Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it.
Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it but I'm not there yet. Babylon JS is amazing though.
EDIT:
I'll throw down some random notes because I've never really talked about this:
- I've learned a LOT over the three years since I made these videos - about cars, life, boats, love, fabrication, quaternions and myself.
- I made these videos in a backstreet garage in Budapest. A personal situation arose and I left Hungary and tried to get going again back in the UK.
- I built a new garage/studio in the UK and kitted it all out in preparation.
- Then lockdown struck and I had to get involved in a real-world business that I co-owned. The people who did my video production couldn't travel, and when they could, the UK had become so difficult that they had no desire to stay. So I had to find a new team which wasn't easy.
- I also had to rebuild my own life and that took a lot of time and effort. I didn't have the energy to go back into videos - it's something that I did at a certain time of my life, and I knew that I needed to be stronger to revisit it or I would risk my own happiness.
- I feel a combination of emotions - I am immensely proud of what we achieved with this, and I'm embarrassed by my failure to finish it. That said, I don't think I've ever been more excited by this project.
I bought this course a year or two back and I don't feel short changed whatsoever, I really enjoyed it and thought that something will have caused the projec to drop off as the passion and knowledge is there in all your content.
Thanks for the work you've done on it so far - and super excited to find out that the passion is still burning to make it even better.
I'm so happy to hear that. The initial 20-hour estimate was just guesswork really. I made 14 hours so far and we haven't even got through the engine, never mind the transmission, steering, suspension, fuel, ECU, brakes, and so on. Probably be more like 50 hours in the end!
To be honest, $25 lifetime seems like a steal for this.
Maybe it's the value of the current content, but consider raising prices for new subscribers after some more content is finished, maybe to $40 or something.
Or you could also try location-based pricing if you want to keep it affordable/accessible to people outside of first-world countries
Thanks! When I get more progress then I'll probably increase the price but in all honesty it makes enough money to cover the production cost and that's good enough for me. Regional pricing is a good idea!
Hey Alex, I bought the app a few years ago when I first found the website. Just opened it up for the first time in a while, and saw I can buy the course through the app. But wanted to let you know (in the low chance you aren't aware) that purchasing the course through the app is only $20 instead of $25.
Drop me an email and I'll sort it out manually - mostly it works but it's not great. The app ecosystem for this isn't worth the hassle any longer and I'll retire that app when I get the new version out.
I bought the course a couple years ago, really happy to know that there's more content on the way.
PS: I could never had imagined that the acceleration pedal controls air intake and not gas.
Hah, I remember disassembling a motorcycle for the first time and in the process figuring out that the throttle cable just opens a valve that I had just taken the airbox off of, I was mind blown!
To anyone that's looking to get into wrenching on your own stuff, I can definitely recommend getting started on a motorcycle if you have space, money or time constraints. It's a lot more accessible initially.
I had pulled back for quite a while working on cars, then bought a 2006 Chrysler 300C with a dead engine last year.
The LX platform is incredibly easy to work on. Rear wheel drive, nothing too complicated to understand, good parts availability from places like Rock Auto. The big Hemi 5.7 is easy to rebuild and very rewarding. I grew up working on small japanese cars and Alfa Romeos, the Hemi reminds me a lot of the Alfa "Nord" engine despite the pushrods.
I had an MX-5 and loved it, but the LX cars are affordable muscle cars that even a modest workshop can make something fun out of.
Bringing it back to the author, I've heard that the MX-5 is about the easiest car to work on that's still readily available. And Saturns. Saturns are like Lego.
Saturn cars are incredible. I had a 92 SL2. Drove it for 14 years and 350k miles. Sold it to a guy who delivered newspapers and saw it still running two years later. That plastic body that didn't rust was incredible. Sucks that GM just killed that car line.
The course that's linked in this post is excellent for the price. Pretty much all of the engine stuff carries over to motorcycles. Everything else I pretty much learned by looking up specific instructions for my model along the way, either on Youtube or in the service manual for my bike.
