What is your background

[kennypinkerton]

I'm just a wannabe /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

 

[Bret]

I’d considered going into aviation after I got out of the Marines too. But Helo mechs where a dime a dozen at the time.

While I was in a lot of Marine Air types where going over to Iran after we got out, to work as maintenance contractors & training instructors. Big bucks ($$$) could be made at the time, but this little thing called the “Revolution” dried that job market up PDQ so most of us had to look for other ways to make a buck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[jayhawk]

No wonder all this good advice flows from this group! All these experienced mechanics, engineers, etc. Me-- a college prof-- nutrition with a minor in physiology. I've always been a tinkerer-- wood projects, clocks, radios, machines, etc. Once built a small boat that my wife and I skied behind for several years; later learned to repair old small outboard motors which to help finance my (mostly VW and British) car interest and still let the kids go to college. Now just trying to work and as time allows, improve my TR3-- with the help of all you good folks.

 

[Steve]

I was born and grew up in the UK. Served 12 years as a police officer (British Bobby) until I was pensioned out on a disability (PTSD)came over to the USA where my parents and brother were already, as dad had been recruited by Harley Davidson as chief engineer, powertrain after many years with Norton in Wolverhampton.

Grew up with LBCs, like Alan I had a whole bunch of them, along with a sprinkling of European stuff (mainly French), the worst of which was a metallic poop brown (must be to do with that colour) Hillman Avenger 1500. Bloomin' awful!

After a spell of trying different jobs (managing the motorcycle dealership was a blast) I am currently in the relocations side of the real estate industry, helping people to move from one part of the country to another, lining up good quality, reputable companies and realtors to assist them. There are still a lot of shysters in the business.

 

[mgbmedic]

OK, my Dad's first LBc was a 58 MGA, I was about 5 yrs old and rode from Louisville, Ky to Harrisburg, Pa. with my dad overnight, no interstate back then, and it was my first and best memory to this date. I slept on the floor board for most of the trip, but remember waking up and peering out from under the tonneau cover the see how we were progressing. Dad owned a procession of LBCs- 2 AH 100-6s, 2 TR4s, a 65 Jag XKE coupe that i took my date to the junior prom in 1970. We had a Jaguar MK8, a big Rolls-Royce look-alike, that we took to Pa one thanksgiving in '63 and we made a detour to Wash, D.C. for president Kennedy's funeral...I still have pictures of that car on the Mall in D.C. My firts LBc was a '65 Spifire then a TR3 i bought for a hundred bucks, wish I still had that one. Went into the army in '71- 91A10 Medical Corpman. After the service, the gas crisis and several different jobs from lifeguard to hardware sale rep to carpenter and several LBCs...I came around full circle and am now a paramedic in Louisville, Ky. I've been a medic for almost twenty years now and love every minute of it.

 

[tony barnhill]

Me? Retired Army officer & retired high school teacher...BS, MBA, MMAS, Phd (ABD)....stepdad was service manager for Oldsmobile/Rambler dealership while I was growing up...I hung around there from young age washing cars, doing odd jobs...messed with cars all my life.

 

[jlaird]

Retired USAF, 29 years. Afterwards spent 8 years getting some of the Saudi oil money back.
Business degree, most of a masters in computers.
Was a supply and Logistics officer.
Started wrenching when I was about 4 I am told, Dad was a wood worker so no help there although he taught me a lot of that.
Lots of cars, 1940 ford. 1954 Ford, Lincoln engined, hehe. Three different Bugeyes so far, Gogo mobile. 1956 GT Mustang and on and on.
Now fully retired and loveing it.

 

[Nunyas]

I was born in Florida. My father was in the Air Force at the time, so we ended up in Alaska (where my sister was born) by the time I was 2. We moved back to Florida in time for me to start school. Folks got an MGB (best recollection tells me it was probably early a 70s model) when I was in 4th grade. Started wrenching when I was in 4th grade as well, by helping my father replace a head gasket on his Mazda B2000 pickup.

I was lucky in high school, my school district allowed High school kids take summer VoTech classes free of charge. So, between 10th and 11th grades I took a summer VoTech class on auto mechanics and between 11th and 12th I took a summer VoTech class on welding. My first solo automotive project was replacing the head gasket on a 1980 Dodge Charger 2.2. Later I helped rebuild the engine and customize the body (shaved door handles, relocated tail gate handle to inside the tail gate, "Frenched-in" ground effects, etc.) on a 1980 Dodge D-50 mini-truck.

