Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Already did a search on this, and yes I know what I am getting into, and yes I am finishing year 12.

Does anyone know any performance garages that take apprenticeships. I am planning on completing an apprenticeship @ a performance garage + extra year. Then going to uni full time, getting mech eng degree and returning to that garage to be a qualified engineer on site to fabricate their own equipment.

But hey, thats just idealy :)

Anywhere in Australia, I have found it very hard to get any places to give me any time to explain what I want to do. I guess they think I am another time waster. So if anyone knows the owners of a garage or are regular customers etc. Let me know, I need all the help I can get :)

Thanks heaps!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/
Share on other sites

Ok, cool. Thanks for the input. But I have made my mind up to do this, and if you read the entire thing I should be, in about 10 years (probably less) fabricating my own turbos etc. etc. or if the garage doesnt want me back I will open my own garage and fabricate for myself instead.

Anyways, thanks but no thanks :)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1214946
Share on other sites

dude you have no idea what your getting yourself into

i acually did part of my aprenticeship in a garage were we did alot of performance work on nissans and mazdas

its not usualy easy to get a position in a workshop dealing with performance cars and fabrication

but if you think your good enough go for it, its the most rewarding part of the trade

but in ten years you wont be doing what you expect. i thought i was going to be working on sweet peformance cars forever, but now i work on stock standard fords

i could be wrong, this is just what happened to me

working on cars for a living ruins a good hobbie

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1215645
Share on other sites

I'm currently in my final year of a mechanical engineering degree, and i can tell you that you get no hands on fabricating knowledge at all from doing the course. If you plan on doing any fabrication at all you will have to complete another tafe course or whatever.

But good luck, i'd love to work with a performance workshop once i graduate, but engineers are more likely to work with larger companies, rather than at the workshop level.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1216418
Share on other sites

If thats his dream, let him be.

EvilElmo, better off doing it this way. Find an apprenticeship at an ordinary mechanic, learn the basics first, during that stage, do tafe as well. Then when you think your ready (at least 1yr), move up to the peformance workshops. University is going to be a long way away, and one of the hardest things you'll ever do. Its a really expensive step as well, so be sure to think twice about it.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1218595
Share on other sites

GO FOR IT!!!!

Your young and keen!

If it falls through, well at least you know you tried!

Youre not going to get anywhere if you wait for things to happen for you!

I'm not saying jump straight in, do it logically and not just with your heart!

Ask all the performance garages and be PERSISTANT, it can't hurt!

If you get knocked back try again, all they can say is no again, but

on the other hand they may like your persistance and see how keen you

really are!

Do it all now before lifes commitments make it alot harder on you!

My 2c!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1218715
Share on other sites

Some places do tafe courses in things like motorsport and race engineering and stuff like that. Im thinking about doing one of these courses when i finish uni if i get a chance. Maybe an apprenticeship and something like that would help?

But yeah keep bugging the performance workshops, i mean they have to take in apprentices at some stage?

Dont do mech eng at uni unless you are competant at maths, most of its theory. And by competant i dont mean adding up and dividing etc, i mean calculus, integration etc.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1219113
Share on other sites

i'd say you should do an apprenticeship at a normal workshop - maybe even ford/holden/nissan dealership etc

once finished yu can work at a performance garage while doing uni part time, or work part time while doing uni

it might sound stupid but with the ford XR's being turbo'd now, and some supercharges SS's getting on you will still get to do some work on the performance side while learning the basics...

i don't think a performance shop would take on an apprentice - mainly because their time is allot more valuable - and often the work is a little more complex/involved

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1219208
Share on other sites

Thanks heaps for the input guys :rolleyes: I am continuing to call around to different workshops and stuff, going to the workshop, dropping in my resume. Just getting my name in then in a few weeks drop in again and ask agian.

Keep my name there so when/if they get an apprentice, my name comes to mind :)

Yeah I am pretty good at maths n stuff and yeah I know its all theory, but if its all prac then you wont be able to come up with anything origional cause all they will show is how to do stuff thats already been done :cheers: The prac side I can learn, the theory I need to understand.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1219425
Share on other sites

Also, do you have any idea of what sorta money that you gonna earn at a car workshop?

When you're at uni doing mech engineering and your buddies you studyed with are bragging about how they earn 100k plus a year in industrial design i reckon you'll change your mind. Car workshops pay shit house compared to big companys.

Workshops have gotta stay competitive with the others around the area or they don't get sales, a 10k motor job would be considered a "big one" by a car workshop.

