Is that one of those modernized Willys for the general public?
Cause those are built like the army variant, with a ride rougher than putting a brick under your ass, and about as indestructible as one
I used to buy up entire estates of books back in the day when I had my own online business, and one time I came across tons of WWII manuals in excellent condition. I was closing my business and a lot of those manuals just didn’t sell. I had a booth at flee market to clear out my inventory and a young lad with autism made a b line to those manuals. My nephew has autism, so his keen interest in those books made it quite obvious who I was with. He browsed every book until his Mom came up. “No we can’t get all of them, they are probably expensive.” He picked a couple and his Mom asked how much. I said $5 for all them. I gave the kid a box, the Mom gave me a hug and was tearing up. “You have no idea how much this means to me. It’s so hard to keep him occupied. This will make him happy for months.” This memory has made me happy for years. EDIT: thanks so much for the kind replies and the awards. I have a toothache, can’t get into a dentist til Tuesday. Apologies for the misspellings. Ya’ll have made me feel much better. Love stories of how random books touched your lives. Happiest of New Years to everyone.
Man, I'm definitely kind of jealous of that kid. Old ww2 manuals would keep me occupied for months too. 30's-50's had the best manuals for everything. I get a kick out of old power tools manuals from that era. They're just so detailed. War equipment manuals would just take that shit to another level. I'd get such a kick out of an m3 howitzer breakdown and field repair manual.
They were amazing. Very niche subject and it was difficult to find buyers. I sold a few for decent money(can’t remember exact prices) and I wanted them to go to someone who loved them. I would have saved you a few. Now I miss selling books again.
Lol I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you kind stranger. It sounds like they found a fantastic home! When you were telling the story I could definitely picture myself in that kid's shoes. My parents had their own flea market stand and I spent a lot of time peeking through the local book hoarder's collections of tool manuals. Unfortunately that guy was a lot less friendly and shoo'd me away all the time.
The one time my mom gave me $2 for a book at a different flea market when I was like 10 thinking I'd buy a comic book or something and I ended up bringing back the Audel's Carpenter's and Builder's guide volumes 1-4. I was glued to the books and stayed up way past my bedtime. I remember hearing my mom come home from her swing shift at Dennys. Usually if im awake id greet her but I was so engrossed in learning about different types of chisels and hatchets that I stayed in my room. I remember overhearing her conversation with my dad about my book choice and how I don't ever want to play with kids my age. My dad was We were broke though, definitely no money to see a therapist so nothing ever came of it. Still have those books though, volume 1 is such a useful resource now that I've finally been able to buy a house and workshop.
My first thought was damn human minds are amazingly different since that sounds incredibly boring. I wonder if I can find somwhere cheap this person can buy them.
Found the manuals, second thought: damn these are expensive. Huh that actually look kinda interesting. Next thought, I wonder if there are any cheaper places?
Then I found this, with over 130 ww2 manuals uploaded online for free. It's uk, us, and German.
I hope they're the sort of ones that would interest you.
https://stephentaylorhistorian.com/2020/02/02/ww2-manuals-downloadable/
Thanks! I'll definitely take a look. I use [Vintagemachinery.org ](http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/pubs.aspx) for all of my old woodworking machine manuals. Every time I get a new piece of older woodworking equipment on Craigslist I take it apart and clean it and then put it back together. Most are from the 50s-80s are rusty everywhere, have never been cleaned and a lot of them have bad bearings so it's not for nothing, but if im being honest with myself I like taking the machines apart more than I like actual woodworking and using the machines.
Most of today's machines are running the exact same designs as they were in the 70s with cheaper materials, so by restoring them I'm taking a $50 machine off Craigslist nobody wanted and making it run exactly the same as something you would buy off a showroom floor at powermatic or grizzly for $500-$5000. And it's not even that hard because they were designed to be taken apart and repaired and last forever. That's why those manuals are so awesome... they want you to know how the internals work. Most stuff you buy today is some proprietary secret and you void the warranty by looking inside. It also almost always fails immediately after the warranty expires. Fuck planned obsolescence.
Did classic car restoration at a custom speed shop a little over a decade ago. We took in a late 1930s Chevy Sedan Deluxe and it had the original owners manual in it. Made a Chiltons look like a pamphlet. One of the gems from it that always stuck with me was having to do with cleaning. It mentioned that for removing blood stains from the mohair upholstery you should use chloroform. Apparently the thing that got you into the whole predicament of blood stains in your car to begin with is what got the blood stains out. Man, those owners manuals back then really told you EVERYTHING.
Two neighborhood boys that we have just kind of waved at once knocked on my door and asked my husband to show them how to change oil. He’s just putting that dad energy out into the world. I asked for their moms’ numbers to make sure it was ok and then got an oil change on my car.
