with my daughter, but mom says working on cars isnt for girls, but I digress.
i passed through the vaginal canal with a craftsman 9/16 wrench in one hand and a winchester lever action in the other. mom still hasn’t completely forgiven me.
I was 12 and had a paper route so I had to keep my bike going. I took a polaroid photograph of the derailleur so I could fix the chain and have it set up the same when it went back together!
Dad kept his good tools locked in his antique car and made me ask permission. He wasn't home when I wanted to tinker and I didn't want all the "life lessons" and BS that came with it so I grabbed his second-tier stuff he kept unlocked. This led to fun stuff like putting vise grips on nut driver handles for more leverage, and busting said handles.
They also forbade me from leaving the neighborhood on my bike because of Massachusetts drivers on the busier roads but I blew that rule off and went across 4 lanes of 55 mph traffic to the friendly local bike store for all my needs.
I wore out several aluminum kickstands stopping 37 times a day to deliver papers (to the door) so I finally explained my situation to the shop owner and he came back with a cheaper steel kickstand that lasted the rest of my career.
Dad kept his good tools locked in his antique car and made me ask permission. He wasn't home when I wanted to tinker and I didn't want all the "life lessons" and BS that came with it so I grabbed his second-tier stuff he kept unlocked. This led to fun stuff like putting vise grips on nut driver handles for more leverage, and busting said handles.
They also forbade me from leaving the neighborhood on my bike because of Massachusetts drivers on the busier roads but I blew that rule off and went across 4 lanes of 55 mph traffic to the friendly local bike store for all my needs.
I wore out several aluminum kickstands stopping 37 times a day to deliver papers (to the door) so I finally explained my situation to the shop owner and he came back with a cheaper steel kickstand that lasted the rest of my career.
6 or 7 on bicycles. My drunk father would swear and be otherwise objectionable whenever I asked for help with anything so I didn't ask.
It completely sucked.....silver lining I suppose.
Let me say this: If you're angry, drunk and stupid and think you have something to stand for...give it a rest and give it another thought.
You might not be as smart as you think you are.
It completely sucked.....silver lining I suppose.
Let me say this: If you're angry, drunk and stupid and think you have something to stand for...give it a rest and give it another thought.
You might not be as smart as you think you are.
Probably about 5 or 6 with my father, then I thought I knew what is was doing so when dad wasn’t home I played with the jack lifting up the vehicles till I got in trouble. I missed the front differential and jacked up the oil pan on the old Chevy PU causing the crank to hit it. Needless to say he’s never let me live that down.
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