Mine still has Auto Shop classes, taught by a Ford tech who moved into the classroom from a local dealership, A Model A owner in fact. Smaller districts don’t have that luxury so they can drive to Tumwater for the Morning or Afternoon session, 3 class periods worth
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This is the correct take. And there is a huge difference between wanting to do something as a hobby, versus as a career. YouTube is an excellent resource for the DIYer, as well as websites such as this.
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While I agree that YouTube can be a useful resource, I respectfully disagree, especially for anyone who’s new to projects.
Too many promoting their “Miracle in a Bottle”, repair solutions that “cut away” when their dealing with common problems or those that assume that you’ve got a fully equipped repair shop. Today when even an oil change or a brake pad change can require specific tools and settings, a basic understanding is imperative, if only to warn you of the possibilities.
And if a couple of hours at a VoTech or CC let’s you know that a Toyota oil change requires a special tool and saves you from hours of frustration, in my book that’s a good investment.
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I’m not sure a couple of hours at a votech is going to go into specific tools needed for an oil change on a Toyota, is it? Unless it’s a Toyota specific course…
If the course is more general theory, I think you’d probably be more likely to find that info on a YouTube video for that specific Toyota model.
Nothing against votech or community college courses. I think if you were a young guy planning on embarking on a career, that would be the way to go. I don’t know that I’d recommend paying for courses if you just want a “project car” to tinker with. It just depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.
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Cousin learned how to fix up air cooled VW’s by having about 10 examples of the Bug/Fastback/Squareback to pick and choose the best parts from to make a few cars each split between him and a buddy, High school kids in the 80’s and he’s still working on his own german cars, just water cooled with the engine in the front. A TDI new beetle that he road tripped home in from Texas and before that a late 70’s Benz Diesel wagon that to him was like a ford guy working on a F150, A service manual or You Tube will help but sometimes it’s a good idea to have someone to show you what you don’t know. May not be at the Voc School but at the one’s i went to you could bring in your own project and learn how to fix that. Provided your instructor approved.
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In the Minneapolis area, prior to the Back to the 50’s car show, they used to have general interest car shows in the auditorium. There would be all the normal vendor booths but then some fairly good demonstrations and how to seminars. Really a good place to learn specifics/ One I remember in particular was the Iverson chrome polishing session. Went through the whole process of polishing old metal. Told lots of secrets but would not divulge the formula for his special polish is all. Another one was PPG painting put on by the Red Rooster stores. For some reason they went away-I’m sure they were a lot of work to organize. At any rate I’ve never taken a VoTec course and if I did it would probably be welding. There are so many specialty areas, hard to focus on just one area. Upholstery is where you are better off knowing an old guy instead of trying to do it yourself IMHO.
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Car meets can be a good way to find other hobbyists, The shop in Seattle has meets on Saturday mornings and normally gets a cross section of the local car scene. Used to be one at the World of Speed Museum south of Portland but they closed their doors last year and distributed everything to other museums or schools. Originally a car dealership so there was lots of room for a show.
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In the old days, people did not use Chilton’s or Haynes much. Cars were almost all domestics and you checked out a Motors Repair Manual.
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My olden days we worked with a bud, and he knew everything, retired mechanic he was. Even welded a broken cast iron leg on my wood burning stove. Greatest memory, he had recorded every show on vhs for Dallas, gowd I hate te speel check thinghad to edit 3 tomes and still not wright
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Are you starting with limited mechanical experience in general, or just getting into cars?
Depending on your level of hands on experience with things mechanical, a little warm up with bicycles and lawnmowers is a good way to learn some basics before jumping into a car project - strip down and reassemble a coaster brake hub, a 3 speed hub, an old lawnmower engine, learn to use tools and make beginners mistakes on things that don’t matter, etc.
Enough can go wrong when working on cars (safety concerns while working, hazards of improper repairs - think brakes) - some youtubes ignore this or steer one wrong - that it’s wise to do your initial learning under the guidance of someone more experienced. A community auto class, a car club, a friend or neighbor who’s willing to take you on are potential resources. One could learn much from some time with an amateur racing team.
As for projects themselves, start with a common mechanically simple.vehicle with good parts availability and do simple jobs, then work your way into more complex and ambitious tasks.
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