As for what bike might be interesting, I bought a fuel injected, single cylinder bike. Pretty much as simple as it gets, and a great way to get started with the basics.
Don't be afraid to jump in, you'll be surprised at how easy it comes to you.
The original donor car was (I think) a Mk3 Ford Escort, obviously they are a collectors car now.
There have been a number of revisions now, it's published by Haynes the publisher of many car repair manuals. There is also a whole network of small business selling parts, you can buy ready made chassis and body panels for them.
I was gifted the book in the late 90s as a teenager, always planed to one day build one. And the fact the house I bought a few years ago has a garage with an inspection pit is only making it more tempting.
I too had that very book as a teenager. It's a small world - when I was at uni I was hired to build a website for someone. Their friend then asked me to build them a site and I recognised their name from the caption of a photo of a couple of schoolboys on the back page of that very book. Turns out they built the car at school and went on to build an automotive company.
Amazing, the author was a DT (design technology) teacher at a school just down the road from where I grew up. They would build these in a club at school.
I had to answer this question for myself, because Miatas were outside of my budget (3000€), and a bit rare to find in the first place where I live (France).
I went with a 1st gen Mini Cooper (2001 to 2006). So far it has been the perfect car to learn on, because I went with a working one and did the basic maintenance plus a few not-too-hard parts that needed replacement (of course your luck can vary, I'm very lucky that the one I chose was in a very good shape).
Why a Mini Cooper? My criterias were (1) a fun car, and by that I mean a 100+hp compact car around 10:1 ratio (2) of course the budget, 3000€ (3) the "fun car" part pretty much guarantees it, but good community support (4) I need to fit in it (I'm tall at 1.88m) and (5) must be Euro 2 or better (so pretty much a gas year 2000 or after car)
Compared to the Miata, it's probably a bit less fun to drive, and a bit harder to work on (everything is super compact in the engine bay), but you get a hard-top and small back seats, which to me means more space to put stuff. I actually carry most of my tools in my trunk all the time and work ... wherever I am. I've spent more time working on my car at my parents or in-laws than in my own garage (which isn't super great to work from).
I have to say I don't regret that choice. As for filming (I do record and did a Youtube channel about my tribulations, though nowhere near this course quality), interior has not been a big issue. Filming under the car while working on jackstands is pretty much impossible though (I'd need to buy a wide angle GoPro and more lights to even entertain a passable quality).
Important note: if you go for a Mini Cooper, prefer a 2005 or 2006 year model (post-facelift) if you go for a 1st gen. Going for a 2nd gen is not advised as they have tons of engine issues, and starting with engine work is not a great idea.
My father did an car maintenance course in the 90s with his Mini City (like this one[1]), which involved taking the car apart and reassembling much like in the OP's video course. He said it was a very valuable experience, and that the Mini was the perfect car to learn on as all the parts were easily accessible and uncomplicated in design.
If useful, here’s an answer: The Suzuki DR-Z400S/SM motorcycle. As one example.
It’s not a car! I know! The thing is that motorcycles are such good learning platforms. They’re small, man-portable (in a pinch), there’s almost everything in there that’s in a car – but much less of it and more accessible. Single-cylinder motorcycles are also good for learning because there’s only one cylinder and one set of valves and one cylinder or fuel injector etc. :) One of everything and everything is smaller and more easily accessible than in a car. In short they’re very hackable machines.
The DR-Z400 is reliable, ubiquitous and cheap. Parts are available. Lots of DIY information out there and easy to find.
I knew NOTHING about cars. Got the motorcycle bug. A DR-Z400S was the most bike for the money here. Bought it. And that’s how I got into this by accident.
