What is the best route to becoming a rotary mechanic?
02-14-2006, 08:20 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Midway, KY
Posts: 108
What would be the best path to follow to learn how to work on rotaries and get paid for it?
I got bit by the rotary bug last year when I converted a gsl to a gsl-se. It took me a couple of months due to attending high school at the time with minimal help and prior knowledge of rotaries. Completing the swap was probably one of the greatest accomplishments in my life thus far. I'm a 19 year old currently attending the University of Kentucky, but I'm not satisfied with what I'm learning in college. I really want to be working on Mazda rotaries more than anything.
Knowing that rotary engine schools are now nonexistent, are the only ways to get training on rotaries thru being an apprentice of an experience rotary tech or follow the road of trial-and-error of being self taught from the FSM as I've recently experienced?
Would I have to first complete a training program at say UTI or Lincoln Tech in general auto tech and then locate a rotary shop to be trained at? Or am I wrong, does Mazda still have factory training for rotary engines?
Any advice would be a great deal of help. Thanks.
I got bit by the rotary bug last year when I converted a gsl to a gsl-se. It took me a couple of months due to attending high school at the time with minimal help and prior knowledge of rotaries. Completing the swap was probably one of the greatest accomplishments in my life thus far. I'm a 19 year old currently attending the University of Kentucky, but I'm not satisfied with what I'm learning in college. I really want to be working on Mazda rotaries more than anything.
Knowing that rotary engine schools are now nonexistent, are the only ways to get training on rotaries thru being an apprentice of an experience rotary tech or follow the road of trial-and-error of being self taught from the FSM as I've recently experienced?
Would I have to first complete a training program at say UTI or Lincoln Tech in general auto tech and then locate a rotary shop to be trained at? Or am I wrong, does Mazda still have factory training for rotary engines?
Any advice would be a great deal of help. Thanks.
02-14-2006, 09:29 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 218
Originally Posted by SEDave' post='801857' date='Feb 14 2006, 08:20 PM
What would be the best path to follow to learn how to work on rotaries and get paid for it?
I got bit by the rotary bug last year when I converted a gsl to a gsl-se. It took me a couple of months due to attending high school at the time with minimal help and prior knowledge of rotaries. Completing the swap was probably one of the greatest accomplishments in my life thus far. I'm a 19 year old currently attending the University of Kentucky, but I'm not satisfied with what I'm learning in college. I really want to be working on Mazda rotaries more than anything.
Knowing that rotary engine schools are now nonexistent, are the only ways to get training on rotaries thru being an apprentice of an experience rotary tech or follow the road of trial-and-error of being self taught from the FSM as I've recently experienced?
Would I have to first complete a training program at say UTI or Lincoln Tech in general auto tech and then locate a rotary shop to be trained at? Or am I wrong, does Mazda still have factory training for rotary engines?
Any advice would be a great deal of help. Thanks.
im in the same boat man
sorry i can not offer help
02-14-2006, 10:02 PM
#3
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Ky
Posts: 2,723
well depending how you want to do it. basic mechanic training to get you in the door somewhere and show you can work on cars to begin with, maybe the mazda dealer and get sent to the training eventualy. If you had a rotary shop nearby you could start at the bottom and work up. basicly it all comes down to showing experience and that you know what your doing, if you cant prove that then your stuck cleaning floors and doing oil changes.
02-14-2006, 10:38 PM
#4
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Columbia IL/St. Louis MO
Posts: 2,748
Only thing I can add.
Rotaries are only unique with the engine, not the entire car. So having superior knowledge of other cars will help you out a whole lot. Look at PFSupercars located in Frederick, MD. Ray(owner of the shop) caters to RX-7's(all gens), Supra's, and Team Lexus' IS300's.
I am in the same boat pretty much also, but I am older than you, and would be happy working on any type of car, not just rotary specific.
Rotaries are only unique with the engine, not the entire car. So having superior knowledge of other cars will help you out a whole lot. Look at PFSupercars located in Frederick, MD. Ray(owner of the shop) caters to RX-7's(all gens), Supra's, and Team Lexus' IS300's.
I am in the same boat pretty much also, but I am older than you, and would be happy working on any type of car, not just rotary specific.
02-15-2006, 09:57 AM
#6
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Ky
Posts: 2,723
Originally Posted by spaceman Spiff' post='801909' date='Feb 15 2006, 01:54 AM
just remember after coming home from working on other peoples cars all day are you really gonna want to go wrench on yours?
02-15-2006, 11:25 AM
#7
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: California
Posts: 22,465
everyone around here started with a cheap broken car, put a motor in it and resold it. then got another one, and another one and another one, until you're at the dealership enough buying stuff they offer you a job, then after a while you can open a side buisness, then make it a full time gig and build bum engines for banzai....
its a headrush i know
its a headrush i know
02-15-2006, 11:44 AM
#9
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: My BIG ol TURBO-DIESEL
Posts: 5,181
Buy old car, have "professional" shop build new engine, return broken misrepresented new engine, receive replacement engine, tear down inspect, discover missing pieces, say to hell with "professional shop in NW", buy engine dyno, accumulate lots of parts, never assemble them 
02-15-2006, 12:25 PM
#10
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: California
Posts: 22,465
Originally Posted by banzaitoyota' post='801968' date='Feb 15 2006, 09:44 AM
Buy old car, have "professional" shop build new engine, return broken misrepresented new engine, receive replacement engine, tear down inspect, discover missing pieces, say to hell with "professional shop in NW", buy engine dyno, accumulate lots of parts, never assemble them
thats not the way its done around here! except for that lots of unassembled parts bit
