Hopefully this is not off topic, its not about traditional hot rods and customs but it is about the work we do on them. I am a letter carrier for the United Stated Postal Service. A few months back I tested to work as a mechanic for the postal service servicing the LLV mail delivery vehicle and other postal vehicles. I passed and am expected to be offered the job. My question is for the people on the HAMB that turn wrenches for a living. If you work as a mechanic for 8 hours a day does it turn you off working on your own hotrods when you get home? Do you not want to look at another tool when you get home? I love my current job but , but this is a great opportunity, higher level of pay , 7:30 to 4:00 Mon, thru Fri. out of the weather etc. I have no professional mechanic training or experience, just growing up working on my own cars as a hobby . The work is doing a lot of brake jobs, replacing engines and trannys, rear axles, fuel pumps, water pumps, wipers, electrical, tires, alignments, nothing is farmed out its all handled in house. Uniforms are provided by a uniform company, nice snap-on tool box fully stocked also. Those of you working as a mechanic everyday...do you love it or wish you had taken another career path? This is an important decision in my life so looking for some advice, thanks.
I was a level 7 post office mechanic for 7 years. I definitely know my way around LLVs. It's a good job, as good as any job spinning wrenches anywhere. Only real complaint I had was they supply your tools and they were awful crap. You are not going to be inside out of the weather either. Every day you have to go to the stations and fix the trucks on the spot if possible. You will do a lot of brake jobs in a post office parking lot working out of a service truck. I actually enjoyed that part the most. Plus there are lots of road calls when an LLV breaks out on the route. You fix them on the spot if possible to avoid shuttling another truck out there and towing the broken one back to the shop. If you have questions about the job, just ask. I left it in 2001 to become a fireman. I wanted more time off.
not at all i love cars ,sometimes its a pain in the ass to do it all day for 8 to 15 hours than come home and work on your own stuff but you get over it ...
I have had my 57 for going on 16 years....the only reason it isn,t finished is because when I put my tools away at 5:00 they stay put away.I have been wrenching for a living for 29 years and damn I get tired of it. Sure the money and perks are great but when I get home and crack a cold beer I,m screwed. If my own drivers need work I have to stay right at work and do them because if i go home and sit down for supper I,m done. It was fun when I first started in the trade but as I get older.....
Different strokes for different folks. If you truly love what you are doing you have it made. I truly love working on cars. Been doing it for 42 years and would not choose to do anything else. I work on my projects whenever I can. Mostly weekends any more but in younger years a lot at night too. If you are motivated about your projects you will have no more problem finding time to work on them after wrenching all day that if you were doing something else for ma day job.
Post office thing sounds like a good job, better pay, change of pace for you. Once you learn the vehciles they should all be the same so you should be able to get real good real quick. Score a clapped out one and build a custom
I put in my 8+ hrs every day then come home and do more car stuff. I got into doing it for a living because I enjoy it. Having said that, it's not for everybody. There is a constant stream of new technology to learn, work is usually on your feet, or contorted into something less than a comfortable position, and the pay scale is limited. If you enjoy doing it already, go for it. wrenching professionally is not like working on you own stuff at home. Everything is on a timetable and there is always a push to keep vehicles in service. A lot will depend on your supervisors and co-workers attitudes. Back to the original question, do I still enjoy it for myself? Definitely. Devin
I've been a mechanic for 15 years. Building cars and fixing cars are two different things. I still love both. Never turn down a chance to better yourself.
ford dealer tech for 20 years now. have worked on some postal llv for the local post offices when they were still using outside shops for repairs. it was pretty easy work. the trucks for the most part are all the same, s10 or explorer chasis and some windstars. the post office repair shops stock everything for the vehicles in their fleet. they keep simple, if its broke or gonna break, fix it, they want to prevent break downs. trans slips, replace it, motor knocks replace it. just have to be thorough when doing inspections, check everything !! working on the same type of vehicle over and over you start to see patterns and get to know short cuts and common problems. as far as wrenching all day then after work, i still do it on my own stuff. i dont do side work anymore, thats to much like work. wrenching on my own projects is different then wrenching on daily driver type stuff. i find it relaxing and fun to wrench on hot rods, race cars, cruisers, ect. its nice having the experience of wrenching as a pro mechanic, that just adds to your abilities that you can apply to your projects and wont need to rely on others for help and knowledge.