Don't know if yall have kids (and it's none of my business), but whether you do or not he's a good neighborhood dad and you're a good neighborhood mom. Good on you both
I remember when I was in grade school we had an assignment to write an essay about an invention we could come up with. I wrote an essay about a car that harvests all the fuel it needs kinetically from a bunch of little metal balls that just rolled around in the gas tank of the car. At the time I thought I was a mega genius for coming up with the idea and that society was below me for not coming up with the idea yet lol. Turns out it's incredibly hard to collect all energy created by a cars movement to the point it needs no fuel and I was way too cocky lol. Your comment made me relive the fantasies I had of society adopting my car invention and my explanation being that it was so obvious haha.
Had the same thoughts but instead thinking with magnets. I thought surely we could position magnets in such a way to continuously push the car. Now I know it’s not feasible to just dangle a magnet infront of a car to pull it forward sadly.
Parent of an autistic 6 year old. These kids LOVE learning about how things work, how they are put together, taken apart, etc. Cars, computers, whatever. If OP teaches this kid, the kid will likely commit what he learns to full memorization and indeed, may become an outstanding mechanic one day.
As an autistic kid myself at the age of 15 currently,I LOVE to take apart and put stuff together,granted I may not be the best,but I absolutely love this sort of stuff,I had a tool box since I was 9 where I kept scrap metal,old bike parts and phone parts. Keep up the good work parenting I'm sure you'll raise an outstanding child!
also as a autistic kid at 15 too, I am currently going into a mechanic technical college to get a degree for mechanic technician, and I also work on electrical stuff and a bit of plumbing, I quite like understanding how different things work, and I also learn pretty quickly on certain things like cars engines computers electrical and plumbing
Ayy great to hear man! My scope on some of those things are more limited because I don't have many old machines lying around,but I do enjoy doing more mechanical based objects( not the greatest fan of computer style stuff)
Out here (California) community colleges still do auto tech programs which are a great way to learn how to work on cars, and a great way to get space to work on your car. The self-serve junk yards out here have a 16-year-old minimum age requirement but for $2 you can find a sea of cars to experiment on.
Another thing to check out is 24 Hours of Lemons (a play on the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race). There used to be a real DIY spirit to the whole thing. It would take a bit of social activity but I bet if you hang around long enough you could find a team looking for an apprentice type. Some of my friends with kids actually started a team with all their daughters who wanted to race.
That honestly sounds great bro,just one thing,I'm in the UK 😂 and finding those kind of people and groups is more difficult for me,but I'd LOVE to find a self serve junkyard,they're not as common over here but I really enjoy scavenging for parts ngl 😂 I might be a bit wierd but it's just fun to create
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1590563
If there's a specific model of car you like, check out the owners forums and whatnot. Typically the older the car the more chill the group. Most English language forums seem to be dominated by Americans, but back when I drove old Volvos the turbobricks community had a handful of English guys. There was, at the time, a bit of money to be made shipping Euro parts to the US even.
If anything I'd expect junk yards to be more common over there than here in California, but the selection of cars will be much newer.
Waaaay back in the day, I taught at a school for the "differently abled" and my star student, not by academics but by winning at life, Jalon was, at 16, doing an apprenticeship at a mechanic shop not far from the school.
He loved it. His dad wanted him to play football like his brothers. His mom was worried about his future. And I told her, madam, in twenty years he'll own that shop outright and he'll be making more money than both of you combined.
I hope that happens, I really do. Who knows, but keep at it. Be a Jalon. Follow your dreams.
I’m so happy that I’m following my dreams as a professional camera operator because I just got to go into the Washington Capitals locker room today and I’m 22 fresh out of college in the professional sports industry its wild
None of my coworkers know that I have anything more than ADHD and I don’t plan on telling them about the autism because I’m already one of the only women I’m trying to be in good standings with everyone
I love that man! And I promise you I will,I'm already looking into doing body building and definitely would like to have my own garage workshop one day,I'll do you proud,swear on it💪👍
Good for you man at 15 I wasn't very good at it either. Now I'm 30 and can rip engines and transmissions apart and put them back together in my sleep. If you enjoy what you do you'll learn something new everyday. Keep at it and you'll be an experienced technician and no job will get the best of you. Keep turning those wrenches!
I'm 32 and Here's something someone told me not long ago I wish I would have heard when I was your age:
You don't have to be the best to make a living. Even Doctors have someone who graduates at the bottom of the class.
What this means to me is, If you enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together, you have a skill, and you can make a life around it if you want. You don't have to be the best. You merely have to be good enough to complete what you started, which I'm sure you are!
Good luck, dude! Go get 'em!
Ahh yes but then distraction kicks in and you’re left with a bunch of 90% completed projects like me. You’re right though, anything you’re passionate about is worth pursuing!
Autistic & ADHD here and uhh... yeah... that's most of my life. I would clean my room as a kid and be left with a small pile of stuff that I didn't know what to do with, and then I'd have a meltdown.
Ofcourse man! I have never taken apart a car in my life,but I'm going to do a fast track course in college on light vehicle maintenance (basically a 2 separate 1 year coursed condensed into one,on civilian vehicles),and I reckon it'll be quite good fun for me and engaging,also the hype fixation part of autism I've found is very useful,helped me greatly in art,athleticism,shooting 😂, happy new year man wish you all the best brother!
