Originally Posted By: Stelth
Yes, it does. Tone deaf people can't sing, no matter how many lessons they take. A person like me will never be a good illustrative artist (or any other kind of artist that draws or paints pictures), no matter how hard I try. I recognized this decades ago, and it has saved me a lot of heartache. If I were to put everything I had into it, I might become mediocre, at best.
Skill and talent aren't the same thing. A person who has a good dose of mechanical talent will find it easier to learn the skills. I have worked in a mechanical trade, plumbing, for about 31 years. I've seen the difference in people who have natural talent, and those who don't. Some people pick it up quickly, some are hopeless, and most are in between.
When it comes to working on cars, you find some people who just can't get it right. They're the ones who are always over- or under- tightening things, breaking stuff, and telling you that parts don't fit.
Originally Posted By: Number_35
My mechanical ability, such as it is, has funny roots. I was completely fascinated by car things when I was young - I remember as a young guy (3 or 4 years old) riding in my dad's car (an elderly black '49 Monarch) on a dark road in the rain. We got a flat, and I was delighted to be a 'helper' as Dad changed the tire. We arrived home, and I ran to my mum and told her that we'd had 'good luck'. Dad seemed rather bewildered by my enthusiasm. He hated working on mechanical things, and discouraged me from doing so. He believed that you got a carpenter to build things of wood, and a mechanic to repair your car, and an electrician to wire your house, etc. Fixing your own car must have seemed to him like doing your own dentistry or removing your own appendix.
So, I hit my early car-driving years as dumb as a bag of hammers, but with the desire to learn.
Dad was pretty appalled when he arrived home from work one day, and I'd taken the head off my '71 Toyota Corolla. (I was 19 by this time, and had wasted much money at Dad's rip-off garage, and they still hadn't fixed the rough idle and popping exhaust sound.) Dad had no good tools (and certainly nothing metric) so I'd bought a $5 socket set of appalling quality and borrowed a torque wrench form a friend's father. I took the head into the local machine shop, and the old machinist there replaced a burned valve for me. I was pleased to get the car running the next day.
I think I won Dad over when I took the door apart on his beloved '67 Newport and fixed the door handle.
Since then I've made massive numbers of dumb mistakes, but have blundered through removing and replacing the heads on a small-block Chevy, replacing the lifters on the same car ('68 Impala), doing a motor swap on same a couple of years later, doing a motor swap on an old ('79) Mazda GLC, replacing a head gasket on a Mazda 2.6 l engine, and doing almost countless strut replacements, brake jobs, rotors, tie rod ends, and timing belts. And then there are water pumps and alternators and batteries ...
As a side-benefit, I was mystified by the electrical side of auto mechanical work, and did an Electronic Technology diploma course many years ago. That helped with my car hobby of course, but has also provided me a decent living since.
So, in summary, I had the interest but did not grow up in an environment conducive to developing any skills until I had cars of my own. I've developed into a competent backyard mechanic, but wish I knew a lot more. I've become fascinated with the workings of engines - a real 'Aha' moment was drawing out the firing cycle of a typical V8 and realizing why a crossplane V8 can't alternate firing side-to-side through the entire cycle. The 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 firing order makes sense ...
I wish I'd pursued mechanical work professionally and full-time, but that's the road not taken ...
Those two posts are overflowing with wisdom. I very much enjoyed reading them. Stelth and Number_35, you guys are fantastic!
Yes, it does. Tone deaf people can't sing, no matter how many lessons they take. A person like me will never be a good illustrative artist (or any other kind of artist that draws or paints pictures), no matter how hard I try. I recognized this decades ago, and it has saved me a lot of heartache. If I were to put everything I had into it, I might become mediocre, at best.
Skill and talent aren't the same thing. A person who has a good dose of mechanical talent will find it easier to learn the skills. I have worked in a mechanical trade, plumbing, for about 31 years. I've seen the difference in people who have natural talent, and those who don't. Some people pick it up quickly, some are hopeless, and most are in between.
When it comes to working on cars, you find some people who just can't get it right. They're the ones who are always over- or under- tightening things, breaking stuff, and telling you that parts don't fit.
Originally Posted By: Number_35
My mechanical ability, such as it is, has funny roots. I was completely fascinated by car things when I was young - I remember as a young guy (3 or 4 years old) riding in my dad's car (an elderly black '49 Monarch) on a dark road in the rain. We got a flat, and I was delighted to be a 'helper' as Dad changed the tire. We arrived home, and I ran to my mum and told her that we'd had 'good luck'. Dad seemed rather bewildered by my enthusiasm. He hated working on mechanical things, and discouraged me from doing so. He believed that you got a carpenter to build things of wood, and a mechanic to repair your car, and an electrician to wire your house, etc. Fixing your own car must have seemed to him like doing your own dentistry or removing your own appendix.
So, I hit my early car-driving years as dumb as a bag of hammers, but with the desire to learn.
Dad was pretty appalled when he arrived home from work one day, and I'd taken the head off my '71 Toyota Corolla. (I was 19 by this time, and had wasted much money at Dad's rip-off garage, and they still hadn't fixed the rough idle and popping exhaust sound.) Dad had no good tools (and certainly nothing metric) so I'd bought a $5 socket set of appalling quality and borrowed a torque wrench form a friend's father. I took the head into the local machine shop, and the old machinist there replaced a burned valve for me. I was pleased to get the car running the next day.
I think I won Dad over when I took the door apart on his beloved '67 Newport and fixed the door handle.
Since then I've made massive numbers of dumb mistakes, but have blundered through removing and replacing the heads on a small-block Chevy, replacing the lifters on the same car ('68 Impala), doing a motor swap on same a couple of years later, doing a motor swap on an old ('79) Mazda GLC, replacing a head gasket on a Mazda 2.6 l engine, and doing almost countless strut replacements, brake jobs, rotors, tie rod ends, and timing belts. And then there are water pumps and alternators and batteries ...
As a side-benefit, I was mystified by the electrical side of auto mechanical work, and did an Electronic Technology diploma course many years ago. That helped with my car hobby of course, but has also provided me a decent living since.
So, in summary, I had the interest but did not grow up in an environment conducive to developing any skills until I had cars of my own. I've developed into a competent backyard mechanic, but wish I knew a lot more. I've become fascinated with the workings of engines - a real 'Aha' moment was drawing out the firing cycle of a typical V8 and realizing why a crossplane V8 can't alternate firing side-to-side through the entire cycle. The 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 firing order makes sense ...
I wish I'd pursued mechanical work professionally and full-time, but that's the road not taken ...
Those two posts are overflowing with wisdom. I very much enjoyed reading them. Stelth and Number_35, you guys are fantastic!