But for industry, 10 grands is shit all, big places would'nt even bother with a job worth 10k.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1219539
Share on other sites

I myself am following a similar path to Evilelmo. I came out of Year 12 in 2003 doing what we call "TEE" over in WA and was competent in Physics, Chemistry and Applicable Maths. One of the hardest decisions I made was going and doing an apprenticeship rather than doing uni. The reasons why I decided to start now, rather now than later is

1) The pay is really crap as an apprentice

2) You basically just clean all day when you first start

3) Workshops generally won't take on older people

As Gatty said I choose to start my apprenticeship at a Ford dealership, not that I'm an overall huge Ford fan the new series of BA Falcons are really quite something, also the XR6T is a sign of things to come. I looked at the options of working at various peformance shops in Perth and its quite easy to say that there didn't look like there were exactly many apprentices in there workshops. They only way I could see getting an apprenticeship at one goes by the old saying "It's not what you know, its who you know". Anyway being at a dealership would give you a better knowledge overall than if you specialised specifically in one aspect of the motor.

I've looked into doing various tafe courses as a night course but havent found anything specific with what I want to do as xRhettx said I looked into Mechnical Engeering as an option but it doesn't seem apply much on a practical level. The only other option I came across is that there is a uni in Melbourne which specialises in Motorsport Engineering or something like that.

The main thing to keep in mind is stayed focused and determined. I coped quite a bit of crap initially about it but 1 year in all is going great. I'll just have to see what the future holds.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1219575
Share on other sites

I also wanted to do the same thing. I dreampt of installing high mount turbos, fabricating manifolds and piping, rebuilding whole engines etc. I wanted to do this because i have a passion for cars. But i decided against this, mainly because it would be a minimum of 8 years before id be fully qualified and paid, and even then i wouldnt be running my own workshop. I also just bought a late model nissan turbo car and need a fair bit of money, something full time study and/or mechanic apprenticeship cant provide. I want to be able to enjoy my youth. I believe it is VERY hard to have a job that you wake up wanting to do every morning. Even race car drivers get VERY frastrated with their job as they arnt performing to a good standard. I've spoken to a few guys who work with performance cars and do the things i wanted to do and most of them look at their job as just that, a job(they hate what they do). So i picked something with good potential to make money, actually has jobs available in Australia and the ability to create my own business very easily and cost effectively(no physical shop/site), and get paid good money in the mean time to pay for my mods and other needs and wants. Maybe this isnt what you want to hear but it might be good if you listen to it. If you really want to do this then an apprenticeship in auto mechanics then a mech/auto engineering course followed by a Fabrication course(held at various TAFEs) would pretty much prepare you to get started on working in a performance workshop. I think finding an apprenticeship at a performance workshop like say ICE or Racepace would be like finding hen's teeth, simply because they take on qualified and expierenced mechanics who know their way around engines. An apprentice wouldnt really have a place there. An apprentice would mainly be doing servicing, cleaning, maybe repairing a bit, etc. Try get an apprentice in a workshop specialising in prestige cars(mercs, porsches, etc) as they are a fair bit more engineered then say camry's etc. But dont take my word for it, keep trying as it wont hurt, just make sure you do your research about it and your not misinformed. Good luck with it.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1219678
Share on other sites

Ooook, thanks heaps for the posts and everything. Like I said above, its not what I want to hear, but its helping me make my decision. I am set on doing it :( And by the time I am 30 I will have my own garage open. It's what I want to do ;)

You're all very helpful in giving me advice and I have concidered it, but I will still do it :) I am looking to dominate the performance scene. N all I want is to have the oppotunity to get my foot in the door, even if its just my pinky. I want to work in a performance garage, I wont settle for less. I have driven to about 5 performance garages in Sydney and handed in my resume. If they threw it in the bin, I don't mind. In a few weeks I am gonna pop in again and talk to them again about it.

Some might call me crazy or whatever, but when I have my head set on something. I will strive to get it.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1222412
Share on other sites

I have started an apprenticeship with Midas straight outta grade 12. Pay is shit house but it keeps going up each year, after ur qulaified money is good, 600-900 for 38 hours. plus bonuses and overtime. Im staying with them until i have finished my apprenticeship then going to performance orientated things.. You need to know every little thing on a car and how it works before u get into the good stuff.

Just my 2c

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1223092
Share on other sites

I'm doing my apprenticeship at BMW and i reckon its great. i didn't think i could get into a prestige workshop but hey... it was the first workshop i tried and i got it. the only thing i had to do was sit a test - maths, english and science, and a couple of weeks work experience. And i've never spent a day cleaning up... we got cleaners.

Eitherway i say go for it and best of luck.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/64939-apprenticeships/#findComment-1224752
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Latest Posts

    • Hi, is the HKS  Tower Bar still available ? negotiable ? 🤔
    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
×
×
  • Create New...