Self taught myself alot about car audio (high school Physics I & II helped), and dabbled a lot with stereo systems. As a result, I learned quite a bit about building custom speaker enclosures, and rudimentary automotive upholstering (no stitching though).

Joined the Marine Corps in 1992, and spent my first 15 months going through boot camp (3 months), MCT (1 month), and schools (9 months in Albany, GA and 3 months in Aberdeen Proving Grounds). My MOS was 2171, Electro-Optical Ordnance Maintenance Repairman. I got to work on a lot of fancy and not so fancy electronic aiming devices for Dragons and TOWs, which was my calling in 'shop life'. I was also qualified to work on lasers, night vision devices, howitzer 'mounts' (levels used to ensure the guns were elevated properly), mortar mounts, and generally any other aiming device that could be attached/dettached to/from an infantryman's weapon including mechanized equipment of the same types (M1A1, LAV, and AMTRAK sights and vision aids).

After that, I went to college in Gainesville, FL, got my AA, and went to University of Florida during the wonder years of Danny Worfle and Steve Spurrier. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

During college, I taught myself a lot about computers, and ended up doing a short stint in retail as a PC Technician. After which, I moved to Cali and got a job in the gaming industry as a game tester, and snook my way into a Technologist position. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Bought my own MGB about two years ago now for $750, and it's been a love hate relationship with the car ever since. I love it when it's working great, love working on the car too. However, I hate being forced to work on it because something unnoticed/unchecked broke preventing me from driving. Things are coming together finally. Electricals seem to be good with only the defroster fan and the wipers creating any kind of load on the system. My tempurature problems from last month seem to be under control now. My list of things to do has shifted slightly, I got my California DMV notice this week and I have to go in for emissions testing to renew my registration this year. So that's where my MGB maintenance/upgrade plans are ATM.

Once I get through that hoop, I have some "sneaky snake" plans in the works to hopefully increase engine power, and still be able to pass smog without having to change anything other than basic tune-up type stuff.

 

[drooartz]

My first word was "car," and my mom says I wanted to be a car when I grew up. Dad wasn't a car guy really, so I picked up a few things from other folks. My grandmother had a good friend (later my step-grandfather) with a really nice MG TD. My first taste of LBC.

Degree in music from Yale, moved to Utah after, following a girlfriend. Eventually married (different girl) and got a house with a garage. Music side work funded a search for a hobby car, started looking at Mustangs but was bitten by the LBC bug at the local British Field Day. Work now as webmaster/data guy at a local school district, play music at night, and work on the Tunebug and ride the bike in the extra hours.

 

[Basil]

Time to bump this thread. Any newbies out there or other who have not yet chimed in?

Basil

 

[michalotti_tr]

"The details of my existance are inconsequential ..." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

 

[Roger]

An Englishman of middle age (64? am I kidding?). I was born in Gloucestershire, my father was very much an enthusiast. The farmyard outside our home was often filled with Frazer-Nash, HRG, Bugatti, Allard, Ford 10 and Austin Seven specials, Dellow, you-name-it trials cars using us as a stopover on some trial or another.
Though we lived on a farm, my father was an engineer. The farm was managed by someone else, together with another - they are completely merged today.
He was an aircraft engineer during WWii, but went back to cars later.
He was a small car enthusiast - MG and Austin Seven. He had a beautiful MG PB Airline coupe with a much-modified and noisy engine, but his real love was Austins. Among his acquaintances and competitors were Colin Chapman, the Broadleys (Lola), Jem Marsh (Marcos) and many others in the motoring and motor sports world. I'd ride with him to Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton, and the other circuits of the time where he raced in the 750 formula.
Brought up in this environment, how could I fail to become an enthusiast?
I went into the British Merchant Navy for a while, and of course got my own Austin Seven Special. I raced, rallied, autocrossed and autotested all kinds of cars for quite a long time. When I came ashore, I had become a computer programmer, and have been doing that or something closely related ever since.
I have been married 42 years, and we've lived in France, Dubai, Singapore and USA in the last 20 years or so. Having such a nomadic life, I didn't have any 'real' cars until recently. I had a Miata for a while, and now an Elise.
Today I'm an IT Director for a large offshore drilling company in Houston.