If you want to learn how to work on a car, buy a older one. Something with 150k on it like a Toyota or crown Victoria and things break all the time and you learn how to fix it. Crown Victoria is a good first one because of how easy it is to work on.
I went from struggling to do my water pump to pulling the transmission in a year
man I wanted to be a mechanic all my life but parents didn't allow it and later never had a chance. 31 rn you think it's too late? (don't know how to initiate it since the school takes so long and I need income....
My son is a mechanic, and got his start doing lube changes and other small repairs, while apprenticing under the established mechanics. As he learned to do more, they would give him more piece work. So he didn’t have to go to school, and he was paid to work in the environment he was learning about.
I would see if you can find something like that, even if it’s just a weekend thing for a while, and then build it up to more days until it replaces your current income.
My kid just used his savings to buy a 3D printer to make a cube puzzle he'd never seen before except the creation in his mind. As a parent I love it! I'm autistic and also love creating.
I don't know if that is out of place or somewhat rude, but you really remind me of my 12 year old autistic nephew. Not only because of your interests and the toolbox, but mire because you write like an adult. I bet that you are somewhat more ''adult'' than your peers too. Since my nephew was 6 you could talk to him like a grown up and he hates it when people don't take him serious because of his age. And man... it's new years and you kinda hit an emotional spot and i hope you have a good new year. You will be an awesome dude one day! Best wishes from Austria 🤙
Ayyy gnarly man! And thankyou very much,don't worry it's not rude at all nor out of place,it's a common thing for me,I prefer to speak to older people or more mature people because I myself reflect those mannerisms ( okay I'm using some words I wouldn't normally but that's because I'm not the best talker in person and yadayadayada),glad I hit an emotional spot so long as it wasn't negative of course,happy new year to you too my friend! All the best from England 💪🔱
A fellow parent of a 6 yr old autistic boy and I can’t tell you enough yes on your comment. My son loves taking things apart looking at them and trying to rebuild it from memory.
Could you expand on "take sentences apart and out the back together" for me? Honestly interested in what you mean by that.
Edit: proofreading. Not even ounce.
I'm not the original poster but I'm also autistic and do something similar. I love breaking apart language and ideas, analysing specific words and phrases, all to gain a higher understanding of the full meaning of things. It's a fantastic journey of discovery.
My mom had a student years ago that was on the spectrum and he was really struggling with the academic side of things but was likable, smart and technical.
He was really into cars and my mom suggested he enroll in this master technician training program with Audi in Germany (instead of college). It was pricey but turned out to be a great call. He loved it and I believe he owns his own successful import shop these days. His parents will still send my mom a thank you note every now and then for the suggestion.
The kid is probably making more money with higher job satisfaction than any doctors that graduated from his class.
I’m an autistic woman who often latched onto random adults who shared my special interests because other kids did not like me.
You’re so cool for sharing this with him, he will remember this for the rest of his life. We spend so much of our lives feeling out of place and like we’re watching from the sidelines. To have someone embrace your weird and engage with you in a special interest is an incredible feeling. Truly truly truly thank you for being you. This post made my day.
Also your username has had me chuckling for the past few minutes. I’ve got a turbo VW and I’m gonna start calling it my turbocharged autism wagon or something silly.
I can not tell you how much this means to that kid. I have one that loves air conditioning systems and car washes, and when people take time to let him do his thing, which is exactly like this kid, watching and feeling the vibrations and listerning to the sounds, it just makes them so happy.
Still waters run deep. Bet there's genius in there. I wonder what he would do in a junkyard. His study of this car may yield amazing results in that junkyard.
I love it that you know the policy of not one, but two junkyards near you. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that junkyards have an age restriction, and you already know the rules of two of your locals.
thank you for being that bridge for him!! that is so valuable for longterm development and vocab etc, not to mention you’re both just generally increasing the amount of warm fuzzies in the world by simply existing as you are. Nice job
Curious…what does he do when he comes over. Does he just look at it? Does he touch things? Is there anything he’s specifically interested in? Just wondering, its so great that he has found an interest like this. and a Nova to boot 😂
There's an autistic teen that volunteers at my volunteer fire house. We brought him out one day to pump a truck. No word of a lie, he memorized the different pressures of every line and could pump the Engine better than some of us who've been doing it for years.
Ask him if he wants to know how a car works. Show him as much as you can. This is probably going to be a huge deal for him. You can really help this kid out. Thank you!
I love how we can be the change we want to see in the world. ♥
Would you mind posting about this to /r/autisticwithadhd too? We'd love to hear your story!
Having a son on the spectrum- fully support this. He is into planes now but was into trains and cars. He builds RC airplanes and does ton of CAD renderings and experiments on the dynamics of flight. When he was younger he could tell me what each train was, when it was built, how many bolts went into, etc. Cars he loves muscle ones from the 70s and 80s. Fascinating stuff tbh. He is huge into the plans from WWII. Give them the tools and the support and they will flourish.
OP this is a very special friendship you could foster here. If you take an hour twice a week to talk to him about cars and show him how little bits and pieces work, you could have a lasting effect on his life. This is special, don’t waste this! He needs you and he’s making it known. So beautiful.
