Under the hood: resources for home mechanics | Darcy Brixey | Required Reading
Published 3:09 pm Tuesday, September 4, 2012
My first car was a bile green 1968 Mercury Colony Park station wagon, with a sleek wood panel. It wasn’t the fast, red convertible somethingorother every teen driver hopes for. Instead, it was a gigantic gas hog that could easily take 30 of my closest friends where ever they wanted to go.
We called it The Beast. The Beast brought me many adventures: my first flat tire, first speeding warning, and first donuts in a deserted snowy parking lot in Eastern Washington.
I loved that car, but it had one little problem: it ate air filters.
I was 17 years old, and every two weeks when I got my paycheck from a local restaurant, I’d head over to the auto parts store and buy a new air filter. It cost me $7.14 with tax. If I concentrate long enough, I can probably still remember the part number. After I bought the air filter, I’d change it right there in the parking lot, much to the amusement of my friends.
The Beast was enormous and I felt invincible, but I was missing a true understanding of car repairs and maintenance.
If you have a project car, or you enjoy DIY on the weekends, don’t forget about the vast collection of auto repair manuals at the Bellevue Library. We have factory repair manuals for domestic or imports up until the year 2004. If your car is newer, you can also try our Chilton database, or All-Data, a database designed for professionals. Chilton has diagrams and even videos to show you what to do and can be accessed from home with your library card. All-Data contains a variety of wiring diagrams and even technical service bulletins, but can only be used within any King County Library System branch.
As The Beast aged it became increasingly cantankerous and I didn’t have the money to deal with the problems. My younger brother cared for it in its golden years and I bought something only slightly newer. If I took the time to add up all the air filters and other parts purchased over the years I owned The Beast, I could have paid for my own online subscription to these databases. Luckily, you have the library for that.
Good luck with your car.
RIP The Beast 1968-1996
Darcy Brixey is the teen services librarian at the Bellevue Library. She’d like to tell you she loves to read, but it’s an expectation of the job.
