Welcome

What am I up to with this site?

This blog is about the happenings in my garage.  I in the middle of a project to build a ’39 Chevy Coupe.  Here’s some background.

I currently live in the Kansas City area but am from Arizona.  I live with my wonderful wife and we have two boys.  I grew up in southern Arizona and have spent much of my life around cars and engines.  My brother and I used to do work for others in the neighborhood because we had a large outdoor shop.  My Dad was a jet mechanic and I learned much of what I know directly from him.  I joined the Marines and worked as a weapons mechanic on active duty for four years.  Not only did I learn a lot, but I served with a fantastic group of Marines.  Particularly OMC and MSSG 11 Maintenance Detachment “Death from a Toolbox”.

After I got out of the Marines, I studied Mechanical Engineering at Northern Arizona University.  Along the way I worked at a variety of odd jobs including: oil changer, hobby shop clerk, Jaguar mechanic, natural gas technician, sports reporter, and mechanical designer.

I eventually went to work for Cargill and have been there for over 15 years. I’ve served in a variety of roles within the company: project engineer, reliability engineer, maintenance superintendent, plant superintendent, regional operations manager, and regional general management.

I approach cars in a pretty scientific way I think and have been working hard over they years to keep current with whats happening in the world of cars.  That said, I am not going to put a bunch of references and footnotes in the articles because most of it is easily searchable for most folks.  I get my information from:

1. My time as a professional mechanic in various capacities.
2. Mechanical Engineering education (especially heat transfer and thermodynamics).
3. Building hobby cars with my dad, brother, and friends growing up.
4. Reliability maintenance courses at my first several jobs.
5. Good old fashion internet searches (because I'm curious).

So I hope you enjoy and if you have corrections or feedback please let me know... that's how I learn.