Introduction To: besavvyautotips.com
Welcome to the Hamby’s Auto Works auto tips website
(besavvyautotips.com). Congratulations! This web site is
designed to save you thousands of dollars by helping you
make the best decisions on maintaining your vehicle,
preventing unnecessary costly repairs , pinpointing
necessary repairs in time to prevent major repairs and
prolong the life of the parts of your vehicle . There are a few
adjustments you can make in how you drive and maintain
your vehicle which can make the desired difference. The
more you understand the functions of your vehicle, the more you
will be equipped to care for it. Simple knowledge can make the
difference. This web site is not intended to turn you into a
mechanic but only help you become a more informed motorist.
(About the author)
My name is Thurston Edison Hamby III; I’ve been working on
cars since the age of 15 I started out on bicycles and go carts at
the age of 10. I love repairing and rebuilding and restoring cars
trucks and motorcycles. I always have and always will! I like a
challenge and the automotive industry is challenging. Things are
always changing and I’m always learning within my career. My
Grandmother said, “Things change over time and if you don’t
change with the times you will be left behind. This is definitely
true with a mechanics career. Cars are always changing.
Emission standards are always raised, price competition, quality
competition, customer expectation, safety, quality and fuel
efficiency; all of these demand change. All who get a good
understanding about changes that are made and are willing and
able to adapt will prosper with the changes time brings. I love my
career. I chose it soberly. I’m not in it for the money only. I
desire to help people. I like the rare times I can give my
customers favorable news.
My first official training on engine began with Mr. Phil Hatcher a
friend of my father. He came over one evening to fix my go cart
which Joe Pradd (one of my oldest friends) turned over. The
carburetor intake pipe was broken. I closely watched Mr. Hatcher
so that I could do the same thing whenever it wouldn’t start. After
this I continued doing needed repairs without a complete
understanding of how it all works. After this, a few years later in
the ninth grade I had a teacher in physical science class who
taught us the principals of how a gasoline engine works. As she
taught, all those years since I first watched Mr. Hatcher made
sense. Then I understood what I did right and wrong. After the
ninth grade I changed schools so that I could take Auto
mechanics. I was taught by the best, Mr. Alto Ray of
Birmingham, Alabama. He was my auto mechanics teacher at
Carver High school. I was a Ram! (Carver Rams) I studied three
years under Mr. Ray. Right out of high school I enrolled at
Bessemer State Technical College to continue my auto mechanic
training. I studied under the great staff of teachers there. These
were also great teachers! They brought it to you. If you wanted
to know, they made it easy to understand. Their teachings helped
to give me a good foundation. It is God who gives us natural
talents and abilities but it is up to us to develop them. The first job
in my field was at Jim Magill Chevrolet. I worked there for two
years. I started on the used car lot. Then I moved up to the shop.
I really didn’t do what I was trained to do there but I became a
glass and trim mechanic. Learning glass and trim and solving
electrical problems later helped me in my own business. On
February 1, 1986 I started Hamby’s Mobil Auto Service. I started
in my car and later restored a 1961 Ford F-100 and worked out of
it for 8 years. This truck was two years older than I am! I kept it
running out of town ready. I had it loaded with many tools, a jack;
an air compressor and air tools. I repaired my vehicles on site.
After those years, I opened a shop with my cousin Parnell Smith.
The business name was Smith and Hamby’s Auto Service. It was
opened on May 1993 until July of 1995 at 701 6TH Ave. N
Birmingham Al. 35203. Afterwards for a short time, I worked at
Serra Chevrolet and then Jim Burke Nissan before hiring on at the
City of Bessemer Fleet Maintenance Department on January 2,
1996. There I gained heavy truck and heavy equipment
experience. In May 2006, I opened Hamby’s Auto works and still
enjoy repairing cars, problem solving, helping customers and
meeting people. I enjoy it all. My business helps me fund the
radio ministry God assigned me to do and the website:
livingletterministries.com which began in June 2006. I enjoy
doing the radio ministry broadcast. The Living Letter Radio
Broadcast is heard on WJLD AM 1400 and also 104.1 FM and the
broadcast is streamed at WJLDFM.com and can be ,herd
anywhere the world wide web reaches! The broadcast times are:
every Saturday Morning at 9:00 AM and every Sunday Evening
at 3:00 PM central time. Each broad cast is fifteen minutes.
