European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 24, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4fixed on cars prom the cover a. Honoured tradition. He had enlisted the Aid of sgt 1st Gass Bill Lewis of corps Headquarters in Frank Furt in the task of pulling the engine from his 1980 Mercedes. A a in be pulled a few engines and changed a few exhausts Quot said Lewis. A simple  How did Lewis learn about things mechanical a i did no to. In a learning right now. Its the easiest Way to learn. Especially with somebody a Al Sci a  in America they might be called a backyard mechanics or a Shade tree mechanics a known comm airy wide for their ability to Wield a socket wrench As expertly As Jimi Hendrix handled a guitar. The value of these folks increases on this Side of. The Ocean where Auto repair Bills on the Economy Are outrageously High especially for parts. But labor can get costly too. German shops charge $50 to $80 per hour,.the army and air Force Exchange service charges $50 per hour. Rollins figured he was saving a few Hundred Dol jars doing his own clutch repair. Wormuth said the Job he was doing would Cost $700 in the states and much More at a German shop. A i know a lot of Guys  done to know what they re doing  Are getting ripped off big time Quot Wormuth said. There is another reason for doing stir own car work or having a Friend  is Handy with tools. A German mechanics charge a lot and they done to know a lot about american cars Quot said sgt. Geno Mamone of the 94th engr in in Vilseck Germany. He has a 1970 Mustang Mach i he said and a and body a touching  a a. The . Military makes it easy for  to do it themselves. Auto Craft shops Are common providing All the tools workspace and some assistance if needed All for a Low fee. At most centers the hourly fee for use of a Bay is $3 or less. A we pretty much have most of the tools for most of the cars a said Jack Stephens  overseas the Auto skills Center at Kapaun air station near Kaiserslautern Germany. A the tools alone make this place worthwhile a said Lewis. He said it is Clumsy to bring a full Toolbox on an overseas assignment. Bobby Walker  manages the automotive Cen tors at Kapaun and Ramstein a said the Ramstein facility is used by 2,000 people each month the one at Kapchun is used by 1,600. A on saturdays and sundays we will have a waiting list of10 or 15 people a he said. A a we be got a Busy shop.�?�. The labor May be cheap when doing it yourself or paying a buddy a few Beers for his help but the parts can still be murder. Staff sgt. Donald Newton of the 1st trans co in Furth said he was looking for a Muffler which would Cost $52 in the United states. A the cheapest i could find in Germany was $95,�?� he said. To the Rescue come the Auto stripping Yards w Here parts can be removed from discarded cars and trucks and taken for a Good Price. A you can save quite a lot of Money Here a said it Earl Hazel  works at the stripping Yard on Johnson Barracks in Furth. The Yards have a minimum Price list handed to them by . Army Europe. From that they can raise the Price a Little or a Sot depending on the age old economic equation of Supply arid demand. But Hazel said the prices at the Johnson Barracks Yard  All in line with the us a eur list. The Price list at Johnson Barracks is a real bargain basement. A. For example a distributor removed from a vehicle at the Yard costs $20. That s it. How much would one Cost on the Economy a easily 300 to 400 Marks about $200 to $260 Quot said Hazel a even from a German junkyard you la pay 100 Marks $65 a a 4-barrel Carburettor costs $35, Hazel said a new 4-barrel Carburettor for a Bow will Cost 2,800 Marks about $1,950. Other prices at the Yard $2 for a cigarette lighter $1 for a Gas Cap $25 for a Muffler $25 for a fender $22 for a water pump and $40 fur a transaxle whatever that  a recent saturday the Johnson Yard was hosta. A a a  a. A a is amps Ron Jensen Todd Osborn and Bill Lewis team up at the Auto crafts Center Ait  Cavern in Furth. To several soldiers from Vilseck where the stripping Yard has closed. The bases Are an hours drive apart. A a it a a drive but you come out on top a said staff sgt. Raynard Posley of 529th ordnance act. He was underneath one of the discarded carcasses removing a driveshaft and a transmission. A a transmission Here is going to Cost me 25. Bucks a he said. A a used transmission in a German junkyard is 200 Marks about $125 a a few abandoned cars separated Posly from. Spec. Mark Owen of the 94th engr in. He was helping Mamone remove a transmission. A this  first Lime taking out  drive transmission a said Mamone sweat soaked dirty and tired. A it might be  Mamone said a new transmission shipped from the states would Cost $1,400. This one would Cost $40, he said plus the Effort and time both free. Some of the people in the Best position to judge the abilities of these self made mechanics Are the Guys  inspect the vehicles for the annual safety Check in Germany. They see All kinds of vehicles at the inspection Sta is amps Ron Jensen after wrenching time Raynard Posly idles. Tion on . Darby Cavern including one that was so Rusty that the inspector could put his hand through it. That one passed. A none of the rust was on the stress Points a Sajid sgt. 1st class Mark Akczinski. A the rust was on the Center of the fender. Therefore we   sgt. John Grant said a there Are several Guys  Are mechanically inclined. They Are known through out their unit for helping Guys get through inspect  the inspectors stressed that the inspection is for safety not for How much rust is on the vehicle or whether All the fenders Are the same color. A the important thing you have to remember is safety a said Grant a there Are a lot of vehicles that Are eyesores a that look like they re not up to Par a that arc adequate mechanically. A we can to fail a car because it looks bad.�?�. The inspectors said the most popular cars for a backyard mechanics Quot Are older bows and Mercedes that Are passed along from one Soldier to another much like Rollins porsche. A they pass them along and they Patch them up and they keep them to the Bare minimum a said Grant. A they keep the cars running out of the junkyard a said sgt. 1st class Robert Stoeckel. Most of these mechanics grew up tinkering with internal combustion engines learning As they tinkered others came to it late in life. 51 Rollins Learned by working with his father  tinkered on engines. Wormuth a father had seven tractor trailer trucks that needed to stay in shape for the Road. Plus Wormuth is finishing a bachelors degree in automotive mechanics. Owen got additional training in the army. A a i knew How to do a few things a he said. A now i know How to do a few  a but Walker said the Days of the Quot Shade tree mechanics May becoming to an end. Guys like Rollins Wormuth Lewis and the rest might be an endangered species. As cars become More and More reliant on elec tronic computers under the Hood the repairs will become More and More complicated he said. A this is my personal opinion. In be been in the business since 1944, in another five years its going to take someone  really knows what they re doing or they wont be Able to work on  he said some cars now have 17 computers under the Hood a trend that will grow and grow. Unless you Are an electronics expert you wont be Able to work on your car a said Walker  has attended courses in the states to keep up to Date. A your brakes a everything a Are going to go computerized. About the Only thing  be Able to do is change the spark  sunday july 34, 1994