I'm retired now, but when I turned wrenches for a living I couldn't wait to get home to work on my own stuff. Fixing other peoples stuff was an interesting and rewarding career but building my own and my kids cars was fun. All part of being a gear head.
If all you have to work is 8 hrs aday,with all those benefits,you don"t need to be thinking about it,you should be working on your ride right now.Be glad to have a job!
There is NO comparison !! I have been an auto tech for 30 yrs, and when I get home, I can't wait to spend some time wrenching on my funny car !! Certain times of the year, when the dealership is a little slow, I'll tow the car to work, in case I get some time to wrench on it You should see the look on their faces when I cackle it into the shop Priceless !!
I have been a saturn tech for 19 years . i learned everything on my own. i would watch and learn. it has paid off very well up untill obama motors put the fuckin on saturn. so now last week we sold the last car on the lot. what now???? we are going to stay open for service. any way do it if you can learn how to work flatrate to your advantage.. but think slow this is a bad time to get into the car business. and i love to work on the hot rod after work good luck
I woked as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic for 35 yrs. I liked the work but some times the hours SUCKED. I could work seven days a week 10 to 16 hours a day. Ten yrs ago my knees and back told me that it was time to get out. I went to work for the Dept. of Corrections of Colo. as a Maintenance Superviser ( Welding crew ) and I have seventeen moons to go. Lee
i dont know as far as being a mechanic goes, but living life as a bodyman/painter sucks. Dont get me wrong, i love fabrication, bodywork, paint, restoration, etc. but doing it 9-5 for someone else is no where close to worth it. Im planning to go back to school and get into IT (information technology) which is what i should have done in the first place. That way when i get home after 5:00 i will be able to stand working on my own car, because i havent spent my whole day up until then working on someone elses junk for money that isnt at all worth the time, effort and stress.
I'm over a shop and in the past couple of years I've seen many techs gets fed up and leave the business because of the economy. It's hard for a flat rate guy to make in some areas lately. I know we (the shop) have a hell of a time finding qualified help....we actually resorted to a tech school kid hoping we can make a good tech out of him. I have my doubts but time well tell.
I've been a tech for about 20 yrs, and the last 15 at a GM dealer, and I believe flat rate is the best invention ever! I work 80 hours and get paid for 95-100 hours! There is the constant upgrading and schooling, but it goes with the territory, if you want to stay on top of things. As far as getting tired of wrenching, as long as I'm not working on someone elses POS at night(which does happen fairly often) I still enjoy working on my projects.
I've been doing bodywork for 36 years. The hotrod obbsesision is what got me into it. Hard dirty work, low on the food chain. I wonder why i do it. Come 7 pm thou, i'm right back in my garage doing some more. Different concept thou. Go figure.
been wrenching for 46 years and wouldn't swap it for anything. you need to give it a shot and see if it's for you. you'll bleed and get pissed off for a while until you get rolling, or you'll bag it. it ain't for the faint at heart. get your own shop asap and specialize in something so you get real good in one area that looks like it has a future. i've had my own shop for 30 years and i only service aircooled porsche 911s. the newest one i work on is 12 years old. there's a good following for those cars and they should keep me busy until i retire, hopefully. the shop is my hobby shop too, so when i'm slow or on saturday, i can get some projects done. life is good so far.
