I'm far from knowing everything.  I've had plenty of questions here and
other places.

Interestingly enough, I went from barely knowing where the oil went to
ripping the heads off of a 3.8L Mustang on the front street.  Bought a set
of hand tools and tore into the engine.

Why did I do this?  I had a problem with the original engine.  I sent the
car to an ex-mechanic who wanted some money on the side.  9 months later, I
stop by and the engine's still in pieces.  I called a tow truck to get the
car.  Two junkyard engines later, the thing still didn't run right.  It was
at that time that I decided that I'd be learning to work on the things
myself.  With a Haynes manual, a small set of Craftsman hand tools, a
mini-mag-light, and a few guys who've been wrenching for years available for
disucssions (but not for actual work), I pulled the heads and replaced them
with another set I had from the original engine.  The car ran no better, but
ran no worse.  Timed without a light didn't help it run, but it did
nevertheless run.

Since then, I've not been too afraid to do much of anything.  I've yet to
rebuild a transmission, tear apart the bottom end of an engine, or change
rear end gears... and I can't weld, yet.... but I'm only 25.... years to
learn this stuff.

I learned the EEC-IV and general fuel injection systems from reading Charles
Probst's book on Ford EFI systems.  It is a very good book and is written to
be readable, at least for the first few chapters, before getting into
diagnosis charts and sensors.

I've done plenty of clutch swaps, a couple of engine swaps, rear end swaps,
more exhaust work than I care to have done, MAF upgrading, etc.  I work on
cars with my ex-boss, a 45 year old Ford nut who has three 66 Falcons, my
original '83 convertible (which we swapped from 3.8L C-3 to 5.0L T-5 and
soon to be converted to SEFI), and a few other toys.

I knew the heat from the floor from driving cars without that oil boot on.
With the window down, tons of hot air would come up through the tunnel hole.
With the windows up, it was as if the air couldn't pass an invisible
barrier.

I'd say that Jim Warman, Backyard Mechanic, and others here, are definately
more knowledgable about a lot of these things.  Jim does it for a living,
sees the stuff every day, and knows a lot of little tricks from doing it for
years.  I'm just a rookie.. but I learn fast and I've done a lot with
Fox-chassis Mustangs.  When the funds permit, I'm going to build up a
stroked and blown Windsor for my '88 LX.  I've contemplated designing the
SEFI system, but I'll just stick with tried-and-true stuff for now.  I don't
have the time to learn fuel maps and the calculations required to use a MAF
meter to determine airflow and fuel... etc.  I will definately be designing
my own gauge cluster and datalogging system though.  I'd do full-sweep
electrical gauges but digital is *so* much easier for a one-time design.

Thanks for the compliment/confidence though.  I'm the first to admit I'm not
always right, and I know I don't know everything.  The pursuit of
information keeps me going....

JS