Now I know how to swap out a carburator for a bigger one and tune it, tune suspension behavior by simulating the hydraulic valving inside the suspension, maintain brakes, replace tires and pick them for what road feel I want, fix flats on the side of the road, fix a stator if I need to, reduce vehicle weight etc. etc. All by chance. Has nothing to do with me being smart or industrious and everything to do with lucking into ownership of a bike that kind of teaches you how to work on it and has a great online community.
This is a great comment because in my motorcycle group of roughly ~60 or 70 people over the years, maybe 25% have owned a Miata. Apparently the motorcycle+miata crossover is huge. Usually along with an SV650 or DRZ at some point as well.
I never had a Miata but I did buy a DRZ and have a blast on it for about 4 hours. The following morning it wouldn't start and after spending all the time I was willing to spend on doing valves/carb/etc, I decided that the 450 kit was to blame, so I just traded it for a 2stroke! I do hope a sumo will be in my future now that I live in a city, though.
Good luck on your Miata endeavors, I'm sure you wont regret it!
I was lucky that I chose the Miata - it was an affordable car which I wouldn't need to cut the roof off to film inside. I knew nothing about them when I picked it but it really was the perfect choice.
It's a car distilled down to its essence and that's why it's popular for kit cars and conversions. The components are tough, readily available and dirt cheap.
I honestly think I might still choose a Miata because you need to understand everything on this car to go much further. If were were to take the engine out of the equation then I'm afraid I don't know - my recent engineering experience has been with boats and diesels, rather than electric.
This is exactly what I've been looking for. Purchased! One request if you get time/ it's easy: can you add a Chromecast option to the mobile app? At least on iOS I don't see an option.
I hope you are doing well these days after what sounds like a challenging journey to get to this point. Thanks for making and sharing this great content.
Just my two cents… if it’s $25 for lifetime access you might want to make that more obvious (I was on mobile).
It’s not that I don’t think it’s worth it- actually the opposite. Hitting the landing page I actually assumed it’d far more, or have a series of upsells, etc. I started to navigate away when I noticed the smaller print.
Anyway, looks like great stuff. And thumbs up for Budapest.
Just wanted to add to the many voices who felt they got way more than the $25 they paid for the content on the site. Wonderful videos, and your passion for cars got me to working on my own car, where I've made several changes since.
The course description and the car is modern, but would this also be helpful for understanding a classic car? I’ve inherited a classic Jag which is great, but being reliant on others for understanding and repairs is sometimes a bit limiting.
It’s absolutely useful for that! You’ll be on a carburettor instead of injection but that’s about the only difference! The Miata really isn’t much evolved from the 60s sports cars it’s based on.
I've got a picoscope and it's not something I use very often at the moment. I've not looked at tablet stuff I'm afraid. It's one of those areas that's probably moving very quickly in terms of tech. The Picoscope is probably superceded at this point too. Sorry not to be more helpful!
Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it but I'm not there yet. Babylon JS is amazing though.
EDIT:
I'll throw down some random notes because I've never really talked about this:
- I've learned a LOT over the three years since I made these videos - about cars, life, boats, love, fabrication, quaternions and myself.
- I made these videos in a backstreet garage in Budapest. A personal situation arose and I left Hungary and tried to get going again back in the UK.
- I built a new garage/studio in the UK and kitted it all out in preparation.
- Then lockdown struck and I had to get involved in a real-world business that I co-owned. The people who did my video production couldn't travel, and when they could, the UK had become so difficult that they had no desire to stay. So I had to find a new team which wasn't easy.
- I also had to rebuild my own life and that took a lot of time and effort. I didn't have the energy to go back into videos - it's something that I did at a certain time of my life, and I knew that I needed to be stronger to revisit it or I would risk my own happiness.
- I feel a combination of emotions - I am immensely proud of what we achieved with this, and I'm embarrassed by my failure to finish it. That said, I don't think I've ever been more excited by this project.
Edit 2: Go and watch Tim Hunkin's Secret Life of... series @ https://www.youtube.com/@timhunkin1 You'll be glad you did!