A
Anonymous
Guest
G'day!
I just bought myself my very first car - a series I EB falcon. I wanted one pretty badly when they came out, and I gotta tell you it felt pretty good driving it home - albeit 15 years later
Anyway, it was a very cheap buy - $750 plus $400 for roadworthy - and as you'd expect at that price, she's not perfect. I'm an inveterate tinkerer but my field is IT and electronics. Having never had a car (I only got my licence a year ago - very slack for a 30 something!) I never had the need or the opportunity to learn about them.
Which leaves me in a bit of a bind - I've got a wonderful new toy to play with, but no idea where to start. Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. At least I know how my clients feel now!
My plan (if you could call it that) is to get the car running at least as well as it did the day it was made, and then turn it into a Snarling Monster Of Doom.
Before I do that though I've gotta learn about these things. Now, if it was an electronic or IT sort of thing, I'd leaf through some documentation, pick up my tools and pull it apart. Car engines, however.. aside from the fact that any given bit currently looks like any other to me, I'm keenly aware that if I cock up I've destroyed something I can't replace at the very least - at the very worst, I'm terrified I'm going to make something explode and hurt somebody. Years of working with insanely high voltage/current devices has taught me caution!
So: Where do I start?? I know there are tings called 'lifters' that need to be replaced pretty quick smart (they're the reason it sounds like a sewing machine, right?) and there's something very fishy going on with an oil pump or something (red dash lights are never good...) - would picking up a copy of the gregory's manual give me enough info to do jobs like that myself? She runs rough - should I go out and buy a xenon strobe, or would a laptop be more useful? Previous owners had the car for 15 years and aside from the occaisional service, they just drove it - there's some remedial work to be done!
Any and all advice will be welcomed greatfully - even if it's nothing more than the name of a solid mechanic!
Thanks in advance guys!
I just bought myself my very first car - a series I EB falcon. I wanted one pretty badly when they came out, and I gotta tell you it felt pretty good driving it home - albeit 15 years later

Anyway, it was a very cheap buy - $750 plus $400 for roadworthy - and as you'd expect at that price, she's not perfect. I'm an inveterate tinkerer but my field is IT and electronics. Having never had a car (I only got my licence a year ago - very slack for a 30 something!) I never had the need or the opportunity to learn about them.
Which leaves me in a bit of a bind - I've got a wonderful new toy to play with, but no idea where to start. Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. At least I know how my clients feel now!
My plan (if you could call it that) is to get the car running at least as well as it did the day it was made, and then turn it into a Snarling Monster Of Doom.
Before I do that though I've gotta learn about these things. Now, if it was an electronic or IT sort of thing, I'd leaf through some documentation, pick up my tools and pull it apart. Car engines, however.. aside from the fact that any given bit currently looks like any other to me, I'm keenly aware that if I cock up I've destroyed something I can't replace at the very least - at the very worst, I'm terrified I'm going to make something explode and hurt somebody. Years of working with insanely high voltage/current devices has taught me caution!
So: Where do I start?? I know there are tings called 'lifters' that need to be replaced pretty quick smart (they're the reason it sounds like a sewing machine, right?) and there's something very fishy going on with an oil pump or something (red dash lights are never good...) - would picking up a copy of the gregory's manual give me enough info to do jobs like that myself? She runs rough - should I go out and buy a xenon strobe, or would a laptop be more useful? Previous owners had the car for 15 years and aside from the occaisional service, they just drove it - there's some remedial work to be done!
Any and all advice will be welcomed greatfully - even if it's nothing more than the name of a solid mechanic!
Thanks in advance guys!