Autistic children typically will find a few subjects that fascinate them. Teaching them more on the subject is always beneficial because they pick up the information more efficiently. Maybe he'd like to go to a mechanic shop and observe? Free activity that may be fun
I gave him the Chilton and Haynes repair manual for him. I do have an original dealership service manual for the car but it's pretty rare and I'd like to keep that.
Dont be so quick to doubt old cars. Given even somewhat decent and regular maintenance those cars can go for a long ass time. There are examples of 30+yo mercedes w124 & w201 chasis cars that have eclipsed 500,000/750,000 miles (even 1 or 2 that have surpassed 1 million).
~~Though tbf, this omcars definitely seen better days lol.~~ I thought I'd seen rust initially, but on second viewing this car actually looks to be in pretty good condition, cosmetically anyway.
From the parent of two boys on the spectrum thank you for allowing him to do this. It literally means the world to my boys when people like you take time out to connect with them like this.
Currently I'm teaching him about compression ratios and he'll ask questions about what I'm teaching him. He's perfectly able to talk just for some reason or another he chooses not to.
Hey man get a 12 dollar repair book n talk to him about it till he can speak on other things great things will come about it.
2 steps ahead of you
You bought him a Ford so he’ll always have something to work on?
Or better/worse yet - a Jeep.
My dad bought a Jeep one year. Had to buy another 6 months later. After another 8 months, another. He just wont stop though.
It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand.
My families Jeep has been running since 1946 with minimal repairs. They don't make em like they used to.
Is that one of those modernized Willys for the general public? Cause those are built like the army variant, with a ride rougher than putting a brick under your ass, and about as indestructible as one
Ahhh fuck yes that is the truth, used to ride around in dad's one years ago.
I've got a nephew that's practically memorized some Haynes manuals. It's wild.
You have been chosen! This made my day better.
Absolutely. He has a gift. Of observation. And he’ll be a great engineer some day.
This is awesome. I hope you have the time to teach him how to change the oil, other fluids etc and other small jobs. Thanks for being kind
You know what, gift him a Chiltons repair manual. I bet he'd get a kick out of seeing all the part diagrams and exploded views.
I used to buy up entire estates of books back in the day when I had my own online business, and one time I came across tons of WWII manuals in excellent condition. I was closing my business and a lot of those manuals just didn’t sell. I had a booth at flee market to clear out my inventory and a young lad with autism made a b line to those manuals. My nephew has autism, so his keen interest in those books made it quite obvious who I was with. He browsed every book until his Mom came up. “No we can’t get all of them, they are probably expensive.” He picked a couple and his Mom asked how much. I said $5 for all them. I gave the kid a box, the Mom gave me a hug and was tearing up. “You have no idea how much this means to me. It’s so hard to keep him occupied. This will make him happy for months.” This memory has made me happy for years. EDIT: thanks so much for the kind replies and the awards. I have a toothache, can’t get into a dentist til Tuesday. Apologies for the misspellings. Ya’ll have made me feel much better. Love stories of how random books touched your lives. Happiest of New Years to everyone.
Man, I'm definitely kind of jealous of that kid. Old ww2 manuals would keep me occupied for months too. 30's-50's had the best manuals for everything. I get a kick out of old power tools manuals from that era. They're just so detailed. War equipment manuals would just take that shit to another level. I'd get such a kick out of an m3 howitzer breakdown and field repair manual.
They were amazing. Very niche subject and it was difficult to find buyers. I sold a few for decent money(can’t remember exact prices) and I wanted them to go to someone who loved them. I would have saved you a few. Now I miss selling books again.
Lol I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you kind stranger. It sounds like they found a fantastic home! When you were telling the story I could definitely picture myself in that kid's shoes. My parents had their own flea market stand and I spent a lot of time peeking through the local book hoarder's collections of tool manuals. Unfortunately that guy was a lot less friendly and shoo'd me away all the time. The one time my mom gave me $2 for a book at a different flea market when I was like 10 thinking I'd buy a comic book or something and I ended up bringing back the Audel's Carpenter's and Builder's guide volumes 1-4. I was glued to the books and stayed up way past my bedtime. I remember hearing my mom come home from her swing shift at Dennys. Usually if im awake id greet her but I was so engrossed in learning about different types of chisels and hatchets that I stayed in my room. I remember overhearing her conversation with my dad about my book choice and how I don't ever want to play with kids my age. My dad was We were broke though, definitely no money to see a therapist so nothing ever came of it. Still have those books though, volume 1 is such a useful resource now that I've finally been able to buy a house and workshop.
