For nine years, I carried the title of “Armament, Avionic and Electrical Technician”. Sounds pretty badass, right? Here’s how in-depth it truly was: I made sure that a Browning M2 .50 cal machine gun that was stuck in a cage and reverse-fed functioned. If you have no experience with the Ma Deuce, it’s simple: you fix it with a brick and if you can’t, the gun must’ve been destroyed. I cleaned rocket pods. I chased wires, fit my ass into spaces Oompa-Loompas would describe as “claustrophobic”, climbed on top of the aircraft (which meant that every morning service, I looked like King Kong scaling the Empire State Building) and when something went wrong with a box of electronic magic, I simply swapped said box out, slapped the bird, called it good and walked away. Job done.
Try that with an engine and you’ll have a neat pile of metal bits and a puddle of oil in seconds flat. The devil is in the details when it comes to the internal combustion. The difference between a properly functioning, well-lubricated bearing set and glittery oil can be measured with a human hair. Follow along as Woody and Al, along with the help of some knowledgeable folk in their area, get the 20-valve head for their Toyota MR2’s engine cleaned and built. No, it’s not as simple as de-greasing and a new gasket. Not by a mile.
