Automotive Repair

I've just recently been reminded how unusual some of my pursuits are. When I was just out of high school, within a year's time I helped with:

1. Replacing a 302 V-8 engine in my 1977 Mustang II (first car)

2. Changing a master cylinder

3. Restoring a Buick Skylark from the ground up

4. Changing an alternator (my guy friends had to be the muscle to hold it tight with a crowbar while I tightened the mounting bolts)

5. Installing a car stereo

6. Replacing a U-joint in my 1972 Oldsmobile convertible

7. Towing by chain and completely restoring an Impala (was that a 1964?) that was so far gone it had grass growing in the floorboards

8. Replacing a starter solenoid

And these are just the projects that I can recall. I remember days spent wandering the junk yard, searching for and pulling parts off old cars to help the guys with their restoration projects.

And then of course much more recently was my dabbling in cell phone repair, where I went in with no knowledge whatsoever and managed to score highest out of a group of eight including soldering. I had never soldered anything in my life, but I had watched over a friend's shoulder many times, so I was just up to the challenge, and it sure seemed more interesting than answering phones. And it was. Granted, I was the slowest tech on the floor, but I am such a perfectionist I can't let a repair go out sloppy. Anyway, I digress ...

To me this was all great fun, but I often forget that it's unusual for a girl to have had such experiences, so when I get into a conversation with a girl who has not had such experiences, my stories often get an amazed response. It's quite gratifying.