 

[anthony7777]

toupe, it brings out my dark med. skin collor. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[anthony7777]

o.k. only because im also interested in all you guys. born bklyn n.y 1951,sheepshead bay high-69,worked on wall street 68 till 72 h.s. work study program, started a roofing co.1973 attended college of aeronautics 1974 grad.4 year course in three years full time summer school, A&P lic. applied science deg. 1975 moved to savn. geo. worked for grumman aerospace,1976 moved to sunny bayone n.j. to work for butler aviation newark intl. airport,1979 hired as contract flight engineer for major oil co.got hire as full time after 6 months stayed until 1991,took flt.eng. job with second oil co.stationed in amsterdam need i say more? theyd fly you back and forth first class on britt. air 30 days on 30 days off.didnt dig beeing away from home for 30 days at a clip after being re-married so went with another oil co. in n.y as flt. engineer,could take the bull politics so stared my own home improvement co.in 1991 it was good timing because that last oil outfit lost thier flight operation,so now i use subs to do all the heavy work and try to stay in my wood working shop doing all the custom stuff thats what i realy dig,i play drums in a jazz trio, play guitar,repair guitars and have a nice collection,got my first austin healey when i was 14-15 years old from a neighbor that got it from a person that couldnt pay his boat yard fee,hed put a mechanics lean on it,one day passing his yard i stopped and asked mr. mccdonald what that car in his yard was, its an austin healey, ya want it? tosses me the keys i pushed it home by myself, been hooked ever since.i like to fly fish, bird hunt shot gun, archery big game, deer, elk, black bear, havalina,turkey,etc. ya had to ask right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

 

[sparkydave]

Let's see, I was born in Idaho, but I've lived in California, Pennsylvania, back to Idaho, South Carolina, the U.P. of Michigan, and now Ohio. Learned about most things electronic, mechanical, and automotive from my dad. Got interested in computers when we got our Commodore 64 (which we still have!), and wrote lots of programs on it. I got pretty proficient at repairing things around the house since dad sometimes had to work out of town for weeks at a time. And no, he got out of the military long before I came along. He's a civil engineer now, but got sent to various plants when they had problems.

Got interested in cars at an early age helping dad keep his '47 Lincoln running. We also had a few cars which we got to work on more than we would have liked. I got pretty good at routine maintenance, brake work, and electrical glitches. When I went to the University of Akron to study EE, the folks moved out to PA, and loaned me the Pontiac 6000 that I managed to keep running until I gave it back. Living in the fraternity house I was eventually put in charge of house maintenance. Go figure, an engineering fraternity (Triangle) has members who can't fix simple things around the house.

Graduated with my BSEE, and went to work for a company that makes electronic test equipment, first as an applications engineer (translation: Tech support guy), then as an embedded software engineer. Decided I preferred actually fixing the problems instead of having customers nagging when they will be fixed.

Oh, and as far as the LBC, I got to ride in an MGB-GT when I was about 14, and decided I had to get an MG someday. I wasn't really familiar with the Midget until I was chatting with friend and mentioned that I'd love to find an MGB someday. Turns out the Midget had been in his garage for a long time because he wasn't a car guy and didn't know how to fix it. He was glad to find somebody who might be able to resurrect it, and I was glad to find a car in relatively good condition. He just made me promise that if I decide to sell the car he gets first dibs on it.

 

[Basil]

I was born in central West Virginia, the son of an Army sergeant. I was the only son with two older sisters. It was here that I became enamored with British cars since a neighbor lady had a nephew who would visit her often and he drove a Jaguar XK 150. It was so different from anything else I’d ever seen and I fell in love with its looks, the sound of the engine, and certainly the smell of the leather! I lived there through the 6th grade, after which we moved to Germany after Dad got reassigned.

I attended Hinkley High School in Aurora Colorado where I bought my first British car, a 1967 Jaguar XKE. I graduated in 72 and joined the Air Force in November of that year. I signed up as a Computer Maintenance Repairman. When I first went into the recruiter, they told me that job was not available and probably would not be for several months. They tried to sell me on some other jobs, but I just thought being a "computer maintenance" guy was a better way to go being that computers were still so new and mysterious. So they put me on a waiting list and it was only two weeks later they called.

