This website was created for fun, and to share information for the DIY mechanic. My interests in my free time vary, but cars spark my interest. I enjoy working on them regularly, troubleshooting issues with friends, family and coworkers, and attending various events nationwide. My experience includes working on dozens of cars including proper improvements and modifications (not cheap aftermarket gimmicks and shortcuts), regular maintenance of all kinds, multiple engine rebuilds, and more. More than just doing the work, I understand the Why and How of car issues, with much of that knowledge stemming from my engineering background. I am writing this today because even more than doing the work, I enjoy sharing my passion and knowledge with others.
Cars In The Beginning
I began working on cars as a teenager, and not by choice, but rather out of necessity. The choice came later. Like many reading this article, my first car purchase was perhaps not the most “informed”. I purchased a 1992 Ford Taurus SHO, 5 speed, with 150k miles on the clock. I bought the car in South Carolina; however, it had lived most of its life in Ohio, which I was not knowledgeable enough at the time to know to check. This meant RUST. I bought this car because it was fast, luxurious with features such as leather seats and automatic climate control, and because I thought it was great that it was rare, fast, and most importantly a sleeper.
The SHO
With this much fun and freedom, how could I go wrong? Who knew that all of the reasons I liked were also the same reasons that it would need my constant attention. Not that it wasn’t worth it. In 1989 when the SHO was first released, it was faster than the Corvette, Mustang Cobra, Camaro, and even the Lotus Elise. It was the fastest 4-door sedan in American history. Don’t believe me? Check out the video.
While the Ford Taurus was a great car when it was new, my purchase was far from “new”. The first mistake I made was the high mileage on a car that did not have the best maintenance history. I quickly found myself stranded in a Target parking lot with a bad starter. This would prove to be my first car repair, and like most, I had a choice to make. Should I take it to a shop, or do the work myself? I had done oil changes previously, but nothing else. I opened the hood to find the “starter” and realized I had no idea where it was. Since I was ambitious, and had little funds, I made the choice to go for it myself, which is a choice that I am still grateful for to this day. I hit the SHO forums online, and quickly realized my first important life lesson, which is that if it happened to me, it has probably already happened to someone else. I found a procedure from a fellow owner and began to read it. I was luckily given a socket set from my dad a couple Christmases earlier, and went outside to “conquer the car”. I was amazed at how easy the procedure was to follow and after only 3 bolts and a couple wires, I was done! I was overwhelmed with pride at what I had accomplished. A 20 dollar socket set and free instructions saved me over $200, which was a-lot at the time.
Fast forward about a month. The fuel pump went out, and I again found myself with a decision to make. This time the job did not go quite as smoothly. The Ohio history caught up with me, and when I tried to remove the fuel tank straps, two of the bolts heads sheared off due to rust, leaving the threads in the frame. My heart sank, and I had no idea what to do. I went to the hardware store and asked around, and was pointed to bolt extractors, which came with instructions. Again, I went to work. I broke the first bolt extractor and destroyed the first metal drill bit. After 6 hours of lying on the ground during a cold night, and many trips to the hardware store, I got the old bolts out and finished the job. I was not happy, and thought, I should not have tried this myself. I also only broke even on cost because of additional tools I had to buy, so was it worth it?
Then a few weeks later, my friend told me that he had a loud whine coming from the back of his car, and his mechanic told him it was a bad fuel pump, and the job would be a few hundred dollars. He came to me to share his woes and ask for advice, and I thought, wow! I know how to do that! I told him I would help him, and we could do it! We finished the job, and I learned another life lesson, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. It will pay off in the long run, and the job was much easier with two people. Check out other life lessons here
These repairs led to many others as my confidence grew. Soon I found myself making performance modifications and adjustments to suit my personal preferences, as opposed to simply “fixing it if it breaks.” These experiences also contributed to my decision to earn an engineering degree, which gave me more knowledge to succeed in the hobby I enjoy most. And of course, knowledge led to PROJECTS!
And the rest is history.
Tim