Reflection

After completing my 20% project, I learned many things. Foremost, I learned that doing something is often much easier than explaining the same thing. In other words, I know exactly how to change, say, the spark plugs on my car. It's slightly complicated, but I can do it in about 15 minutes nonetheless. That being said, it was incredibly difficult to explain, in great detail, the exact same process. I had to approach the situation as if I had no idea of how to do any of it, and attempt to explain it that way. This was not easy! I couldn't assume anything--for example, I neglected to put "remove the negative battery cable" as the first step (for safety reasons you should), because I assumed that the reader would just know to do so as it's fairly rudimentary. I recalled the situation, however, and rewrote it accordingly. Other than that, I didn't have too many problems with the project itself (which can be found here).

We showcased the product on the last day of class, and I thought that mine was fairly well-received. The best piece of advice that I received was to "float" my product at the forums and see how the members liked it. So far, I haven't had any complaints! Overall, it was a fun way to spend 20% of my time in class. Further, I thought it was relatively educational, as I got to learn how to use blogs and different ways of expressing ideas and communicating online.

Currently

So, given that everything I've learned so far has been documented in prior postings, I'd like to spend some time describing the target audience and the finished product. Ideally, the people who would benefit the most would be people that who were in a similar position to the one I was in a few years ago; those who want to work on cars, but possess only a rudimentary understanding of them, or perhaps not one at all. Thus, I'd like to share my project with other people who need help beginning--and possibly ending--work on a 'project' car. In terms of characteristics, this applies to everyone of every age group--as long as they're old enough to hold a wrench and to read! I've met people who are 17 and utterly brilliant when it comes to cars, as well as older people who are somewhat ignorant of the entire process. So, given this characteristic set, I think the most effective way to share this information would be over an easily-accessible blog (e.g. blogger) with pictures and possibly video.


 Again, this blog will contain written-out step-by-step instructions (with pictures) on how to complete tasks from the mundane to the extraordinary on a 1987 Toyota Supra. My product that I'll be presenting in class will describe how to change the spark plugs on a 1987 Toyota Supra--an easy job on most cars, but an incredibly difficult one on this.

Finally, I believe that I've done enough research to complete this project: I've been a member of forums and groups on Facebook for nearly a year now, and beyond that, I've rebuilt the engine on my car. Thus, with the exception of major electronics and body work, I'm intimately familiar with the mechanics of my car, and I believe I can confidently explain the different processes. Regarding this project in relation to class, I believe that it relates quite well as it's using technology (the internet, blogs, pictures) to convey ideas and teach.

Some Answers...

Recently I posted about some of the different forums, and their usefulness--or lack thereof. I'd like to explore that topic slightly further. I've spent a decent amount of time looking through different forums in an attempt to answer some of my questions, but I kept running into the problems detailed in my prior post. So, instead of repeating myself, I'm going to explore some of the other options available to a novice mechanic. Interestingly enough, Facebook is a huge boon to those attempting to diagnose and fix problems with their car. For example, I'm a member of the Toyota Supra MKIII Appreciation Club (or MKIIIAC) as well as a Georgia Supra Owners club. Both of these Facebook groups have been tremendous resources, allowing me to connect with different individuals who have some level of expertise within the field. As helpful as this is, however, it's still not enough. Facebook is really most useful for answering short questions, or posting about meets, etc, it's not very helpful when it comes to detailing out how to do a project. Thus, in my final project, I believe that a blog will be able to synthesize the quickness of Facebook along with the more detailed possibilities of a forum.

Why Forums Aren't Your Friends

I briefly mentioned forums (such as Supramania, Supraforums, or TS.info) as an online resource in my previous post, and often-times, they are! For the complete freshman mechanic, however, they're not. There are several reasons why: for one, in order to actually access the full content, you must first register to be a member of each form; secondly, there's a waiting period before you can post and ask questions--which is hardly beneficial for someone who needs an answer immediately; and thirdly, most of the people on the forums are actually quite rude. For example, I was perusing Supramania the other day, and a freshman mechanic posted a question on changing the alternator, given that there were no guides that he could find. Almost immediately, forum members began posting replies like "if you need to ask questions like that, you shouldn't be working on a car," or, "how dumb are you?" etc etc. With this blog, I seek to remedy the ills of online resources by posting step-by-step guides, complete with pictures and full explanations, but without any of the attitude.

My Driving (hah) Question

For my 20% project, I decided to do a little research into helping freshmen mechanics into working on the (naturally aspirated version) Toyota Supra MKIII. Thus, how can I more practically assist "weekend warriors" in completing maintenance, repairs, and even an overhaul through a free step-by-step online guide?

To elaborate slightly, I want to be able to better assist complete novices as they began the journey of working on a nearly-thirty-year-old car. I know that there are Chilton's and Hayne's manuals available for purchase at nearly any auto-parts store (or online for that matter), and that the Toyota Supra Repair Manual (TSRM) is available for online purchase as well as online viewing; these resources, however, are not complete. For example, changing the spark plugs--generally the easiest job one can possibly do on a car---on an MKIII is actually somewhat complicated, especially if you're not at all familiar with cars, and these resources don't even cover it! In other words, these resources assume that the viewer has at least a minimal background in terms of auto-mechanical repair, and skips over several steps in the beginning of many jobs (or completely neglects to mention how to do something at all). I am aware there are other online resources, such as forums, but I'll get to that in my next post. This blog is here to be a resource for those who have no idea how to do anything on the MKIII Supra: no rude comments about knowledge (or lack thereof), no judgments, only answers.