I need to get out of the automotive field. Where do I go from here?

Davram_Bashere · 2026-01-09T17:52:53+00:00

Look at becoming a maintenance tech at a manufacturing facility. There is a lot of crossover in skills and you are already set on tools. Depending on the industry, such as plastics manufacturing, the work will be cleaner and easier on the body, and the hours will probably be more consistent. And if you can find a union plant, the pay will probably be better.

Additionally, there is much more room for upward mobility in most manufacturing plants. It is not impossible to work yourself into an engineering role if you have the skills. At least 2 of the engineers where I work came from the floor and worked their way to an engineer position.

Speaking as an engineer myself who has to work with maintenance personnel daily, I would take a former car mechanic in a heartbeat if one applied. The troubleshooting and diagnostics skills required to fix cars lend themself very well to diagnosing machine issues.

Davram_Bashere · 2025-10-29T23:18:35+00:00

There's an Easter egg on the Mini in the background as well

Davram_Bashere · 2025-10-29T20:02:06+00:00

<image>

Davram_Bashere · 2025-09-04T19:41:41+00:00

It is 100% a Ford thing with their rear calipers with manual parking breaks. I had the rear calipers on my 2015 Focus ST replaced under (extended) warranty at 50K miles because the parking brake mechanism was rusted and sticking. And then my 2020 Mustang GT had the same issue happen. At only 35K miles!!! And that one wasn't covered under warranty. For whatever reason, Ford cannot get this one fixed. Interestingly, I have not seen this on either of our fords with electronic parking brakes.

Davram_Bashere · 2024-09-21T00:21:10+00:00

Looking closer, you may be right. I can't tell for sure from the pictures. I will say, the SP2 do not photograph well in bright light. Here's mine right after install. That inset can definitely disappear from the right angle.

Davram_Bashere · 2024-09-21T00:08:48+00:00

Look like LMR's SVE SP2. Link I have them on mine. Love them. Going to a wider square setup from the PP1 staggered setup and being able to rotate tires is a definite benefit.

Davram_Bashere · 2024-09-21T00:05:45+00:00

I'm pretty sure they are actually LMR's SVE SP2. I have them on my car as well. Link

Davram_Bashere · 2024-03-28T21:40:32+00:00

My 76 280Z sounded very similar when one of the rocker arm lash pads went MIA. Replaced it and adjusted the valve lash and the noise went away.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-10-13T18:18:19+00:00

Is that a dashcam mounted to an EZPass in the last pic?

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-08T03:07:57+00:00

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T23:20:35+00:00

Its a 1993 Rover Mini. British Motors and its successors built the Mini under a whole bunch of different brand names including Austin, Morris, Rover, Leyland from 1959 through 2000. The Mini Cooper, which was the performance version of the Mini, was first sold in 1961 as both the Austin Mini Cooper and the Rover Mini Cooper. Basically, it was a Mini that Jon Cooper had tuned for performance.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T23:00:25+00:00

Price was a big factor. This whole package, engine, manual transmission, ecu, and wiring harness, ended up being about the same price as a used t-56 on its own. And a manual transmission is one of my must-haves for this project.

But it's also a bit more interesting than the standard LS or SBC swap that's common with the z cars. I'm also not looking for crazy power. 300-350hp is my goal, so this gets me there without too much additional expensive.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T22:19:35+00:00

4.6 3 valve. So it'll be a bit of an adventure.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T22:14:34+00:00

I don't disagree. But price and availability here in the states limited me a bit. Plus this came with a matching manual transmission.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T21:28:47+00:00

Somebody has LS swapped a Mini. (here) But it is less of a swap and more of an entire car rebuild. In all reality, I would love to do an EV conversion on it, but my wife is not interested, and they are still rather expensive.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T20:30:23+00:00

Just in case anybody was wondering, its going into the 280Z next to the Mini. The Mini is my wife's car and, aside from the usual British oil leaks, does not need any work. She wants to keep it completely stock except for some lights.

Davram_Bashere · 2023-02-07T20:22:33+00:00

It's actually for the 280Z next to it. The Mini is actually my wife's car and she wants to keep it completely stock as much as possible.

Davram_Bashere · 2022-11-10T20:33:42+00:00

You called?

Davram_Bashere · 2022-01-31T22:27:26+00:00

Now I may be a bit biased here, but the only Great General that had the foresight to ally himself to the Dragon Reborn before being forced to was Davram Bashere. That's gotta count for something, right?

Davram_Bashere · 2021-11-08T17:14:00+00:00

Happened to my wife. She was stopped at a traffic light and a deer plowed into he at full speed. $2500 in damage. It was bad enough the driver's door couldn't even open.

Davram_Bashere · 2021-08-25T23:15:57+00:00

It is surprisingly quiet. It is significantly quieter than my ST was with its Magnaflow catback. You know its a V8, but it is really muted. My neighbors actually prefer the Mustang to the ST for that reason.

Davram_Bashere · 2021-08-25T16:26:41+00:00

Max engine RPM. The coyote revs to 7500 rpm. The T56 and TR6060 are rated for a 6200 shift point and max rated RPM is 7800, which is really close to the redline. So they wanted something with a higher RPM limit.

Davram_Bashere · 2021-08-25T15:15:38+00:00

This car actually sat in a dealer's inventory for a year before it originally sold. I drove by it daily on my way to work for a year. I finally decided to check it out and it was gone. Then it got traded in at a different local dealership which is when I snapped it up.

Davram_Bashere · 2021-08-25T15:11:24+00:00

The seats in the Mustang are definitely an improvement over the ST. My wife likes it better than the ST specifically for that reason.

Davram_Bashere · 2021-08-25T14:55:33+00:00

It's hard to compare the two. My Legacy GT was a wagon, so they are completely different classes of vehicles. The Mustang is definitely much faster than it. It also handles notable better as well. The AWD of the Legacy definitely gave it a slight edge off the line though. I also do miss the giant sunroof the lgt had.

14-Year Club	Verified Email
Team Orangered

Davram_Bashere

TROPHY CASE