After Basic, I spent nearly a year in tech school at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Then it was off to Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, MT for several years working on the SAGE NORAD Air Defense System (an IBM Q-7 computer with half a million vacuum tubes). That’s where I met my wife of 31 years, Mary. We have two sons, one is a pilot (KC 135 tankers) and the younger is going to the local community college. I started going to college part time and then heard about a program call Airman’s Education and Commissioning Program (AECP). I eventually had enough credits to apply for AECP and was accepted. I ended up going to school at the University on New Mexico (UNM) where I earned my BSEE, then was commissioned in August 82 after 12 weeks of OTS. (I later earned a MS and MBa).

I then spent the next few years as a radar evaluation engineer with the 1954th RADES out of Hill AFB, UT. In that job, I would travel all over the world evaluating radar systems and trying to tweak them for maximum performance in their current environments.

In 1986 I was selected to be the Commander of a critical communications site on a small island off the west coast of Greece. My island, Lefkada, or Levkas, was right next to Scorpios, the island owned by Onasis. Since I was the last military commander of that site before we shut it down, I inherited an 8x10 photo of the two Kennedy kids, which they had autographed. (They used to visit the site and hang out with the GIs and play pool when they were living on Scorpios before my time there). Somehow this picture ended up being hung in the commander’s office, and since I was the last commander, I got to keep the picture.

After Greece I spent a few years working at the Headquarters of the now defunct Air Force Communications Command at Scott AFB, IL as a (gag) staff officer. I did that for as long as I could stand it and then I got a real job as a test manager with the AF Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) (It was in New Mexico and I had been looking for something worthwhile to get me back there since I fell in love with the place during my AECP days). I ended up retiring as a Major with 24 years of service and we moved to Edgewood, about 35 miles east of Albuquerque. I got a job with Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) shortly after retiring from the AF and I’ve been with them ever since. I still support operational testing of defense systems, only now it’s as a senior analyst rather than a test manager.

Being an old computer hack, I got into the BBS thing while at AFOTEC (remember those old dial up bulletin boards?) I used to run a very popular BBS called the “Cavern of Cyborg.” I eventually shut it down when dial up BBSs fell out of favor in lieu of the internet. A few years after I retired, I started getting involved with online discussion forums. One in particular, the Corvetteforum, gave be the bug to start a forum for British cars. It seemed there were a lot of marque-specific forums out there, but no good general-purpose British car forums. So I wanted to start a forum that would cater to all British cars and Bring together a larger, more diverse group of folks. To my surprise, the domain britishcarforum was available, so I snagged it (along with several others that point to this one) and on Christmas day, 2000, the BCF officially went on line).

That’s about it. Oh yeah, I, along with my wife, also are teachers with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for their “Family to Family” education program.

Basil

 

[DrEntropy]

I'll ante up in a while... after I decide what I wanna be when I grow up.


Mebbe next week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Baz]

V. Interesting.
33yo, born and bred in Wales, grew up around the best mountain roads on the planet, very narrow too! Left school, joined the Navy, submarine service, left after 7 years as Lieutenant navigator, purchased my dream car, a sapphire cosworth and my life went downhill rapidly, along with my bank account, from there. Never was much of a 'wrencher' but found out later in life that it is fun, satisfying when you get it right and cheaper. Never had the hands for it, but then again, since leaving the Navy, I hate water.
Crossed the pond in 99, went back to school, got married, had kid..had LBC = no more kids. BA in History, studying MA in History, want to teach so I can get the summers off with the missus and travel (and work on LBCs) Love the US, but hate the tornado warnings 2/3 times a month, either that or rain all the time in Wales?
Hwyl Fawr pawb, bob lwc efo ceir.
Am I the only one from IL here?

 

[Basil]

[ QUOTE ]

Am I the only one from IL here?

[/ QUOTE ]

I used to live in Troy, IL

 

[SteveL]

[ QUOTE ]

Am I the only one from IL here?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was in IL once, for Navy boot camp at Great Lakes NTC, got
there on October, it got steadily colder, and windier until
I left IL, never to return...

Spent my naval career in either the Med, the shipyard, or
Gitmo for shakedown. I still love the water, but not the
Naval Life...

The last 25 years have been spent repairing things, and building
things that have yet to be built by your regular manufacturers...

I am a true Jack of ALL Trades...

SteveL