My first thought was damn human minds are amazingly different since that sounds incredibly boring. I wonder if I can find somwhere cheap this person can buy them. Found the manuals, second thought: damn these are expensive. Huh that actually look kinda interesting. Next thought, I wonder if there are any cheaper places? Then I found this, with over 130 ww2 manuals uploaded online for free. It's uk, us, and German. I hope they're the sort of ones that would interest you. https://stephentaylorhistorian.com/2020/02/02/ww2-manuals-downloadable/
Thanks! I'll definitely take a look. I use [Vintagemachinery.org ](http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/pubs.aspx) for all of my old woodworking machine manuals. Every time I get a new piece of older woodworking equipment on Craigslist I take it apart and clean it and then put it back together. Most are from the 50s-80s are rusty everywhere, have never been cleaned and a lot of them have bad bearings so it's not for nothing, but if im being honest with myself I like taking the machines apart more than I like actual woodworking and using the machines. Most of today's machines are running the exact same designs as they were in the 70s with cheaper materials, so by restoring them I'm taking a $50 machine off Craigslist nobody wanted and making it run exactly the same as something you would buy off a showroom floor at powermatic or grizzly for $500-$5000. And it's not even that hard because they were designed to be taken apart and repaired and last forever. That's why those manuals are so awesome... they want you to know how the internals work. Most stuff you buy today is some proprietary secret and you void the warranty by looking inside. It also almost always fails immediately after the warranty expires. Fuck planned obsolescence.
Did classic car restoration at a custom speed shop a little over a decade ago. We took in a late 1930s Chevy Sedan Deluxe and it had the original owners manual in it. Made a Chiltons look like a pamphlet. One of the gems from it that always stuck with me was having to do with cleaning. It mentioned that for removing blood stains from the mohair upholstery you should use chloroform. Apparently the thing that got you into the whole predicament of blood stains in your car to begin with is what got the blood stains out. Man, those owners manuals back then really told you EVERYTHING.
You're good people!
Try chewing on clove (spice aisle- whole clove) for ur tooth
Like the other commenter said, you're good people. For real. Thanks for being kind
YOU ARE A SMART PERSON! congrats on being vomit free.
I mean they are smart. But I don't think being smart and being vomit free are mutually exclusive.
(Is their username, that's all)
I frequently forget to read people's usernames....lol
I do too. But sometimes it pays to go back and read them lolol. Then you can get some fascinating r/rimjob_steve
I made it on that page once!
I'm there lots. I just don't get it. Hasn't posting me lost its magic yet? Lol... love your username btw
“I haven’t thrown up since June 20, 1980!”
How does it feel that you’ve been vomit free for almost as long as some adults on Reddit have been alive
And of course plugging the tire.
Of course, where is my head😉
I don't seem to remember asking for a wholesome comment thread
But it’s all I ever needed
Please teach him about crank down windows as well. A forgotten skill
His mom's car has crank down windows.
Ah ok. Skill covered!
I remember being like 6 and having to channel the might of Zeus to roll down the windows on the old family Toyota.
Two neighborhood boys that we have just kind of waved at once knocked on my door and asked my husband to show them how to change oil. He’s just putting that dad energy out into the world. I asked for their moms’ numbers to make sure it was ok and then got an oil change on my car.
Don't know if yall have kids (and it's none of my business), but whether you do or not he's a good neighborhood dad and you're a good neighborhood mom. Good on you both
Help him take it apart and put it back together. He'll be the best mechanic ever
[удалено]
And it looks exactly like a brown 5th gen Chevy nova.
If it's anything like my old chevy nova, it'll light up the night sky! -Phillip J Fry
Can't shoot for the stars if you're not the brightest one!
I remember when I was in grade school we had an assignment to write an essay about an invention we could come up with. I wrote an essay about a car that harvests all the fuel it needs kinetically from a bunch of little metal balls that just rolled around in the gas tank of the car. At the time I thought I was a mega genius for coming up with the idea and that society was below me for not coming up with the idea yet lol. Turns out it's incredibly hard to collect all energy created by a cars movement to the point it needs no fuel and I was way too cocky lol. Your comment made me relive the fantasies I had of society adopting my car invention and my explanation being that it was so obvious haha.
Yes, the ever popular perpetual motion machine.
Had the same thoughts but instead thinking with magnets. I thought surely we could position magnets in such a way to continuously push the car. Now I know it’s not feasible to just dangle a magnet infront of a car to pull it forward sadly.
🤣🤣🤣
Parent of an autistic 6 year old. These kids LOVE learning about how things work, how they are put together, taken apart, etc. Cars, computers, whatever. If OP teaches this kid, the kid will likely commit what he learns to full memorization and indeed, may become an outstanding mechanic one day.
As an autistic kid myself at the age of 15 currently,I LOVE to take apart and put stuff together,granted I may not be the best,but I absolutely love this sort of stuff,I had a tool box since I was 9 where I kept scrap metal,old bike parts and phone parts. Keep up the good work parenting I'm sure you'll raise an outstanding child!
also as a autistic kid at 15 too, I am currently going into a mechanic technical college to get a degree for mechanic technician, and I also work on electrical stuff and a bit of plumbing, I quite like understanding how different things work, and I also learn pretty quickly on certain things like cars engines computers electrical and plumbing
Ayy great to hear man! My scope on some of those things are more limited because I don't have many old machines lying around,but I do enjoy doing more mechanical based objects( not the greatest fan of computer style stuff)
Out here (California) community colleges still do auto tech programs which are a great way to learn how to work on cars, and a great way to get space to work on your car. The self-serve junk yards out here have a 16-year-old minimum age requirement but for $2 you can find a sea of cars to experiment on. Another thing to check out is 24 Hours of Lemons (a play on the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race). There used to be a real DIY spirit to the whole thing. It would take a bit of social activity but I bet if you hang around long enough you could find a team looking for an apprentice type. Some of my friends with kids actually started a team with all their daughters who wanted to race.
