CarlitoE430

I want to do more DIY stuff with my car, as much as I can, but I don't want to destroy the car due to my lack of knowledge. Are there any one-day or multi-day workshops one can attend to learn more mechanical and general repairs?

Years ago, I went to a week-long bicycle workshop where each person started with an empty bike frame and a whole bunch of parts and ended with a fully assembled bike. We also worked on problems and did lots of troubleshooting and repairs (not just parts replacement) This is the link to that school if anyone is interested --> https://www.bikeschool.com/

I wonder if there is anything similar but for DIY home mechanics who just want to work on their cars and are NOT looking to formally work as a mechanic.

Youtube videos and this and other forums are an amazing resource, but to couple that with an actual hands on work would be ideal. I could see myself taking a week off from work and doing this and -- of course -- paying for it.

khomer2

You will still need the basic/ essential tools of the trade to DIY. Invest in the basic tools for the straight forward maintenance obligations first imo.
In my teens, started messing (not even at a hobby level) with datsun B210s and 510s, buicks, trans-ams, chevelles - tune-ups with a timing gun, spark plug gapper, etc, 1 ton floor jack, stands, metric wrench sets etc. Borrowed tools where I could.
Learned to do the brakes, etc ALL with Chilton auto repair books back in the day from the library - no computers, no tablets, no internet....
Get your hands dirty PLUS like you said, you have the LUXURY of youtube DIY videos, PDFs AND veteran members here and tons of threads on all the MB forums. You got it ALL at your fingertips CarlitoE430.

CarlitoE430

Thanks Khomer. This story might break your heart (it certainly breaks mine to this day). In 1992, I went with my uncle to buy an almost new Nissan Sentra. The dealer offered him $100 for his old boxy Datsun B210. He said "I'd rather f#&%kin burn it" I was right there so I said, don't burn it, I'll keep it. He gave it to me with his plates and his insurance. I used the car for almost a year but I was in college (young, careless and stupid) and didn't know a thing about car maintenance. Well, I let the car fall apart little by little and eventually, after the battery died due to lack of use, I left it on a side street of the Grand Concourse in The Bronx. Dumping cars in the streets was very common in NY back then. What pains me is that I could have easily fix it for a couple of dollars, but being completely ignorant about car repair, I just walked away from it.

My other uncle, a super at a building in Manhattan, often received cars as gifts that people living in his building would just give to him. More than once, my uncle allowed the tow trucks to just take his car because he owed so much money in parking tickets. This was also common in NY back then. We were forbidden to open his glove box because it was jammed with parking tickets from the Nixon era.

I occasionally go to car shows and always run into one of those old B210s. Sure brings back memories.

khomer2

I recall removing the headliner on my grandpa's b210. It was a pukey yellow exterior colour, but when the headliner was removed, a rainbow of colours including a perfect pepsi can logo in the rooftop sheet metal just above the d/s area.
The story was the Japanese, purchased ship loads of scrap metal from abroad for use in their relatively new auto production of sheet metal for their cars. No melt down of the scrap metal, simply high intense heat and compression of the scrap metals to form the sheetmetal parts of the body. I also saw local japanese cars in the scrap yards back then with other logos of various companies compressed on the inside of the thin metal doors of these fuel efficient compacts.
Fuel efficient because the sheet metal was so thin and light vs. the big gas guzzling american sedans. You could literally cave-in the roof top of these compacts with a couple of jumps.
They were also rust buckets unfortunately.

bbirdwell

Three places to look:
-Pelican Parts has multiple DIY articles with photos for the W210
-The other forum (benzworld) has a great DIY stickies section in the W210 sub-forum (several of them are mine). I prefer to hang out at this site but the greatest weakness IMO is the stickies do not include DIY threads.
-YouTube videos. Search and you will find.

CarlitoE430