Feel welcome to record them. I hope they are a blessing to you
and yours.
I am currently A.S.E. Master Certified in both cars and
heavy trucks. I work hard to keep up with the latest changes of
the industry. The automotive and truck industry will always
change to meet the government and customer demands.
Throughout my career as a mechanic I’ve learned many ways to
help a car last longer. I’ve even noticed a pattern to many
common automotive problems and breakdowns. Through
experience I’ve learned tips that can save you much money and
that’s what this website is all about, helping people! Some would
say this site will take money out of the hands of many mechanics
just like you! But I say not a dime! When a person pays for a
repair, he or she should get what is truly needed repaired
correctly. Spending money on unnecessary parts and repairs is
very costly to a person especially those on a small budget. They
need dependable transportation. Consider emergencies. It is
known that cars won’t last forever. If driven long enough almost
every part will wear out or go bad but if the customer can save
money on unnecessary repairs, they will be more capable to
spend money on necessary repairs. Every motorist must
spend money on annual maintenance such as fluid and filter
changes, tune-ups, brakes and cooling system repairs. This
website will also aid people in knowing how to choose what
is necessary and what is not. Let’s say a lady needs her
transmission overhauled. She likes her car and desires to keep it.
I always advise my customers to repair it based on experience.
Have the transmission cleaned and overhauled correctly, replace
the torque convertor, clean the oil cooler pipes, replace the rubber
hoses with trans oil cooler hoses, and replace the radiator with
a new one. In most cases this is more than most would desire to
pay for at one time. But this is the way that is more sure, to last
reliably. The cheap way out in my honest years of experience
turns out to be much more expensive. Here’s why, if the
transmission was rebuilt correctly and the old torque convertor
and radiator were reused, now dirty fluid will contaminate the
rebuilt transmission. If the old rubber hoses were reused, there is
a high chance that metal particles are stuck in the side walls just
waiting for that high detergent transmission fluid to come wash it
out! So, shortcuts don’t save money like they seem to. In the
many years of my experience I’ve seen many people regret their
shortcuts! Some were taken without knowledge but some were
taken after hearing the good advice of a master technician! I
know parts and labor is high (but so is the cost of running a shop).
I know there is money saving shortcuts but some shortcuts are
not worth taking. If you have a mechanic that has proven to be
trustworthy, let him council you before making high price repairs
or buying a used car. Also continue to consult this website. Find
the category you need and see if you can properly save money.
Be in the know before you spend.
This website is set up to help you with whichever category
you need at the time. Once on the site you may download the
entire book or sections of it. The primary cost is the same. Each
category has description explaining the presented tips. My wife
warned me that some people will be turned off by all those words
and I agree. I know it is wordy so regarding her suggestion, I
added a summary to each category in quick easy to read and
comprehend form. I call it the Dos and Don’ts list. I know people
are busy. I’m one of them. But if you can bare the description, I
think it is enjoyable and it can help the information stay with you.
One of my goals is to keep the cost of this website low and
affordable for everyone. If you find the information helpful, please
recommend this website to your love ones. I know it can save
them money, time and in some cases their lives. The Roadside
Safety Tips will always be free on the website to help keep people
as safe as possible. Just click on the Roadside Safety Tips
labeled on the information page and it will open up to you.
Special Thanks to all who helped make this website a
possibility!
I thank God for:
Karren Ameen my sister who gave me the idea to do this site.
Alicia Hamby my beautiful wife whose typing, advice and wisdom
I can certainly trust.
Shaina Hamby my daughter who helped me with typesetting and
greatly did most of the typing to make this site a more rapid
reality.
Shira Hamby my daughter who did some of the typing when I
could not.
Mrs. Donetta Kindred who got me out of a jam by professionally
typing the last four categories.
Thurston Edison Hamby IV my son who helped me continually
out in the garage which gave me more time to work on the site.
Mr. Michael Dale my friend who always helps me to understand
technical computer problems.
The helpful staff at Yahoo