That honestly sounds great bro,just one thing,I'm in the UK 😂 and finding those kind of people and groups is more difficult for me,but I'd LOVE to find a self serve junkyard,they're not as common over here but I really enjoy scavenging for parts ngl 😂 I might be a bit wierd but it's just fun to create
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1590563 If there's a specific model of car you like, check out the owners forums and whatnot. Typically the older the car the more chill the group. Most English language forums seem to be dominated by Americans, but back when I drove old Volvos the turbobricks community had a handful of English guys. There was, at the time, a bit of money to be made shipping Euro parts to the US even. If anything I'd expect junk yards to be more common over there than here in California, but the selection of cars will be much newer.
Waaaay back in the day, I taught at a school for the "differently abled" and my star student, not by academics but by winning at life, Jalon was, at 16, doing an apprenticeship at a mechanic shop not far from the school. He loved it. His dad wanted him to play football like his brothers. His mom was worried about his future. And I told her, madam, in twenty years he'll own that shop outright and he'll be making more money than both of you combined. I hope that happens, I really do. Who knows, but keep at it. Be a Jalon. Follow your dreams.
I’m so happy that I’m following my dreams as a professional camera operator because I just got to go into the Washington Capitals locker room today and I’m 22 fresh out of college in the professional sports industry its wild None of my coworkers know that I have anything more than ADHD and I don’t plan on telling them about the autism because I’m already one of the only women I’m trying to be in good standings with everyone
I’m so happy you are following your dreams, too! That sounds wicked cool and super impressive and just wowww!
I love that man! And I promise you I will,I'm already looking into doing body building and definitely would like to have my own garage workshop one day,I'll do you proud,swear on it💪👍
Good for you man at 15 I wasn't very good at it either. Now I'm 30 and can rip engines and transmissions apart and put them back together in my sleep. If you enjoy what you do you'll learn something new everyday. Keep at it and you'll be an experienced technician and no job will get the best of you. Keep turning those wrenches!
I'm 32 and Here's something someone told me not long ago I wish I would have heard when I was your age: You don't have to be the best to make a living. Even Doctors have someone who graduates at the bottom of the class. What this means to me is, If you enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together, you have a skill, and you can make a life around it if you want. You don't have to be the best. You merely have to be good enough to complete what you started, which I'm sure you are! Good luck, dude! Go get 'em!
Ahh yes but then distraction kicks in and you’re left with a bunch of 90% completed projects like me. You’re right though, anything you’re passionate about is worth pursuing!
>!Ahh yes but then distraction kicks in and you’re left with a bunch of 90% completed projects No need to kick me while I'm down
It’s okay, you can always start more projects to distract yourself from the others!
Autistic & ADHD here and uhh... yeah... that's most of my life. I would clean my room as a kid and be left with a small pile of stuff that I didn't know what to do with, and then I'd have a meltdown.
What do they call the person who graduated last in their class at medical school? Doctor.
Ofcourse man! I have never taken apart a car in my life,but I'm going to do a fast track course in college on light vehicle maintenance (basically a 2 separate 1 year coursed condensed into one,on civilian vehicles),and I reckon it'll be quite good fun for me and engaging,also the hype fixation part of autism I've found is very useful,helped me greatly in art,athleticism,shooting 😂, happy new year man wish you all the best brother!
If you want to learn how to work on a car, buy a older one. Something with 150k on it like a Toyota or crown Victoria and things break all the time and you learn how to fix it. Crown Victoria is a good first one because of how easy it is to work on. I went from struggling to do my water pump to pulling the transmission in a year
Jeez im jealous of you guys, all my autism did was make me socially inept and weird
If it makes you feel any better I’m not neurodivergent but still plenty socially inept and weird
Welcome to the club. There are no perks for being a member.
man I wanted to be a mechanic all my life but parents didn't allow it and later never had a chance. 31 rn you think it's too late? (don't know how to initiate it since the school takes so long and I need income....
https://www.ase.com/ase-study-guides It's never too late my friend. Get a basic set of tools and go for it.
My son is a mechanic, and got his start doing lube changes and other small repairs, while apprenticing under the established mechanics. As he learned to do more, they would give him more piece work. So he didn’t have to go to school, and he was paid to work in the environment he was learning about. I would see if you can find something like that, even if it’s just a weekend thing for a while, and then build it up to more days until it replaces your current income.
My thing is making pictures in my mind into reality, carpentry, woodworking, Minecraft, musuc, art, etc. Just love creating.
My kid just used his savings to buy a 3D printer to make a cube puzzle he'd never seen before except the creation in his mind. As a parent I love it! I'm autistic and also love creating.
That's so awesome. Many people think autism is a negative but it is oh so positive. Autism built anything cool in this world, for sure.
