Dear Bill,

It's my birthday this Wednesday and for my birthday my Mum and Dad said that they would buy me a little car to mess around with in the summer holiday.

Well...what I wanted to know is would it be possible to make my own exhaust? because a man made one in a magazine of mine and it said that it didn't cost a lot and it improved the performance.Could I make one if so how?

cheers Ian!

Many happy returns for Wednesday, I think you'll find that the guy who said he'd made his own exhaust system probably meant he'd got various parts of a ready made exhaust and cut and formed it to suit his needs.

Changing an exhaust system can improve a cars performance but only very marginally, a straight through silencer box gives the impression of more speed but really only actually makes more noise and therefor sounds faster.

Just changing the exhaust without accurate tuning of the engine would be a waste of time and money.

For me, if you really are going to get a car to work on, I would much prefer you to get to know all about the safety factors of the car, learn how to strip and service the brakes, steering, suspension.

Find out about what happens when you turn the key, what happens when you apply the brakes, what happens when you turn the wheel.

Any one can drive a car fast, it take a good driver to drive fast carefully.

So, if you are going to get a car, find out all there is to know about it, more accidents happen because of ignorance about the car and it's capabilities than anything else.

You would be surprised at how many drivers (of both sexes) that we meet practically every week who have no idea how to check the oil, water, screenwash or where these various things go, they can't even use a tyre gauge or change a wheel.

So get to know as much about the car as you can, by doing this you will become a better driver and therefor a safer one when you eventually get on the road.

The kind of small car to buy would be something that has all of the things later vehicles have got such as, front wheel drive, disc brakes, and enough room in the engine bay to allow you to work on it.

Cars like, Nissan Micra's, Ford Fiesta's, Austin Metro's, DON'T get a Mini, they are very difficult to work on because of the cramped engine bay, and the small wheel areas are very awkward to work in when trying to work on the brakes or suspension.

Finally, before you start working on the car, make sure that you've got a good Jack, a good pair of Axle Stands, a firm standing area to Jack the car up on, and NEVER work on or under the car alone, always make sure there is someone else nearby, there are hundreds of injuries every year to people working on their cars at home.

Even in a properly equipped area injuries happen, nearly Fourty years ago when I first started in a Garage, I had a car come off a Jack, it seriously injured my hand but because my Two colleagues were nearby and they were able to lift what was a very heavy car off me very quickly they saved me losing my fingers.

Ian, I know you are very enthusiastic, but preparation, and care are far more important than anything else, so please take heed of my advice, if you do, you will be able to enjoy what you do, and in the future you will be able to help others by your experiences learned now.

Have great birthday, give my regards to Mom & Dad, and appreciate what they're doing for you, you seem to be a very lucky young man.

Regards

Bill@okdiy.co.uk