Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[clan chieftain]

Gone are the days when you had to have trade "papers" to get a job as a mechanic. Now just about anyone can rent a unit for £500 or more per month, buy a 2 poster and set up as a "mechanic".
I work for the largest motor factor in Scotland and in my area I look after the accounts of roughly 100 "garages" and being a mechanic to trade with all my "papers" I am amazed at what goes on in some garages. They are just hammer and chisel men that really havent a clue what they are doing.And people are putting their car in to get fixed just to save money. They are putting their lives at risk.
There are a lot of first class garages in my area where they know what they are doing but these cowboys give the trade a bad name.
A car is a killer and I firmly believe that anyone fixing them they should be properly qualified. I suppose its the same in all trades but the motor trade is rife.
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The Clan Chieftain

[Roger-hatchy]

[quote="A car is a killer and I firmly believe that anyone fixing them they should be properly qualified. I suppose its the same in all trades but the motor trade is rife. [/quote]

I do not have any certificates or name and numbers after my name,
Dose that mean I should not pursue my hobby.

Having said that I know what you mean there are to many 'cowboys' in any trade but when lives can be put at risk checks should be made.

I know some that do have bits of paper to say they are qualified, and I wouldn't trust them anywhere near a broom let alone a vehicle.

I also knew an old chap that was one of the top mechanic with VAG in the 70's, No paperwork and all self taught.

And as to finding a mechanic, very rare these days.
Fitters yes, take it of and fit a new one.

[Jim.Walker]

One of the problems is that an apprentice, as in the past just does not exist. Schemes have been launched where "qualification" is obtained in weeks rather than years.
At the end of my five year apprenticeship I realised that I still did not have all the skills and knowledge to work entirely on my own.
Obtaining all my "papers" and being happy with my abilities took another three or four years of " the Tech." in my own time (evenings).
Of course in those days (over 50 years ago) there were no "moron" machines to identify faults and when identified they had to be repaired - not swapped.
Times change and "papers" now are usually for competence in a particular field. Rather than concerning the whole vehicle. Often in the form of a framed certificate certifying "Blah Blah has passed as competent to change sparking plugs".
However, working on old vehicles is not generally the province of any garage now. Perhaps for modern vehicles the need is just to be able to find out which part is faulty and swap it. Very little repair work in the old sense, is ever undertaken.
Anyone want to buy a very comprehensive set of "papers"? They are no use to me now and really belong to yesterdays vehicles anyway!
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Quote from my late Dad:- You only need a woman and a car and you have all the problems you
are ever likely to want". Computers had not been invented then!

[emmerson]

I too served my "time" as a general mechanic. As JW says, this meant that we had to repair, rather than replace.
I was also fortunate enough to work at a place where they repaired allsorts of vehicles, from motor cycles up to Ruston Bucyrus excavators for the local quarry! This was in the late fifties, and part of the job was to keep the workshop clean and tidy between jobs, and if the job wasn't done right, then you could expect a clip round the ear, or a kick up the a**e till you got it right.
One day and two evenings a week at Tech, and a good all-round tradesman taught me all I know, and a lot I've forgotten!
Good days, when we proud to be called "Mechanics"

[websnail]

My 24 year old son is a mechanic and as well as all the new stuff, he is lucky in that he works for a small older garage where the level of service is very high. This means that when any older vehicle comes in, he gets the job with the two older guys passing on tips etc.

[Jim.Walker]

[clan chieftain]

Ruston Bucyrus....did they not make road rollers as well.
Mind you I never found out what make the bin motors were. Maybe someone can tell me what make SD was.
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The Clan Chieftain

[47Jag]

Larry

That would be Shelvoke & Drewery. According to Wikipedia they went bust in 1992

www.shelvoke-drewry.co.uk/History.htm

Art

[emmerson]

[Jim.Walker]

Only the year before last, moored in the entrance to Torksey Lock on the Trent with a friend on his narrowboat, we watched a British Waterways Tug and Flat, transiting the Trent, moor up to wait for the Tide. The Flat was home to an immaculate (goodness knows how old) Ruston excavator for dredging. The operator told me it was still the best thing for the job. Apparantly Health and Safety was an issue with the exposed cables, but still well worth putting up with. Down time was still less than hydraulic versions.
Jim.
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Quote from my late Dad:- You only need a woman and a car and you have all the problems you
are ever likely to want". Computers had not been invented then!

[P3steve]

Your right about the old vehicles, when I worked at a Leyland garage in the mid to late seventies we still worked on lots of cars from the sixties and fifties all still in daily use and not collectors cars either, the oldest was a Razor edge Triumph Renown which came in for servicing and the oldest engine I worked on was a valve decoke on a Triumph Mayflower, one local school teacher ran a MG Magnet (4/44 shape) as that was all he could afford and one young lad who struggled to keep his frog eye sprite on the road because he was only a college student and that was the only sports car in his price range, I could go on and the list would be endless but you get the idea

[52classic]

Modern garages seem to have 'fitters' and 'technicians' neither of whom seem equivalent to the traditional mechanic. With few notable exceptions neither group seem interested in cars either, at least not in the sense that you or I would understand!

I've had no formal training in car repairs but 40 years experience must count for something and I often find my diagnostic skills tested at work or amongst neighbours.

[Jim.Walker]

[clan chieftain]

Dead right there Jim but is a "vehicle repairer" a skilled occupation now. Its not what it was 30 or 40 years ago. There were only a few garages then. Not like now where they are dotted all over the place.
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The Clan Chieftain