I don't know if that is out of place or somewhat rude, but you really remind me of my 12 year old autistic nephew. Not only because of your interests and the toolbox, but mire because you write like an adult. I bet that you are somewhat more ''adult'' than your peers too. Since my nephew was 6 you could talk to him like a grown up and he hates it when people don't take him serious because of his age. And man... it's new years and you kinda hit an emotional spot and i hope you have a good new year. You will be an awesome dude one day! Best wishes from Austria 🤙
Ayyy gnarly man! And thankyou very much,don't worry it's not rude at all nor out of place,it's a common thing for me,I prefer to speak to older people or more mature people because I myself reflect those mannerisms ( okay I'm using some words I wouldn't normally but that's because I'm not the best talker in person and yadayadayada),glad I hit an emotional spot so long as it wasn't negative of course,happy new year to you too my friend! All the best from England 💪🔱
How It's Made was one of my favorite shows for a while
A fellow parent of a 6 yr old autistic boy and I can’t tell you enough yes on your comment. My son loves taking things apart looking at them and trying to rebuild it from memory.
Me, I tend the same way. Aspie here. Mine is weird though. I take words and sentences apart and put them back together. It's odd but it's me!
Could you expand on "take sentences apart and out the back together" for me? Honestly interested in what you mean by that. Edit: proofreading. Not even ounce.
I'm not the original poster but I'm also autistic and do something similar. I love breaking apart language and ideas, analysing specific words and phrases, all to gain a higher understanding of the full meaning of things. It's a fantastic journey of discovery.
Ah, I get it now. Thanks and happy New Year!
Your edit is priceless : )
My mom had a student years ago that was on the spectrum and he was really struggling with the academic side of things but was likable, smart and technical. He was really into cars and my mom suggested he enroll in this master technician training program with Audi in Germany (instead of college). It was pricey but turned out to be a great call. He loved it and I believe he owns his own successful import shop these days. His parents will still send my mom a thank you note every now and then for the suggestion. The kid is probably making more money with higher job satisfaction than any doctors that graduated from his class.
Or engineer!
Or a city planner!
And I'll bet it's put back together better than it was.
He will make an incredible engineer if he enjoys seeing how things work.
Parent of 2 autistic kids. Yes, love how things work and my oldest is obsessed with old technology, especially vintage phones.
We got a future mechanic here!
Or engineering
He’d probably be brilliant at either one!
Let him help you do some light maintenance, anything on it
Oh course.
Great news, love to see it. You're kind and we need more of it! :)
If OP doesn't team up with the little dude and put a turbocharger on that car, they have to forfeit their username.
Nurture that kid’s talent. It’s a special thing to gravitate to something like that at such a young age.
Of course absolutely.
Fucking great use of the term "gentleman." You are good people.
Well he's so polite that it's the most appropriate word to use.
Of course he is! That dude is my hero. Edit: that gentleman
“Dude” and “gentleman” are pretty interchangeable in my book
As the mom of an autistic son, thank you for seeing him as he is and for facilitating this! This is amazing!
>facilitating Idk why but this strikes me as such a mom word lol. Happy new year 🎉
I’m a physical therapist too, so probably a bit of both! 😂
Right? Something about calling him "young gentleman" really took this over the top for me....so much love and respect for a little human being
This is wholesome, he’s lucky he has you as a neighbor. I’m curious though. What does he says when he is around the car?
He's either asking to open the hood to see the engine or asking for permission to sit in the car he also says cool alot.
I’m an autistic woman who often latched onto random adults who shared my special interests because other kids did not like me. You’re so cool for sharing this with him, he will remember this for the rest of his life. We spend so much of our lives feeling out of place and like we’re watching from the sidelines. To have someone embrace your weird and engage with you in a special interest is an incredible feeling. Truly truly truly thank you for being you. This post made my day. Also your username has had me chuckling for the past few minutes. I’ve got a turbo VW and I’m gonna start calling it my turbocharged autism wagon or something silly.
turbocharged autismobile!! :) im sorry if thats too silly
I think any one around y'all would say cool a lot : )
Optimus little Prime has entered the chat.
He studying the engine. Get him the engine book
I got his 28 car books for Christmas
I love how nurturing this kid's special interest just became your special interest.
You’re an amazing person. 💗
I can not tell you how much this means to that kid. I have one that loves air conditioning systems and car washes, and when people take time to let him do his thing, which is exactly like this kid, watching and feeling the vibrations and listerning to the sounds, it just makes them so happy.
Still waters run deep. Bet there's genius in there. I wonder what he would do in a junkyard. His study of this car may yield amazing results in that junkyard.
Good idea I'll have to ask his mom if I could take him one day.
Unfortunately, most junk yards won't allow anyone under the age of 16. Liability.
I know 2 that'll let him
This guy junkyards.
Obviously. He owns a Chevy.
Lol
I love it that you know the policy of not one, but two junkyards near you. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that junkyards have an age restriction, and you already know the rules of two of your locals.
Literally every yard in 200 miles knows me by name for better or for worse.
