Young Mechanic

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Paul Hatfield
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Young Mechanic

#1 Post by Paul Hatfield »

My wife and I have volunteered for over 30 years in the local county 4-H program. My wife much much more than me. Last night we were judges for kids doing "public presentations". Most did presentations on their 4-H project, but there were no reasonable restrictions on subject. Overall the kids did pretty well.

And then....

In walked a 9-year-old boy with his dad carrying a very heavy box.

They spread out an engine block and all the internal parts on a blanket on the table and they set up a poster board for another visual. The dad then left the room, leaving just the 9-year-old, Rory, my wife and I.

He introduced himself and started with his poster carefully pointing out the Ford 9N tractor he and his grandpa had rebuilt, along with a go-cart and an ATV.

Then, to my surprise, he handled each part and explained it's function, covering the flywheel, crankshaft, camshaft, and cylinder head. He also explained the difference between the intake and exhaust valves, and how the carburetor works.

All the other presenters during the evening had notes. This young lad did not. The only other thing he had was a pair of gloves he wore to handle the greasy parts.

I was floored!

He scored a perfect 100 points and I just wanted to hug this kid. He wasn't all that much taller than the top of the engine block sitting on the table.
Last edited by Paul Hatfield on Thu Feb 10, 2022 12:11 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Paul Hatfield
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David Jones
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Re: Young Mechanic

#2 Post by David Jones »

I hope you offered him a ride in a 356.
If I had known I would live this long I would have pushed the envelope a little harder.
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Phil Planck
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Re: Young Mechanic

#3 Post by Phil Planck »

Great story Paul.
Thanks for sharing
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Adam Wright
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Re: Young Mechanic

#4 Post by Adam Wright »

Get them started young, teach them it's not all about computers. My then 10 year old son riding our back yard track.
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Doug McDonnell
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Re: Young Mechanic

#5 Post by Doug McDonnell »

Too bad Grandpa wasn't there. That kid will never forget the time they spent together.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

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Cliff Murray
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Re: Young Mechanic

#6 Post by Cliff Murray »

That is a very touching story. Thank you for sharing and giving some old motörheads more hope in the future.
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Paul Hatfield
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Re: Young Mechanic

#7 Post by Paul Hatfield »

Too bad Grandpa wasn't there
Yes it is. I didn't put it in my original post, but it turns out that Grandpa passed away about 2 months before. He had a very close connection with his grandson, and during the ceremony at the church, this young boy stood up in front of everyone and talked about his Grandpa.
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Martin Benade
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Re: Young Mechanic

#8 Post by Martin Benade »

Very nice story, all the layers of it.
Cliff, I see you put an umlaut in motor, a sly shoutout for your favorite pre- heavy metal band Motörhead. Not my style though.
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