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Uhhh, yeah I have. More often using Haines Manual. But I've done CVs on 69 and 72 Beetles, a bunch of early 70s Leyland Mini race cars, two different late 80s S

Uhhh, yeah I have. More often using Haines Manual. But I've done CVs on 69 and 72 Beetles, a bunch of early 70s Leyland Mini race cars, two different late 80s Suzuki Swifts, late 90s Ford Laser, and Alfa Romeo Sud and a Sprint, and a 2005-ish RAV4. I've also totally stripped and rebuilt several VW Beetle motors (and a Kombi one), a 13B Mazda rotary (which ended up in the 72 Beetle eventually), and my Ducati Monster 900 (engine/gearbox). I own one motorcycle that needs a new top end rebuild every 10,000km (A Cagiva Mito 125cc two stroke). I've done the desmo valve clearances on that Ducati every 20,000km since 1999 (it's got over 320,000km on it now.) So I'm not particularly scared of most mechanical things (I'm more put off by the pains of a 50year old body crouching down next to a motorcycle in the cold these days than worried about working on the mechanical stuff...) But I _am_ acutely aware that many (most?) people didn't have fathers who taught them how to work on cars/lawnmowers when they were 7 or 8 years old, and have no clue at all how tight fasteners should be or much force you can put on them before starting to worry about whether you need to start checking if you've missed the lock nut or split pin. People who have no feel for whats "About right" for a 10mm fastener compared to a 17mm or 32mm one. People who don't read a torque spec of 10Nm for an M6 fastener and realise "Oooh, that's not very tight, must be a stainless fastener into a soft-ish allow..." I _strongly_ stand by my advice of making a more experienced friend and having them oversee things and be there for when you're not sure if you're doing things right.

twic 6y ago
But did you win the Putnam?
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strogonoff 6y ago
I am now unfortunately in a location where it is non-trivial to befriend a person to shadow like that (language barrier etc.), but thanks for thoughtful advice. Pizza/beer point noted!
- bigiain 6y ago
  Ahhh, Covidtown? Yeah, I have that problem too...
brudgers 6y ago
yeah I have. So it’s possible to perform a new mechanical operation without a personal guide present? For VW’s Haines is definitely better. I had both for my 64. No CV joints on that one. Swing axel. And static timing. Which is an example of trial and error and eyeballing. That’s essentially how the Haines described it.
- bigiain 6y ago
  > So it’s possible to perform a new mechanical operation without a personal guide present? Oh sure. But I reckon learning the 4th, 5th, 100th new thing is _way_ less learning curve than learning the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd things. It's that early steep learning curve of all the assumed knowledge that Haines/Chilton/Ducati workshop manuals where a workshop buddy is hugely beneficial. Happy to disagree on this. But I also will continue to recommend finding a more experienced person to help out when you're starting out, and will regularly offer to be "that guy" for people who show interest. (Also, didn't the '64 still have inboard CV joints? My '69 had the "two joint rear end" with CVs up against the transaxle but none at the wheel hubs and the bendy trailing arms (according to most info that means it was probably a '68, but it had a 1969 Australian compliance plate of it :shrug:). The '72 had the four joint rear end.
  - brudgers 6y ago
    I don’t disagree that having someone to hold hands is a good idea. That doesn’t make YouTube the worst way to learn. It’s better than a Haynes manual because there is an experienced person showing how it’s done. In the case of brakes, it might even be a Park Tool factory mechanic. For VW’s I think model years and features vary by region.
    - bigiain 6y ago
      > That doesn’t make YouTube the worst way to learn Oh no, I agree there too. It's probably the second best way to learn. (Though for me, I have more of a "read the words and look at the pictures" kind of brain, I'd choose a decently written blog post or manual over video content every time...) But I _think_ the part of my comment you're pushing back against didn't suggest that Youtube was the worst way to learn - but rather that brakes were that _last_ thing I'd recommend someone starting out learns by themselves on Youtube. (It's entirely possible I didn't write that clearly enough though...) Start out learning (whether by Youtube or with an experienced person) how to replace light bulbs and fill you windscreen washer fluid and upgrade your stereo, then move on to more safety-critical but low risk things like oil changes, ignition timing, carb/fuel injection service - the sort of things that if you get it wrong make you stop. Leave the things that if you get it wrong you _don't_ stop until you're totally confident you know you are going to get it right. Brakes are one of the few things I say no to helping friends out with. If they start to work on them while I'm around, that's OK, but if they invite me round to show them how to do it I'll tell them "No, take your brakes to a licensed/insured mechanic."

twic 6y ago

But did you win the Putnam?

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strogonoff 6y ago

I am now unfortunately in a location where it is non-trivial to befriend a person to shadow like that (language barrier etc.), but thanks for thoughtful advice. Pizza/beer point noted!

bigiain 6y ago
Ahhh, Covidtown? Yeah, I have that problem too...

brudgers 6y ago

yeah I have. So it’s possible to perform a new mechanical operation without a personal guide present? For VW’s Haines is definitely better. I had both for my 64. No CV joints on that one. Swing axel. And static timing. Which is an example of trial and error and eyeballing. That’s essentially how the Haines described it.

bigiain 6y ago
> So it’s possible to perform a new mechanical operation without a personal guide present? Oh sure. But I reckon learning the 4th, 5th, 100th new thing is _way_ less learning curve than learning the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd things. It's that early steep learning curve of all the assumed knowledge that Haines/Chilton/Ducati workshop manuals where a workshop buddy is hugely beneficial. Happy to disagree on this. But I also will continue to recommend finding a more experienced person to help out when you're starting out, and will regularly offer to be "that guy" for people who show interest. (Also, didn't the '64 still have inboard CV joints? My '69 had the "two joint rear end" with CVs up against the transaxle but none at the wheel hubs and the bendy trailing arms (according to most info that means it was probably a '68, but it had a 1969 Australian compliance plate of it :shrug:). The '72 had the four joint rear end.
- brudgers 6y ago
  I don’t disagree that having someone to hold hands is a good idea. That doesn’t make YouTube the worst way to learn. It’s better than a Haynes manual because there is an experienced person showing how it’s done. In the case of brakes, it might even be a Park Tool factory mechanic. For VW’s I think model years and features vary by region.
  - bigiain 6y ago
    > That doesn’t make YouTube the worst way to learn Oh no, I agree there too. It's probably the second best way to learn. (Though for me, I have more of a "read the words and look at the pictures" kind of brain, I'd choose a decently written blog post or manual over video content every time...) But I _think_ the part of my comment you're pushing back against didn't suggest that Youtube was the worst way to learn - but rather that brakes were that _last_ thing I'd recommend someone starting out learns by themselves on Youtube. (It's entirely possible I didn't write that clearly enough though...) Start out learning (whether by Youtube or with an experienced person) how to replace light bulbs and fill you windscreen washer fluid and upgrade your stereo, then move on to more safety-critical but low risk things like oil changes, ignition timing, carb/fuel injection service - the sort of things that if you get it wrong make you stop. Leave the things that if you get it wrong you _don't_ stop until you're totally confident you know you are going to get it right. Brakes are one of the few things I say no to helping friends out with. If they start to work on them while I'm around, that's OK, but if they invite me round to show them how to do it I'll tell them "No, take your brakes to a licensed/insured mechanic."