Hey gang:

I have reached a point in my life where I am ready to take on new challenges...One of which, as utterly STUPID as this may make me look, is I want to learn how to build engines.

To start, I have NO mechanical experience. I'm lucky to be able to even change my oil. My dad was not mechanically inclined, and never really pointed me in that direction. Now that I have had a interest in the car hobby for 15 years or so, I find myself wanting to gain a different kind of knowledge. I can't change my heads, can't tell you what specs of a cam mean or even how to install a cam, etc. I'm in bad shape since ALL of the mods on my previous and current cars have been done by others.

Which leads me to need your help. I am at a loss of where to begin. I have no friends or relatives who can teach me. I can go to a mechanic school, but I'd rather not since I am already happy with what I do for a living and dont think I may even have the time to do that. I know there of tons of YOU that learned from friends and family, so I know if can be done. A book, while feasible, may not be the BEST avenue if I cant ask questions, and I guarantee I will have tons.

What are your recommendations guys? Please help me.

 

I'd love to learn this too! I'm slightly mechanically inclined... I can change any of my fluids and do superficial engine work at best.

One thing I did, however... lacking any other direction.... is buy a set of the GM Service manuals specific to my Vette. With them, I am learning how the engine is put together; what the proper terminology is for all the various parts; what tools are needed for job XYZ, what the proper torque specs are, etc, etc, etc...

In short, even though I have no reason to be working on my car... these manuals are kind of like a "textbook". Even if 90% of it is over my head, I'm learning a LOT by just thumbing through them.

 

Go buy a cheap motor... say a ford 302, or a chevy 350 or something along those lines

Rebuild it -- The way I learned to do mechanical work was to just jump in head first. Now granted, I've made a few mistakes over the years but I'm no worse for wear from it.. Chilton's and Haynes manuals are great resources to have on hand -- but I've found that for myself, i can't read a book and really learn much of anything besides specs if i'm not physically doing the job mentioned

The internet comes in very handy for any kind of mechanical work -- theres a wealth of information out there from rebuilding the most common motor you can think of to changing some obscure part

My first motor build was a ford 302, I bought the car it was in (92 foxbody stang) for $500 cause the motor was shot -- along with pretty much everything else in/on the car

I started with the motor, rebuilt it.. set it up with a real nice nitrous cam and a 250 shot -- rebuilt the 5spd tranny and the rear end

Ran the hell out of it for about 3 months and trashed the engine (blew a hole in a piston).. rebuilt again and broke a connecting rod, which went through the block (ouch) -- rebuilt the motor with a fresh block.. sold the car and cam out of it with out losing any money

All in all it was a great learning experience and since I've felt confident in my ability to do anything to my cars -- from a motor swap in an 86 300z turbo (went to a 92+ twin turbo motor... 450hp)... built a 500hp AWD Eagle Talon --

Best advice I ever got was "Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, and don't to proud to have a professional fix your screw ups"

As Nike says... "Just Do It"

 

i wouldn't even start with a full size motor...

i learned alot from tinkering with small weed wacker motors and R/C car motors...

play with those first, until you feel comfortable enough to spend some $$$ on a full size motor, atleast if you FAWK up the small one you can throw it away or give it away, the bigger ones are alittle harder dispose