Wrenching afterwards was not the problem for me,It was the Idiots I worked for that drove me away.Most employers expected too much.And I ended up in a couple shops that would blaintantly rip people off.I know alot of it was my age at the time hell I was still a kid.I wrench on compressors now and take care off the fleet trucks we have when needed.I still come home and wrench as well NOW.
turning wrenches really give you a sense of accomplishment every day...I manage techs now and its no where near as fulfilling....
My Dad was a mechanic his whole life. He still found time and enthusiasm enough to work on his '47 DeSoto convertible (still in the family since 1963), his '49 F-1 /351M daily driver, and anything else he had at the time. Plus he always had time to help me with my latest project nightmare, my 2 brothers cars, and still fix a few of the neighbor's cars for free (that's just what neighbors do..he used to say). God, I sure miss him. 2 things he did say were-" The only differance between doctors and mechanics is doctors get to bury their mistakes, mechanics have to live with theirs. " And " A mechanic's car is the last one to get fixed." So I say go for the job, never know if you'll like it until you try. Good luck!
Well thanks for all the advice. See they give you whats called a bench test...you have to replace brakes, set timing , test electrical system, troubleshoot a wiring fault all with the instructor looking over your shoulder within a certain amount of time. After I tested the instructor said I did good but said I needed to pay more attention to details and missed a few small things, he was very tough. He said, "you're pretty good kid but you have a lot to learn" im 32! But he was right, I am green as far as servicing a vehicle professionaly. You see im one of those guys when I get to know a job and do it well I get in a safety net, im very afraid of change and this would be a big change. But I dont think this would affect me working on my own stuff. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get after I swap an engine or replace a windshield or something and my hands are beat and sore. It makes me appreciate the value of hard work and saving money.
Bingo. I will admit I DON'T like having to fix something that broke down on my "daily" cars tho...but it beats paying someone else to do it.
You don't need to qualify for a government licence where you are? We have to complete a 5 year apprenticeship and write an exam at the end of it for a Certificate of Qualification (that and pony up renewal fees every 3 years) I have 2 trade licences in Automotive Tech and Truck/Coach, work on heavy diesels through the day and my hot rod at night. I did have to put in 17 years of steady nights, but it's secure. Flatman
I work at a chevrolet service department. I work on everything from tracing windnoise and vibration to communication faults in new vehicles. I cant wait to get home at night and wrench on something that was designed 60yrs ago. The further from the (New) that I see everyday, the BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have my Ontario ticket too. Started in this trade in 1965. It has been very good to me. Also have my Auto Machinists or had (ASE). It was for me a rewarding carreer. I spent time over the holidays with a friend i worked with in the seventies. I asked him as he is 3 years my senior. He said he loved it and would not do anything else. As to how it relates to your car hobby. When you are a professional you KNOW how to do stuff and why. I was once asked why that is so by a wannnebee mech. I said changing a water pump is no trouble for you right. No he said I have changed a water pump. Well i did 8 water pump replacements this week. That is the difference. When you have done a job hundreds of times you learn what to do and how and why. You also learn what not to do and you learn what is important and what is not. Like I was asked last year had I ever overhauled a Q jet. I said probably 1000 of them in my 40 plus years. Not likely too far off. All that practice spills over into your hobby. Instead of running to the FSM and phonng fourteen guys and asking a hundred questions you know what to do and git er done! There is a satisfaction that comes with proficiency. Proficiency comes with practice and when you do it for a living you get lots of practice. It never dampened my enthusiasum. It just made it easier to do the work. I would encourage your to go ahead . there are in every profession whiners. So what. They would be unhappy at any job. Dont pay any attention to them. They are stupid anyway. Why? Because they choose a profession they didnt like! How dumb can that be? We all have a niche, The ones who find ours enjoy life. The rest just bitch from dawn till dusk. If this is your niche you will enjoy it. If not move on and make room for those who do. Don
The best thing about working on regular cars is you can do it and think about other stuff at the same time to pass the time. Building them takes attention which I find more interesting.
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