I am a big car enthusiast and I really want to build/modify an ej1 as my first project. I want to do it all myself or with friends ( no autoshops and stuff doing it for me). However, my knowledge to cars is limited ( I know the parts,but I have never really worked with them), and I reaaallly want to know more. I can talk the the talk, but the walking part is questionable. I have not really worked with cars that much, but I am really passionate about doing this. Where do I start? How do I learn basic stuff like welding? dropping the ride height? doing an engine swap and maintenance? rebuilding an engine? Like I stated, I want an ej1 to be my first build. My plan is to put around 200-300 hp on it. I just want something fun to do and take pride in. ONE PROBLEM... I dont know where to start...where can I get some help OTHER than goin to a shop cuz the closest one is actually pretty far from me...

 

Find a helms manual for your car. I'd start with buying a basic tool set, and doing bolt on parts, and maintenance items. The more maintenance things you do, the more you will find/buy tools to make the jobs easier, and you'll get more confident with the basics. move on to FI, learn how those systems work in/out. Then get into swaps and engine building.

Welding can wait for now, IMO. It certainly is a nice tool to have in your tool belt, but it takes a lot of time, and a significant amount of money to get into (properly).


just my .02, Good luck!

 

not being a dick but a Tech school would be an awsome place to start... Uti, wyotech

 

Sorry but do NOT recommend uti again.
I know a lot of people who graduated and end up with a crap job and a 32000 dollar bill and learn basic brake jobs and a lot of other bull.

Just get as much experiance as you can hang around a shop or anyone else mechanically inclined.
Buy blown motors and strip them down and rebuild them. 50 bucks for a blown motor is worth the experiance.

 

If there is one thing I've learned about working in this industry.

You will likely put tons of money into it, with seeing very little money in return. Every time you want to learn something different, the best way to go about it is to pony up and get what you need, then dedicate yourself to learning and doing (especially with welding). This often costs more in materials, but it comes down to how much you really want to learn.

The best way to learn is to start small and work up. Remember, most of this stuff is just nuts and bolts. Buy some books, they are a bit old fashioned, but they are still the best source of information out there. However, there is no amount of reading that will exceed actual experience, but reading will get your foot in the door.

Good luck.

 

don't listen to him. Everything a tech school teaches u can learn yourself by reading + trial and error. That's basically all u pay for at a tech school. if its as a hobby u don't need a tech school, people go to a tech school to try and land a job as a tech.

Me and my brother never went to a tech school. Everything we learned was trial and error and plenty of reading. I'm currently working on a F2B swap for my integra. it's my first "hybrid" swap and I'm learning as I go. But Ive gained enough confidence to try it. My brother does the welding for me and I'm trying to learn wiring, tedious but satisfying. I've done 2 prior swaps, Gsr ej1 and a gsr dc4. My brother has done more. Not to mention his 1979 Datsun 210b. Converted auto to stick and swapped the carb motor for a ka24 as well as custom welded piping + mounts.

I started with small mods here an there, when it came time to making more power I did my research, bought the appropriate tool as I went along and jumped in. You will have headache at some points but that's what it's about. Over coming a challenge.

Have fun man

 

i've been in the car game for over 10 years now, and absolutly everything i have learned has been self tought. everyday i am still learning. i started off by looking at things i liked and trying them out, ie: and shiny cold air intake, new wheels, cool new loud stereo, etc...and as i aquired these things, i learned more about them. i had no idea in the begining that there are a bunch of different wheel bolt patterns other than the number of bolts, but the spacing between them. i had no idea that the hubs on cars are different, so every wheel with the same bolt pattern doesnt always fit. standard from metric, torque specs, the basic functionalities of an engine...all of these things have been gradualy learned over all this time. but no matter how good you "think" you are, there is always more to learn

most of what i have learned, i have learned from places like this, forums...when i wanted an intake and wanted to figure out how to install it, i searched it, studied it, then did it. anything that you can possibly think of being done to any given car, has been done, and more than likely documented. just take it slow, DO NOT bite off more than you can chew, cause then you will end up with a heap of parts and junk in your garage or driveway and realize how much time and money you have wasted

 

You start by getting your hands dirty.

 

Buy a reliable dd, and a cool resto project. Some dents are ok, but steer away from rust. Doesn't need to be complete, cause you are "building" it. Then sit down, and devise a plan of attack. What WHP do you want? How much money are you willing to spend? What do you know how to do, as of now? What can be learned quickly and easily? Make it a point to get familiar(modify, or clean up) with every single nut and bolt of that car. By the end, you will know how to build a car. You will make mistakes. You will fix those, and make more. It may not turn out a show stopper, but YOU built it. Most of all..........KEEP IT FUN!

 

thanks guys, really appreciate the help

 

can you guys recommend any books or videos online that give you an in depth explanation of what is in the engine bay? I know the basic stuff(camshafts, pistons, valves, distributor, alternator, transmission...) and what they do, but when I opened the hood of my car( 06 accord)... I was lost. I thought I could just pick at things and figure out what they were, but I had no idea what I was looking at

 

look for a helms manual for your car and year. i bought mine at a local family shop for about $15. has EVERYTHING you need to know about a specific car.