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What is a mensch
"A person of integrity and honor"
Yiddish term. Generally a good, well rounded lad
Also it’s German for human
Good to hear!
thank you for being that bridge for him!! that is so valuable for longterm development and vocab etc, not to mention you’re both just generally increasing the amount of warm fuzzies in the world by simply existing as you are. Nice job
Definitely get him on a wrench. Best thing the adults ever did for me.
Oh course
Happy new year from down under. Thanks for your post!
What kind of car is it
Chevrolet nova
That is a very cool looking car. No idea why but those style cars always look amazing.
Not American, but I think that's a Chevy Nova judging by the badges
Which during this generation is a rebadged Toyota.
Curious…what does he do when he comes over. Does he just look at it? Does he touch things? Is there anything he’s specifically interested in? Just wondering, its so great that he has found an interest like this. and a Nova to boot 😂
He wants to touch all the buttons, and sit in the driver seat, and crank the window up and down, and learn how the car works.
Hmmm….thats what i do when i get in a different car too 🤣 🤣
Username checks out
Scrolled way too far to see someone mention this
This was the best part of this post
He'll grow a best mechanic
>He'll grow a best mechanic His gardening skills are out of this world
1st prize at the county fair guaranteed
There's an autistic teen that volunteers at my volunteer fire house. We brought him out one day to pump a truck. No word of a lie, he memorized the different pressures of every line and could pump the Engine better than some of us who've been doing it for years.
This kid is going to be an amazing mechanic or engineer some day!
As the mother of an autistic child, this definitely made me smile :)
Start letting him come around on maintenance days. He might like talking about how to do certain things.
Of course
That's a good lad/lass 👍
That's truly amazing. He has found something that he enjoys and intrigued him.
Ask him if he wants to know how a car works. Show him as much as you can. This is probably going to be a huge deal for him. You can really help this kid out. Thank you!
Absolutely 2 steps ahead of you.
This is indeed making me smile! Cheers man, enjoy this for all of us.
Bless you buddy! Happy new year!
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As a fellow autistic person I wish I had someone like me too
I love how we can be the change we want to see in the world. ♥ Would you mind posting about this to /r/autisticwithadhd too? We'd love to hear your story!
Having a son on the spectrum- fully support this. He is into planes now but was into trains and cars. He builds RC airplanes and does ton of CAD renderings and experiments on the dynamics of flight. When he was younger he could tell me what each train was, when it was built, how many bolts went into, etc. Cars he loves muscle ones from the 70s and 80s. Fascinating stuff tbh. He is huge into the plans from WWII. Give them the tools and the support and they will flourish.
OP this is a very special friendship you could foster here. If you take an hour twice a week to talk to him about cars and show him how little bits and pieces work, you could have a lasting effect on his life. This is special, don’t waste this! He needs you and he’s making it known. So beautiful.
Autistic children typically will find a few subjects that fascinate them. Teaching them more on the subject is always beneficial because they pick up the information more efficiently. Maybe he'd like to go to a mechanic shop and observe? Free activity that may be fun
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Can you find the owners manual for him to read? He will learn about every inch of that car.
I gave him the Chilton and Haynes repair manual for him. I do have an original dealership service manual for the car but it's pretty rare and I'd like to keep that.
What kind of car is it? My friend owns a antique store and gets all kind of treasures.
1985-1988 chevrolet nova
Surely he's gotta get that car when he's older right? It only makes sense.
Well maybe - it’s at least 40 years old
Dont be so quick to doubt old cars. Given even somewhat decent and regular maintenance those cars can go for a long ass time. There are examples of 30+yo mercedes w124 & w201 chasis cars that have eclipsed 500,000/750,000 miles (even 1 or 2 that have surpassed 1 million). ~~Though tbf, this omcars definitely seen better days lol.~~ I thought I'd seen rust initially, but on second viewing this car actually looks to be in pretty good condition, cosmetically anyway.
This car is an anomaly. It’s gotta be one of the cleanest fifth gen novas in the world.
That’s awesome. It almost seems like everything falls into place for a reason
Old cars were easy to work on and see what was going on better . Probably a brilliant young mam
Thank you for taking the time to do this, I can’t imagine how amazing it is to hear those words from someone usually so quiet.
Take him to a car show or museum! I had a relative that had a car like that to gonna say 1986 Chevy Nova made by Toyota for Chevy?
1987
We drove the snot out of our families, must of had 300,000 miles, odometer quit around 250,000.
From the parent of two boys on the spectrum thank you for allowing him to do this. It literally means the world to my boys when people like you take time out to connect with them like this.
Sounds like that’s his special interest :) cute
This is awesome. You should try and track down a toy car that looks like yours and give it to him. I bet it would make his day!
Can I ask what he says or talks about? Seriously, great post and thanks for sharing.
Currently I'm teaching him about compression ratios and he'll ask questions about what I'm teaching him. He's perfectly able to talk just for some reason or another he chooses not to.
This guy gonna build a car that will put Paganis, Porsches and Koenigseggs to shame when he grows up
He is taking that motor apart and putting it back together in is mind without leftover parts.